Publisher/Advertising
David Spencer
dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com
877-438-4932 ext. 1
Executive Editor
Michelle Moran
mmoran@gourmetbusiness.com
239-992-2404
Contributing Editor
James Mellgren
jmellgren@gourmetbusiness.com
510-517-9569
Creative Director
Penelope Korff
penny@korffdesign.com
Director of Custom Media
Jack Wrigley
jwrigley@gourmetbusiness.com
214-783-2525
Subscriber Services
info@gourmetbusiness.com
Vice President of Sales
Brad Simon
bsimon@gourmetbusiness.com
800-765-9797
Director of Business Development
Ed Loeb
eloeb@gourmetbusiness.com
877-438-4932 ext. 7
Advertising Sales – Midwest
Arnie Bennett
abennett@gourmetbusiness.com
847-590-1332
Advertising Sales – West Coast
Frank Prokos
fprokos@gourmetbusiness.com
312-343-3253
Gourmet Business LLC is a division of
HousewaresDirect, Inc.
Corporate Offices:
Gourmet Business &
HousewaresDirect, Inc.
PO Box 700, Weston, MA 02493
Gourmet Business is a digital publication serving the gourmet gift
retailer. Gourmet Business relies on product information submitted by
the manufacturer, distributor or other representative in the featured
editorial content. Gourmet Business is not responsible for any errors in
the descriptions or prices appearing in the magazine. Gourmet Business
is distributed free of charge to qualified professionals in the gift and
housewares industries.
3
What’s the Buzz?
This month, we touch upon the
subject of Social Media, and its
impact on shopping behavior.
Consider these statistics: 70
percent of social media users
shop online; 44 percent of
mobile phone users visit social
network sites; and 60 percent
of people who use three or
more means of digital research
learned about a specific retailer
through a social network site.
And some more stats for you
to gear up your messages:
Performics unveiled its 2011 Social Shopping Study, which
found that men are more likely than women to conduct five
of six social shopping activities.
Contradicting commonly held beliefs about gender and social
behaviors, the study showed men more frequently research
product information, read reviews, compare products, find
product availability and get store information via social networks, shopping and deal sites; while women reign supreme
when searching for deals, coupons and specials on similar
sites. Read more about it in our in-depth story on Social
Media on page 9.
So, what does this mean for you and your business? Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to access
information on the Web. Is your Web site mobile-friendly?
Do Web visitors have the ability to purchase from your store
via the Web? If you answered in the negative to either of
these questions, I urge you to consider enhancing your Web
presence with this additional functionality.
To be effective in today’s marketplace, manufacturers and
retailers must embrace mobile and social networks, and
begin leveraging their abilities to drive business or traffic to
your store. While I know this sounds great to everyone in
theory, we realize that it’s not always clear how to achieve
this in practice.
www.gourmetbusiness.com
Our resident Gourmet Business social
media expert, Jack Wrigley, suggests
your business has to start by identifying and staying focused on the “
influencers” in your customer base. The
influencers are the group of people who
have the ability to influence friends
through social media to buy a specific
product or patronize a particular store.
These individuals can become your best
marketing spokesmen or spokeswomen,
and give your business a voice with a
group of potential customers you may
not currently touch.
You remember the old adage “The best
advertising is word-of-mouth advertising”? This holds true for your friends
in social media who have the ability to
distribute the goodwill of your business
in the form of tweets, likes and loves.
The key ingredient to making this network work for you is to regularly tweet,
post on Facebook, sms or e-mail these
influential customers special promotions,
product messages or announcements
that are likely to engage their interest
and, at the same time, give them an
easy way to share the information with
their friends. It’s amazing how fast engaging information travels in the digital
age; be sure to harness this power for
your commercial interests.
If you implement this simple strategy,
your business will certainly benefit from
the positive impact of viral marketing.
David Spencer
Publisher, Gourmet Business
President, HousewaresDirect, Inc.
dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com
