In a home baking business, educating your customers is very important! You spend all your time making a beautiful and delicious cake you have to ensure it is taken care of correctly.
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When a doctor prescribes medicine they give you directions. When you buy a puppy they tell you what you need to know about getting their shots done. When you take your car for an oil change they tell you when you need to come back. In all these careers, they know that the customers are not as knowledgeable on the topic as they are. To make sure everything goes smoothly they make sure to educate their customers.
As bakers, we need to do the same. Do not expect your customers to know ANYTHING about cakes!! Even if something seems like common sense to us we need to make sure all important details are communicated. That way your cake is taken care of and you have a happy customer.
Why do you need to educate your customers?
Because you do not want this to happen to you. Yes, it still haunts me!! This cake was inside the fridge overnight and then on my counter for hours until picked up. Later that night I got texts that the cake had melted in the car (now I still doubt that this happened in a 20 min car ride. This happened in the summer in San Diego and I didn’t get a text until around 8 PM) but ANYWAYS!!!
This was still my fault!
I did not educate her that a fondant cake can not stay out in the San Diego sun for hours.
What I should have done was educate her on how to care for the cake.
What do my cake clients need to know?
The shelf life:
How long should the cake be in the fridge? How long can it stay on the counter? How long can it stay outside?
Ex. If it is a fondant cake explain that leaving it wrapped in the box on the counter will reduce the amount of condensation that can get on the cake.
If there are any leftovers how long can those be stored?
We want to make sure to educate clients on the shelf life to make sure nothing melts or goes bad.
How to carry the box:
This is something that does seem like common sense but it’s not! I have seen so many people grab the cake box from the sides. Whenever a cake is being picked up I let them know the best place to hold the cake is from the bottom of the box.
I recently started buying these boxes and while they are pricier than my go-to Wilton boxes they are much easier to transport. I have had customers pick up with these and it is too easy to hold without messing up the cake. The window on the box also makes it easy for the customer to take a peek at your beautiful work of art. I have also used these boxes to deliver multi-tiered cakes and it is so easy to walk with. It makes delivery a breeze.
Any non-edible parts of the order:
Whenever we add non-edible pieces to the cake it is important to let your client know, so that they can remove those items before serving. That includes toothpicks and dowels!! I have seen horrible videos of people getting straws and wooden dowels stuck in their eyes after a family member smashes their face in their cake. That is a horrible situation that can be avoided if they are aware that there are sticks in the cake.
Where in the car it should be placed:
Make sure your clients know the best place for a cake to go in the car is on the floor. If on the seat make sure to put a blanket or jacket underneath to make it level. I made this mistake myself with one of my first deliveries. I put it on the passenger seat. The seats in the car have a little bit of a tilt. This was a small but tall cake and when I hit the brakes it tilted back and messed up the back of the cake. If I would have placed it on an even surface like the floor this would not have happened.
How to cut the cake:
Traditionally most people cut cakes into wedges. However, with tall cakes being in style that leads to very big slices. To get the most slices out of your cake it is best to cut it into rectangle pieces.
Your policies:
Read this next to learn about all the policies you should be including in your home baking business.
How to tell your cake clients what they need to know:
Create an info sheet on Canva that applies to most orders:
To make sure that you don’t forget the most important things it is best to have a info sheet. Many times in the past I would have all these things to let my client know when they go to pick up, but when it came down to that time I would forget everything I needed to say and then have to text it to them. Instead, you could hand them a flyer (or put a sticker on the box) with the info they need so that you and they don’t forget.
Having a premade info sheet can help make sure that your clients know everything they need to know. You can make your own on Canva.
But if you don’t want to design your own there are so many great ones you can get from Etsy for such a reasonable price.
A section on your website that you can point them to:
Another way to let your clients know is to send them to a page on your website where the most common info for all of your orders are outlines.
Do not forget to educate your clients. Assuming that they know everything that goes into caring for a cake can lead to disaster. You worked hard at creating that beautiful cake now make sure it lasts! Let me know if is there anything I missed that you think is important to add.
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