How To Increase Bakery Sales

To increase bakery sales, it’s important to target what your customer wants. This article will discuss some strategies that can be used to increase sales in a bakery business without costing you the earth to implement! One of the biggest challenges of being a bakery owner is to increase sales whilst making your bakery business profitable. So read on to find out how you can increase sales in your bakery or micro-bakery business without breaking the bank!

Who is your ideal customer?

The first question you should be asking is, “who are you trying to sell your bakery products to?” Whilst you might naturally think that broadening your customer base should be your ambition, but really you want to carve out a specific niche to target. This will bring customers to love your bakery and is the first step into turning your business into a brand.

Do you want to be the best-priced bakery in your town? The most exciting? Bring a taste of a foreign country, such as an Italian bakery? A traditional bakery with more products? A sandwich bar? Sourdough specialist?

Focus on delivering for the customers you want to serve and the situations they might want to buy bakery products. If you can combine the two, you’ll build up a stronger fanbase.

The people who aren’t necessarily your ideal avatar will still purchase regardless.

Targeting your ideal customer gives you direction in all of the ways to increase sales of your bakery.

Once you know where you want to go, you can use the following strategies to drive your business into profit.

1. Build a marketing plan

 At the hub of any successful business is a marketing plan. This is how you can introduce your business to new customers and get more repeat sales from your existing ones.

A bakery marketing plan can involve social media, local press, online advertising and plenty more.

2. Introduce new lines

 One of the best ways to increase average order values and draw in new customers is to have more products to sell. Increasing your range of short-life products can be risky as you could end up wasting more than you sell.

Try to look for products with more than a one-day shelf-life, such as cakes or baked products that can be baked in small batches throughout the day.

Tapping into current market trends such as high protein products, gluten-free, low fat or using local produce is a sure way to achieve this.

3. Get feedback

Many people won’t complain, but if their experience wasn’t as good as expected, they won’t return.

Spend a fortnight getting as much feedback from your customers as possible.

You can do this through questionnaires, online forms, or by asking them face-to-face.

Use this feedback to see what you are doing wrong so you can make changes and also what you are doing well.

Feedback is also a good way to see how well you are doing at attracting your target customer.

If, for example, you target high-end individuals by selling premium products and high prices, you may have feedback that says you are too expensive. Your first thought might be to lower your prices, but if they are in line with similar bakeries, it’s probably not the pricing that’s at fault.

It’s your ability to attract the right customer.

4. Sell your products to businesses

Boosting your daily income with one or two regular orders could make the difference between hovering at break-even and achieving bakery profitability.

Why not go to local businesses with samples to see if you can get a few customers on board?

5. Run a promotion

Promotions create excitement and exposure for your brand.

Many social media accounts gain followers by asking their community to introduce new followers by sharing posts with the chance they might win a giveaway prize.

Offer an exciting proposition to a lucky winner, and you will likely reap the rewards in new customers.

6. Give amazing value

No matter how much you sell your products for, customers need to feel they are getting what they pay for. But what will really get people to love your bakery is if you give a little extra.

A handwritten thank you note, a discount on future orders or even the occasional freebie can work wonders.

Why not give a small cake or pastry away with all orders on quiet days? It costs money to do this, but you should notice an increase in orders and love from your customers.

7. Clearly label your products

Most countries require ingredients and allergy information to be available for all products sold.

But how easy are you making it for people with allergies to find what they can want?

Could you make it easier for them with clearer labelling or ticketing? Not only will this appease allergy sufferers, but it will also show that you care about all of your customers.

Who will not feel they are in safe hands when they see this?

8. Focus on seasonal and local events

Running a bakery is hard work! You’ve always got stuff to do, and it’s easy to focus on day-to-day duties.

Try to take a step back to plan seasonal and local events in advance.

Events such as Valentine’s Day, Easter and school breaks can rake in many sales if you work at them. Introduce seasonal lines, promotions and gift ideas to make sure you are taking full advantage of these typically high-spending periods.

9. Start a loyalty program

One of the best ways to get customers you’ve already attracted to return is to make them part of a club.

A loyalty discount card or app is a great solution to do so. Not only do they offer rewards to customers if they remain loyal, but the app or card serves as a reminder whenever they come across them.

10. Team up with similar businesses

If there is a business that attracts the same customers that you wish to serve, then see if there is a way to collaborate.

YouTubers do this all the time with guest interviews, but you can do this too!

Partner up for a special event, hold a Christmas party or create a joint post on social media. There is always something you can do that will work out well for both parties.

11. Look for new ways to sell your products

If you are a brick-and-mortar bakery, why not try other ways to sell your products? Instead of expecting customers to come to you, can you go to them instead?

Ideas include; selling through a website, social media, Facebook marketplace, using local shops to sell your products or gaining a listing on a popular seller’s markets such as Etsy or Not On The Highstreet.

12. Upsell with non-bakery items

One of the main things that hold back a bakery from generating more revenue, is time.

To produce more products, you might need to hire more staff, invest in equipment or magic up some display space. This all costs time and money.

One way to avoid these problems is to add profitable products you don’t have to make yourself.

Great upsells for bakeries are baking books and baking tools. These are profitable and look great in a shop window!

Other ideas include selling less complicated products, such as coffee or buying products that you don’t have the capability to make yourself, such as pastries, condiments, pies or chocolate.

13. Perfect your shop window

To get customers into your business, you need to excite them first.

A great shop window, be it a physical one, website, or social media presence, is a fantastic way to do this. Being the first “touchpoint” that you will likely have with potential customers, you should pay particular attention to it matching your ideal customer’s expectations.

14. Offer baking classes

To get a bit of extra revenue, you could offer baking classes or workshops during quiet times.

These can be extremely profitable for your bottom line and extend your presence in your community as an expert.

15. Give out free samples

 Have a great product that no one knows about? Try giving away some samples for people to enjoy.

Not only is it a great way to get feedback from your local audience, but it’s also the perfect solution to bringing them in to spend money with your seductive charm!

Ending thoughts on how to improve bakery sales:

You’ve just read 15 ways to improve bakery sales, but much as I encourage you to try some of them out, maybe you have scope to improve in other areas. How often have you been in a store that looks great, has amazing products and makes it so easy for you to find everything? How often do the people working there make you feel welcome and help you with what you need?

I ask these questions as sometimes it’s not a quick trick that generates more income, it can make more sense to return to basics, and by this, I mean service and the products.

Do everything you can to give your customer the best experience possible. Combine them with a few of the points mentioned above, and you have the makings of a great bakery business! Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions!