Gourmet Business August 2013

Bean Counters Rejoice

I was recently invited to attend the Gourmet Catalog & Buying Group conference presentation on a new social media program for retailers. I want to congratulate Gourmet Catalog (GC) for taking the lead in creating a simple turnkey social media program for its retail members that will help each store leverage the promise of selling to their local customers via the various communication channels that exist today.

Up until now, I think many businesses have been frustrated by not seeing the visible returns that they expect to come from their investment in communicating via social media channels. If it’s not increasing sales, how can you truly calculate your ROI on the marketing activity? Selling socially is the answer that retailers have all been waiting for, and I think that the partnership between GC and the app Qwiqq has come closer to bringing this to an attainable reality.

You know the old adage that talk is cheap? Well, to me, what we are really saying is that talk alone is not going to make anyone rich, which has always been my problem with social media from a business perspective. It’s great to be liked, but it’s not going to pay the bills! You have to eventually ask for the sale or you stand to gain no sales advantage from your communication. Qwiqq allows a user to simply ask for the sale directly within your social media post by adding a buy-it-now button for a product or service that relates to the topic that is being discussed. Better yet, that message can be simultaneously posted via Twitter, Facebook, SMS, Foursquare, email and Constant Contact, giving the retailer instant reach with minimal effort.

Qwiqq seems like a great tool, but even the best tools can be ineffective if they are not used properly. Fortunately, GC has stepped in and partnered with Qwiqq to create a comprehensive weekly program in partnership with leading vendors in the industry that disseminates engaging information surrounding a product via the social media channels during the first half of the week followed by a flash sale on the item on Thursday that enables followers to buy the item instantly.  The program provides consistent, predictable communications via social media with minimal effort and cost…just what the bean counters ordered!

If you have been grappling with the issue of how to sell more socially, I encourage you to get in touch with GC and learn more about this exciting program.

David Spencer

Publisher, Gourmet Business

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com