M AR KETIN G
OUTSIDE
THINKING
THE {CAKE } BOX
By T I M H U FF
Guild Member and R&D Manager,
General Mills Convenience &
Foodservice Division, Minneapolis, MN
Marketing Your Bakery
M
arketing is the cornerstone of all
successful businesses – no matter what
size. From a small, corner bakery to a
large corporation, the fundamentals of
marketing are the same. In this article, I
will share some marketing ideas targeted
at growing your bakery business. These
include tips on developing a marketing
strategy that’s the right fit for your bakery,
as well as on how to strengthen your
brand and identify your niche. I’ll also
talk about how to turn your bakery into
a destination for loyal customers and will
offer some insights on merchandising and
packaging your bakery’s products.
2 Look at your customers. Who are
GETTING STARTED: THE FIVE C’S
5 Examine context. Are there product,
Developing a marketing strategy for your
bakery means assessing your business
and making a choice to perform actions
that are different from your competition.
A strategy is the creation of a unique,
valuable position, based upon those
differentiating activities. It will involve
trade-offs, meaning you must choose
what to do, but also what not to do.
First, perform your own marketing
analysis to identify your bakery’s
opportunities. This can be done with a
simple marketing model called the Five
C’s: company, customers, competitors,
collaborators, and context. Analyzing
these will give you a better understanding
of your business and customers, and are
the first step in creating a comprehensive
marketing plan.
1 Assess your strengths as a company.
What are you good at? What resources
can you draw upon for success? Are you
wasting time and energy on things that
are beyond your capabilities?
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WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?
your current customers? How can you
better serve them? Can you identify new
potential customers and ways to reach
them?
3 Study your competitors and weigh
your strengths and weaknesses against
them.
4 Think about collaborators. Are there
businesses or community organizations
you could partner with to reach more
customers? Are there any avenues
to explore, such as fundraisers or
cooperative marketing efforts?
lifestyle, or demographic trends you
can use to your advantage? Think about
convenience, on-the-go eating, glutenfree, demand for whole grain foods, and
so on.
The key to developing your marketing
strategy is to focus on a plan that allows
you to choose something you’re good at,
addresses customer needs, and sets you
apart from the
competition.
Once you’ve finished your marketing
analysis, dig a bit deeper to look at
customer segmentation, targeting, and
positioning. Segmentation is looking
differently at customers with different
needs. For example, could you tailor
an offering especially for business
customers, knowing they have a need for
convenience? Targeting is determining
which customer segments your bakery
can best serve. Positioning involves
looking at what customers think of your
bakery – this is your “brand image” and
what you wish customers to think of your
bakery is your “brand identity.”
An important lesson to learn is that you
cannot be all things to all people. You must
decide who your customers are – whether
it’s soccer moms, commuters, or tourists,
for example – then decide which customer
group is most important to you and position your bakery to fulfill those needs.
Often a simple solution is the most
effective. For example, if the target
Step out from
behind your
bench and look
at your bakery
through your
customers’ eyes.
THE BREAD BAKERS GUILD OF AMERICA
M A R K ETI NG
THE FOUR P’S
Another marketing model that can be helpful in pinpointing how best to serve your
customers’ needs is called the Four P’s.
1 Take a hard look at your product.
What are your signature products? Which
are the most profitable? How can you
grow your most profitable products?
2 Examine your price. How do you
set prices? Does your pricing cover all
relevant costs? Have you considered
bundling products to drive sales or
margins? Think about combinations like
selling coffee with doughnuts, and so on.
3 Promotion is the next “P.” What do you
do to promote your bakery? What tools
do you use? What’s working best, and
how can you do more of it?
4 And finally, place, which is really about
distribution. Think of ways you might
increase the appeal of your merchandising
and front-of-house experience. Are
there other means you can use to get
more products to more customers – for
example, delivery services?
EXPANDING PROFITS
The final stage of the marketing process is
all about customer acquisition, customer
retention, and profits. What tactics are
you using to sell to new customers, and
what are your tactics for keeping customers and selling them more? You can grow
profits by either increasing revenue or by
decreasing your costs. Examine creative
ways you can decrease your costs through
back-of-house efficiencies.
You’ll find that discovering and promoting
new uses for your products can expand
markets. At General Mills, we know that
the average American eats dry breakfast
cereal three mornings each week. As a
cereal manufacturer, General Mills could
grow by finding a way to promote cereal
eating on other occasions – for instance,
as a snack. That insight led to the creation
of the breakfast cereal bars category.
Bakeries can benefit from promoting such
things as savory bagels or flaky croissants
as a lunch alternative, or by offering single
servings of very decadent desserts for the
small-scale special occasion.
Tim Huff has worked at General Mills for
over 28 years and frequently teaches
Guild classes.
ESTABLISHING YOUR NICHE
The most successful bakeries do not try to
be all things to all people. It’s important
By developing a marketing strategy, you’ll to focus on your most differentiated and
develop a better understanding of your
profitable products. Offer products and
customers, your competitors, and your po- services that aren’t available from your
tential collaborators. This knowledge will
competition. In doing this, you’ll define a
help you to serve your customers better.
niche for your bakery.
By gaining an understanding of your target customer segments, you’ll do better at
positioning your bakery’s unique offering.
Defining and promoting your signature
products can go even further to help
you differentiate and provide a unique
customer experience in your bakery. And
while new customers will help grow your
business, there are also opportunities to
sell more to your existing customers!
Examine your
price. Does your
pricing cover all
relevant costs?
BREAD LINES – SUMMER 2014
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GENERAL MILLS
customer segment is mothers with
children, you might need a more kidfriendly set up in your bakery. Creating an
environment that suits your customers will
enhance customer retention and customer
acquisition – more on that later.
Cindy Dobo of Dobo’s Delights Bake
Shoppe in Piqua, Ohio, grew up going to
a Hungarian church and had enjoyed the
Hungarian cakes and pastries served there
for various events and holidays. When
she opened her own bakery more than
10 years ago, she saw an opportunity to
offer something truly unique, as she knew
there were not a lot of bakeries making
Hungarian baked items. Dobo started by
including information and photos of the
Hungarian specialties on her website, and
soon she was getting orders from across
the country. She recently added an online
store to her website, which has helped
facilitate even more orders.
Some examples of niche products
might include something unique like an
Old World recipe for Slovakian sweet
bread. Another example might be
unconventionally-sized common baked
goods, like miniature turnovers, extra
large cupcakes, unique cupcake flavors,
or individual wedding cakes. The key to
building a niche is specialization.
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M AR KETIN G
Customization delivers value to your
customers, and, therefore, it commands a
premium price. Practice promoting your
differences, not your similarities. And
leverage bakery mixes as a means to
expand your versatility.
If you don’t have a niche product, here
are some ideas on how to develop one.
Look at trends, such as health trends,
convenience trends, or trendy retail
concepts, and by all means, talk to your
customers! Ask them questions like, “What
do you think people know our bakery for?”
Ask them what unmet customer needs
they might know of that your bakery could
fill. Using a website and social media are
great and affordable ways to advertise
and dynamically promote your business
and also to gain valuable insight into your
customers’ perceptions and needs.
Dobo said that beyond the Hungarian items
she offers customers, she is known for
other specialties such as salt-rising bread –
the direct result of customer feedback. On
more than one occasion, she has added
an item to her menu when customers have
made a request after not being able to find
what they want at other bakeries.
“It is worth adding specialty or niche
products that customers will go out of
their way for,” said Dobo. “Once they are
in the bakery, they often will pick up other
items as well.”
Often, visual representations are more
powerful than descriptions. You can easily
create a variety of in-store promotions,
such as a photo album of cake ideas. or
a small video monitor displaying a video
loop or sequence of digital still images.
Create a pleasant atmosphere that
encourages customers to gather in your
store. and integrate it thematically with
your niche.
Focusing your business on a special
customer need or on a specialty product –
and defining your unique niche – is a way
to streamline your business for success.
PROMOTING
YOUR BRAND
A brand is so much
more than just a logo
or slogan. A brand is
the sum of everything
that the customer
connects, mentally or
emotionally, with your
specific products and
your place of business.
Some bakeries may
not have branded
products, but the
customer’s experience
of coming to your store
or visiting your website
is part of your brand.
Your brand may be as
simple as being known
as the friendliest folks
at the old-fashioned
neighborhood bakery!
The first moment of truth
occurs when customers
first enter your bakery.
Attractive displays make
visiting your bakery a
pleasant experience.
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It comes back to understanding your
customers, competition, and collaborators.
Consumers have compelling, favorable associations with strong brands and will often pay more, or go out of their way for a
strong brand. Brands are associated with
quality, and quality commands a premium.
Branding can give you a distinct
advantage with specialty markets, can
fortify a premium pricing strategy, and
can set your bakery apart in the minds
and hearts of consumers. Defining and
promoting your signature products can
further differentiate the unique experience
of your bakery. Branding is, of course, a
very personalized thing. Specific ideas
unique to your business and product mix
must be explored.
Brands have an ability to connect with customers on an emotional level. Focus on the
celebration, not just the products. Concentrate instead on the happiness you enable.
You want your brand to transcend baked
goods. You’re not just selling baked goods;
you’re part of your customer’s celebration.
Your bakery branding should be consistent
with the image you wish to portray and
be reinforced throughout the store – from
product to signage to employees.
INSIGHT AND TIPS FOR
MERCHANDISING AND PACKAGING
It’s been said that advertising moves
people toward goods, and merchandising
moves goods toward people.
People make choices about where
they buy things every day. Good
merchandising helps them choose to
buy things from you! Your merchandising
strategy determines how products will be
sold to your customers. The first moment
of truth occurs when customers first enter
your bakery. Do you have a crisp logo
that’s used consistently within your bakery
and in your advertising? Can customers
spot the featured products in your bakery
within the first 10 seconds?
Evaluate your signage. Are your products
and services clearly displayed? What
about brochures – do you have attractive
and clearly written literature that tells the
story of your bakery and products?
THE BREAD BAKERS GUILD OF AMERICA
M A R K ETI NG
Attractive displays make visiting your
bakery a pleasant experience. The
presentation of your baked goods can
make or break the sale! In the storefront,
you need to appeal to the visual senses,
not just taste and smell.
Step out from behind your bench and
try to see your bakery through your
customers’ eyes. Enter your bakery
through the front door and see what
your customers see. Is it welcoming?
Can your customers easily find what
they need in your bakery? Do you
merchandise different baked goods at
the right time of day, like bread and
doughnuts in the morning and cookies in
the afternoon? Do you create needs? Do
you pair cookies with milk, or doughnuts
with coffee to remind customers of their
baked good needs?
Special packaging
adds value and
creates a good
experience.
Think about offering premium
merchandise displaying your logo. Do
you have takeaway items – like coffee
mugs, cake servers, hats, and T-shirts –
that promote your bakery at customers’
homes and offices?
You should do everything in your power
to make your bakery top-of-mind with
customers during special times of the
year and for life-changing events. Part
of merchandising for special occasions
might include addressing your customers’ need for convenience by packaging
ready-made gifts that they cannot find in
superstores.
We know that customers are willing to pay
more for the convenience, appearance,
dependability and prestige of better
packaging. Create a high-perceived value
for your customers. There’s real magic in
adding a personal touch!
You can add value and create experience
by doing simple things like using special
packaging. They say the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts – extra time and
effort spent in presentation will command
a premium over the plain old white box.
At a minimum, your packaging protects
your products, and it can be of a type that
helps prolong freshness. But it’s important
to recognize that one of packaging’s
BREAD LINES – SUMMER 2014
Unconventionally
sized baked
goods, like
these miniature
cupcakes, can be
a niche product.
chief roles is to transfer beautiful baked
goods from your bakery to the customer’s
celebration!
Every consumer who eats your cake or
products should know where they came
from. Examples of interesting things you
can do include putting your name or logo
on the doily – not just on the box. You
can use a special color on your box that’s
unique to your bakery and print your name
and logo on an accompanying ribbon.
So, challenge yourself on your packaging.
Does it promote your brand? Show your
creativity? Does your packaging invite
customers to pick up your products?
Are there premium elements to your
packaging that differentiate you from the
grocery or club stores?
Keep your target customers in mind.
Convenience and speed are key with
many customer segments, and grab-andgo packaging can help capitalize on this
need. It will provide great last-minute gift
ideas for your customers too.
Think about where you could take your
bakery in the coming years. Think outside
the box and discover ways to strengthen
your brand, identify your niche, reach
your key customer segments, and
increase sales through merchandising
and packaging. Creating your marketing
strategy – and following the plan – will
help you grow your business.
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