Online Company Doubles Sales - Net Income More Than Tripled in 2005
The underlying philosophy was to avoid borrowing funds. Ms. Berton, the owner of the two the Colorado-based companies, held a part-time job while her companies grew. She was well aware of growing pains from previous employment with aggressive companies and didn't want that to happen to her companies.
"If we grew too fast, then we take the risk of growing in the wrong direction or not seeing potential problems. We are focused on being there in the future for our customers, not for shareholders", Ms. Berton said. "Customers are the ones who will make us successful and that is a major reason why we strive to remain a privately owned company." Because she had income from another source, the companies could use successful marketing strategies and grow at a comfortable rate.
For a successful venture, basic marketing principles must be followed even for small companies and Internet-only companies. You have to know and appeal to your target market and apply branding principles. Put yourself in the mind of your consumer and think like them, especially when their viewpoints don't agree with yours. "I thought that a particular item would sell, but it didn't", said Ms. Berton. "On the other hand, an item that I thought would be a dud became one of our better sellers." Small businesses who employ basic marketing strategies have a much better chance at succeeding than those who don't follow the basics.
"I think of ecommerce as a collection of individual stores, not websites. It is important that our websites have their own style for branding purposes, from the website front page right down to the invoices", said Ms. Berton. "Consumers need a website that is easy to read or you will lose them." E.g., most consumers expect navigation links at the left margin or top of the page. If you place the links elsewhere, the consumer might get annoyed trying to find your links.
Computers contributed to increasing our senses including how fast we can get annoyed over seemingly trivial things. Think about it. A few years ago, a 266 MHz computer seemed fast. Today, that same computer is very slow. When you saw your first blinking image on a computer, it was probably fun and amazing. Now that same blinking image is annoying. The astute website designer is aware of consumer behavior and designs to make every aspect pleasing to the consumer. You can't ignore aged-tested marketing principles.
Gardécor™'s e-stores such as www.Gardecor.com, www.Lindecor.com, and their affiliate designed by Artistic eDesigns, llc, www.Trickeri.com have their own special appeal. "I was amazed at how many websites have a similar look and feel", said Ms. Berton. Some of the imitated design elements include white backgrounds, file folder tabs at the top, and plain invoices.
"How will a customer remember you when your website looks like others?", said Ms. Berton. "I can see how e-stores perform poorly when the customer has nothing to remember you by. We've had customers call us about their order, and they didn't even order from us!" Some websites are a multi-tiered marketing scheme where one company who warehouses products copies their website and product database for their dealers. These websites not only look alike, but they also carry the exact same product line. It was important to Gardécor™ that their e-stores were different not only in style, but also in the product line.
A niche product line that is different from the competitor's was formed. Gardécor™ (www.Gardecor.com) and Lindécor™ (www.Lindecor.com) concentrates on offerring only the highest quality outdoor and indoor products that can't be easily found at local shops. Vendors were sought from around the world. Gardecor™ wanted their customers to shop with confidence that they will find truly quality items at their e-stores. The astute consumer will wait a couple months for their statue to arrive from Europe or for the Amish craftsman to carefully fabricate their heirloom furniture. One way to ensure top quality products is to inspect the products with test orders.
If there are twenty suppliers of a particular product and only one is high-quality, Gardécor™ will carry the products from only that one supplier. "We don't want to become a mega-store that confuses the customer looking for a reliable product to buy. Our customers develop confidence in buying from us on the Net.", said Ms. Berton. Because of Gardecor™'s reputation for quality, customers return to request items that they don't carry. When that happens, the company will strive to quickly bring that product online for the customer.
Wise spending and controlled growth go hand-in-hand. To keep costs down in the initial phase, Ms. Berton carried a company cell phone at her part-time job to manage the e-stores. It quickly got to the point that she had to hire a part-time at-home receptionist. The receptionist was issued a cell phone and got paid for minutes used plus a sales commission. This was a win-win situation for both while Ms. Berton continued to learn every facet of the business, from accounting and marketing to programming her customized websites.
As business steadily grew, so did the phone work and other office tasks. Ms. Berton didn't realize it, but the company was bursting at the seams before the business plan called for it. She was trying to hold it back but orders kept coming. The next step was to contract a service that can handle more than one incoming call at a time. Gardécor™ located one in the U.S. that learns their product line so that customer inquiries could be answered on the spot. Ms. Berton has since quit her part-time job to manage the company.
To continue its growth, Gardécor™, llc recently launched a complimentary e-store, Garlander™, www.Garlander.com, with upscale site amenities such as mailboxes that match outdoor light fixtures, address plaques, and even street lights and signs for a coordinated neighborhood. Gardécor™, llc is currently working with the 113-year old company, William Tricker, Inc® (www.Tricker.com), a water garden and aquarium specialist. Their new venture will be launched next summer to boost revenues for both companies.
Author Information
N Berton
Gardecor(tm), llc
