Online Marketing for Bakeries and Confectioneries – 14 Things You Can’t Overlook
How can you independently manage marketing communication for a bakery or confectionery? How can you reach customers online with minimal time and resources? How do you build your brand’s image on social media? It’s not an easy task, but following the tips below will certainly help you 🙂
1. Before You Sit at Your Computer
- Make sure you understand the level of communication with your customers.
- Set communication guidelines for your team both during and after the sale.
- Don’t forget about proper handling of complaints.
- Develop the habit of responding to customer inquiries. What they experience in your store will certainly end up online.
2. Get to Know Your Customers Online
- Engage with them and observe their behaviors.
- Set up Google alerts for keywords related to your brand.
- Keep track of questions and your insights. Without continuously learning about your audience, even the best online communication will be ineffective.
3. Create an Action Plan for the Web
- Write down your goals, methods for achieving them, and content ideas.
- Decide what aspects of bakery or confectionery marketing you can manage on your own.
- Identify strengths, weaknesses, and the circumstances that either help or hinder your business.
- Regularly revisit and update your plan.
- Stay true to what you want to convey to your current and future customers. One day, you’ll see that it works.
4. Choose Communication Channels and Tools
- Website? What else? Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or even TikTok?
- You don’t need to be everywhere. You can communicate through your website and Facebook, as long as you’re consistent.
- The most important things are: consistency, authenticity, and content that appeals to the senses.
5. Plan Your Posts;
- … with your audience in mind, not yourself (“Talk about them, not to them”).
- Plan at least a week ahead (yes, it’s difficult at first).
- Use a regular calendar, Excel sheet, or time-management app, as long as you do it consistently.
- Decide what you can do quickly, effectively, and efficiently while using minimal resources.
6. Share Knowledge and Be Helpful,
- Find your niche and build your brand as an expert in it.
- Do you know what your customers want to know? Write about it!
- Consistently communicate the quality of your products.
- Use casual language that appeals to emotions triggered by sensory experiences.
7. Focus on Sensory Marketing,
- … which engages the senses, especially taste and smell, but also sight.
- Gather materials – photos, videos (!!!), but also industry insights, anecdotes, and unknown facts from around your company.
- When creating content for your bakery or confectionery business, you’ll be translating taste and smell experiences into static and dynamic images. How do you show the texture of dough in a ‘roll’ on Instagram? How do you convey, in a single TikTok, what happens on the tongue while tasting a pastry?
8. Show the ‘Backstage’
- Celebrate achievements and… people.
- Show the wonderful people you work with.
- Present their personal passions and interests. It brings you closer.
9. Celebrate
- Show off awards and other industry recognitions.
- Highlight new products and exciting promotions.
- Share customer recommendations and positive feedback.
- Always assume that only you know you’re the best (“the curse of knowledge” affects even the greatest masters).
10. Stay Up to Date
- Refer to upcoming holidays.
- Adjust your communication to seasonal peaks in orders.
- Respond quickly to customer inquiries. This is now a key element of competitive advantage. You don’t have to sit on Facebook all night, but phone support after 6:00 PM will be appreciated, especially by the busiest (and wealthiest) customers. Responding to customers on Messenger won’t hurt either.
11. Encourage and Appreciate Fan Engagement
- Engaged followers of your communication are your most valuable customers.
- They are eager to engage in dialogue with their favorite brands.
- They will be thrilled when you share their content.
- In times of crisis, they might become your brand’s most passionate defenders.
12. Collect Recommendations
- Don’t be afraid to ask satisfied customers for a kind word, because only one in four will refuse 🙂
- Positive, genuine feedback from a happy customer is the highest form of marketing. And sometimes it only takes two sentences.
13. Surprise Your Audience
- … with new ideas for product launches and promotions.
- Ask them for inspiration.
- Announce polls/contests for new products.
- Create promotions that not only boost sales but also generate mentions about your brand.
- Announce contests. (The prizes don’t have to be expensive, as long as they’re related to your products. Who wouldn’t be happy with a discount on their next order?
14. Create ‘Content Alliances’
- Wedding photographers, florists, rental venues, music bands, and catering companies share the same customers as you. They also create content on their channels and are happy to share yours. This will make your marketing more colorful and authentic.
Marketing communication for bakeries or confectioneries is quite a challenge, but it’s definitely worth taking on! Like any business in the world, your brand must “talk to the world” to survive.
