A bakery provides sweets and treats to the public. These shops make the cakes and deserts that we rely on when we have a celebration, and when we have a gathering. They are loved by people of all ages, and their services are needed often.
Will adding bakery delivery services increase your profits enough to make the cost of the delivery worthwhile? If you do decide to add bakery delivery what all does that entail?
Bakery Delivery
If you offer delivery of your baked goods then you are offering a convenience to your customers. This kind of convenience means they have more time to do the other things they need to do. It is a fact that including delivery services will increase the amount of baked goods you sell.
What you need for Bakery Delivery to Work
If you want to add delivery to your bakery you need to have a few things ready.
Dedicated Delivery System
If you plan on running the delivery yourself you are going to need a vehicle and a driver that makes the deliveries for you. This may also include you needing to get insurance to cover the vehicle and the driver while they are out on deliveries.
Delivery Vehicles
Many baked goods can be delivered in a standard car with no problems. There are some items that are going to require a larger vehicle to make the deliveries or even a refrigerated vehicle to make the delivery.
You have to determine what you are going to allow to be delivered, and then look at the size and composition of the desert to determine what special features your delivery truck or automobile will need.
If you deliver large cakes like wedding cakes you want a van that has a lift so the table the cake is on is smoothly put in and out of the vehicle with little effort.
A Delivery Schedule
You can either deliver the items as each call comes in or you can establish a delivery system of deliveries being made only for orders made a certain number of hours or days in advance. A large number of bakeries require a customer to spend a certain amount of money before they qualify for free delivery services.
Free delivery services can add up because you have to pay your drive plus buy the fuel for the vehicle, the insurance and consider vehicle maintenance issues. If you are delivering at no charge then you are making less of the items you sell.
Established a delivery schedule that includes when the order has to be placed and how much you will charge to make the delivery will offset the cost and allow you to prepare for baked goods that are going out in this manner.
What about third-party bakery delivery?
Third party delivery systems may be the answer you are looking for. By using a third-party delivery system you get your baked goods delivered so your sales can increase but you do not have to spend money on a dedicated employee or a dedicated delivery vehicle.
Third-party delivery through one of the many delivery services like Grub-Hub, Door-Dash, and others, is a method of allowing you to outsource your delivery service.
Benefits of this delivery type
You get your products delivered without the hassle of actually delivering. You also get your brand to more businesses and customers so your brand name gets better known. Third party bakery delivery can:
- Allow you to reach new customers
- It can help you make sales when the weather is bad
- It can help you make more profits
- it can increase your brand awareness
Choosing the Right Third Party Delivery to Partner with
The key to having success using a third-party for your bakery delivery system is choosing the right group to partner with. There are many different companies offering these services and if you partner with the wrong one your goods will not be delivered.
To choose the right service:
- do your research and find out which services are working in your area. You want to also find out what the services are best known for. Grub-hub is best known for restaurant serves while door-dash may delivery a wider variety of items.
- Find out what percentage of the order will have to be paid to the delivery system. You will want to know if hiring the service is going to cut into your profits or if you may have to charge an extra fee to customers who choose delivery to compensate for the money you have to pay to the delivery service.
- Read the reviews that people have made about the service in your area. You want a service that is reliable, and that is getting the orders delivered in a timely manner. You need to read the good and the bad reviews to determine the truth of the picture.
- Select which products you are willing to offer delivered in this manner. Delicate items that are hard to deliver like really tall cakes, or items that need refrigeration and cool temperatures may not be good ones to send out in this way.
- Once you have partnered with a service be sure to advertise this fact to all potential customers. You can use your website, flyers in your shop, or social media posts to make people aware of your third-party delivery affiliation.
- Offer a one-time free delivery or a free delivery for orders that total more than a specific amount. These incentive programs can often generate more business when the neighbours of your customers see your items being delivered to their neighbours doors.
Stay positive and give the partnership time to work. It may take several weeks or a few months before your customers get used to ordering in this way.
Final Thoughts
Bakery delivery makes good sense. If you live in a larger town bakery delivery can increase your sales by as much as twice what you have now. If you live in a rural area bakery delivery entices rural customers to give a bakery a try.
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