Using social networks you don't yet know about

A woman phoned me the other day with a question about her perfume business. After a pleasant conversation (I tried to help her as best I could) I asked her to send me an email with a link to her website or whatever so I could find out a bit more about her and her perfumery work.

The email arrived. No website was listed. But, when I cranked her name into Google, all sorts of links popped up because she was actively using the internet in blogs and various social networking sites to talk about her background and perfumery work and make her creations known. This is great.

This week I made my own discovery about social networks: there are more social networks out there than you might think. Let me tell you what happened.

I have been reworking the copy and graphics on my FrankBush.com website, which is my retail store for the fragrances I create. In the distant past I had always used live models and original photography for my advertising but in recent years I had gotten away from that. Now I decided it was time to once again recruit models, shoot new photos, and use these pictures to build my new web pages.

For models -- since I'm located well outside of New York City -- I turned to our local Craigs List and advertised under "talent gigs." Craigs List is a great network in itself but one person who responded gave me a link to her portfolio at Model Mayhem, an international networking site for models, photographers, makeup artists, photo retouch artists, etc. I had never heard of it but I jumped.

In a short time I was showing MY portfolio on Model Mayhem while advertising for models on our local Craigs List.

I got the models I wanted -- some really great people -- but that wasn't the end of the story.

When you photograph someone for an ad they are always eager to see the ad when it comes out. I was moving pretty quickly on the new web pages for this project and notifying the models as the pages with their image were completed and posted. I knew THEY would want to see those pages. What had NOT occurred to me was that each of THEM had their own following and immediately, after seeing themselves in the ad, sent an email blast to all their friends and contacts -- other photographers who might use them in the future, client possibilities, and gosh only knows who else.

So the models became MESSENGERS, sending people to my website. Best still, since they are active daily in pursuing new assignments, they continue to send people to my FrankBush.com website so that people can see their picture in my ad pages. All of a sudden traffic on my site was increasing dramatically. (My web stats showed it was from the models.)

Now this blog is an effort at honesty in what REALLY happens when you go out to market a perfume so I'm going to share some inside information with you that you probably won't find elsewhere.

First, my "retail store" website does not (yet) draw a lot of traffic (although I've noticed that Microsoft's new Bing search engine pops it up pretty quickly). The traffic generated by the models was a big addition.

In the second place, traffic does not necessarily translate into sales. Getting people to your website is one thing. Getting them to buy from you is something else. Building traffic is essential for a website but, to make money from it, you've got to convert browsers into buyers and this -- quite frankly -- is neither easy nor automatic. It takes a good deal of thought and strategy.

But let's look forward a bit. What about all these models, friends of models and business connections of models? You KNOW a bit about the models because you have just worked with them. They TELL you about others they have worked with or hope to work with. So could this constitute a niche market? Could you develop fragrances that NAME THEM??? Call out to them??? Say to them, "This fragrance will bring you GOOD LUCK in your endeavors if you wear it because it was crafted just for YOU!"???

Now isn't that a thought that has some possibilities? Fragrances developed specifically for a niche social networking group?

The value of face to face selling

Personally I'm in the mail order business and the closest I usually get to customer contact is the telephone. But yesterday I had a walk in customer and a sale was made but it didn't go at all like I had expected.

Let me start with some background. A new friend who I didn't yet know very well heard that I made perfume and wanted to buy a bottle as a birthday present for his wife. I've met his wife and know a bit about her background and that small amount of knowledge gave me an impression that she might like one particular fragrance I had, one that several people had remarked upon quite favorably.

But there was one small problem. This fragrance, which I though my friend's wife would like, wasn't yet bottled. In fact, nice as it was, I had been planning to plan with it a bit more before I declared it finished.

But, with the customer in mind, I went ahead and produced one bottle, reasoning that even if my friend didn't want it for his wife, I could use that bottle for photography. So when he showed up I was ready with my four different women's fragrances and a pad of the aerosol testing blotters I use with spray perfumes.

I turned out that my friend has a very good nose -- probably much better than my own. And, instead of rushing to judgement, he sprayed four blotters and let them stand for a while while we talked. (Have you ever seen anyone doing that at a perfume counter?)

Then he evaluated the blotters, and ranked the fragrances by his preferences. I was stunned! My pick for his wife cane in last! And, in first place, he selected (and purchased) a fragrance which I personally like a lot because of certain images it conjures up for me, but which hasn't set the world on fire (yet,) probably because it is clearly a step away from today's main stream perfumes.

So a sale was made but, more important, a perfumer got a bit of education as to how a very honest, straightforward, customer with a good nose viewed his creations.

Now I await his wife's judgement.

Can you do your own creative thing and still focus on the consumer?

For an independent perfumer -- particularly one who does not have to earn a living at it -- there is a strong tendency to do your own thing creatively and, only later, worry whether you can sell your fragrance or not. I find myself in this situation constantly. I have a fragrance idea I want to develop and I go for it, regardless of consequences. Then, at times, I find myself scratching my head wondering what I can possibly do to sell it.

Perfumery is an art, a creative art. So too is marketing. But the thought patterns needed to achieve great perfumes are not the same as those needed to achieve great sales.

Over time I have found myself thinking more about "my market" as I set out to develop a new fragrance. Even so, working along with no one to prod and push the development of my fragrances, I find myself following the inclinations of my idiosyncratic nose rather than obsessing over what I think "people" want. I want people to want my perfume. But it is more for the ego gratification of having others enjoy what I have created than for visions of large financial wealth. Obviously with this attitude following hot trends is out.

When the new fragrance is "done" -- in the bottle, ready to sell -- I turn to marketing. I confess that I love marketing as much as I love creating the new fragrance. But I must also admit that, when I "switch over" to marketing, the perfumer side of my brain shuts off. Instead of doing my daily exercises with aroma materials, smell shuts down entirely; the perfume because "the product." I detach myself from all that energy of my own that went into creating the new fragrance. At this point my thoughts revolve around how I might build a bridge between the product and the consumer. Marketing and advertising are the tools with which these bridges are built.

Flipping to the marketing side of my brain, I must look now at my fragrance though the eyes of my consumer. How does he or she see it? (Here's where the independent creator-perfumer gets the biggest shocks!) Always the consumer sees it differently than does the creator. And this is why I can no longer "be" the perfumer when I step into the role of marketer. As the perfumer I would want to argue with the consumer and scream, "NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!" But as the marketer I want to grab hold of the consumer's understanding, get inside his or her mind and go with it. I want to USE the consumer's understanding and turn it on them to make my sale, just as an judo practitioner uses the strength and speed of the opponent to make the fall, by redirecting this strength and speed in a direction the master has selected. You can ONLY make sales by giving the buyer what THEY want but you do have to get them pointed in the right direction.

So we study the buyer and how the buyer relates to the new fragrance. We look at what we have through the buyer's eyes. How do they judge the aroma? What image does it convey to THEM? This will be our clue as to how we present it commercially. We may have to shift the image we were aiming at to the image we have actually "hit" with the buyer.

Packaging is always a major headache for the small, independent perfumer because (1) you don't have enough money, (2) you don't have a fantastic graphic designer, and (3) even if you did have #1 an #2, if you turned them loose to do their thing -- to do what THEY thought was the ultra-marketing presentation -- you would discover that your cost per bottle was so high that you could never make it back on sales. Marketing is not just about making sales. Marketing is about making profit.

So now we begin thinking of price. Price is a funny thing. Long ago business people discovered that price and product are not so closely linked as you might imaging. Lowering the price may -- OR MAY NOT -- increase volume. Raising a price may -- OR MAY NOT -- increase profit. We have to know our costs and do the math and be guided by the math in our marketing.

While the "creative perfumer" side of you may groan over this requirement, the creative marketer side of you will immediately see that the situation DEMANDS creativity ... the creativity of developing advertising and sales promotion that will take the product -- at is is -- and present it to the consumer AS THE CONSUMER WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT -- all within the financial constraints that our mathematics has given us. Tell me that's not an invitation to be creative!

What I am finding, more and more, is how essential it is to separate the mind of the perfume creator from the mind of the perfume marketer. Each requires intense creativity, but of different kinds. And, if each is allowed to work without interference from the other, sales will be made -- profitable sales -- and when those sales start to make the cash registers ring, the two sides of your brain can shake hands with each other and congratulation each other over a job well done!

Selling your perfume in an absolutely impossible market -- It's not impossible!

The starting point in approaching a difficult market (think "a difficult time to sell perfume") is to understand that there ARE NO simple answers or guides. NOBODY really has the answers. But there are some "tricks" that can greatly improve your chances of success. Here are some thoughts for you.

First and most important of all, you have to understand this one great TRUTH. Yes, this IS a TRUTH: It is NOT impossible to make profitable sales, even when it appears that all the odds are against you.

Keep this TRUTH in mind. If you forget it you are doomed.

Next -- and this is a truth too -- it is better to do SOMETHING than to do nothing. In other words, get off your duff and get to work, even if you think you're just spinning your wheels. ACTIVITY on your part stimulates activity on the part of the consumer. Lack of activity on your part leads to your being forgotten. Forever.

RETHINKING your business is essential. If things are slow, rather than sitting around complaining and feeling all depressed, use some of this "spare time" (quality time?) to think about your business -- where you've come from, where you are now, and how you can use this "analysis" of your business to prepare for a successful tomorrow. Yes, it's hard to think "forward" when things are slowing down, but it's essential for your future success AND your current survival.

Cycles reverse. You can't predict the timing but you can predict that -- if you keep your head and don't panic -- in time all will be well again ... probably in less time than you now forsee.

So clean up the garbage. Get rid of those elements in your business that don't really belong. Polish up the good points so that you look sharper and better. Do the fine tuning you were too busy to do before. This is the time to make your business shine, to really do your best to make a good impression. Look dusty and mouldy now and you are doomed. Forever.

REMEMBER that SOME people have money to spend and LOTS of people can still afford to buy the things they raelly want. You have to entice them properly. If somehow you can make YOUR perfume the one thing that they MUST HAVE, you will make profitable sales.

What it all comes down to is finding ways to make the PURCHASE of YOUR perfume irresistable. Good luck!

Selling Perfume In An Absolutely Impossible Market

(It's NOT impossible!)

The starting point in approaching a difficult market (think "a difficult time to be trying to sell a new perfume") is to understand that there ARE NO simple answers or guides. NOBODY really has the answers. But there are some "tricks" that can greatly improve your chances of success. Here are some thoughts to help you.

First and most important of all, you have to understand this great truth. Yes, it is a TRUTH. It is NOT impossible to make profitable sales, even when it appears that all the odds are against you.

Always keep this truth in mind. Forget it and you are doomed.

Next -- and this is a truth too -- it is better to do SOMETHING than to do nothing. If you wait for "times to get better", you and your wonderful perfume will be forgotten, forever. In other words, don't just sit on your duff. Get up and get to work, even if you think you're just going down a dead end. ACTIVITY on your part stimulates activity on the part of the consumer. Lack of activity on your part will doom you.

RETHINKING your perfume and your business is essential. IF things are slow, rather than sitting around complaining and getting yourself all depressed, use some of this "spare time" (quality time?) to think about your business -- where you've come from, where you are now, and how you can use an analysis of your business to better prepare for the future.

Yes, it's hard to think "forward" when things are getting really slow but it's essential for your future success AND for your current survival, both physical and mental!

Cycles reverse. Two points are certain. First, that the BUSINESS cycle will get better and second that, when it does, your position in the market will be different than it is today. If you keep your head and don't panic, if you keep pressing forward with activity and new ideas (ideas don't always cost money ... some can save money!), if you can clean up the garbage in your business so that it LOOKS better and better to consumers (whether, right now, they are buying or not!), when this cycle reverses you will be AHEAD of those who sat around and did nothing -- those who thought that spending a few dollars to develop their new perfumes and new ideas was "too risky" -- you will find yourself AHEAD of these (now former) competitors.

Yes, this is your chance to overtake your competitors and build your following, even while sales may be painfully slow. If you can maintain a higher level of activity -- greater, more exciting communications with your market -- you can be the one to emerge in a strong position.

Finally REMEMBER that SOME people have money to spend and MOST people can still afford to buy the things they really want. IF, somehow, you can make YOUR perfume the one thing that a handful of special people MUST HAVE, you will make profitable sales.

So really, what it all comes down to is finding ways to make the PURCHASE of YOUR perfume irresistible to your customers. That's a goal that will keep your body busy and your mind active. Find out what they REALLY want from your fragrance ... and your business ... and offer it to them! Your cash register will, once again, begin to sing.

Money Back Guarantee?

One of the most powerful selling tools in the mail order business has always been the money back guarantee. Retail stores -- the best -- have also long employed this policy Don't like what you just bought? Bring it back to the store, show your receipt, and your money will be refunded. My wife does it all the time, and she shops a lot!

Of course for some categories of goods, stores have long since halted this policy except where the original merchandise was defective. I can't imagine any store that would be happy about taking back a bottle of perfume that had been opened and used. But times have changed. Or have they? Can we take a classic idea from the past and mold it into an effective and profitable selling strategy for today? Can we use the money back guarantee to sell perfume on the internet?

Back in the 1890's, Richard Hudnut made this offer: Send me 50 cents and I will send you "12 large [scent] tablets" and, if you are not entirely satisfied, tell me and I will "at once and without question refund your money." Hudnut's business flourished and he may well have been the first American to become very, very wealthy selling cosmetics and perfume.

Hudnut didn't make his money by being a fool so let's think a bit about what he was doing -- and let me speculate a bit on what he was doing based on my own experience in the mail order business.

In the first place, Hudnut was not sending out heavy, expensive, breakable bottles. He was sending out pellets -- tablets -- intended to be dissolved in water, and of course, the water -- and its weight -- were not included.

This makes shipping simple, safe and inexpensive. Based on my own experiences I would guess that not only did the 50 cents cover the full cost of shipping (probably less than five cents!), it also covered the cost of the product and part or all of Hudnut's advertising expense. It also, quite likely, covered the small expense of refund requests Hudnut might have received.

In short, the offer was self liquidating.

Now look what else is going on. Hudnut, no doubt, is enclosing a catalog (1-page flier) with the outgoing orders. He is also capturing their names and addresses for his mailing list which he will use to send out larger catalogs periodically. Customers who are pleased with his perfumed pellets are also pleased that Hudnut trusted them -- that he considered them to be honest citizens who would not enjoy his perfume and then demand a refund. So good will is created and, I would expect, about 20 percent or so of customers who took the 50 cent offer probably went on to buy his more costly products.

This is good business. It is also a great way for Hudnut to sell nationally from his office in New York. This in turn paves the way for retailers -- nationwide -- to want to stock the Hudnut line. (Think Billy Mays's original TV ads for Kaboom, at the time sold only by mail order but now found in major supermarket chains.)

Now what about the handful of people who might make multiple requests for Hudnut's no-risk offer and each time request a refund? I can tell you how I've handled this problem and I suspect Hudnut did the same.

We simply kept a list of "problem customers" and, when any order came in, we checked that customer against the "problem customer" list and, if the customer appeared on that list, we told them, "sorry, we can't extend our guarantee TO YOU." This system can be quite effective and in no way harms your relationship with good customers.

Would this strategy would today?

The key to making this strategy work is setting it up properly. This will usually mean developing special products that meet the requirements of the system -- low (very low!) product cost, low shipping preparation cost, low shipping cost, and a seemingly low selling price but one that will cover your expenses and possibly yield a small profit. If your advertising media is your own website, your advertising cost comes close to zero.

Also, to make the strategy work, you absolutely must deliver a good value for the money requested. The "no risk" product must please customers and draw repeat business. If it does not, even if your "no risk" offer makes a small profit up front, ultimately it will burn out and fail.

Ideas to avoid

Forced return of the "impossible to return" product -- One diabolic strategy that has been used by a handful of mail marketers is the money back guarantee which requires the return of the product on the product which is close to impossible to return. In this scenario, to receive a refund the customer must return the merchandise in good condition -- but the merchandise is packed in such a way that it is almost impossible (deliberately!) to rebox and return it to the vendor. It's a "ha ha, I fooled you" deal for the vendor -- whose laughter dies when word gets around.

"Refund your purchase price" -- less shipping charges. This is an accountant's misguided hedge that deflates the power of the guarantee by suggesting that the seller is less than fully confident that the customer will be satisfied. In fact, there are no savings from this hedge because it deflates sales proportionately to the "non-shipping charge" refund savings.

Fine print that voids a guarantee -- We had a local restaurant that distributed money saving coupons. But every time you tried to use one they found some excuse to dishonor it. Their food was good but they are no longer is business. Is it any wonder?

Are you ready to give it your own trial?

I'm working on a promotion using this concept. I don't know how long it will take me to assemble the details and put it into action and I'm not sure which of my perfumes I'll use for the offer (probably my best). I want to see what will happen if I do it right. I'll report the results in time.

If you give this "money back guarantee" concept a trial before I do, let me know how it works for you.

The wrong way to think about launching a perfume business

No successful marketer of perfume has ever started at the top.

I regularly receive emails and phone calls from people who have some money and want to launch a perfume AND get instant distribution with major retailers. So the question I ask them is, "Do you have a following? Will your name and fame bring customers to the retailer, customers who will buy enough of your new perfume from the retailer to make him want to stock it?"

That's the rub. The retailer would be happy to offer your perfume, even if he has never heard of it or of you, IF he can be assured profitable sales.

Can you make that guarantee to a large retailer?

Aside from lack of name and fame, one problem that faces the aspiring-to-national-distribution newbie perfume marketer is lack of money. When people tell me that they have $20,000 or $200,000 to invest in their new perfume, I have to explain (and I don't think they believe me!) that these sums of money can be more than enough to launch a new perfume (business) ONLY if you are planning to introduce your perfume into a limited, targeted market where your name and fame already have some credibility.

Selling to your followers, fan club, extended circle of friends and acquaintances, social network, etc. is very different than trying to sell to strangers.

I sometimes want to cry when I'm approached by someone who really does have enough money to start a profitable business marketing their own perfume but, instead of targeting obvious and profitable markets, they are blinded by dreams of instant riches and can't be bothered with "small (profitable!) potatoes" because it will only distract them from their higher calling.

If you want to succeed in selling your own perfume you have to target a market, build a relationship with that market, and tailor your product to the tastes of that market.

Then you have to keep strengthening your relationship with that market and encouraging that market to expand, either in the amount of money individuals are spending with you or in the number of people who are drawn in to your social group -- or both.

None of this is to suggest that you should not aspire to vast sales and great personal fortune. What I would warn is that those who have achieved vast sales in the perfume business ALL started form a small -- sometimes very small -- customer base.

But it was from their success in selling to this small base and the lessons they learned by working on a small scale that allowed them to expand over time and develop grand international enterprises.

If you can name me one exception to this rule I would be happy to check it out. But, in the entire history of perfume, I doubt that you would find a single exception.