As with every business venture, you need to have more than just passion to make an entrepreneurial donut venture work. In a competitive field such as the baked goods industry, marketing and advertising savvy separate the professionals armed with a plan from those muddling through the world of business ownership with little direction.
Getting Started
Over 1 billion donuts are sold every year in the United States. Setting yourself apart from your competitors can help you garner a larger portion of the market. To accomplish this, you must develop a targeted and in-depth advertising plan for your donut business. The advertising plan should address short and long-term goals for your advertising campaign. Specifically, your plan should identify what sets your donuts apart from the competition and what benefits you can provide your customers to reach your goals.
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Marketing Savvy
Before you start drawing up sales campaigns and designing advertisem*nts, identify the characteristics and preferences of your desired customers and aim to attract them to your business. Characteristics to consider include the age, discretionary income level and location of your target audiences. Once you create a preferred customer profile, develop a campaign that will attract those customers. For instance, if you own a donut shop near a college campus, a marketing campaign highlighting your late-night donut specials would be more likely to attract customers than one highlighting your pricey complementary items, such as lattes and specialty drinks.
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Advertising Options
Choose advertising methods that reach your targeted customer base in the most efficient manner. Types of advertisem*nts can include promotional products, targeted emails and signage. Pass out logo apparel and products, such as imprinted travel coffee mugs or embroidered T-shirts, at store openings or donut shop events. Send out emails to current and prospective customers offering them an opportunity to be the first to try a new donut type. Create some hype by hosting a contest along with the offer. For instance, ask customers to help you name a new donut and reward the chosen winner with prizes and discounts.
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Considerations
The signage of your donut store must be bold, fit the theme of your store and provide a clear message. Other ways to advertise your donut shop are less conventional. Grab some of your best offerings and head to a local charity event or community gathering. This can help broaden your customer base and could be the exposure you need to enter the world of catering for local businesses or special occasions, such as community breakfasts. Send a dozen of your favorite donuts to local television and radio stations. You may get some exposure to a wider audience if a television or radio host mentions your thoughtful gift on the air.
