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Event: Creative ways to grow your business.

SBOCTeam — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:16:24 GMT

This year's holiday season is proving to be extremely important for retailers across the country as they look to increase their bottom line and end 2008 on a profitable note. Bonnie is back for her second appearance on the Small Business Online Community, to provide tips to small business owners about staying on track to reach their end of year business goals and creative ways to grow their business in today's environment.

Bonnie Marcus is the creator and owner of her own stylish stationery company, Bonnie Marcus Collection. Before launching her business, Marcus worked as a wedding planner in New York City and as the Special Event Coordinator at the prestigious 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. Having also worked for a number of years in the fashion industry for top designers such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Bonnie was able to team up with a number of fashion illustrators who helped make her dream of chic, stylish stationery a reality. Bonnie started by launching a wedding invitation line, Down the Aisle in Style, and a holiday card line, Holiday Style. In addition to the wedding and holiday designs, the line has expanded to 10 collections including a line of invitations and note cards for moms-to-be, Expecting in Style, and a collection of fashionable flip flops launched earlier this year. Bonnie has been recognized as a pioneer for women in business. The Bonnie Marcus Collection can be found in over 1,000 retailers around the world, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Barneys New York and Kate's Paperie. Company website: http://www.bonniemarcus.com

Post your question here and then check back on December 18 at 2:00PM EST or anytime after that for Bonnie's response. You can also pose a question in real time to Bonnie any time during the event hour.

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

CustomFashion — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:26:04 GMT

Hello Bonnie,

I love your insight, I've been to your website and I must say it's impressive and user friendly. I'm the owner of a custom fashion business and I'm trying to grow my clientele base, my question is how do you obtain good PR on a limited budget and where is a good place to start that would have the most impact.

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

SBOCTeam — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:23:45 GMT

Bonnie, we appreciate all your professional responses and can't thank you enough for taking the time out of your schedule to join us for this very special event.

Community, our time with Bonnie has concluded. We thank you for all your great questions! If you want more information on Bonnie and the Bonnie Marcus Collection, please visit http://www.bonniemarcus.com.

Thanks,
The SBOC Team

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

PaperPrincess — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:13:05 GMT

Hello Nikki.

One of the most important things to remember as a small business owner (with 3 boys under 5) is that I cannot be at every meeting & deal with every customer who contacts our office.
Therefore, it is important for me (& any small business owner) to feel confident that my employees are aware of my beliefs and what is important to the company. They know how important it is to KNOW OUR CUSTOMERS & they take the time and make the effort to help our customers in any way possible.
We have had tremendous success & developed very stong relationships with this belief.

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

PaperPrincess — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:05:16 GMT

Hi Vince.
Great question.
Promotions are an excellent way to encourage people to buy in this economy. We have been running many promotions on our website over the past few weeks such as free shipping and even 20% off (which is currently advertised on the home page of our website).
These promotions definitely helped with business over the past few weeks.
However, you are correct - promotions could be dangerous if you do not know your costs! When offering promotions, it is always important to keep your profit margin in mind.
You do not want to put your product on sale so low that you are actually losing money.
If you are aware of your costs, offering sales & promotions are a win/win situation.
Happy Holidays!

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

nikki123 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:56:14 GMT

Hi Bonnie,

You seem to have a strong focus on customer service. Is there any advice you can give on managing relationships while focusing on the important re-order people?

Thanks!

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

PaperPrincess — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:58:02 GMT

In the present economic climate, I suggest thinking "outside the box" in terms of creatively marketing and selling your product.

I have developed some fabulous bartering relationships with other small businesses that have been extremely advantageous for both of us. Also, network, network, network - there are many free sites and groups offering helpful advice in this climate.

Best of luck Louise!

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

PaperPrincess — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:53:10 GMT

Hello caffeinated (love the screen name!).
We developed our international customer base through the New York City trade shows as well.
Surprisingly, many international customers visit trade shows in the United States. Furthermore, it is cost-effective for them to buy now, whereas in the past international customers always requested discounts. Our international customer-base has grown significantly in the past year. Many international customers also find out about us through our website as well. One thing to remember is that shipping costs may be very high when shipping internationally. All of our customers pay for their own shipping. It is definitely not necessary for you to take care of shipping costs.

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

PaperPrincess — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:46:29 GMT

Thank you for your wonderful feedback! I love to hear from our customers.

As I said in the previous post, I believe strongly in trade shows. Our first show in New York brought in about 200 new customers, and now our product is now in over 1000 retail stores around the world, which is mostly due to trade shows. In addition to attending the trade shows myself, I have 60 reps around the country who attend the trade shows in their territory. Although they get a percentage of the sales, it is more cost effective than constantly traveling around the country.

Your point about re-orders is very important. I never just want to sell my product to a store, I want to make sure the product sells AND that the store re-orders. Again, I think one of the most important things is developing a strong relationship with your existing customers. In this economy, you want to make sure that you keep your existing customers, even if another manufacturer decides to reduce their prices lower than yours. Again, this can be achieved by KNOWING & CARING ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS. If the owner of a store is getting married, make sure to send a card. Don't forget to send a card for the holidays. (If you already missed your holiday card deadline this year, send out NEW YEAR cards.) If you do not have a budget for cards, reach out to your customers via email. The most important thing is to stay in front of them so they think of you the next time they need an order, and they WANT to buy from you because they know that you care, and of course, that your product sells.

Re: Event December 18: Creative ways to grow your business.

SBOCTeam — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:36:47 GMT

Community,
We have less than a half hour left with Bonnie. Try to get those questions in to ensure she has time to respond

The SBOC Team