bakingbuyer - June 2011 - (Page 32)

BAKERY BIZ TIPS Don’t Dodge Bad Reviews Whenever consumers post a review of your bakery on a social o n l i n e s i t e l i k e Ye l p . c o m o r Chowhound.com, your reputation is at stake. It’s important to recognize that people tend to fall in one of two camps when they write a review—their comments will be highly negative or overly positive. You’ll notice that people typically give one star for a bad review or five stars for a great one. But it’s a lot less common to see three stars. Customers love to express their opinions, and the Internet has opened the floodgates. Your bakery needs to understand the power of the Internet, because a bad review can do irreparable harm to your sales and reputation. That’s why being proactive—especially in this day and age—is so vital. Retail bakeries like Frost Doughnuts in the Seattle marketplace are busy engaging customers on a daily basis through Twitter. Frost uses the Internet as a customer service tool to gauge how customers are responding to their new product launches and creative promotions, as well as to diffuse any customer complaints. If a complaint is received, Frost promptly engages the customer through an email response to determine the extent of the issue and how they can correct it. Merritt’s Bakery in Tulsa, OK, recently hired a marketing coordinator to handle social media and promotions. Owner Larry Merritt says that having someone dedicated to this all-important task is crucial to entering the new age of marketing your business online. Thanks to the mushrooming landscape of social media, the rants, remarks and random comments made by consumers are more accessible now than ever. New software platforms allow companies to monitor millions of new media sites in real time—and, in some cases, respond. They chat, text, e-mail or even Tweet. “We think it’s really the future of customer engagement,” says Tim Houlne, CEO of Working Solutions, a Dallas-based customer service and sales agency. “Companies need to find the conversations most important to the brand, and engage. Ignorance is just not an option.” Working Solutions’ provides more than 70,000 home-based customer service agents trained to be proactive problem-solvers. Traditionally, they only worked the phone, answering questions and offering solutions on behalf of corporate clients. Now they can do much more, monitoring up to 180 million unique websites and blogs, finding pertinent corporate names or terms, and then joining the digital conversation on behalf of the client. The idea is to intervene early and, if a real problem is evident, find a solution. The agent can offer an apology, send a digital coupon, suggest an online solution at the company website or possibly even contact a retail outlet near the customer. “Consumers need to know that they’re being heard,” Houlne says. “Connecting with a frustrated client and solving a problem in real time, using the media platform he or she prefers, makes a huge difference.” JOHN UNREIN 32 · BAKING BUYER · JUNE 11 http://www.Yelp.com http://www.Chowhound.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of bakingbuyer - June 2011

bakingbuyer - June 2011
EDITOR’S NOTE - High-Tech Anxiety
CONTENTS
INDUSTRY NEWS
Dawn Named Main Vendor for RPIA
Caravan Raises $50,000 for March of Dimes
The Baking Channel
The Whole Truth About Whole Grains: Installment One
Team USA Profile
Designer Cookies
CAKELETS: Small Size, Big Buzz
Don’t Dodge Bad Reviews
Healthful Chocolates
Chocoveda’s Healing Chocolate Collections
New Chocolate Cookbook
Box Lunches: Leveraging Gluten- and Allergen-Free Options
The Foodservice Industry’s Hottest Trends:
How the Internet is Shaping Food Choices
FMI Hot Trends of 2011
Pass the Popcorn
Get on the Brand-Wagon
Power in Partnership
Ready for Donuts?
Donut Trivia
Juice Bar of Options
FEATURED PRODUCTS
PRODUCT SHOWCASE
MARKETPLACE NETWORK
AD INDEX
Reflections of a small town Baker
Baker's Dozen
BakeMark's Panadería
INTRODUCTORY LETTER - Tres Leches en Texas
En Camino Hacia Al Público En General
Cuatro Leches: El Próximo Gusto Popular
Tendencias en la Compra de Comestibles
Pasteles Tres Leches
Porción Individual
Fomentando Las Ventas
PERFILES - Fiesta Mart
PERFILES - Anakaren Bakery
PERFILES - Pan Tierra Caliente
PERFILES - Panadería Abuelito
PERFILES - LaCaroz Bakeries
PERFILES - Super Plaza
PRODUCTOS DESTACADOS DE TRIGAL DORADO
CALENDARIO DE DÍAS FESTIVOS
FÓRMULAS
Moving Toward the Mainstream
Cuatro Leches: The Next Big Thing
Trends in Food Purchasing
Tres Leches Cakes
Encouraging Sales
PROFILES - Fiesta Mart
PROFILES - Anakaren Bakery
PROFILES - Pan Tierra Caliente
PROFILES - Panadería Abuelito
PROFILES - LaCaroz Bakeries
PROFILES - Super Plaza
CALENDAR
FEATURED PRODUCTS FROM TRIGAL DORADO

bakingbuyer - June 2011