NM True gift guide helps promote local products
New Mexico True has released a Spring Gift Guide, aimed at helping local businesses promote their products online.
The Gift Guide, according to Tourism Secretary Rebecca Latham, is a centralized online location for shoppers to purchase items made in New Mexico. The goal is to apply the Amazon.com model to local business and ultimately feature the product guide year-round.
“I was asked by a contractor down in Alamogordo if there is a place where she could get an all-New Mexico gift basket for a friend out of state. And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a great idea. How can we make that easier to find?’” Latham said.
New Mexico True first released a Holiday Gift Guide back in November, so the Spring Gift Guide is the second edition. More than 40 of the 160 local businesses in the New Mexico True network are featured.
In order to be involved, businesses must already have an online presence — the sales actually happen on the companies’ websites —and the featured products must be New Mexico True Certified, meaning they are 100 percent made or grown in New Mexico.
Many, like Celina’s Biscochitos and Made to Lather, sell gift boxes. Others, like Antiguas del Norte Honey keep it simple with a link to its page for raw honey.
“(Participating in the Spring Gift Guide) was very easy,” says Patricia Monk, owner of Made to Lather, an Artesia-based bath product retailer. “I just had to put a package together and take a photograph and add a link to our site.”
Monk says that after the holiday guide, her company saw a spike in sales and a lot of repeat business, things that are not always easy to come by in a small New Mexican town. “I absolutely love that they are paying attention to the small towns,” says Monk. “There is a lot of great stuff in small places.” That’s music to Latham’s ears. “The role of NM True is to promote these businesses and give shoppers a one stop place to go to buy local. We can’t sell the items for them, but we can help them sell their own products.” Latham said.
In return, New Mexico True is able to promote its tourism brand and bring in more out of state traffic.
The Spring Gift Guide is on the New Mexico True website — www.newmexico.org. This summer, it will convert from a seasonal digital publication to a year-round home for New Mexico True Certified retailers.