Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Some great tips everyone, thank you for your honesty.

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

OK, made a few updates to the site in response to your tips:

Changed the Purchase tab to Shop

Changed the Events tab to Weddings

Changed the Menu tab to Descriptions

Added a link directly to the Assortments on the Descriptions page

More to come…

-Daniel

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

Okay, this is better. "Shop" was totally understandable, and enjoyable. I went there, browsed, and got the idea. Then I clicked on "Descriptions." Eh?

I don`t understand why there are two tabs that "seem" to do the same thing? Unless you`re saying you have individual pieces on the "shop" tab, and assortments on the other? That makes no sense. Just call assortments....assortments!

Consider this: I walk into Godiva chocolate`s retail store (if they have one). I look to the left and right, and I see display cases filled with candy of all types. In most cases, I see colorful boxes of assortments nicely laid out, and I could buy one of those in a minute.

But toward the back, I also see a counter and some people. There are tray after tray of individual pieces, and a huge sign (or something) that says, "make your own assortment," or words to that effect.

Why not have the tab "Shop," and use it to picture and sell your boxes of candy, the assortments. Then, have a tab (menu item would be better) `Mix & Match" or "Make your Own," or "Custom Gift Boxes," or something like that.

You lay out every piece of candy, with a 1-line description and its price, in a table-like grid. Each piece has a quantity number. BUT...instead of going to a checkout counter, you`re taken to another "compilation" page. There you see a graphic "grid" of the box size, like a table, and a repeating picture of each piece you`ve chosen.

In other words, the thumbnail graphic is a file. It can be retrieved and counted. You ask, "How big a box?" The response is 4, 6, 8, 12, or whatever number of pieces. Based on the answer, the site generates a graphic "box."

Choose each piece and its quantity. The site finds the graphic, counts the quantity, and retrieves it into the virtual box and its price. Upon complete, the user is looking at a photographic composite of their chosen assortment. They click "Buy Now," and get the final transaction.

I love the idea, but haven’t figured out how to achieve it with the template design I am working with.

 

Until we work that out we are trying to offer the descriptions as what is inside the assortments.

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

Craig spelled out in more detail what I had suggested before, a way for
people to choose their own assortments online. It is a really good idea
since your individual pieces sound so yummy. I kind of figured you were
using a template of some sort of which you hadn`t a lot of customization
knowledge. But it looks like you`d like to work toward using the
aforementioned concept, so that`s good. I think that will help boost sales
for sure!

Also, here`s an easy modifaction in the meantime. Change your tabs text
color to white and the little lines in between to black. This will work
better against your gray background color, which I like. The eye will be
drawn more to the words. Trust me on this one. Hell, you might even
tint the word `shop` with a light yellow to make it stand out over the
others. That will entice people to that section of the site over tabs like
`press` or `locations`.

Thanks Steve,

 

I love the customization idea, I think it’s great. But yes it is beyond our web capabilities at this point (chocolate is what we do best). But as stated on the site we do offer that capability over the phone, which is already popular. A more flexible web platform is in our plans for the not so distant future.

 

The way the site views on Internet Explorer is gray in the far background and in the center it should already be white with dark gray/black text. Nav. Bar is white with dark gray/black text and lines. Are you using a different browser? And If I change one tab to yellow they all turn yellow lol. Great ideas though, we really appreciate it.

 

-Daniel

 

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

Steve,

 

I made the tab “Shop” all capital, that’s about as much differentiation we can generate with this program. I was worried about it looking to aggressive, but it looks rather enthusiastic. What do you think?

 

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

I use Safari on a Mac but I just opened your site in Firefox and it looks
different, as you described it. In Safari, it turned the white background
behind the text on the top and bottom to the same gray as the rest.
Interesting. Now you know.

I do like SHOP better capitalized. Don`t be affraid of things being too
aggressive looking on your website. Generally, your site is very tasteful
and inviting. I think a touch of aggressive will do you good. And I
wouldn`t consider all-caps as agressive anyway. It works there. Keep it!

I have a different suggestion from other people here.  I love chocolate.  But looking through the stuff you`re offering, I was going, "What?" Herbs in chocolate? GOLD?  Is gold actually edible?  I guess it is, but I`ve never tried it. 

Maybe I`m not your target market.  Maybe you`re aiming for people who have been eating chocolate-covered gold (or gold-covered chocolate) from childhood, but if you do want to sell to more middle-class people, I would suggest two things:

First, acknowledge on the site that your chocolates have ingredients not found in products from Hershey`s. Explain why anyone would put lavender inside chocolate, or gold on top, and what (if anything) this does for the flavor.  Educate me.

Second, have some comments from customers telling why they like your chocolate so much better than other chocolates that are available.  I`ve had some awesome chocolate from Belgium.  If I am to be convinced that your chocolate is better than what I`ve had before (in other words, I should buy yours instead of that), I`d like to hear from some third parties that it`s better.

These two things don`t have to be prominent parts of your home page or shopping area, but perhaps you could do something as subtle as a link in the text where appropriate that says something like (Why does this chocolate have such exotic ingredients?).  With the parentheses.  That should express that it`s a question the reader might have, not part of the narration.

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EFFECTIVE WEBSITES
when results matter

www.effective-websites.com

Danae,

 

Thank you for your comments. You have some interesting suggestions. Our target market is not defined by ones income, but is defined by a person’s relationship with quality. Think of the range of incomes driving luxury cars for example.

 

Currently we discuss our ingredients in the About Us section. I like the idea of including a link to delve further into our ingredients. We have something similar planned where you can click through the individual chocolates and hear about our inspirations for each one.

 

We are in the process of gathering feedback from our site guests about their experiences and will be posting them in the coming months. Education is always a benefit to the consumer and we are passionate about that.

 

Thank you for being so open, it’s always great to hear someone’s feedback. It presents opportunities to grow.

 

-Daniel

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com