Cupcakes have really become the thing here lately. I have a friend who just opened her own cupcake business and she is doing really well. There are some things you should do to ensure that your cupcake business gets up and running. Below are five tips for starting your cupcake business.
Tip #1 – Advertise Your Grand Opening
The first tip is to advertise your grand opening. You can advertise your grand opening in your local paper or circular. Go all out and get a large ad. You can also create flyers and postcards to hand out to advertise your grand opening.
Tip #2 – Offer Sample Cupcakes
At your grand opening, you should really offer sample cupcakes. You can by the mini cupcake pans which are the size of a bite. Then use those pans to bake about 5 – 10 different flavors of cupcakes you will be offering at your store. It will cost a little bit of money to do this, but it is a great way to allow your potential customers a taste of what they will be getting, and it is also a great way to get them hooked!
Tip #3 – Raffle Off a Basket of Goodies
Another thing you could do on grand opening day is raffle off a basket of goodies. You could create a basket of different flavored cupcakes and sell the raffle tickets for a dollar. Then you could do the drawing right before closing.
Tip #4 – Offer Discount Coupons
You can also offer discount coupons for the cupcakes in your store. For example, you can make coupons that gives the people 10% off a purchase of $10 or more. You could also create coupons that allows the people a free cupcake of their choice for every dozen they purchase. With people on a budget these days, this is a great way to bring in the business and keep them coming back.
Tip #5 – Create a Mailing List
The last tip is to create a mailing list of your customers. You can make up a sheet that allows the person to fill in their name and email address. Then place the sheets by the door and the checkout counter. Ask them to fill in their information so you can keep them up to date on what is going on. You can send out newsletters with upcoming specials, new flavors you are coming out with, and you can also have drawings with people who are on the mailing list and give them free cupcakes or a half of dozen free cupcakes. To easily do this, you might need a CRM software. What is CRM? Basically, it is the part of your business responsible in communicating with your customers about their concerns, questions and other things they need. By having a software, you can easily manage the list of your customers and you can easily contact them.
There are many ways to promote your cupcake business. You really need to provide some freebies and incentives to keep the customers coming in and give them a taste of what you have. That will keep them coming back for more. That will also allow them to taste what you have and spread by word of mouth how good your cupcakes are.
