A Unique Experience to Buying Delicacy as Gifts

I believe this experience is a great example to show how a great experience can definitely close the sales that you need. The smallest details counts!

Here’s the story.

My boyfriend and I was hoping to buy some gifts from Taiwan for our families, so we decided to get Taiwan’s famous pineapple cakes. We were recommended by a friend to visit this place called Sunny Hills near ShongShan area because he said their pineapple cakes are the best. So we went. As we arrived upon the store front, it does not occur to me that it was a store at all. It looks more like a tea house and the overall design was very calm and soothing.

When we entered, an attendent asked if we were here to have tea. We said we were there to buy some pineapple cakes as gifts. She attended us to sit at a table while she brought each of us a neat tray of one pineapple cake and a cup of tea. Immediately I felt very warm deep inside. It was such a nice thing that they did. The overall experience was excellent because there was not one moment where the attendants was trying to sell us anything at all. The selling was all done innately through the tasting and in the experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we were relaxing and enjoying our pineapple cake and tea, we also observed how others reacted and experienced what we were experiencing. The moment a guest finished with their tea and pineapple cake, she walked towards to cash register and bought approximately four boxes of pineapple cakes. During the entire experience, the attendants did not try to sell her anything but only to attend her for the tasting. They did not give an intention to obligate anyone to buy anything even if they have tasted the cake. They left the buying decision to the customers, which I thought was the best selling technique.

The experience definitely drove us to buying some pineapple cakes for our families. We ended up buying four boxes ourselves after going through such a neat experience. This example best showcase how other businesses can learn to sell their products through experience rather than push promoting and other tricks to push customers to buy.

By far, I have shared this story and this experience to many of my friends and family. Have you ever had an experience similar to this? I would love to hear about them.

Seven Days Adventure in Taipei

Aside from our one month stay in Hong Kong for our vacation, we took the advantage and planned a mini trip to the nearby island, Taiwan, but visiting only the Taipei region. We stayed for seven days, which was just quite enough time to enjoy almost all the excursions and local delicacies. For a person that loves food, I could say that I’ve fulfilled one of my bucket list item to taste the amazing street foods of Taipei’s famous night markets. It is highly recommended to all food lovers out there!

Day 1: Roaming the Night Markets

We did not waste any time after arriving to Taipei. After settling into our excellent choice of accommodation through Airbnb (which we recommend highly over hotels), we made our way to the nearest night market, Raoche St. Night Market. There are many local delicacies throughout the night market. First, we had Taiwan’s famous peppery pork bun. It is baked in a neat looking charcoal stove which is circular in shape. As we strolled along, you can smell the famous Taiwanese fried stinky tofu. I never thought I would ever try it, but if you are in Taiwan, you must conquer the smell and enjoy. It was surprisingly delicious and very different from what it smells like. The more we walked into the night market, the more we ate. By the time we finished, we had shared servings of an egg omelette roll stuffed with cheese and corn, okonomiyaki with tuna toppings, pork ribs in herbal medicine soup, and another serving of the fried stinky tofu. We highly recommend to bring a friend along with you, so that you could share the food. Sharing the food between friends means it allows you to try more of other local delicacies.

Day 2: The History of Taiwan

We took a visit to one of the many tourist hotspots, S.Y.S Memorial Hall. There holds the story of Taiwan’s first president, Chiang, who lead and built Taiwan as we see today. Taiwan’s history and lifestyle was changed through his rein.

If you are visiting Taipei for the first time, you  must try the Din Tai Fung restaurant. We went to the original location near Dongmen, but they do have a location at Taipei 101. Their specialities are the steamed pork dumplings, dumplings in chilli oil, and beef noodle. You can also try their tan tan noodle as well. The best part about the steamed pork dumplings is their thin dumpling wrapping which does not break easily. From all the ones we’ve tried, they have the best! The dining experience was fantastic. The servers were very welcoming, well mannered, and also provide you with a basket for your bags and jackets so they won’t smell or get dirty. However, be sure to arrive early and expect a long line.

Is Social Media Part of Your Business Plan?

Storify by
Jennifer Lo

Sat, May 11 2013 13:05:35

Social Media Camp 2013: Day 1

A recap of the key points, takeaways, and conversations from the keynotes and a few workshops. For full event details of Social Media Camp 2013, search #SMCamp.

1. The fourth annual Social Media Camp was held in Victoria this past week and attracted 800 attendees from across the country. It was a successful two day conference in which marketing, communications and social media professionals gathered to learn how to leverage social media for their businesses. Here are some of the key concepts and takeaways that every professional and business should keep in mind.
2. 

   Brett Serjeantson@BSerjeantson

   ·

   Tue, May 07 2013 08:29:00

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3. Relationship Marketing: Mastering The Social Web - 

   Mari Smith is a Facebook marketing expert who is renowned as one of the most influential and knowledgeable new media thought leaders in the world. She preaches the five steps in order be successful in social media: clarity and focus, an authentic voice, content, engagement, and conversion. It is important to have a clear description of what you are about, and this can also be a URL as a call to action for your audience. On social media, it is encouraged for you to add personal elements which distinguish you from a robot. Mari encourages everyone to be an authority of a topic by creating and repurposing content. However, just pushing out content is not enough, you need to be engaging because social media is a two-way channel. In the end, you want your social media efforts to make some money for your business, so it is important to care for your customers. 80% of your fans will come back in a buying mood when they get a response on social media. It is also important to give clear offers and calls to action to your promotions because it will give you the conversions that you need. These five steps to social media success is what Mari calls ‘relationship marketing’.

4. 

   Motive8 Media@Motive8Media

   “It is the sweetest thing when someone uses your first name on social media” – @marismith on humanize corporate culture #smcamp

   Thu, May 09 2013 20:49:57

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5. 

   Motive8 Media@Motive8Media

   If you want authority of a topic, the root word for authority is author. Write more! Create content. Repurpose content. @marismith #smcamp

   Thu, May 09 2013 20:50:50

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6. 

   Russel Lolacher@RussLoL

   RT @MariSmith: 80% content, 20% promotion. 80% focus on *them*, 20% focus on you. #SMCamp

   Thu, May 09 2013 20:51:24

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7. 

   IntlBDBlog@IntlBDBlog

   rt @MariSmith “Content is KING but engagement is QUEEN and she rules the house!” #SMCamp #yyj #CanadaRocks!

   Thu, May 09 2013 20:51:45

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8. 

   Mari Smith@MariSmith

   “People will forget what you said & what you did, but they will never forget how you made them FEEL.” Maya Angelou #SMCamp

   Tue, May 07 2013 09:41:21

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9. 

   Maria Lironi@MariaLironi

   Love this fantastic coaching question: if I were to buy everything you offer, how much would it cost and what would I get for it? #smcamp

   Thu, May 09 2013 20:52:20

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