Learn how to build a loyal customer base for your bakery business and retain returning customers with effective communication strategies. Discover how to use promotions, special offers, and gift cards to keep your products and services at the forefront of your customers' minds.
When you’re new to business, your main focus is gaining customers and new contracts. However, as your business gets a little bit older, you’ll want to split your focus between gaining new customers and retaining existing ones. Think of it this way, “new customers will grow your business, return customers will sustain your business.” If you want to achieve long term success in your bakery, you must establish a loyal customer base.
The key to growing a loyal tribe of customers is communication. Remember that old phrase, “out of sight, out of mind”? The saying can definitely be applied in business. In order to keep customers coming back, you’ll want to remain top of mind at the right times. Encourage customers to come back frequently with special promotions and events. Create a frequent buyer program. Offer gift cards and other specialty offers that keep you front and center to the customer. Each of these activities will encourage customers to purchase from you regularly.
The best way to execute this plan is to gather customer data and study customer habits. You need to know your customers’ preferences and buying patterns. Identify dates that are significant to your customer such as birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management Software) to keep track of what customers need to receive what offers and when. This will help you anticipate their needs and make the customer feel valued.
Relationships are built through solid communication. The same concept applies in business. Remember social media is not the only form of communication at your disposal. Connect with your customers via their preferred method. Send out emails. Push text notifications in addition to sharing content and announcements on social media. Whatever you do, make sure you keep in touch and don’t go silent for too long.
Keeping in touch with your customers on a regular basis helps them remember the benefits they enjoy by doing business with you. Keep them informed of special events, time sensitive offers, new menu items, upcoming sales, popular items, and other fun business updates. Also, since emails get pushed down in the inbox and text messages can be forgotten, keep in mind that you might need to send out more than one announcement.
Make sure to spice things up a bit. Of course, you might have the best red velvet cake in town, but that alone might not keep folks coming back. Things like offering seasonal flavors or a weekly special will peak customers’ interests from time to time. Even the best customers might lose interest if you don’t offer anything new or unique on occasion. Brainstorm of menu items or specials that will be inviting and difficult to ignore.
If you haven’t started collecting emails and phone numbers for marketing purposes, please start today! This information is critical for communicating effectively with your customers. If you’ve collected this information in the past and you haven’t sent out any communications, use an excuse like a holiday or a specialty day to open the door. From that point forward, make sure to send out communications at appropriate increments (i.e. weekly, monthly, etc.).
If a new customer purchases a birthday cake for their young child they should be added to a list of customers who should receive family/kid friendly announcements in addition to your general business announcements. Then, if you decide to host children’s cake decorating classes or want to showcase a cake design that incorporates a popular children’s character, you’ll know exactly who should receive that email update.
If you have wholesale customers or corporate clients, they should receive communications about new menu offerings or any pricing updates. Wedding customers should receive information regarding anniversaries and other romance or date night related marketing. You get the point.
Conclusion
Your customers are your tribe and the best ones want to continue to support you. As a business owner, you are in the unique position to create a community from that tribe. I know it can be easy to get stuck in the day to day bustle of running a business. However, consider ways to keep your tribe engaged and excited about your bakery. Then make sure they stay in the know about what’s going on in the business so that they can continue to support you.
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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