« November 2008 | Main | January 2009 »
If you read the Cartfly blog regularly, it is no news to you that we feature a new merchant each and every Tuesday. With a new year ahead of us, it is very important that we have our pipeline full of new merchants to share with the blogosphere.
As a featured Cartfly merchant, we go out of our way to help boost your business and get as many new eyeballs on your products as possible. We send you an in depth questionnaire to gather as many details as we can and of course ask for all of your web links. When your post goes live we advertise it through all of our networks and online channels. It is all about increasing visibility and sales!
If you are interested in becoming a featured merchant in 2009, email us directly at info[at]cartfly.com and we'll send you the merchant intro pack, including templates for you to help spread the word, as soon as possible.
We here at Cartfly wanted to extend our best wished to you and yours for a happy and healthy new year! We have many exciting things for all you merchants out there to look forward to this coming year and hope you check in often. We thank you all for your patronage and on-going support. Here's to a profitable 2009!
We all attend multiple Holiday Parties for family, work
and for our friends. Look at each of these as opportunities to network.
We all know how taxing these get after the 3rd one, but if it increases
your bottom line, then it's worth it.
1. Events to think about attending
2. Networking advice
3. Keep The Momentum All Year Long
Remember to take advantage of all this hard work you are doing. Now that you have built a customer base and a network, leverage it. You should reach out to customers and fans a couple times a year and keep the conversation going. Keeping these connections alive will increase customer loyalty and increase your bottom line.
Tip: Creating Customer Loyalty
Loyalty
is not about short-term promotional strategies or appreciation programs
that are launched today and forgotten about tomorrow. It needs to be
about ongoing customer interactions that consistently exceed the needs
and expectations of your customers, even if they are online. Build
loyalty through engaging your customers and winning their commitment.
This can be measured in customer satisfaction, retention, referrals,
sales and profits. Read more here.
Photo Credit: Fashion Copious
There is still time to get this years silver lining even with the so-so financial reports from Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There are millions of shoppers out there still looking for that "perfect gift" and a great deal. With exactly three weeks and counting left until the big day, spread your cheer and sing real loud, for all to hear!!
1. Offer discounts & give-aways.
Give your customers a special incentive to shopping on your site. Offer a gift such as a free CD, free t-shirt, free anything with any purchase or a purchase over a certain amount. All you have to do is add it to their package when you ship it. You can advertise this in the 'Product' description section of your Cartfly account and also with an announcement (see #4). Be sure give a call to action by creating a promotion start and end date.
2. Offer bundled items.
Create a new product listing of a couple products sold together at a discount price. Bundle things like a CD and a t-shirt, a hat and a sticker, a poster and a button...put things together that make sense.
3. Promote free, fast shipping.
This is a great way to builds trust and makes you stand out this holiday season. Re-set your shipping options in your Cartfly account by logging in, go to the
'Payment' section and change your 'Flat Shipping Markup" to $0. Through
PayPal, go to 'Merchant Services', click 'Shipping Calculator', select
your 'Delivery Time' and adjust your 'Shipping Rates' to $0. Remember
to advertise this promotion for certain dates only!!
4. Send a holiday greeting and announce holiday specials.
Post
messages on all your social networks, like MySpace, on your blog, and
send out an email so people know you are offering specials either ongoing or on that one certain day. It also never hurts to ask people to forward the message along to help spread the word.
Tip: Blogging for E-Commerce Success
So you have your Cartfly store and are doing your best
to turn a profit. Our question for you is are you communicating with
your customers without actually interacting with them? If you are
having trouble reaching your customers, you might want to think about
starting a blog. Read more here.
Tip: Join The Social Media Party with Cartfly
There
isn't a single magic trick for being successful online. It is important
for online merchants to be creative and open to new opportunities, like
Cartfly, when introducing your products to customers. When entering the
social networking world, be honest, be personal, be a friend and in
return, your new friends may become your lifelong customers. Read more here.
