We, the consumers, have hundreds of options virtually for everything we need in our lives, including food and desserts. Online bakeries have become popular because of the ease and convenience that they offer in comparison to local bakeries, not to forget the variety of desserts. Any online bakery can attract the customers and make them drool with its taste and exceptional quality of cakes and desserts. But, to grow the business; the bakery would require to implement promotional strategies, adhering to digital marketing principles, and much more tips and tricks.
If you are into an online bakery business or are thinking of starting one out of your love for desserts, then here are some creative marketing tips for driving your business to new heights.
- Tempt Your Customers: When you are into a dessert business, the first rule is to tempt the customers. Look for ideas that can drive your customers crazy. Like, many people are adopting veganism, so introduce a line of vegan cakes. If fondant cakes are in trend, provide your customers withdesigner cakes. You could facilitate them with designer cakes online in Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, and many more cities in India. Always introduce new products and facilities to keep your customers hooked to your bakery and keep them updated about it.
- Allure Them To Your Bakery: If along with an online presence, you have a local bakery shop then you would be expecting a footfall as well. One way to attract customers in and around the store or those passing by the store is to put clever messages, discount offers on the store. Put up pamphlets or chalkboards where you can write down. If there is a special festive dessert, promote it through various ways. Always ask yourself what would entice you to walk into the bakery, and then implement the steps.
- Offer Free Goodies and Discounts: People love free stuff! Provide them with a free goodie on the purchase of so and so dessert or discounts. If they are getting something extra or have to pay less, maybe they are more likely to buy it. You could also send them emails and SMS about the discounts and free goodies. Make use of online ads to educate customers that you have something more to offer than the rest.
- Use Social Media: Exploit social media to keep in touch and engage your customers. Be accessible to them through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Snapchat. Regularly post pictures of your desserts (those delicious pictures). To engage with them, conduct quizzes, contest alerts, giveaways, and many such promotional activities. Social media works best when it is used for conversation, content, and promotion. The right mix has to be used depending upon your target audience.
- Optimize Your Website: If you are into online bakery business, you very well know you need a website for transactions. But, alone a website is not sufficient, optimizing your website, and making use of SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is important for growth, ranking, and success. Also, optimizing your content.
- Online Listing: Reviews, and word of mouth matters the most in the bakery industry. So, have a review page on the website where customers can share the positive reviews to attract new customers. Then, you can use popular review sites such as Qype and Yelp. Use local listing sites to find what customers think and accordingly improve the services.
In addition to these six steps, the principle advice would be to follow hygienic, safety practices and be friendly with the customers. Keep lines of communication open if you want to retain old and attract new customers.
