Business is all about marketing techniques! So, what do you think are the best techniques for marketing cakes & baked goods?
To get the ball rolling with some general ideas...
business cards
word of mouth
web site
website is good, business cards/rack cards are helpful (can hand them out and hang them up locally), but the best advertising I've experienced......samples!!! Oh and word of mouth of course.........but anytime you can get someone to try the product, it's a good thing. Think about places and functions that you go to that may like a donated baked good.....that's REALLY got the ball rolling for me and kept me plenty busy!!
When I had my business, all I needed was word of mouth. I also hooked up with an event coordinator in town and after that, I had more orders than I could handle. Of course, I had a very small business and did not want to conquer the world. It was just enough to make me happy and use as a second income for my household.
I did have a web site, but you could not order from it directly. My contact info was on it, but I used it primarily as an "electronic photo album."
that's pretty much how I use mine too and to field those pricing questions as well..I don't have contact info though, just a contact button which emails me. They can email or google me to get my number, that's never been a problem. But I have had more out of town bride's than I have local ones because of my website, so if you don't have a website definitely set one up!
indy, what's BNI???
Here's the BNI home page: http://www.bni.com/
Here's the list of Ohio Chapters: http://www.bni.com/Default.aspx?tabid=103
The purpose of BNI is to get to know other businesses so the members can refer business back and forth to each other. You pretty much turn all the members into your own salesmen, and you become a salesman for them. Doesnt' have to be just food or cake biz's. For example, if I have a bride and groom who mention they are buying a fixer-upper, I can refer them to my BNI handyman or BNI contractor for the things they can't do themselves. The realtor who is showing a house to a couple who just got engaged might ask them if they need a wedding cake maker or a caterer. The landscaper who is planting the trees for a new office building would give the owner my name for their grand opening ceremony.
Best investment .... contact your local chapter and visit a couple of meetings.
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