7 Ways to Improve Your Bakery With Merchandising

 

Managing a successful bakery operation takes a lot more than just placing your baked goods in baskets, shelving units and wooden shelving. A bakery owner must entice customers into their shop by using creative and eye-catching displays, cause them to spend more with proper cross-merchandising, and provide the right products and level of service to cause them to return again and again. This article will help bakery operators to engage all five sensory faculties of their customers resulting in more customers, more impulse sales and more repeat business.

1. Do your research

The best way to serve them is to know what they want. You need to communicate. Speak to your customers, take a survey, do an online poll, create a forums on your website or Facebook or twitter account, or other social media tools. Ask them what they think of your products, what else they would like to see you offer, what you could be doing better, whether or not your staff provides the best service. It is also important to research your rivals so you are always one step ahead of them. Selling the right mix of products will ensure you keep all your customers happy and coming back from more.

2. Create an eye-catching store-front display

A bakery's storefront window is the biggest key for drawing customers into the store. The window should have a truly eye-catching display that can be seen from afar, and from all aspects. If necessary, hire a professional merchandiser or window dresser to create something magnificent. Showcase your best-sellers and most successfully appealing items. know more Consider using artificial food props rather than real items to prevent molding or stale items, or if your storefront window is too hot or too cold. Also consider using items typically used for cooking such as large totes of flour, running pints, sheaves of wheat and other props, as these will help convey the idea that your bakery makes everything from scratch.

3. Don't forget the medial side

Inside the bakery, use outright the freshest ingredients and food items in your displays. Display bakery items such as bagels, baguettes, cookies and treat bars using unique plates, dishes and rattan baskets set at different height and depths. This can be achieved using props such as wooden boxes, metal cups, two-, three- or four-tiered plates, or risers. Use fruits, fresh and dried flowers, in addition to ears of wheat and hammer toe to add to your displays. Tilt the shelving of your wood displays so that customers get a better view of the loaf of bread, pies and other items. Make your products visible are from every angle, and make sure that your displays get changed at least every 10 days.

4. Add bright colors

One of the most critical indicators in merchandising baked goods is the use of color. Since most loaf of bread and pastries tend to be the same shades of beige and brown, it is necessary to infuse more colors. This can be achieved by interspersing your colorful cakes and cookies throughout, as well as selling other items like sweets and confectionary. Bowls of fresh vegetables and fruit can also add more vibrancy to your operation.

5. Keep them stocked up

There is nothing more gloomy than walking into a bakery with few items in the display case, and one or two depressed buns lying in a rubbish bin. Make sure that your bakery is fully stocked at all times, and as you set out to sell of product, consider blending existing products into one or two baskets so your baskets always look full. Make sure to have all your bestsellers and customer favorites in stock at all times.

6. Have fun with cross-merchandising

Cross-merchandising is a method of merchandising that helps to create impulse and additional sales. Whether your bakery is a sole operation or located in a grocery store facility, a lot can be done to merchandise and sell your bakery items with other relevant products. Display specialty loaf of bread merchandised with the things that were used to make the bread. Display fresh herbs near your herbed loaf of bread. Sell cups of soup next to sourdough loaves, candles and cake lifters near cakes, containers of essential olive oil and vinegar next to your focaccia, or smoked cigarettes fish and cream cheese near bagels. Coffee is also a great cross-merchandising item for baked goods. The number of choices are endless, and the effect is an increase in sales.

7. Use fragrance marketing and samples

A bakery has a great advantage over other businesses in that the smell of freshly baked bread or freshly baked cookies is so powerful that it can instantly lure otherwise naive customers. Place a fan in your kitchen to blow the perfumes from your kitchen into your store, keep your front doors open to allow perfumes waft into the streets, or pump the fragrance through your exhaust so your perfumes can be smelled from miles away.

Share free examples of your products so that customers have a chance to try your delicious goods. It's a great way to sell off excess products in order to showcase new products to your customers.