On Friday last week at 4:45pm we put a gift pack up online. It included 4 low-cost products and a couple of simple things we’d made ourselves to add value and differentiate. It was priced at $34.99 delivered. By 5:30pm we’d sold 19 and a few hours later sold the last of the 20 we’d created.
That’s almost $700 in revenue for $0 advertising investment and minimal labour.
We did it on the back of one social media post, to our own Facebook page, a post we did not boost.
Half those buying used a buy now pay later service.
Having the website for online sales, easy purchase, was key … just as was the sense that the package (call it a hamper if you like) was unique enough to warrant swift action.
I talk here from time to time about the need to make our own success. What we did with this gift pack, to me, is an example of that. We put together a small collection of products, found the right packaging, told a visual story with tissue paper and some other low-cost items, added a couple of our own items for the value-add and put it online.
Not a single customer purchasing was local.
We expected most to be bought by someone for delivery to someone else. We were wrong. All but one were ordered for delivery to the person ordering.
The thing about online is that there are no borders.