5 Reasons You Should Track Your Wedding Cake Enquiries
Have you ever worked in the corporate world in some capacity?
If you have you will be very familiar with KPI’s and working towards targets, or in a target driven environment, and this is something that you should be incorporating into your cake business.
If you are running a cake business yes we are doing it for the love of making cakes, but we also want to be earning a living from our business, which means we should be tracking our enquiries.
This is for a number of reasons and here are my top 5 reasons you should track your enquiries;
Getting Organised in Your Cake Business
I’ve heard lots of stories about this happening, but luckily I have not experienced this….. thankfully.
But some cake makers have unintentionally overlooked an order, leading to last minute panic mode working tirelessly through the night to get the cake order created in less than 24 hours (yep pulling an all nighter)
By tracking and recording your enquiries you’re being organised, and you will never miss an enquiry again
2. Know where you are in the process
In the journey from the first point of contact to the final creation of the wedding cake, there are a number of essential steps.
The key to a smooth and well organised process is maintaining a clear tracking system, which means you can track each stage, easily identify the next steps and never forget where you are.
To give you some examples of this it would be when a potential customer first contacts you, if they have ordered a sample box, follow up dates, where the contact has come from, if they have paid their booking fee.
3. Effective follow up process - A must do for every business
One practice that you must incorporate into your business is following up with your enquiries. This is a simple yet powerful process that can make a difference in you getting a sale and not doing.
Customers often send out multiple enquiries to different suppliers, and with the hustle and bustle of life - work, holidays, family, commitments, and more - it’s easy to forget about enquiries they’ve sent. By sending a follow up message, email or call you’re not only offering a gentle reminder but also reaffirming your commitment to assisting them
4. Log where your enquiries are coming from
A data driven approach - One valuable practice is to keep a record of the sources from which your enquiries originate. This is where we dive into the realm of data analysis.
This will help you understand where your marketing is working, and where you should focus more of your attention.
Imagine you’re dedicating a significant portion of your time to Facebook marketing, believing this is your primary source of enquiries. However upon closer examination, you discover that a substantial amount of your enquiries and bookings are coming through your website, or another social media platform like Instagram, while Facebook lags behind.
This realisation highlights a misallocation of your time and resources.
To make an informed decision about where you market your cake business, start collecting this data as early as possible. The sooner you do the more effectively you can channel your focus and maximise your productivity.
5. Refine your business processes through your tracking
Building on the previous point (number 4), another crucial aspect you can analyse in your business tracking, is assessing your conversion rates.
In simpler terms, consider this: When a potential customer reaches out to you, do they ultimately proceed to book with your services?
The answer to this question can reveal valuable insights.
Whilst factors like pricing can influence a customers decision (because you may be out of their budget) your messaging and approach play equally vital roles.
Take a moment to reflect on your initial interactions with your customers. Are your initial emails warm and welcoming? Are they personal or generic? Do they provide enough information? Do you add the next steps? Is your marketing strategy effectively show casing your business?
These are just a few of the aspects you can delve into when you analyse your data.
If you’re interested in a more comprehensive guide and access to my tracking spreadsheet, you can find a detailed training in my membership. The Fully Baked Wedding Cakers Academy, or I can show you how to set this up during a 1:1 Cake Magic Strategy Session.