AKaleidoscopeofOpportunity: MarketingTechniquesforGrowing YourBottomLine

It’sextremelyimportantwhilesettingasolid marketingplantobestrategicandmostof all achievable Keep in mind while setting your goals that we often operate as a one man show, literally! Consistency is crucial. We are fortunate to be in the ice cream business, bursting with flavor and color a kaleidoscope of opportunity! Keep it fun andbecreative!

Weallknowtoincreaseourbottomlinewe musteither:

Drivemorebusinessthroughourdoors

Get our customer base to spend more duringthevisit

Or ideally, both! Two strategies to consider are using social media to create buzz around your business and using specialty menuboardstohelpguideyourcustomers towardhigherticketsales

Socialmedia: Grow your business and increase foot traffic with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat,andTiktok

Advertise in the store the fact you are onsocialmedia

Ask your customers to ‘like’ your social mediapagestogrowyourfollowers

Utilize targeted hashtags to your posts toincreaseviews

In your shop, advertise to your customer about the fact you are on social media withsignssaying,“showmeyouare following us to receive 10% off your purchase” Make sure your employees ask the customer before ringing up the sale the customer will love the extra savings whilethenewfollowersincreaseyourfuture business!

Therearenohardandfastruleswithsocial media but research shows you should set goals on number of posts per day/week and try your best to stick to it Here’s a sampleschedule:

Post 1 promotion per day on your feed, nolessthan3perweek

Post1–2storiesperday,nolessthan5 perweek

More posts are not necessarily better; you coulddomoredamagethangood.Byover posting, you could be annoying potential followers that may cause you to be penalized by algorithms Also, don’t post just anything, keep your goals in mind and make them count Keep it fun--bright pictures of cakes, sundaes, milkshakes, videosaddmusic.

Another way to increase your reach is by utilizing targeted hashtags# on your posts Try starting with #your name, #your location/city name, #your product(s), #specialevent Payattentiontoplacement to avoid clouding your promotional message Place the hashtags either 3 or more lines under your promotional message (or) in the comments section of thepost.Lookwhatothers,particularly successful competitors are doing, imitationisthesincerestformofflattery

Menus: Generate higher sales with specialty boards

‘Make-your-own’ sundaes are wonderful the customer picks their favorite toppings and flavors to make their own special delicious treat However, think of how overwhelming it could be walking into a store with a board filled with choices oh no…peoplearebehindyou…thepressure!!!

If you do not have one now, try a little experiment: offer a suggestive sundae board Pick four, five or more suggestive sundaeswithahigherpricepoint.Ifthatis too many for your operation, pick a special sundae of the month. The idea is to take the pressure off the customer’s choiceallwhiletemptingthemtoconsider yourwellthoughtoutspecial,withthegoal ofincreasingthetotalsalepercustomer.

This same specialty board also works well with milkshakes. Try adding a cookie or brownie piece on top for a premium shake!

If you track the sales of the suggestive sundae board, I bet you’ll notice that they outsellthe‘create-your-own’sundae,even though they cost more. Goal achieved: getthecustomertosupersizetheirorder!

Keep in mind while creating your menus that it’s just as important to make it look as special and delicious as it tastes! If it looks good, customers may choose to takeaphotoandtagyouonsocialmedia, freeadvertisementandahappycustomer –theothermainreasonwearehere!

Remember our kaleidoscope of opportunity and you will think of endless ways to attract customers and grow your bottom line. Keep it colorful and fun it’s icecreamafterall!