Insider Edition: The Experts' Guide to Channel Marketing - Gifts.com

Insider Edition:  The Experts' Guide to Channel Marketing

Last week ago, eTaildTail had a great interview with consumer shopping engine Pronto.com as part of our 2009 ongoing series called: Insider Edition: The Experts' Guide to Channel Marketing, the week before that we had a great conversation with Smarter.com.

eTaildTail knows that using consumer shopping engines ("CSE"s) can help online retailers increase sales at a price they can afford, although many ecommerce merchants still are hesitant to work with CSEs for a myriad of reasons.

The most notable three reasons are:

1. lack of familiarity with a particular marketing channel
2. lack of evidence that a marketing channel increases sales cost effectively, and
3. difficulty of working with a marketing channel

As part of eTaildTail's 2009 effort to educate online retailers as to the many, cost-effective marketing channels available to them to list their product catalog, eTaildTail will interview executives at various CSEs and marketing channels and ask them to help us undertstand their value to growing an online merchant's sales and revenues.

eTaildTail hopes that these online Q&A sessions give you, the online merchant, pertinent information as to a particular marketing channel and the potential benefits of working with them.  And, if you decide to work them then great, please let them know that eTaildTail sent you their way.

So let's get started with an interview with Gifts.com and its "Gift Guru", Dana Schultze, and her team.  All interviews are conducted by Chip Arndt, an author of eTaildTail. 

If you would like to contact Gifts.com and Dana Schultze of Gifts.com you may email me at tips @ merchantadvantage.com and eTaildTail would be glad to accommodate you, or see below.

 

Insider Edition:  The Experts' Guide to Channel Marketing – Gifts.com

Gifts.com's Secrets to CSE Marketing Success for Online Merchants

Interview with Dana Schultze and the Gifts.com team by Chip Arndt, eTaildTail author. eTaildTail loves this picture and we love happy teams!!! They are called...the "Gift Gurus!"  

1. When was Gifts.com founded and by whom?

Gifts.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of IAC, Barry Diller’s portfolio of internet companies.  It was started internally as one of IAC’s “emerging businesses” in 2005.

2. What sets Gifts.com apart from the other shopping engines?

Well, we aren’t exactly a search engine.  We’re more of a shopping service so there is quite a bit that sets us apart from other shopping engines.

1. Every gift you see on Gifts.com has been carefully hand-selected by a team of expert personal shoppers, known as Gift Gurus, from one of our 100’s of merchant partners.  We take the guesswork out of gifting by scouring the web for great gifts by recipient, occasion or interest all year long.
2. With our fun, easy personality quiz, you can quickly identify the personality of your recipient and reveal hundreds of gift ideas tailored specifically to them.  Our personalities range from Domestic Diva to Guy’s Guy.
3. The leads we generate are far more qualified than your average search engine leads because of our carefully merchandised unique & pinpointed searches.
4. We allow registered users to create reminders that provide tailored gift ideas just in time for those important occasions. 

3. What are the secrets to success for merchants advertising on Gifts.com?

• A full and regularly updated feed, assembled per our specs.
• Quick response to any requests for seasonal product recommendations
• Feedback to Gifts.com on which products are and aren't converting so our Guru’s can adjust the selection accordingly.

4. Who is using Gifts.com and why?

Gift enthusiasts and gift challenged alike find our site to be an invaluable resource.  Our typical customer is 25-55, slightly more female with an above average household income. 

5. What are some of the challenges you are seeing in the retail sector during the current economic downturn, and what are you doing to overcome them?

1. We have made it much easier for the consumer to shop by specific price ranges, while also growing our selection of lower price point items.  To bring this to life we launched our price point refining feature so that shoppers can find the perfect gift for the perfect price.
2. The typical consumer has also become much more cautious about their every purchase.  Not only do they want to spend less on gifts, they want to make sure they are more meaningful than ever before.  Lucky for us and them, finding unique & meaningful gifts is our specialty!
3. We understand that people want to shop by their budgets without coming across cheap with their gift giving, so we invented the chic and value conscious Frugalista personality over the holidays.  She continues to perform very well for us.  

Bonus Q: How do I get to work with Gifts.com as an ecommerce merchant?

It’s easy!  You just fill out this form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. http://www.gifts.com/merchant/public/inquiry

Chip: Thank you so much Dana - or is that Madame Gift Guru - and team for your time and insights on how online merchants can benefit by working with Gifts.com

If you want to keep up with all entries as they relate to Insider Edition:  The Experts' Guide to Channel Marketing, please click on "Experts' Guide to Channel Marketing" under categories on the left hand side of the eTaildTail blog.

- Chip Arndt