Sign Language: How a Local Bakery Found Word-of-Mouth Success
By: Jon Steiert
Tags: Small Business, Marketing, Word Of Mouth, Baking, Talk Triggers

With the big man’s blessing, the tweet was shared at a rate CIB had never experienced. “From that point on,” Steve said, “it just took off.”

Much like many of the other celebrities and Philadelphia personalities who’ve been through the bakery (the walls are packed with signed photos of local personalities and international icons who’ve come through to say hello and enjoy their fare) the Carcarey’s still have a relationship with Embiid and his family. They even have a special Joel Embiid milkshake on the menu — yes, it’s a Nutella shake.

It’s all part of the ultimate philosophy: whatever happens in this community, “we want to make people feel good. That’s what the sign is for.“

How to Keep Them Coming Back

But what kind of value does this bring to the business? From a business perspective, the sign is the best advertising Steve’s ever “paid” for, which is pretty ironic considering they don’t spend a dime on any marketing. “The only marketing we do,” Steve said, “is maybe a little league team or something like that.” While a local little league team is certainly a perfect community fit, that’s also a nod back to Steve’s former life as a college baseball coach.

While he may not be spending money on coupons and flyers, their investments in the sign have created a talk trigger so powerful that people — whether they’ve been honored by the sign or not — come back time and time again, to eat, say hello, or just to say thank you. Recently, the family received a personal thanks from a photojournalist they’d honored with the sign.

“One day, I just turned around, and there he was in the bakery,” Steve said. The honoree had driven more than an hour to thank the family in person.

“And I’m like, a sign. You came all the way out here just to thank us personally. It felt good. It really did, just for him to come out here to thank us personally. It meant a lot. It really did.”

Hot, Crispy Talk Triggers

For a sign with high visibility, Collegeville Bakery hardly ever uses it to promote itself. Instead, it’s become the de facto bulletin board for good news. All of the attention the sign garners certainly could be a major revenue generator for the Bakery. But remarkably, it’s all free. “Tell me what you want and when you want it, it’s done,” Steve said.

“It’s really a positive reinforcement for our community.” As Mark W. Schaefer wrote in Marketing Rebellion, to succeed today, businesses must be of the community, not simply in it. Collegeville Italian Bakery certainly has done that.

From a marketing perspective, I’m tempted to say that CIB has multiple talk triggers: its sign, its mouthwatering Nutella bar, and its positivity.

When Steve was asked years ago by his sign vendor if he was sure he really wanted this sign, he didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, I want this sign,” he said. He was curious, however about why he was asked if definitely wanted it. The answer was because many businesses are just too lazy to change their signs every now and then; to keep up with them. Steve was floored. “Changing the sign takes five, 10 minutes if that.”

Find Your Differentiators

Creating your own version of Collegeville Italian Bakery’s sign starts with identifying your business’s strengths. Ideally, these are things you not only have expertise in but also hold a distinctive, perhaps even singular, edge.

The other lesson the Carcarey’s teach us is how building up others ultimately leads to others doing the same for us. Advocates are powerful influences, regardless of whether they’re your neighbors or the region’s favorite news anchor. The extra effort and attention have paid off for Collegeville Italian Bakery in a major way.

Overall, the word-of-mouth buzz they’ve generated has resulted in tremendous success in a saturated market. Remarkable what a little positivity and a little Nutella can do for you.