Sales falling, need new direction...

[I Love Spreadsheets]

A few suggestions from me

You mentioned that email to 15,000 every two weeks - I suspect that is far too frequent and as a result the vast majority end up unopened - I know if a company emailed me that often I would bin their emails in a heartbeat unless it had a really, really good subject line. Once a month should be more than enough to remind people to buy cards for all the events they have.

If you are selling to the public and you have data on who purchased what and when they ordered, you have a really valuable source of data. If someone purchased a birthday card from their brother 11 months ago, now would be a good time to email them to ask if they need another card. If your customers are anything like me, they will be so grateful for the reminder that they will order there and then.

Open a high street outlet - This is not as daft as it sounds. My partner and I were looking at opening a luxury sweet type shop in the Welsh valleys and we did a fair bit of research in to the local markets. In a recession places like the valleys get harder than most with income and employment dropping. As a result a lot of shops go out of business and the pound shops move in. But we noticed something else happening as well, luxury good shops were doing great business. Lush type shops, cup cakes shops etc were springing up everywhere. It seems people get fed up of skrimping and saving to make ends meet so they like to splash out on small luxury goods every now and again. Combine that with the low rents available at the moment and there could be a new income for you.

 

[telemax]

Open a high street outlet - This is not as daft as it sounds.

Even better, find other shops who will dispay your products in their window for a %age sold on each card. This way you can get in all over the country, without paying rent.

 

[Davek0974]

We already supply around 500 small businesses - craft shops etc, they are all having similar troubles. Our agents are paid on commission and are all suffering difficulties, being independants, many of them support different businesses and things are tough all round.

The emails we send are for new products releases, competitions, special offers etc. Maybe three weeks is more accurate, people can unsubscribe easily if wanted.

A high street shop would possibly be good but would need a very pro-active manger to keep an ear to the ground for new products etc. The downside is setup costs of course, these would likely be prohibitive at present.

Dave

 

[Billmccallum]

From your original post and subsequent comments, I feel its important to stand back and look at what the business does, not the products that it makes????

Die cutting ... printing.... Sounds like an opportunity to look at a different market, retail POS display packing & storage solutions, on many business forums, new start-ups are always looking to source packaging suppliers but don't want massive print runs. You will already have the machinary and the customer can pay for the cutter to be made (if required) so no additional costs for the business, but a potentially successful new market.

 

[deniser]

Decent Gift boxes is something that I have not found for my business despite searching for 8 years now.

I have received free ones from various suppliers over the years which were great. They were easy to assemble and strong enough to go through the post. These are from European designer labels and so not made in the UK.

I have not found anything comparable in the UK unless I have them made to order but the quantities were prohibitive.

I've tried so many but not found the right thing. Either they were too difficult to assemble or too flimsy or the wrong colours or just really naff. One was a pop up design so you could store it flat and it popped up into a gift box but there was something wrong with the glue and it didn't keep its stick so fell apart.

I've seen so many people post on here looking for gift boxes.

 

[dharm999]

Have you looked at importing products yourselves? I know it may be unappealing but if the imports are cheaper, and the quality is nearly as good as your manufactured products, then why not look at importing? At the end of the day the business has to survive, and you have to do whatever you can to achieve that.

You said only 5% of your sales are from the showroom, how much is that worth to you? What does it cost to run? Do you sell high or low margin products in there? if you look at that and find its not worth keeping, then what could you use the space for?

Do you know what your high margin products are and how well they sell? Get rid of the low margin ones. Do you ensure that your stock levels reflect the sales you have?

As ohers have siad you need to look at your marketing strategy, as i thought the hooby/craft market was growing, not declining. What products are selling well in the market at the moment, and where can you source them? Which companies are doing well, and why?

Good luck. We went through hard times and had to make difficult decisions. We tried lots of different things, before finally getting some success, and we are now going from strength to strength.

 

[Davek0974]

More good stuff, thanks.

The showroom is run by two staff that also do other jobs when no customers, using financial data alone it is not a viable entity at all. It uses about 1000sqft of space but since we are downsizing, we have little use for that space at present.

I think, personally, using the figures that I do know, we could be ok with the sales we have if we shed another 10 staff maybe and lost 1/4 - 1/2 of the building we have. The hard part in shrinking is relocating the stock etc that now occupies that space, that and the fact that it would likely cost to move stuff around etc.

The best option is to increase income of course so that is the route we spend most time exploring.

 

[dharm999]

How do you organse your stock in the warehouse? I used to work for a greeting card and stationery company, and we reorganised the warehouse so that the fastest moving lines were stored right at the front of the warehouse, meaning we spent less time picking each order. Of course, you have to regularly review your fast moving stock, but that might help to reduce the number of people you need in the warehouse.

 

[Davek0974]

Yes, I am also in charge of internal systems, I wrote the software that runs the place and it's fully optimised for picking things in the right order etc. We regularly shift things around to smooth the flow out etc.


The warehouse itself only has one person in it, most are used in order picking upstairs etc.

Dave

 

[Esk247]

You need a review as i've said in a previous post. I think we're all taking stabs in the dark to be honest.

Quite often you find that a struggling business has more than one problem, it's not like we will be able to name the golden egg that will save the company on this forum, although the ideas produced here are very note worthy and should be followed where possible.

Without a complete review from management all the way down to warehousing it is impossible to say which factors are the most critical. You need to look at your marketing, budgets, ppc campaigns, seo, sales pitches, product pricing in your market, competitor analysis, market research, product research and development..etc etc.

It's a big task but will highlight what the problems are and how to solve them. it cannot be done in one night though.

 

[Christiane]

Stab-in-the-dark suggestions:
- do you attend trade fairs, and public fairs such as the 4-day Hobbycraft fair
- has your company ever attended CHA in the US, as a visitor or exhibitor?
- subscribe to your competitors newsletter using a hotmail/yahoo email address to see what kind of offer they have and how often they end them, I bet it's weekly at the moment
- Facebook is definitely more than worth a look, check what the competition is up to there
- is using freelance designers to think up new products an option?
- watch Create & Create to see what they're up to, they've recently moved on to other crafts like knitting and beading
- you say you used to run classes in the shop, is it out of the way or in town, could you invite ''celebrities'' from the craft world to do presentation or workshops
- are kiddies party in your shop a possibility, think during holidays?

 

[Davek0974]

Thanks for that.

We used to exhibit at the massive show in the NEC Birmingham, but then the prices went up and the responses fell off so we do not go at present, thinking about booking this time though.

We have never exhibited/visited outside the uk., shipping costs tend to put people off, we do have quite a few overseas customers though, but not as many as we once had.

We have a few freelance artists we purchase work from, but again their input is starting to come up "same-as" sort of thing so it gets harder to choose good stuff.

Slightly concerned about kiddies stuff due to h&s matters etc.

Yes we are out of the way a bit, it's an industrial area about 15mins walk from a small high street.

Dave

 

[Esk247]

Have you looked at reviewing your website and ecommerce platforms? are they performing well?

You should not need a high street presence if you have a strong online community.

 

[Davek0974]

Hi all,

just thought I'd pop back and say that we have had a meeting today, I took the details from this thread (+1 for the iPad ) and worked through the lot. Many of the suggestions have been taken on board and I thought I would just say thanks to those who took the time to answer, much appreciated.

If anything magical happens i will let you all know

Dave

 

[silvermusic]

Are you perhaps aiming at the wrong markets. High street retail is dying and supplies to home/hobby users are being taken up with the big players and cheap importers. I can't help thinking you should be looking to supply the small one man/woman band businesses, who are making/selling craft items for a living on a bigger scale then the hobby crafters.

I'm currently putting together a new business that will require things for packaging of small products. One example being a folded over piece of card with a euro hook size hole and well printed to staple over the top of a celophane bag. I've contacted a few local printers and I felt like I was speaking a different language. From what you described earlier this sort of thing is something you could do?

 

[gemd89]

Kids craft packs with instructions selling on ebay?

Gemma

 

[Jeff FV]

I'm currently putting together a new business that will require things for packaging of small products. One example being a folded over piece of card with a euro hook size hole and well printed to staple over the top of a celophane bag. I've contacted a few local printers and I felt like I was speaking a different language. From what you described earlier this sort of thing is something you could do?

I know what you mean - something like the tops of these?

Our printers do them for us - happy to pass on their details to you, Silvermusic, if you like.

Jeff

 

[silvermusic]

I know what you mean - something like the tops of these?

Our printers do them for us - happy to pass on their details to you, Silvermusic, if you like.

Jeff

Eureka, I'm not speaking in a foreign language after all.

That's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for Jeff, sourcing the celophane bags should be easy enough I would have thought, but the top folding over cardboard bit (I'm sure they have a proper name) was making me doubt my own sanity. I'd be forever grateful for your printers details, thanks Jeff.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Why do you have a production department at all, why not outsource all manufacture to a low wages area, be it somewhere like Poland, Morocco or the far east. you are not in a market that needs production here.

Shop display signs could be a nice add-on along with cards for flowers

Sell in larger packs rather than small ones combining many small sampler bits and pieces to wet the interest and make each sell more valued

If you cannot move production, can you get your machines working 24/7

How about those smart present boxes you get, could you make them using your skills

 

[silvermusic]

Kids craft packs with instructions selling on ebay?

Gemma

A quick search with additional spellings seems to suggest a huge gap in the market.

(childrens,children's,Kids,kid's) craft packs

Brings up just 9 listings on the whole of ebay.

 

[Y.Gunay]

as technology moves on so must you. you should consider printing 2d or 3d pictures or cards. and maybe link your business to other businesses e.g teddy bear manufacturer or chocolate manufacturers for seasonal work.

 

[Davek0974]

I'm currently putting together a new business that will require things for packaging of small products. One example being a folded over piece of card with a euro hook size hole and well printed to staple over the top of a celophane bag. I've contacted a few local printers and I felt like I was speaking a different language. From what you described earlier this sort of thing is something you could do?

Just got back from a week away, what you are looking for are called header cards with a euroslot hole, we can make those with our eyes shut! It is the type of stuff we are geared up for, if still interested send me a PM please.

 

[MancunianCreative]

Think it may have been mentioned, but I would think that craft is something not so often done any longer. People are too lazy.

 

[Mitch3473]

I have no expertise in retail but a previous poster mentioned quality boxes and small packaging.On an episode of Dragons Den a few years ago I seem to remember someone entering the den with a 'green' answer to this problem.They were quality gift boxes using reclaimed materials and I also seem to remember they had a few offers.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

There's a whole marketplace out there that i'm not sure has been fully explored?

My sister is a teaching assistant in a primary school and just this afternoon I asked if she had a use fo 20x 2ft long cardboard tubes for the kids to paint, crush, throw about, decorate etc., and she nigh on bit my hand off! Maybe because they were free, maybe because they need things like that?

Could you could carve out a niche as a supplier of craft products to schools?

How about targeting playgroups, nurseries, primary schools, with themed packs of cut out bits and pieces for............the royal wedding (bit late I know:redface the Olympics, drug awareness, history, christmas, religion....so that they can be creative and learn something as well....?

You may even be able to license some of it and sell to your biggest competitors....

 

[Davek0974]

There's a whole marketplace out there that i'm not sure has been fully explored?

My sister is a teaching assistant in a primary school and just this afternoon I asked if she had a use fo 20x 2ft long cardboard tubes for the kids to paint, crush, throw about, decorate etc., and she nigh on bit my hand off! Maybe because they were free, maybe because they need things like that?

Could you could carve out a niche as a supplier of craft products to schools?

How about targeting playgroups, nurseries, primary schools, with themed packs of cut out bits and pieces for............the royal wedding (bit late I know:redface the Olympics, drug awareness, history, christmas, religion....so that they can be creative and learn something as well....?

You may even be able to license some of it and sell to your biggest competitors....

The sad thing about the pre-cut shapes is that you (or a school craft dept etc) can now buy a hand operated machine that will die-cut practically any shape from most craft materials for very little money. This equipment did not exist 5 years ago or thereabouts and has really killed off the need to supply pre-cut shapes any more. There are even slightly more expensive options that will link to a computer and cut any shape or word using CNC control for not much more cost than a good printer. They cant do bulk qty as we can but they can easily do what they need for a class etc in a few minutes.

 

[thecyclingartist]

Can't believe I didn't see this sooner...

I can assure you, the craft market is actually booming. There are a lot more crafters selling work as part-time sole traders than 5 years ago - on small local scales. You've had some good advice here especially regarding social media. Have you considered working with craftspeople on articles? In 2 ways: have a guest crafter or your staff write an article for one of the many crafting magazines, and invite craftspeople to write something for your newsletter? And start a techniques blog featuring your products. I think perhaps the reason for only a small blip from your newsletter is that is sounds only promotional - artists and craftspeople now are used to informational newsletters and blogs. So free patterns, technique ideas, inspirational articles alongside specials and sales.

If you message me your company and website I'll be glad to give you a mention via my social media. I know a few large crafting circles online.

If you don't know them also check out etsy.com (US based but a large European community), folksy.com (UK) and dawanda.com (European based). All allow supply sellers and though small they could increase your exposure to the right markets for a small bit of time and listing investment.

Tina.

 

[Davek0974]

Thanks for that, i have forwarded the two websites to our relevant person.

As a direct result of the earlier parts of this thread, we now have a blog, a facebook account and we also Tweet so we are making some advances

Our quarterly magazine is full of readers articles, written by crafters and all issues contain tips and hints etc plus reader profiles and so on.

 

[Alicatt]

Hi,

I'm pretty sure I've worked out who you are (having been a customer for many years before selling my craft business).

Social media should help you make the most of your customer base but it's certainly a challenging marketplace so actively looking for new opportunities is essential.

Do keep us up to date with how you get on - if you are who I think you are, I bought my first supplies from you when I set up from my back bedroom and was a customer through 7 years. I'd be gutted to see you go.

Alison

 

[Davek0974]

Hi,

I'm pretty sure I've worked out who you are (having been a customer for many years before selling my craft business).

Social media should help you make the most of your customer base but it's certainly a challenging marketplace so actively looking for new opportunities is essential.

Do keep us up to date with how you get on - if you are who I think you are, I bought my first supplies from you when I set up from my back bedroom and was a customer through 7 years. I'd be gutted to see you go.

Alison

Hi, no worries yet we are fighting back and i think may be making some small headway, many of our original customers are still with us so you are not alone

Still a bit early to say if the social media point is helping but i think its safe to say its not hindering

 

[Esk247]

Still a bit early to say if the social media point is helping but i think its safe to say its not hindering

keep it up with the Social Media.

it took us months but we're not getting retweets from celebrities and direct messages etc etc. it works..eventually! every day though, keep it rolling.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

The sad thing about the pre-cut shapes is that you (or a school craft dept etc) can now buy a hand operated machine that will die-cut practically any shape from most craft materials for very little money. This equipment did not exist 5 years ago or thereabouts and has really killed off the need to supply pre-cut shapes any more. There are even slightly more expensive options that will link to a computer and cut any shape or word using CNC control for not much more cost than a good printer. They cant do bulk qty as we can but they can easily do what they need for a class etc in a few minutes.

I think you miss the point. I'm talking about themed packs. Full colour cut out's of runners, swimmers, joggers etc., for the Olympics. Not blank cardboard

 

[Davek0974]

Ah you mean printed and die cut packs, thats a good idea and I'll certainly pass it onwards.

Thanks

 

[SCentral]

I would suggest that you look at completely new routes to market.

I know very little about this market but it seems to me that the growth area is small cottage industry style businesses. There's a lot of people out there looking for new business ideas at the moment and this would appeal to many.

I'd be tempted to use that to my advantage by offering a franchise/agency style package to people who are interested in starting up on their own.

The franchise could include full training in your own workshops on how to hold "craft parties" where the franchisee teaches people how to make something using your products and then sells the kits. This would go down really well for kids and adults. You already have the skills within your workforce to do this.

You have a database of 15k people who are interested in crafts, are already advertising in magazines, on your own website and brochure, so no extra cost involved to advertise the franchise. The franchisee pays for their own training and initial stock so no cost to you there and if the price of the franchise is low I think you'll see a fair response.

You can charge a small fee to train your franchisees in a new technique every 2 - 3 months and create a new kit for each session to keep your products fresh in the marketplace.

Make it possible for your franchisees customers to put a code into your website so your franchisees get a small profit for online sales generated by them and they'll be happy to advertise your website as well.

This is just the bare bones of the idea, but I really think that you already have everything in place to get it off the ground.

The only added cost I can see at this point is employing a solicitor to create a franchise agreement. Having said that, sample franchise agreements are available online. Using one of those and getting a solicitor to check and adapt it will be cheaper.

 

[MeorientInc]

price should not be the one to be considerd, you should try to improve your design/marketing tools, if your products stand out, customers are willing to buy the

 

[juji]

I agree that if you nurtured the leads and current customers you could boost your sales

One idea is to implement a competiton on facebook. People love to gain recognition for their talents and I'm sure you have a lot of talent in your client base.

You could have people make a video and post on you tube of how they make their cards + you could also post finished card pic on facebook..make sure all the card photos are marked with your logo.. there will be a lot of friends posting, commenting and congratulating.

perhaps the winner will have a chance to design new materials for a limited edition line??

 

[Davek0974]

I agree that if you nurtured the leads and current customers you could boost your sales

One idea is to implement a competiton on facebook. People love to gain recognition for their talents and I'm sure you have a lot of talent in your client base.

You could have people make a video and post on you tube of how they make their cards + you could also post finished card pic on facebook..make sure all the card photos are marked with your logo.. there will be a lot of friends posting, commenting and congratulating.

perhaps the winner will have a chance to design new materials for a limited edition line??

Hi

we already have the facebook competitions up and running, prizes to be won, users posting their work etc, we dont however have any videos yet, thats a possibility, thanks.

 

[KateCB]

They may have been mentioned, however my ideas for you are:

1. Ebay- packs of cards, particularly now Christmas is on its way now - card makers are really busy now - my sister in law has retired to the basement for the next month or so making the 170 she sends out, plus some for me etc.....

2. You mentioned that you 'used' to hold classes - resurrect them - for kids and adults; if adults are WITH the kids (and they can be older kids 10+) then you are covering the adult to child ratio requirement?

3. H&S you say is a drawback - a room with safety scissors, card board, waterbased adhesives and paint will fly through H&S - as long as their is safe access to WC/Fire exit etc then I don't see it as a major or costly hurdle.....?

4. We send out our newletter monthly. 2 weeks is too much, 3 weeks is an odd number - a monthly newletter seems to hit the spot - this months news, this seasons news, things to do this month etc.....3 weeks and you are either missing something that happenin next week, or missed something that happened last week! We tell our subscribers that we will email about 10 times a year - August for us is dead so no news letter - for you it should be busy if you incorporate Kids activities - december we sent am e christmas card, not a newsletter, so the true newsletters/offers etc go out 10 times a year - if there is something of great importance that people need to be aware of, we will send ad hoc 'information' emails.

5. How do you get your subscribers? Do you have a sign up box? Do you automatically include every retail sale in the list, with an option to opt out?

6. One card maker in our village (not sister in law!) has recently asked us to embroider, onto felt, various standard designs in white, red or gold thread for her cards.....perhaps this is something you could consider offering to your customers - pre-embroidered snowflake/christmas type things, flowers for summer, bunnies for easter etc - if this may be of interest drop me a PM and I'll give you an idea of pricing?

 

[Davek0974]

They may have been mentioned, however my ideas for you are:

1. Ebay- packs of cards, particularly now Christmas is on its way now - card makers are really busy now - my sister in law has retired to the basement for the next month or so making the 170 she sends out, plus some for me etc.....

Will look into this...

2. You mentioned that you 'used' to hold classes - resurrect them - for kids and adults; if adults are WITH the kids (and they can be older kids 10+) then you are covering the adult to child ratio requirement?

Over many years, we proved that the classes really did not create any turnover, just goodwill, in the later stages they were more like coffee mornings

3. H&S you say is a drawback - a room with safety scissors, card board, waterbased adhesives and paint will fly through H&S - as long as their is safe access to WC/Fire exit etc then I don't see it as a major or costly hurdle.....?

Yes we could sort the H&S quite easily.

4. We send out our newletter monthly. 2 weeks is too much, 3 weeks is an odd number - a monthly newletter seems to hit the spot - this months news, this seasons news, things to do this month etc.....3 weeks and you are either missing something that happenin next week, or missed something that happened last week! We tell our subscribers that we will email about 10 times a year - August for us is dead so no news letter - for you it should be busy if you incorporate Kids activities - december we sent am e christmas card, not a newsletter, so the true newsletters/offers etc go out 10 times a year - if there is something of great importance that people need to be aware of, we will send ad hoc 'information' emails.

I have checked and they have downshifted to monthly now.

5. How do you get your subscribers? Do you have a sign up box? Do you automatically include every retail sale in the list, with an option to opt out?

Yes, its an 'Opt-Out' system.

6. One card maker in our village (not sister in law!) has recently asked us to embroider, onto felt, various standard designs in white, red or gold thread for her cards.....perhaps this is something you could consider offering to your customers - pre-embroidered snowflake/christmas type things, flowers for summer, bunnies for easter etc - if this may be of interest drop me a PM and I'll give you an idea of pricing?

Will pass that one on, could be useful, thanks

Answers in bold, many thanks KateCB.

 

[bigredtomato]

Do you have a view of who your ideal customers would be?

I've got a number of ideas which might work for if you want to pm me.