Using Fomo As Motivation To Succeed

Oregon Maiden is a woman-owned small business that ships gourmet gift baskets nationwide. Each gourmet gift basket is made to order using only the best and freshest fruits and other ingredients, such as gourmet cheese and crackers, jellies, jams, chocolates, and specialty foods.

Based in Corvallis, Oregon Maiden Gift Baskets offers carefully designed gift baskets for various occasions, such as birthdays and New Years. These gourmet gift baskets are put together by expert curators and designers, with nearly endless gifting options to help customers find the perfect basket.

The company knows it has two customers to satisfy with each order – their customer and the ultimate recipient of the gift basket.

Oregon Maiden Gift Baskets' unique and exquisite gift baskets and boxes combine fresh and delicious strawberries, apples, and other fruits with lovely flowers in unique arrangements that are unavailable elsewhere. Customers can choose gifts for any occasion, such as birthdays, from the company’s featured collection or create their own.

“We engage our customers in Oregon and nationwide through differentiated and fresh products and unique services, helping them connect better with the important people in their lives. We know that gift baskets sometimes get a bad rap because of their uninspired and mismatched components. We wanted to come up with standout products and gift baskets that are delicious, beautiful, comforting, and delightful any time of year.”

“Our ultimate goal at Oregon Maiden Gift Baskets is to delight and please our customers through our unique gift baskets and excellent customer service. We believe in product integrity, freshness, and an unmatched level of customer service. We aim to satisfy sophisticated tastes with our global offerings.”

The owner and CEO continues to search the world for delicious and innovative products that are top-quality, fresh, and unique. The CEO of Oregon Maiden Gift Baskets realized an opportunity to provide handmade, high-quality gourmet gift baskets and what started with a few members has exploded into a large and profitable company.

Oregon Maiden Gift Baskets is using Fomo with BigCommerce to display live sales data, to show page views, and to round up popular events.

Tell us about your brand! When did you launch, where are you headquartered, and what moved you to start your business?
“Oregon Maiden Gift Baskets was launched in October 2001. As a result of September 11, I was laid off from my construction job at the Portland Airport. As a single mother of four children, I knew I had to do something to provide for my family.”

“At the time, Harry & David wasn’t even selling online yet. I had specialty food experience from managing a touristy cheese shop in Tillamook, Oregon, and a great fondness for the Tillamook brand from 5 years of dairy farming there.”

“I was also fascinated by how e-commerce leveled the playing field for small businesses. So, I launched my first website and started offering cheese and sausage gift baskets.”

How did you find Fomo?
“When visiting major websites like GourmetGiftBaskets.com, I was fascinated by the Fomo notifications and got very excited that my good old gift basket website could have the same amazing feature.”

What were a couple of specific conversion-related problems you were experiencing?
“Before using Fomo, our conversion rate was 5.8%, which is very low, and we wanted to improve it.”

What other strategies did you try to address those issues before using Fomo?
“We used Honest SEO to keep above the fold in SERPs for regional/brand specific gift basket themes.”

What prompted you to move forward with Fomo?
“It was very encouraging and helpful to see orders pop up showing first names and location of buyers from all over the US. The level of detail helps us make important decisions.”

“Sometimes, when struggling to keep up with supply chain issues and delivery delays, I look at the homepage of my website and watch the Fomo app at work. I am also pleased with how the app reminds me of all recent orders, and all the people we have helped to send messages of congratulation and condolences to family and friends across the nation.”

Have you tried any of our competitors? If so, why did you choose Fomo instead?
“I have never tried competitors, as there is no need to look further. Fomo is fantastic.”

How are you tracking Fomo conversions?
“Honestly, our conversion rate is high enough, and I’ve just assumed they’re all Fomo-related conversions, in my opinion. I believe that whether the notification is clicked on or not, viewers read the first few, which is all it takes for the Fomo app to make a difference.”

“The presence of the Fomo app helps legitimize the look of our online storefront as well.”

Can you share results that show how using Fomo has benefited your business?
“Before using Fomo, I was comfortable with our 5.8% conversion rate as I understood it was average for retailers in our industry. I believe Fomo is behind our current impressive 7.6% conversion rate as I haven’t done anything else so far!”

Do you have any changes you’d like to see made with Fomo? Do you have any ideas for the team?
“Because we are a regional gift basket company, we think it’s pretty cool when someone in New York finds us online and orders a gift basket sent to Florida. It would be nice to have both senders’ and recipients’ locations shown, if possible. That is the only change I want.”

Do you have any advice for other Fomo users?
“If you ever run any real-time test sales with a “test” product, remember to log into your Fomo account and remove it from Events. Give it time and understand the results to make the most of Fomo. You will not go back to any other app. Believe me!”

If you want to know more about Oregon Maiden Gift Baskets or check out their products, you can visit their website here.

If you are a business owner and haven't leveraged the immense power and clout of social proof for your online store, give Fomo’s 14-day free trial a go here.