Josh Kent of SunFrog Shirts Addresses Holiday Retail Sales Trends at Retail Marketing Virtual Conference & Expo
Online Retailer Offers Tips for Expanding Market Share Worldwide Through Aggressive Affiliate Relations Program.
Gaylord, MI, August 01, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Josh Kent, the CEO & president of SunFrogShirts.com, recently shared his extensive online retailing expertise along with tips for increasing global market share through aggressive affiliate program relations as a keynote panel speaker at the Retail Marketing Virtual Conference & Expo hosted by Retail Online Integration magazine.
Joined by senior executives representing Carolina Rustica and overstockArt.com, Kent and his colleagues addressed virtual attendees in the conference’s opening session on July 17 titled “The 2014 Holiday Trends Retailers Can’t Afford to Ignore.” Introduced by Melissa Campanelli, the publication’s editor-in-chief, Kent began the day’s first forum by detailing the success of SunFrogShirts.com, which launched only two years ago as an online retailer of custom t-shirt and apparel and through a program “built through the ground up from affiliations” has grown to include 26,000 unique designs, 250,000 product combinations and a network of 9,000 affiliates shipping to 200 separate countries.
During the annual venue, Kent then offered his insights for developing a global marketing enterprise that demands the attention of customers during the busiest retail season of the year and “captivates last minute buys.” According to Kent, the key is adapting to changing market conditions through a multi-pronged sales approach that entails partnering with leading sales platforms like Amazon and “working tightly with affiliates” to provide them with “the social-targeting tools needed to reach specific audiences with specific products.” This includes “empowering affiliates, no matter where they’re at,” with products that supplement existing offerings and help to alleviate the difficulties associated with common business transactions like distribution and collection.
“The days of just throwing an ad in the yellow book or newspaper and hoping it works are gone,” explains Kent. “Look for measureable results. Everything has to have a return-on-investment. Don’t waste money. With the data available, there are too many ways to make informed, mathematical and calculated decisions on when to proceed, ramp up or abort.” Other specific comments offered by Kent to the conference’s online marketing attendees were:
-Support affiliates with the proper marketing tools. Stay in communication. Be open to new ideas. Experiment with different things and help them adjust
-Always convey the obvious. Holidays or the off season, customer expectations are the same. Anticipate delays and clearly and deliberately alert customers to anticipated delays and other challenges
-Be a hunter. Don’t expect big affiliates to fall in your lap. Devise a plan. Organize a team. Build an affiliate base with the big ones first and the smaller ones second
Headquartered in Gaylord, Michigan, SunFrogShirts.com was recently awarded the Michigan Small Business Development Center’s (MI-SBDC) Best Small Business Award based on a 120 percent growth in year-to-year revenues. The company is also expanding operations with a new facility that will significantly increase the ability to market its entire stock of t-shirt designs created with the input of thousands of artists worldwide.
Please visit SunFrogShirts.com for more corporate information or affiliate networking details.
About SunFrog Shirts
SunFrogShirts.com is a leading online retailer of thousands of custom t-shirt and apparel designs created by artists worldwide for distribution to customers based in more than 200 separate countries. The company provides a unique network platform, combining artists who specialize in creating relevant designs with global affiliates who specialize in driving traffic to the website. All sales are further supported through Sun Frog’s dedicated fulfillment and customer service support activities.
Joined by senior executives representing Carolina Rustica and overstockArt.com, Kent and his colleagues addressed virtual attendees in the conference’s opening session on July 17 titled “The 2014 Holiday Trends Retailers Can’t Afford to Ignore.” Introduced by Melissa Campanelli, the publication’s editor-in-chief, Kent began the day’s first forum by detailing the success of SunFrogShirts.com, which launched only two years ago as an online retailer of custom t-shirt and apparel and through a program “built through the ground up from affiliations” has grown to include 26,000 unique designs, 250,000 product combinations and a network of 9,000 affiliates shipping to 200 separate countries.
During the annual venue, Kent then offered his insights for developing a global marketing enterprise that demands the attention of customers during the busiest retail season of the year and “captivates last minute buys.” According to Kent, the key is adapting to changing market conditions through a multi-pronged sales approach that entails partnering with leading sales platforms like Amazon and “working tightly with affiliates” to provide them with “the social-targeting tools needed to reach specific audiences with specific products.” This includes “empowering affiliates, no matter where they’re at,” with products that supplement existing offerings and help to alleviate the difficulties associated with common business transactions like distribution and collection.
“The days of just throwing an ad in the yellow book or newspaper and hoping it works are gone,” explains Kent. “Look for measureable results. Everything has to have a return-on-investment. Don’t waste money. With the data available, there are too many ways to make informed, mathematical and calculated decisions on when to proceed, ramp up or abort.” Other specific comments offered by Kent to the conference’s online marketing attendees were:
-Support affiliates with the proper marketing tools. Stay in communication. Be open to new ideas. Experiment with different things and help them adjust
-Always convey the obvious. Holidays or the off season, customer expectations are the same. Anticipate delays and clearly and deliberately alert customers to anticipated delays and other challenges
-Be a hunter. Don’t expect big affiliates to fall in your lap. Devise a plan. Organize a team. Build an affiliate base with the big ones first and the smaller ones second
Headquartered in Gaylord, Michigan, SunFrogShirts.com was recently awarded the Michigan Small Business Development Center’s (MI-SBDC) Best Small Business Award based on a 120 percent growth in year-to-year revenues. The company is also expanding operations with a new facility that will significantly increase the ability to market its entire stock of t-shirt designs created with the input of thousands of artists worldwide.
Please visit SunFrogShirts.com for more corporate information or affiliate networking details.
About SunFrog Shirts
SunFrogShirts.com is a leading online retailer of thousands of custom t-shirt and apparel designs created by artists worldwide for distribution to customers based in more than 200 separate countries. The company provides a unique network platform, combining artists who specialize in creating relevant designs with global affiliates who specialize in driving traffic to the website. All sales are further supported through Sun Frog’s dedicated fulfillment and customer service support activities.
Contact
SunFrog Shirts
William Chelak
732-541-2971
William Chelak
732-541-2971
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