The Gifted Man

www.thegiftedman.com.au

1. Tell us about your business

The Gifted Man is an online store specialising in providing the latest and greatest gift ideas for men. We stock hundreds of products in over 20 categories that are sure to appeal to men from all walks of life. The Gifted Man stocks cool gadgets, sporting, camping, fishing and even cooking goods as well as prank items. Check us out and see for yourself the large range of gift ideas for men.

2. When and why did you start your business?

The Gifted man commenced in August of 2009 and has quickly become a big hit with consumers. The business was started as there just wasn't enough focus from the market on gifts for men. We conducted a lot of research on mens gifts and what kind of products we shold target and as we grow we continue to get feedback from our customer base to ensure we not only listen to what it is they want from an online store, but to make sure we act upon their suggestions to continue to improve their online shopping experience.

3. On a personal level, what have you achieved with of your business?

The personal satisfaction that comes with starting a business from scratch, developing and implementing strategies for growth and watching as the business continues to achieve lofty goals and lays down a solid base for future growth and expansion is hard to describe. There is a sense of pride that comes with growing a business but the most satisfying aspect is when you you get positive feedback from happy customers.

4. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in growing your business?

Getting an understanding of internet marketing practices has been the most challenging for us. Coming to terms with social networking and Google rankings and how it all works has taken several months and loads of patience and persistence. Reaching page one rankings on a number of key words has been most satisfying, almost as satisfying as making a sale.

5. What activities have been successful in promoting your business?

Engaging an SEO company to assist with Google Key Word rankings has without a doubt been the best decision we made. Having PPC ( pay per click ) marketing with shopping referral companies to help direct traffic has also worked very well for us. Writing blogs and articles and placing them with article and blog submission sites has driven lots of traffic to us as well.

6. What activities were less successful for marketing your business?

Facebook has not worked as well as we would have hoped for. We did some PPC advertising on Facebook and got lots of traffic but the conversion rate was extrodinarilly low.

7. Name your favourite thing about your business

Marketing that results in direct sales which are measurable back to the marketing activity is by far the most enjoyable aspect of working in the business.

8. Who or what other businesses or business people inspire you?

Most of the people who inspire me are personal acquaintances who have been successful in business both small and large. I have been involved in both small and large business but small business is where you face the most challenges, probably because you run with less resources and those in the business are more accountable for outcomes.

9. What are your plans for the future of your business?

We have a 5 year plan in place to grow the business which includes offering a greater number of products as well as services.

10. Share your best business tip with our readers.

Don't start or even contemplate going into business unless you are totally focussed on the provision of awesome customer service. It is quite common these days for customers to be treated poorly, at The Gifted Man the customer is always right!

Visit us at: www.thegiftedman.com.au