Learn how to avoid missing out on potential customers and revenue by collecting customer contact information and building relationships. Find out the best methods for marketing your bakery business and getting targeted traffic that will convert to sales.
Social media is great and everything, but trying to figure out the algorithms can be a complete pain. That’s why every business under the sun is looking for an online marketing solution to bring them targeted traffic which will convert to sales. With all of the options out there for marketing your business, it’s hard sometimes to see the best methods for getting traffic and enticing that traffic to buy your product or service.
If you participate in local markets or promote holiday specials in your community, over the next few weeks, you will have a unique opportunity to connect with more new customers than any other time of the year. Therefore, it is important this holiday season that you make sure not to make the one fatal mistake a TON of businesses make during the holidays. Make sure to collect your customer’s contact information and use it to build relationships in the future.
Marketing strategies have come and gone over the years, but email marketing remains one of the most effective forms of marketing to date. The holiday season is the perfect time to easily build your email list as you connect with people you have shown an interest in or purchased your product/service. One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen with business owners this time of year is they fail to connect with customers following the holidays.
Yes, it’s great to have folks who purchase from you seasonally, but the end of the year isn’t the only time your customers have a reason to celebrate. If you set up an email list of holiday customers, you’ll be able to send them targeted marketing around other holidays throughout the year. Email marketing helps to increase your sales and marketing efforts by avoiding the issue of not reaching your customers on social media due to an algorithm change or because they simply weren’t online when you shared your announcement.
An email mail list is an online marketing solution that prevents you from having to rely so heavily on social media apps. In addition, if you use it correctly your mailing list can help establish you as an expert in your field as well as build a loyal customer base. If you use your email list to share helpful tips during the off season, customers will view you as a valuable resource when it comes to your particular niche. If you provide benefits to those on your mailing list, you could potentially grow a customer base that frequently returns to support your business. The possibilities are wide open.
The main recommendation I have regarding building your email list during the holidays is that you don’t allow your email list to go cold. After the holiday market or community event, follow up with your new email subscribers in a way that shows your appreciation and encourages them to continue to connect with you. This could be an invite to a relevant post on your blog or an offer that expires after a certain period of time. Then, continue to connect with them via email throughout the year with offers or content that they might find valuable.
When you collect a customer's information and don’t do anything with it, that contact goes cold. This means that in 6 months once you’ve finally decided to send an email about your summer specials that person will likely unsubscribe because they no longer remember your business.
Outside of the holidays, you can work on building your email list using a lead magnet or a special offer where you offer your website visitors something in exchange for signing up for your email list. The offer could be a discount on a product or service. It could be a digital download that will help them plan their next event. You can get creative, but the offer should be something that the site visitor finds valuable enough that they freely give you their email address.
Conclusion
Even though you can build your email list anytime throughout the year. We’re moving into a season where you will likely interact with more customers than any other time of the year. Don’t miss this opportunity! If you’re vending at a community event, you can even make a game of it. Host a giveaway where they have to share their email address to enter for a big prize like a free cake or two dozen holiday cookies. As I said, get creative. The holidays are filled with tons of sales opportunities, and if you avoid some common pitfalls you could find yourself with increased sales well beyond the holiday season.
Cyd N. Mitchell
Business Blogger, Retail Bakers of America
Cydni N. Mitchell (aka Cyd) is a Bakery Consultant and the Sweet Business Coach behind Sweet Fest®. Based in Atlanta, GA, Sweet Fest® is an online company that supports the business needs of the Sweet Community in the areas of professional development, marketing, branding and web design.
By trade, Cyd is an accountant & financial analyst with a Masters from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Founder of the Sugar Coin Academy, an online business academy for business owners in the baking and sweets industry, and she is also the organizer of The Ultimate Sugar Show, Georgia’s Largest Annual Baking and Sweets Expo in Atlanta. She is also the Business Blogger for the Retail Bakers of America.
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