Marketing a Bakery - Thoughts?

Yes, I had forgotten what it was called as I haven't used it, though I have heard some good reports. It's also called 'blue tooth' marketing. Here's a bit on it: Proximity marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

If you're seeing him later today, mention SMS, but say you don't want to overload him, and it's something you could talk to him about next week if he'd be interested.

It won't take you long to get up to speed with it and it's simple enough to administer. Though marketing knowledge will help make campaigns better, one can simply just alert subscribers to offers (especially good when sales are slow).

I laughed at this one. Nice point. SMS is appropriate for these kinds of businesses and it is also an affordable marketing strategy for small-medium-sized businesses.

You can advertise your business in local newspapers and magazines, print out fliers, and place you company's name on promotional items (pencils, cups, T-shirts, etc). You could also use social media to promote your latest products and services. If you have an account on Facebook or Twitter, you can launch contests and offer special deals to your followers. Don't forget about classified ads.

Jacquic, if you admit you've never used a method and you admit that you don't know anything about it, on what basis do you recommend the original poster use it?

The OP actually has a meeting to go to and needs to be prepared. I shouldn't have said anything about SMS, because she can't offer it yet. But I actually have a bakery client using SMS well, and I know it works for that bakery. I still shouldn't have distracted her.

It's nice to want to help people and I don't want to discourage the habit of trying. Just spend some time learning and practicing so that you're qualified to help people when they ask for help.

I don't know about New Zealand, but in the U.S. people google all kinds of things on their mobile phones. The population of your town is 10 times that of mine. Make sure you're calculating the mobile search traffic, too, when you make these judgments.

I know where New Zealand is, but where is Zealand? :-)

Nice one, msu!

Yes, the 4am bit made me laugh too

@Lesley - how did it go?

Thanks for getting back and saying how it went.

Lovely

Keep it up!

That was a wonderful, honest post, thanks Lesley.

I relate to the introvert thing, and not feeling like closing sales is a part of your nature. We're all made in different ways!

My plans have changed shape somewhat since coming to the "offline" thing. Initially I was thinking of the "free website" thing. It comes from wanting to get started and not having the confidence required. A guy I've been learning a lot from always says: follow the money. i.e. Like many on here do say.....go with the one's that can afford your services at a decent price. The cheap ones end up being a headache or wanting too much - and how much scope is there for an ongoing relationship/upsells?

Another thing I was reading this week, about starting out as a freelancer, talked about pricing related to your (a) experiernce, (b) knowledge and (c) confidence.

(a) At the start, of course your rate is going to reflect your lack of experience, but it will grow from their as you gain it.

(b) The greater your expertise, the greater you can charge. The good news here is that what you lack in experience you can make up for in knowledge. Learn more, grow and add value to your clients.

(c) This one made me think. No matter how much knowledge and experience you have, if you lack confidence, your rate will be low. "You need to be able to stand up to clients, stick to your guns and insist on the rate you deserve. If you have the confidence to back it up, your clients will come around. If you're not so sure you havewhat it takes, your clients will sense your weakness and they'll want a cheaper price."

So obviously confidence is important to work on.

On an encouraging note: everything you've learned thus far, and the experiences you've had thus far can be seen as building blocks for where you want to go!



[QUOTE=Lesley Huntley;6080449]
As an introvert, my time as an offline marketer has been a difficult one. Selling is something completely out of my comfort zone. Like many introverts, I become obsessive about my interests, and this time it's helping small business owners succeed with online marketing.

Due to the fact I am not used to talking without good reason (hence the fact I only have 400 odd posts =) I have gone the free route, giving away websites and only charging monthly fees. I do upsell my clients to other services, but I tend to attract business owners with no money this way. I found myself undervalued, underpaid and resentful. I knew something needed to change.

So going into this meeting was not something taken on lightly, but I forced myself to do it. I knew I may not get anywhere with the bakery owner, but it would be good practice.

So armed with your good advice Warriors, I sucked it up, and went along. It wasn't my first meeting, but I faced it with the same, overwhelming trepidation as usual.

As it worked out, I actually really enjoyed the experience this time, on no small part due to your ideas Warriors. I found where I think I might do well in these meetings is with listening to the problems of the business owner, and drafting up solutions to those problems. I have another meeting with him on Tuesday to present what I feel is the best course of action for him.

This is absolutely where I'm at right now, this resonates with me on every level. It has been valuable experience and I've learnt a lot, but now I feel like I've done my time, and it's time to move on.

Onwards and upwards!