If you want success for your bakery, you’ll need a great marketing plan! Keep reading for 5 great tips to create the perfect bakery marketing plan.
Cookies, cupcakes, and other delicious baked goods are adored by people of all ages. Starting a bakery is a smart idea.
But success in a competitive marketplace takes more than great tasting desserts and breads. You also need a bakery marketing plan that targets your ideal customer and highlights your specialties.
To get you started, here five tips for successfully marketing your bakery.
1. Use Video
One of the great things about baked goods as a product is that they’re visual.
But learning how to take pictures of cakes and other desserts is only the start. A great bakery marketing plan also includes videos.
People love to see how things are made. Video clips are an opportunity to demonstrate your skills and show how favorite desserts are made.
2. Create an Engaging Brand
If you’re just starting out, one of the early activities in your bakery marketing plan must be brand development.
But even bakeries that have been in business for a while can often use a brand refresh.
Make sure your brand aligns with your company’s and is appealing to your target customers.
Bakery logos and color palettes can be fun or sophisticated but often evoke feelings of comfort.
3. Get Social
Whether you sell in-store, online, or both, your bakery needs an online presence.
At a minimum, a bakery marketing plan includes creating a beautiful website. It should have essential information such as prices, allergy alerts, and .
Having a blog on the site gives you a chance to share stories about your business, customers, employees, and sweet creations. These are all valuable.
But social media is the place for gaining attention and getting customers to your store or website.
The most important social media platform for bakeries is Instagram. People love looking at pictures of delicious desserts and breads. Make sure your marketing plan includes researching the most valuable hashtags.
Twitter is a good way to help get people to your Instagram account as well as your website.
Remember to post consistently and frequently to gain and maintain followers who could become customers.
4. Invest in Packaging
When someone buys a delicious treat from you, give them the added joy of attractive packaging.
For anyone buying from your brick-and-mortar store, well-designed boxes can make customers feel like they’re receiving a gift each time they buy from you.
Plus, it’s advertising for you as they walk down the street. Adding a small cellophane window on the top of the box can add to the anticipation of tasting what’s inside.
If you deliver products bought online, first make sure the packaging will protect the baked goods. Then incorporate branding and design to make it feel like a gift when the customer receives it.
5. Create Compelling In-Store Displays
Local bakeries can attract customers from beyond their neighborhood with share-worthy displays.
Those that are creative or timely will catch people’s attention. Change them daily, if the items are for sale. If it makes sense to keep the display for several days or a week, use food varnish to preserve each item.
Every display should include your social media handles and a relevant hashtag. Keep that information easy to find but not in the way of getting a good picture. Placards along the bottom or to the right of the display are common.
The goal is to get people to take pictures of your display and share them.
Your Bakery Marketing Plan
There is more than one way to build a marketing plan.
The important part is having one. It’s okay to start small and let the plan evolve as you gain more experience.
For more business tips and templates, check out .
