Tip #46: Five Ways to Grow Your Email Marketing List

Email marketing can be an effective and cost-effective marketing tool. But how do you grow your list with qualified leads to maximize your reach? We’ve compiled five easy ways to grow your list!  

1. Guestbook in Store – Take advantage of holiday sales traffic in your store and invite them to sign up to receive your emails to find out about future sales and promotions. Provide an easy sign-up sheet and then be sure to use the sheet to enter them into your list so they receive the emails. Remember, the more information you request, the less likely they’ll be to complete the sign-up so only ask for the necessary info.
2. Events and Meetings – Since you’re a chamber member (see post here about why you should be), you’ll be attending networking events and meetings. As you receive business cards from your new contacts, ask them if it would be okay to add them to your email list so they can see when their favorite chocolates are on sale.
3. Email Signatures – Create a customized email signature for everyone in your company to use. A simple sign-up for coupons button with a link to the sign-up page can produce a great response.   
4. Website Sign-up – Include a sign-up box on your website to invite visitors to subscribe to your company sales and updates.
5. Sales Calls – Do you have sales representatives making visits on your company’s behalf? Be sure they are inviting the contacts they make to join your email list to stay in touch and receive the most up-to-date company information.  You could even print some business card size promotions to hand out that share how to sign up.

Note: No false advertising allowed. Be sure you do actually send out coupons if you advertise it!

Do you have other ideas that you use to gather email addresses for your list? Share them in the comments below!

RCI Members:  Did you know you receive an Email Marketing discount with Constant Contact?

Not an RCI member?  Join today and receive member benefits, including a discount with Constant Contact 

Tip #45: Promote Small Business Saturday

Are you ready for Small Business Saturday on November 24, 2012?

Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.  Situated right between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s a great opportunity for you to promote your store to holiday shoppers as a local business.

American Express and Constant Contact have put together great online kits to help small businesses promote themselves and Small Business Saturday leading up to this special day. From downloadable signage to sample copy and outlines, these kits are great places to start planning your marketing efforts.

American Express Small Business Saturday Kit

Constant Contact Small Business Saturday Kit

We hope these tools help to make this year’s Small Business Saturday an extremely successful day for your stores!

RCI Members: Be sure to check the recent Kettle Talk issue for more tips on marketing Small Business Saturday in your store!

Tip #44: Magnetic Tape for Labeling

Oftentimes the most random items or places provide inspiration for great ideas. That’s the case with this week’s tip that was originally shared by one of our candy making members in Candy Clinic, an idea-sharing session at our Annual Convention.

This member discovered that magnetic tape can be a great organizing tool. Many candy makers and businesses have metal shelving and storage units. Rather than using sticker labels which leave a residue and are difficult to replace, she found a great use for magnetic tape which can be purchased at retailers such as Wal-Mart for as little as $8 for a 20 foot roll. They use the tape to label storage shelves, etc. which makes it easy to move items around as needed and just peel the magnetic tape and restick.

Do you have a great labeling or organizing solution to share? Leave us a comment below!

RCI Members – Did you know you can watch past Candy Clinic videos on the member side of the RCI website under the ‘Candy Clinic’ tab?

Tip #43: Join Your Local Chamber

This week's tip may seem like a no-brainer for some of you, but so often we get caught up in other things and forget those that seem so obvious.

So why is it important as a candy making business to join your local chamber? Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking:

1.       Phone Referrals – As tourists, visitors and new members of the community call the local chamber for referrals and information about local businesses, this is a great opportunity to build awareness for your brand. 

2.       Website Links – By including your company name, contact information and link to your website in the chamber’s membership directory (both print and online), anyone who visits the chamber website will have access to your company information.

3.       Networking – Attend chamber events to make quality business connections and increase awareness of your business.  

4.       Lobbying - The local chamber is oftentimes very active in lobbying on behalf of member businesses. Whether it is tax credits or other legislative issues, they are championing your cause as a vital part of the local business community.

5.       Member Referrals – Chamber members enjoy referring business to each other. As you network and make connections with other members, the more aware they will be of the services and products your business offers. In turn, your fellow chamber members will think of you when they get asked if they know any local candy makers who can make a custom candy bar or corporate gift, for instance.

Tip #42: Add One Expensive Piece of Chocolate to a Box

This week’s tip is just a few lines but promises to bring a significant return for your store.

Are you looking to make your boxed chocolates more high-end without drastically increasing the cost per box?

By adding just one premium or expensive piece of chocolate and centering it in your box of chocolates, the value of your box immediately goes up, including the perceived value by your customer. By adding a high-end piece, you also may be able to raise the price and potentially increase your profit margin.

Tip #41: Halloween-themed Rice Krispies Treats

Image from RCI 2011 Fall Regional Institute Candy Clinic

One of the great things about Rice Krispies treats is that they can be formed and cut to take on a plethora of shapes. In preparation for Halloween, this week’s tip is to shape your treats into a variety of Halloween-themed shapes. From pumpkins to candy corn to witch’s hats, many Halloween shapes are easy to form and then you can use colored white chocolate and/or coating to “paint” them and use other candies in your store to add fun embellishments. A variety of sizes, from snack-size to a full-size serving, will give your customers options.

Extra tip: Place the treats on a lollipop stick and you can create a bouquet of Halloween-themed treats that will make a great display for your store and catch the eye of your customers. 

Tip #40: Ship USPS Using Endicia

As we near the holidays, we know you candy makers will be getting even busier so we will do our best to keep these tips short and sweet.

This week we have a new online tool to help shorten the time spent on shipping all of those holiday orders. Endicia is a low-cost and efficient tool that simplifies the process of shipping with USPS.

Among its many features, the software imports addresses from your address book so you can avoid retyping addresses. Plus, you can manage your shipment, including viewing your postage statements and transactions, or charting your expenses. You can even assign cost codes and send email delivery notifications for each package and even add your company logo before printing.  

To get started, just visit dymoendicia.com and select the software solution that best fits your business’s needs. They have a few different solutions available so take a moment to view the different options and pricing structures. For example, Endicia Standard is just $9.95/month and you can try it free for 30 days before signing up.

We hope this tip saves you both time and money this holiday season. At our recent Canadian Chocolate Tour, one member said that this tool has been a huge help in speeding up shipping processes, especially in the holiday season. If you have other tips for shipping during the holidays, please share it in the comments below!

Tip #39: Color-code Your Inbox

The typical corporate email user sends and receives about 105 email messages per day. So, today we’re going to give a great tip to help organize your inbox: categorize by color-coding!

Categorizing your inbox may take a few different forms, depending on the email provider you use. We’ll focus on Microsoft Outlook since that is the most popular email provider for the corporate user but we’ve provided some links at the end of this post to help organize your inbox if you use Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo!.

Assigning a color category to your email messages will allow you to easily identify and organize emails. Additionally, the color categories you create are available for other items in Outlook such as notes, contacts and appointments. To define your categories, click on the ‘Categories’ button next to ‘Forward’ and then click on ‘All Categories’. From here you can name the category associated with the colors you wish to use. 

Once your color-coded categories are defined, you are ready to assign categories to your Outlook items. Just right-click on the email message, task or calendar item and then click on ‘Categorize’ and select a category. You’ll see small colored-box show up on the message or task and the item will completely change colors in the calendar.

One of the great features is that you can sort items by category. So, if you want to see the emails just related to wholesaling, it’s just a few clicks away. Additionally, items in your Outlook may be assigned to more than one category. For example, an email message may be assigned to the categories Supplies, Wholesale and Marketing.

Once you begin color-coding your emails, you’ll wonder how you lived without this great tip! If you have other tips and ideas for organizing emails, please share them in the comments below!

Looking to organize emails in Hotmail, Yahoo! or Gmail? Check out these links!

Categorizing in Hotmail

Organizing Emails in Yahoo

Using labels in Gmail

Tip #38: Winter & Holiday Color Trends for Marketing / Merchandising

If you haven’t started already, it’s time to put together a marketing and merchandising plan for the Christmas and holiday season, the busiest season for the majority of candy makers. To help you plan the color theme, we’ve gathered some of the hottest color trends for 2012. Pick your favorite color combos and use them to transform your store and packaging for the holidays. Don’t forget to incorporate these colors into your advertising and images to create a complete look for your store.

Deep Yet Vibrant

Muted Is Classy

Sea of Blues

Bright and Cheery

Tip #37: Pumpkin Seeds for Product Mix

A few weeks ago we shared tips for incorporating fall flavors into your mix. One of the most-loved fall flavors is pumpkin. This week our tip is to think outside of the box for incorporating this flavor. Actually, we want you to think inside the box, or pumpkin in this case, and use pumpkin seeds in your product mix.

We know there are lots of ways to incorporate pumpkin seeds but here are just a few to get your creative juices flowing:

·         Top your chocolate bark with pumpkin seeds. For the sweet and salty flavor we all love, first salt your seeds before putting them on the bark.

·         Create a trail mix using pumpkin seeds, dried fruit and chocolate chips.

·         Mix pumpkin seeds into your brittle for an added crunch. (This idea was shared at a recent Candy Clinic idea-sharing session. RCI members may watch Candy Clinic videos on the member side of the RCI website under ‘Past Education Sessions’.)

·         Candied pumpkin seeds add just enough sweetness to not overwhelm the great flavor of the seeds. You can find a variety of candied pumpkin recipes by doing a quick internet search.

If you have other great ideas for incorporating pumpkin seeds into your product mix, we’d love to hear it! 

Tip #36: Celebrate International Chocolate Day

One of our very favorite candy holidays is just around the corner. Do you know what it is? International Chocolate Day, of course! This sweet holiday is next Thursday, September 13 and this week’s tip is to help your customers celebrate!

Making a big deal about this holiday in a variety of ways will create excitement and hopefully get a few new customers in your store.  Here are just a few ideas we’ve gathered to get you started. Have fun with it! And an early Happy International Chocolate Day to you!

• Use your social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to provide fun facts about chocolate throughout the day. For example, who marketed the first box of chocolate candies (Cadbury) or what year was the first known European encounter with cacao (1500 – Christopher Columbus). To help get customers in your store, consider a free piece of chocolate for anyone who comes into the store with the correct answer to your questions.
• Pitch a story to your local media with a press release about International Chocolate Day and how your store is celebrating it. Use some of the trivia facts from the tip above to illustrate that you and your staff are knowledgeable about this subject. Don’t forget to include radio on your list of media!
• If you don’t already give free samples in your store, consider providing free samples of chocolate – and don’t forget to let everyone know you’re doing it through your social media and email outlets.
• Email campaigns are great for special holidays. Consider sending out an email on Wednesday to remind customers to come in on Thursday for the great special you’re going to have to celebrate International Chocolate Day.
• A few days leading up to Thursday, post yard signs around your store or on the street leading up to it that say “Celebrate International Chocolate Day With ABC Store This Thursday!”. Of course, if you don’t own the building or area where you are located, this tip is dependent upon possible restrictions in your lease so check your agreement first.

If you have other ideas for how you celebrate this holiday, please share them in the comments below!

P.S. RCI will be exhibiting at the Philadelphia NationalCandy Gift & Gourmet Show this weekend. Stop by booth #332 to say hello and learn more about RCI membership and events.

Tip #35: Keyboard Shortcuts to Increase Efficiency

All business owners could use extra time in their day, right? To help you be more efficient and save time while on the computer, we’ve compiled a list of commonly used keyboard shortcuts for you. Keyboard shortcuts are simply keyboard combinations that perform a specific command. For example, instead of going to click File, then clicking Save, you can press both the CTRL and S keys to perform the command.

Function	Shortcut
Save	CTRL + S
Open	CTRL + O
Print	CTRL + P
Copy	CTRL + C
Cut	CTRL + X
Paste	CTRL + V
Undo	CTRL + Z
Find	CTRL + F
Bold	CTRL + B
Italic	CTRL + I
Underline	CTRL + U
Zoom In	CTRL + +
Zoom Out	CTRL + -
Select all items in current window	CTRL + A
Delete an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin	SHIFT + DELETE
Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window)	ALT + TAB
Minimize all open windows and display the desktop	Windows Logo + D
Find files or folders	Windows Logo + F
Open Control Panel	Windows Logo + C

The shortcuts shown here are for Windows operating systems. However, if you are using a Mac operating system, many of the same shortcuts exist by using the command key in place of the CTRL key.

If you have useful shortcuts to share, please leave a comment for our blog community below.

Note: The information in this post was featured in an article in the January/February/March 2012 issue. RCI members have access to this article plus many more useful articles on operating a business through Kettle Talk, RCI’s quarterly newsletter magazine. Net yet an RCI member? Learn more about the benefits joining RCI here. Contact RCI with questions at 800-545-5381 or info@retailconfectioners.org.

Tip #34: Incorporate Fall Flavors into Your Product Mix

Fall is just around the corner so today’s tip is to be inspired by this beautiful season and incorporate some of the flavors, scents and colors of fall into your product mix. We’ve gathered a few fantastic fall flavors to get your creativity flowing.

• Pumpkin

Ideas: pumpkin spice truffles, pumpkin seed bark

• Pomegranate

Ideas: pomegranate-infused ganache, chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds

• Apple

Ideas: caramel apples (of course!), chocolate-covered freeze-dried apples

• Caramel

Ideas: caramel popcorn balls, rice krispie treats dipped in caramel (even better, cut them into fall-themed shapes such as pumkins or leaves!)

• Cinnamon

Ideas: add cinnamon to a variety of products from popcorn to truffles, chocolate-covered cinnamon sticks

• Cranberry

Ideas: dried cranberries and chocolate bark, nut mix with dried cranberries

We’ve also seen quite a few stores mix seasonal flavors for a unique and fun flavor experience. For example, a cranberry and pomegranate bark or cinnamon-infused caramels. Have fun with it and your customers will thank you for it!

Tip #33: Three Ways to Use Facebook to Grow Sales

Has one of your Facebook strategies for your business been to grow sales? If so, we hope these tips help you meet that goal!

1. Share Specials That Are Just for Facebook Fans

For holidays or even just fun days, post specials with fun keywords that fans can redeem in your store. For example, for Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19, promote sales by creating a special they’ll receive in store if they use the words “Arrrrgh” or “Ahoy” in a sentence. Then, only promote this special on Facebook to draw your fans into your store. Be sure to specify any limits, etc. associated with the special.

2. Encourage Sharing

How many Facebook likes do you have? If you’re aiming for a certain goal number, let your fans know and encourage them to invite their friends to like your Facebook page. You could even provide a coupon prize for the xx^th like along with the person who invited them to like your page. By increasing your likes you will be expanding your reach and with the coupon you will be drawing them into your store.

3. Use Pictures to Entice Appetite (and Sales)

As chocolate and candy makers, you have a great opportunity to entice appetites for your treats by using images. Research has confirmed that food images can stimulate the “crave” part of the brain which could entice them to visit your store (in person or online) to purchase your products. Take advantage of this by posting beautiful pictures of your products to remind your fans why they should visit your store. Pay attention to the quality of your photos before posting them – if you don’t think they look beautiful and enticing, your potential customers probably won’t think so either and won’t be encouraged to pay your store a visit.   If you need high quality photos, consider asking your suppliers if they have product photos you can use to promote sales in your store. 

If you have more tips to increase sales, please share them with our blog community and post them below!

Tip #32: Regular Maintenance Check-Ups

Doesn't it seem like something always breaks right before, or even during, your busy season? While sometimes that is just going to happen, oftentimes breakdowns can be avoided by scheduling regular maintenance check-ups for your equipment and machinery.

To create a basic maintenance schedule, you can use a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel and create a simple tracking sheet. Column headings could include machinery name and/or serial number while the rows list the date a check-up is needed. Then, the employee overseeing the maintenance or check-up would initial in the corresponding box. You could use the different tabs to divide out your equipment by department, or if it’s easy to fit all equipment on one tab you could use a different tab for each year. We’ve created a very basic sample to help you get started. As a starting point, we have inserted monthly checks but we recommend checking the manufacturer’s guidelines for each of your equipment to make the best plan for your company.

In addition to avoiding untimely breakdowns, equipment maintenance programs also ensure your product and consumer’s safety and reduce unexpected maintenance repairs. Be sure to check out this website on preventative machinery maintenance for thorough advice and reasoning for creating a complete maintenance program for your company.

One last thing: Don’t forget about regular check-ups of office items as well, including printers, carts, etc. You don’t want the copier or printer broken just as you’re about to print invoices for the month or reports for the year; or the two-wheel cart needed to transport product from store to store to be found with flat wheels.

Do you have tips for scheduling maintenance check-ups? Leave us a comment below!

Did you know that equipment maintenance is one of the many facets of HACCP planning? RCI members can access videos of past education sessions discussing GMP and HACCP plans on the member side of the RCI website under ‘past education sessions’.