This year has come with many changes and most brands had to go digital. Confectioneries have not escaped this step either - some of them have adapted, others have not. If you run a bakery or a pastry shop, you've probably run into the difficulties of digitization - being a business that's focused on human contact. Maybe this is the perfect occasion to rethink your marketing strategy.
Stay close - in this article, we will talk about the aspects you should consider when rethinking your marketing strategy after the pandemic, or just because you feel the need for modernization.
Build a modern website
The website plays an important role in any business. When your customers or potential customers need more information and details about your business and activity, they will turn to your website. Therefore, it is important to make sure that it is optimized, easy to navigate and, of course, mobile-friendly.
Optimize your website’s loading speed
Speaking of confectioneries, the chances of the pictures catching the eye of your customers faster than the product descriptions are very high - who would want to read about cakes, rather than seeing a picture of them first?
Images are very important in this business and should not be neglected. Although, there is another aspect that should not be neglected as well - the pictures’ sizes. Even if the cakes look delicious, if visitors have to wait a few seconds for the website to load, they may leave without even seeing how good your cakes look. Studies show that visitors are willing to wait a maximum of 3 seconds for a website to load before leaving it - so optimizing your website is a crucial element that makes the difference between a sale and a lost customer.
Pro tip: do include photos of the inside of the cakes, so that those who visit your website know what to expect.
Provide easy navigation to your customers
Customers often access the website for general information - the working hours, the location, the menu or to see what offers are available, so it is important that the website is easy to navigate, with all the basic information as visible as possible. Our recommendation would be to enter these details at the bottom of each page.
Mobile-friendly is a must
Another important aspect is to have a mobile-friendly website. It is known that in 2020, more than 50% of visitors used a mobile phone, so it is important to have an optimized website. Otherwise, the chances of losing at least half of the visitors are very high. A mobile-friendly website means that it can be adapted to any mobile device, regardless of screen size.
Online Ordering
The past few months have shown us that we need to be prepared for anything. Therefore, the option to order online is absolutely necessary in almost any business. Certainly, we all had a craving for "something sweet" at home and we either didn't have the necessary ingredients to make something or we were too tired, so we decided to order. Or maybe, we organize a party and we are short on time, but we want to have the cakes from our favourite confectionery at the party. Your website must also include information about their delivery - estimated costs, delivery time.
See how we help our customers with E-Commerce solutions:
Use Social Media Marketing as one of your main channel
We all know that Social Media Marketing is a basic pillar in every Online Marketing Strategy - it is actually one of the most important. By using Social Media Marketing, lots of your potential customers will find out about your business, will see pictures of your products and your location, so chances they visit your location can increase exponentially.
The pictures that you use on Social Media are also pretty important and the marketing strategy is good to rely on them. Make sure your pictures are as high quality and delicious as possible! Let's be serious, when we choose a confectionery, the pictures always make a difference. The clearer, cleaner and more inspired the pictures, the greater the lust in the viewer's eyes.
Don't forget to use video posts in your Social Media Marketing strategy - people love videos and sweets. If you combine them, the chances of success are enormous! In addition, videos have a much better organic reach than image posts.
Giveaways are always a good idea - you can either offer customers a package with mini-cakes for example, or tasting of several goodies in your menu, or even a voucher to use on their next visit to your shop - this way you can grow your Social Media base followers and raise awareness about your business.
Don't forget to add your shop’s location to each post. If a potential customer sees a post and wants to know what area your business is in, they can access as quickly as possible, without too much hassle.
don’t forget about User-Generated Content - your secret tool
People love to post on Social Media about products they like. Use your customers who appreciate what you do, respond to the content they generate for you. This will help you show people that your brand is trustworthy, that people are happy with what you offer, and that it will retain your current customers - who are an essential part of your business.
Don't forget to include a Call To Action in your posts that will encourage people to post on Social Media and tag you in the posts.
Write blog articles
We recommend adding Content Marketing to your marketing strategy if you haven’t already, since it’s one of the most recognized marketing techniques. Write articles for your audience - you can either share recipes with them, stories about the history of cakes or your brand, give them tips & tricks for tasty cakes. If you don't have a blog yet, you can learn more about the benefits it brings and how you can get started with our Content Marketing Guide.
Create loyalty programs
As we have mentioned above, existing customers are a very important part of the business. You can use Email Marketing to send your customers an online discount voucher for their next order or to offer them free shipping - they will feel valued for loyalty, and you will generate more sales. If you need help with this, get started with our Email Marketing Guide.
Some useful tips for your business
Don't forget to make a Google My Business page - this is how your location will appear on Google in customer searches. Not only will you appear in their searches, but they will be able to find more information about your confectionery - your working hours, location, website, contact, reviews or even representative photos.
Pro tip: upload the first high-quality photos to your My Business account, both with the space and with the cakes.
If you have a garden or several tables, you can offer the possibility to "Book Now" - maybe your customers celebrate a special day and want a reserved table to eat something sweet.
Upload your menu online - this will help potential customers decide and see if you can give them what they want. Many times, especially when it comes to cakes, we want something special: with vanilla, without cream, with a lot of chocolate, vegan, raw vegan… Why walk in vain to a confectionery in vain without knowing if we find what we want or not?
Post daily on Social Media. Constantly show your customers what new goodies you have introduced, what cakes they can find that day and what is the atmosphere at the shop. Make a calendar of posts to stay organized.
The marketing strategy for a confectionery must be carefully thought out and all the focus must be around your products. People want to see attractive and delicious pictures that will make them count the minutes until they reach your cakes.
We hope that this article has helped you to shape the marketing strategy of your confectionery and that you are now ready to approach your online audience. If you need help, you can give us a shout at hello@marketiu.ro and we will be more than happy to help you! :)
