How to Take Advantage of the Challenging Economy to Bake a Better Tomorrow

Your customers have a choice.

Give Your Front-end a Facelift
If you run a retail operation, take advantage of these slow traffic days to give your front-end a makeover! A fresh coat of paint, maybe some new lighting and updated decor can all be done on a budget, and they can go a long way to making a huge impression. Think outside the box as well. If you're struggling with old refrigerated displays that keep shutting down on you, updating it may be just what you need. Not only will a new display units be aesthetically pleasing to your customers, but more efficient models may actually save you on maintenance and energy costs over time. Remember, if you're store looks like it's going out of business, then your customers may assume that you are. A fresh look can show your customers that you care about your shop and their experience when they come to visit. Make it a pleasant one, and they'll keep coming back for more!

Unfortunately, marketing dollars are usually the first casualty in a recession. However, the down-time of a sluggish economy gives you a great opportunity to review and revamp a lot of your existing material. Pull out some of those old ads of yours and see if you can't reuse some of them. Just like your store front, a little update can go a long way. Take advantage of all of the opportunity that the Internet has to offer as well. A well designed and informative website can go a long way toward getting you good placement in the search engines. Social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are free, and they are a great way to build your network and communicate with your customers. Even pay-per-click campaigns like Google Adwords or Microsoft Advertising (via Bing.com) can offer you great exposure at a very reasonable price. Keep in mind that the everyone is feeling the heat in today's economy. That means that media outlets and design houses are out there vying for work, too - and that could mean big savings for you. Price out things like website redesigns, print ads, flyers, even TV and radio spots. Shop them around a little bit and you might be pleasantly surprised at the deals you can find!

Replace Old Production Equipment
Cash flow is tight and fuel costs are on the rise. That old, inefficient equipment you have running in the back may be bleeding you dry - and you may not even realize it. Efficiency is the key to profitability, and cost effective, quality equipment will save you time and money in repairs, maintenance and excessive labor fees . Consider this; bakers all around the country are finding that a fuel efficient deck oven can save more in fuel costs than the lease payment itself, and can even return money to their bottom line! That money that can be used to offset the increased cost of ingredients and other expenses. In addition, because there are no moving parts and no boiler to sustain, maintenance costs and related downtime are held to a bare minimum. A new cookie depositor can offer substantial savings as well. It's ease of use and highly efficient design can do the work of three people at significantly less expense. Even consider something as simple and affordable as a new divider/rounder that will help you increase productivity and maintain consistency throughout your production process. The truth is that customer satisfaction is essential to your businesses survival. New equipment will give you the quality and consistency you need to keep your customers coming back for more.

Get Out There!
Network, network, network! Get out in front of your customers and let them know you're there! If you're a wholesale operation, take advantage of some down time to get out of your facility and go visit existing customers - or even pop in on some new ones. Sometimes all you need to do is stop in and shake hands, and your customer will remember the effort you made. If you own a retail location, don't be an absentee owner. Make sure you're in your store front interacting with your customers. Talk to them, find out what they like or don't like about your operation. Also, consider participating in local community events. Donating some food or your time is a great way to network with new and existing customers - and free food will certainly make them remember you!