Tip #24: Find Your Company on Yelp.com

In honor of our 92^nd Annual Convention & Industry Expo that is happening this week, we’d like to share a tip that was originally shared with attendees at last year’s Annual Convention in an education session about marketing.

Are you paying attention to Yelp.com? Do you even know what it is? Yelp.com is a user review and local search website.  From their website FAQ’s: “Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great — and not so great — in your world.”  What does this mean for your business? When customers enjoy or don’t enjoy your products and/or services, they are using yelp.com to share it with the world. Not only do they give a rating but they also write detailed reviews, covering both the good and the bad. And guess what? When a potential customer is considering visiting your store, there is a pretty high chance they are visiting the Yelp website first to see what other people are saying about it.

So what do you do about all of this? We have a few points on how to use this review site to your advantage:

1. Jump In -You don’t need to create a listing for your company on this site because as a local business you are probably already on it. To find out, just visit the homepage and type in your business name.
2. Read – Once you’ve found your business’s listing, take some time to read the reviews. You’ll find that many of the comments are very candid so don’t be surprised. Be sure to read a variety of reviews, not just all of the good or all of the potential bad reviews.
3. Embrace and Consider – The purpose of reading the reviews is not to get puffed up or fired up but to find out what your customers enjoy most about their experience with your business and if there are any parts of the experience that could use improvement. If you encounter negative reviews, don’t overlook them. Take a moment to consider if there is any truth to what has been shared. You may find that there is a place for improvement.
4. Respond – Yelp has created a way for business to publicly comment on a review. Take a moment to thank customers for their feedback and address concerns. Everyone likes to be heard. J  Because your comment will be public, potential customers who are reading reviews will likely be impressed that you’ve taken the time to respond.
5. Repeat – Don’t make your first visit to Yelp be your last. Be sure to check in on a regular basis (i.e. monthly) so that you are continually aware of your customers’ experiences in your store.

Now what are you waiting for? Go find out what people are saying about your company. We hope you find good things and take any not-so-good things into consideration to make your business even better.

Tip #23: Celebrate Candy Holidays

Did you know that this Thursday, June 7 is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day? This is just one example of the many candy-related holidays celebrated across the globe throughout the year. From Chocolate-Covered Raisin Day (March 24) to Toasted Marshmallow Day (August 30) to Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day (November 7), the chocolate and candy industry is not lacking for holidays. This week’s tip is to encourage you to embrace these holidays to drive traffic and sales in your stores. One idea may be to run a special on the particular product being celebrated. For example, for National Taffy Day (May 23), maybe you run a buy a ½ lb of taffy and get ¼ lb free special. Or, you could advertise free taffy samples all day or until a certain time on May 23. However you decide to celebrate, don’t forget to use your social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter to spread the word! If they don’t know about your celebration, they can’t join you for it.

So, how do you find the numerous candy holidays? By just doing a quick internet search for candy holidays, you can find quite a few different websites and lists. Members of Retail Confectioners International (RCI) receive a graphic wall calendar each year that helps them plan the year and keep track of the variety of candy holidays to be celebrated. Not an RCI member? Learn why membership might be a good fit for you here.

Now, go put together a celebration for this Thursday’s Chocolate Ice Cream Day! Do you have a creative idea for celebrating candy holidays? Please share it here by leaving a comment below.

P.S. Expect the RCI Tip of the Week Blog to be invaded next week as our Annual Convention & Industry Expo begins! Watch for videos, pictures and highlights of the week! Plus, be sure to check out our Facebook page for even more photos.

Tip #22: Writing Effective Job Descriptions

While “Jack of All Trades” might sound like a fitting job description for the position you are looking to fill, having a more specific title and description will help you find the most qualified job candidates. Additionally, an accurate job description helps both you and your employees to know what is expected of them and understand their roles within the company.

So, what should be included in a job description? We found the following tips in an article by the U.S. Small Business Administration and thought they would be great to pass along.

A job description includes:

• Job title.
• Job objective or overall purpose statement.
• Summary of the general nature and level of the job (no longer than three to four sentences).
• Description of the broad function and scope of the position.
• List of duties or tasks performed critical to the success (including principal duties, continuing responsibilities and accountability of the occupant of the position).
• Most important functional and relational responsibilities in order of significance.
• Description of the relationships and roles within the company, including supervisory positions, subordinating roles and other working relationships.

Be sure to check out the full-length article for what not to include in a job description.

RCI members can find more tips like these on the RCI business owners list serve, an email list of members that discusses issues business owners face. Click here to sign up today. Not an RCI member? Click here to join.

Tip #21: Fun Summer Product Ideas

Summertime is just around the corner so we have rounded up some fun product ideas for you to incorporate in your candy store this year.  

• Chocolate Flip-flops – Use colored chocolate to draw flip-flop straps on Nutter Butter cookies covered in chocolate and package with cello bags and colorful bows.
• Summertime-themed moulds – Take advantage of the hundreds of chocolate mould options available to candy makers. Incorporate items unique to your area that tourists may enjoy such as palm trees for a tropical area.  
• Incorporate Seasonal Foods – Fruits and vegetables are great in the summertime. Pay a visit to your local farmer’s market to see what seasonal ingredients you can incorporate into your products.
• Seasonal Flavors – Use flavors that invoke the memories, images and feel of summer. For example, coconut flavors nearly always bring images of the beach to mind so you could create a coconut-themed item and even have fun with the merchandising to have a beach theme.

If you have more ideas, please share them with each other by leaving a comment. If you are you looking for a supplier of seasonal items, RCI members can use the RCI Buyer's Guide to find supplier members who provide just what you need!

Bonus: Attend Candy Clinic at our 92^nd Annual Convention & Industry Expo for even more great seasonal ideas!

Tip #20: Create Fun on the Job

RCI members and staff were recently in Florida for the RCI Spring Regional Institute event as well as a Mastering Caramels educational course. While networking, education and behind-the-scenes tours were key reasons for attending the event and course, we couldn’t help but notice that the attendees were also having fun while networking and learning.

Attendees want to walk away knowing they learned something new and maybe met new people or reconnected with other fellow candy makers, but when they can also say they had fun, they walk away with an added level of value from the event. Do your employees walk away from work with a sense of enjoyment and fun? Some studies have even suggested that having fun at work increases loyalty, productivity and job satisfaction.

We have gathered a few ideas to incorporate fun into your company’s workday:

• Celebrate employee birthdays – If you have too many employees to have a party for each individual birthday, you could have a monthly or even quarterly celebration. Get some balloons, provide some of your candies (of course!), and maybe even play a game (pin the stick on the apple, anyone?).
• Create a ‘fun committee’ – Charge the committee with coming up with a fun activity for the team or company once a month. Allow them the freedom and creativity to come up with something outside the box. And be sure you participate to show everyone you do know how to have fun.
• Company-wide competition – Why not intertwine fun and charity? For example, create a competition between departments or stores to see who can raise the most money for a charitable cause and reward the winning team with a fun outing or bring lunch or breakfast into the office for them to enjoy together.

Want more ideas? Check out this list of 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work.

If you have more fun ideas to share, please leave us a comment!

Check out ‘fun’ photos from Florida on the RCI Facebook page. Plus watch the RCI YouTube page for video recaps! 

Tip #19: Stale Pretzels are Best for Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

Everything is better covered in chocolate, right? We agree! If you’re taking the ever-popular sweet and salty route and covering pretzels in chocolate, we have a tip that will help keep the chocolate from cracking once the pretzels are covered. Open your bag of pretzels and leave it open the night or day before you plan to enrobe them. By allowing the pretzels to get slightly stale, you are removing moisture which helps prevent surface cracking in the chocolate.

Happy pretzel-dipping!

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Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tip #18: Add a Facebook ‘Like’ Button to Your Website

So, you’ve taken the time to set up your business Facebook page. You’ve even updated the page with a cover photo for the new timeline feature. That’s great! But, how are customers finding you on Facebook? We recently visited a variety of candy store websites to connect with their Facebook page and were surprised to find that while many of them had a Facebook page, they were not connecting to it from their website. Or, if they were, the link was tucked away and difficult to find.

Facebook actually provides the images available for you to use on their website  (and other marketing materials) along with the guidelines for use. You can find the files and guidelines here (read the guidelines for usage and then click on ‘downloads’). Be sure to pay attention to where you place the link and image on your website. Your customers will likely not take the time to search for it, so you want to be sure it is somewhere that grabs their attention and encourages action. And when they do take action, why not reward them? Offer them a discount or coupon just for liking your store on Facebook. You may want to make it valid for just the day or week they have 'liked' you so that they are motivated to get to your store asap.

Note: Today’s tip is focused on adding a Facebook ‘Like’ button to your website, but we would go one step further and encourage you to be sure all of your online media is connected. Do you have Twitter or a blog? Be sure you provide an easy-to-find link to those features as well. You want to be sure that if a customer lands on your blog in an online search, they also are able to easily connect to your website as well as Facebook and any other online media you manage.

If you haven’t set up a Facebook page for your business yet, RCI members can check out the Jan/Feb/Mar 2012 edition of Kettle Talk for an article on how to get started with Facebook.

Tip #17: Link Up With RCI in San Francisco

We’re busy planning and preparing for our upcoming Annual Convention and Industry Expo in San Francisco, June 11 through 15. This week’s tip is to join us there!

What can you expect at an RCI Annual Convention?

Industry Tradeshow – Meet face to face with confectionery industry suppliers and learn about the new and innovative products on the market. The tradeshow is FREE to confectionery industry professionals so print your free tradeshow ticket (insert link) and make plans to join us!

Networking – Connect with others in the industry throughout the week through a variety of networking opportunities. New this year, we have an evening set aside just for the next generation of industry leaders.

Education – We are excited to have education session topics including packaging, natural products, HACCP planning plus more. Additionally, we have a great idea-sharing session for RCI members called Candy Clinic and a question and answer session with a panel of industry experts.

Behind-the-scenes Tours – The last two days of the convention are filled with tours of area candy stores and suppliers. You’ll want to have a notebook in had because the ideas you can take back to your stores are endless.

For all the details and to register, visit retailconfectioners.org/annual. The early-bird discount ends May 11, so register today!

Tip #16: Chocolate and Candy Makers Must-Read List

Are you looking for the perfect book to teach you how to make and work with candy or chocolates? Well, of course, there is no such thing as perfect, but we can tell you that the following books have been highly recommended to candy makers by industry experts so we feel very comfortable telling you about them.  

• Choice Confections by Walter Richmond
• Candy Making for Dummies by David Jones
• The Art of the Chocolatier by Ewald Notter
• The Art of Chocolate by Elaine Gonzalez
• Chocolates and Confections by Peter Greweling

While you can search online for used books, one of the best resources out there for confectionery books is MC Publishing. Click here to visit their online store.

Do you have other recommended books about chocolate and candy making? Please take a moment to share them in the comments below. We’d love to add them to our must-read list!

Tip #15: Add Some Spice to Your Chocolate for Cinco de Mayo

With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, get prepared to add some spice to your confections. You can add spice to nearly anything – from truffles to bark to peanut brittle. Have fun with it!

Some ideas for adding a hint of spice: red paper flakes, cinnamon, melted cinnamon red hots, ground chili powder or you can buy chili pepper flavor oils. Take a day and experiment in the kitchen to see what flavors blend best with your products. Don’t forget about the all-important taste test – get a number of people to test your creations before putting them up for sale.

Don’t forget to top off your creations with red paper flakes for added presentation! (And so that no one picks it up and gets a big surprise in their mouth)!

Tip #14: Customer Service Is More Than Common Courtesy

Today’s tip is to take the time to train your employees in the realm of customer service. Reminding your employees of the adage, ‘Treat others the way you would like to be treated,’ is not enough. Take the time to remind them that it is more than just common courtesy. For example, don’t just greet customers – greet them with a smile. Don’t just say thank you to the customer - thank them for their business and invite them to come back again. Encourage your storefront employees to be proactive and go to the customer in the store to offer assistance – don’t let them wait for customers to come to them with a problem.

Phone etiquette is another area of customer service you should be training your employees. Teach them how you would like the phone answered. (Tip: Use the business name and employee name in the greeting to personalize it.) Additionally, if they have to place a customer on hold, teach your employees to ask "May I put you on hold?”. Your customers are busy people, too, and they may choose to call back at another time rather than sit on hold.

If you take the time to train your employees on what customer service really means, your customers will take notice and come back. They may even spread the word that your store is one of the few places that provides exceptional customer service.

Tip #13: Choosing the Right Packaging for Your Candy and Chocolates

The subject of packaging could easily cover multiple blog posts so we are just focusing on one of the many important factors to consider today.

Did you know that the inks in your packaging as well as the type of packaging (cello, cardboard, etc.) you choose could affect the taste of your chocolates and candy? You may have a delicious chocolate treat and then put it in a beautiful package but after it has been in the package for a short time, it may begin to take on the taste of the cardboard, for example. That means your customers may not be tasting the true flavor of your confections.

So, how does one go about determining if your confections taste different because of packaging? A taste test, of course.

Sample your products before packaging them and then test different packaging methods. Keep your confections in the package for as long as they would normally be on the shelf and then at the end of that period begin your taste test. Be sure that you have a ‘control’ confection so that you first taste what your product should taste like and then taste the ones that have been in the packaging.  Do they taste the same? If not, there are many variables to consider but one of them should be to talk with your packaging supplier about options.  You want the beauty of your packaging to match the wonderful taste of what’s inside.

Do you need new packaging ideas? As an RCI member, you can find packaging suppliers in the annual Membership Directory and Buyer’s Guide. If you’re not an RCI member, why haven’t you joined? Find more information about joining by visiting retailconfectioners.org/join.

Tip #12: Help Your Customers Celebrate American Chocolate Week

We’re so excited this week is American Chocolate Week! If you have a store in the U.S., or if you have American customers, here are a few fun ways to help your customers celebrate this sweet week:

• Create a new chocolate-themed secret password each day that customers can only find via your social media; if they use the secret password while visiting your store, they could get a prize plus a coupon towards a future purchase. (Tip: The coupon encourages them to come back again.)
• Encourage your customers to share the joy of American Chocolate Week with someone else by having a “Buy One, Get One” deal. For example, “Buy One, Get One Free” or “Buy One, Get One Half Off.”
• See it as an opportunity to educate your customers and have a fun chocolate trivia question each day in store or on your Facebook page. Anyone who posts the correct answer could be put into a drawing for a free pound of chocolates.
• Utilize your relationships with the media (you have those, right?) and pitch an American Chocolate Week story, based on your store, of course. This could definitely create exposure and enrich your customer base.

Tip #11: Making Less Mess with Moulds

Does your chocolate make a bit of a mess when shaking out the excess chocolate from your molds like this photo? Sure, you have parchment paper to catch the chocolate as it falls but it probably still lands in other undesired places. A quick and cheap shopping trip for a small or medium plastic storage tub will help take care of this problem. Set the tub on your work table and set your mold upside down on top of the tub so gravity can drain the chocolate. Be sure to get a tub that has a wide enough opening at the top that your mould will easily fit down into. When you are ready to shake the excess chocolate from your moulds, place the mould down into the tub so that as you shake it all of the chocolate that flies out will land in the tub - not on you, the floor or the table.  Plus, if you line your entire tub with parchment paper, when the chocolate hardens you can easily peel it away to be reused. Less mess and less waste!

We’ve got to give credit where credit is due. We picked up this tip from one of our Chocolate Boot Camp instructors. Thanks, Dennis Witzel, Linnea’s Cake & Candy Supplies, Inc.!

Tip #10: Stay Connected to the Chocolate and Candy Industry

Relationships are the key to success in any industry. Therefore, the networking and resulting connections made in the chocolate and candy industry will be invaluable to the success of your business. At RCI, we are passionate about connecting you with other candy makers and with your industry suppliers. That is why today's tip is to register for our Spring Regional Institute before the early-bird discount expires next Thursday, March 15, 2012. Both members and non-members are welcome at this confectionery industry event being held in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Florida. The week features education sessions such as email marketing, succession planning and Good Manufacturing Practices. Plus, we will go behind-the-scenes for tours of area candy stores. It's a week you don't want to miss! Visit retailconfectioners.org/regionals for all of the details today.

One last thing - you can also stay connected to the industry from your inbox by signing up for our FREE industry eNewsBrief. Sign up here and once a week you'll receive an email with highlights of what is happening in the chocolate and candy making industry, affectionately known as the confectionery industry.