About this episode
Send a text🎁 Gimme Gimme Strategic Giving - The strategy behind strategic giving.In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 245 - Gimme Gimme Strategic Giving, it's the season of requests to donate, sponsor, and give to local causes, PTAs, and networking events. It's all about strategic giving in January - and we're here to tell you - it ain't all bottom line blues when it comes to this form of marketing (you see that right there? We didn't categorize it as "selling"). 🎁 First up - What is strategic giving?Strategic giving is the opportunity presented to your bakery to partner with companies that move your business forward, while not necessarily generating income at the immediate start.🎁 The benefits of strategic giving.With every strategy, there are pros and cons - but for strategic giving done right, I think there are more positives than negatives.🎀 Giving is good, makes you feel good🎀 Support your customersWhen it comes to strategic opportunities, consider your local audience first - they're likely connected to communities, causes, and PTAs - a win-win when you can support them and get exposure. 🎀 Reach people you wouldn’t normally reach🎀 Cheaper than paying for an ad🎀 Create relationships with new people🎀 Showcase you working in your community (rally behind a like goal) 🎀 Get more ordersStrategic giving is marketing. In the same way you'd run a Facebook ad and spend money to acquire new customers, donating to a raffle can have the same effect - but the catch is it's a slow burn. 🔥 Patience is key with this form of marketing.🎀 Break into an industry 🎀 Downside of strategic giving 🎁 Downside of strategic giving.Like we said - what goes up must come down. With anything that has benefits, it could also cost you, and with strategic giving, that's build into the name. Because it's a gift, there's no guarantee of a return on your investment. But in another way - the return is the *feel good* feelings you get from supporting a cause or community.🎀 You might not get any new customers 🎀 It impacts profitability I like encouraging people to make a budget line item for strategic giving, that way it doesn't feel like a bottom line buster, 💸 but rather a marketing invoice you're paying through product (or monetarily if that fits your strategy).🎀 Can leave you open to bad reviews🎀 Loss of potential future opportunities🎁 Creating a Strategic Giving Goal.A wo-man with a plan! Create a giving goal, then create a marketing campaign around it. Do you want to use strat
