Why good marketing is built on great foundations…

Marketing needs a strong understanding of your customers and how they behave…
By Angela Hall

I see, read and hear a lot of corporate speak in my day-to-day work…which is fine, it’s how it is, but when you strip it all back, it leaves simple foundations that can be applied to any scenario.

My daughter runs her own bakery and coffee shop in Melbourne, Australia – I’ll not do too much mum bragging here, but she’s worked her socks off and it’s flying. Inspired by how many scones she makes on a daily basis, I thought I’d have a bit of fun with Chat GPT, to see what it does when you ask it to turn scone making into corporate speak.

Here’s what I asked it: Write a spoof 200-word article, aimed at the C-suite, about the importance of a good scone recipe, why you must follow it carefully and how good results come from perfect planning and following the recipe. Add lots of corporate language and make it sound really serious and authoritative.

The results are below – and I have to say, I did enjoy what it churned out for me! Once you take it back to basics, it really is all down to skill:

  • To identify the right ingredients (customer needs)
  • To create, modify and find the ideal recipe (how best to nurture and growth your customers)
  • Implementation (jam or cream first, sweet or savoury – different for different customers)

You can add all the corporate language you like, but the foundation will always be a process of looking how your customers interact with you, taking the insights from that, designing a marketing strategy and communications plan.

Monitoring and clear measurable metrics follow to enable the goals to be reached. Each of these areas can be massive, with many variables – but that’s where we come in – we sort through it all to bring the golden nuggets to the surface, knowing what to do based on the information available, your customer fact base.

Here’s what Chat GPT gave me when I asked it to throw corporate language into the importance of a good scone recipe – enjoy! I’ve added a few notes too…

A reminder of the prompt: Write a spoof 200-word article, aimed at the C-suite, about the importance of a good scone recipe, why you must follow it carefully and how good results come from perfect planning and following the recipe. Add lots of corporate language and make it sound really serious and authoritative.

Scone Excellence: A Strategic Framework for Recipe Adherence and Sustainable Bakery Outcomes

In today’s increasingly complex and competitive baked-goods landscape, organisations can no longer afford a casual approach to scone production. (Angela: Research is needed)

High-performing enterprises recognise that a scone recipe is not merely a collection of ingredients and instructions; it is a proven operational blueprint designed to optimise value creation, stakeholder satisfaction, and long-term pastry resilience. (Angela: Results from research interpreted)

Leading bakery practitioners understand that deviation from established recipe architecture introduces unnecessary variability into the production ecosystem. (Angela: Stick to what the insights tell you)

Excessive improvisation, unauthorised raisin deployment, or non-compliant butter integration can result in sub-optimal outcomes, including texture misalignment, strategic crumbliness, and erosion of consumer confidence. (Angela: always deploy a thorough test and learn approach to any ‘recipe’ changes)

Success begins with robust planning. World-class scone delivery requires careful resource allocation, ingredient governance, and rigorous execution against predefined milestones. Flour must be measured with precision. Mixing activities should align with best-practice methodologies. Oven deployment must occur within agreed thermal parameters. These controls create a scalable framework for repeatable excellence. (Angela: Customer knowledge built on facts, interpretation and plans built on what’s known)

Furthermore, recipe adherence enables meaningful performance benchmarking. When teams consistently follow established protocols, they can accurately assess key performance indicators including rise height, crumb integrity, and jam-to-scone compatibility ratios. (Angela: Keep a base group to compare to if you’re going to test / remodel)

 

Why you need to follow customer insights…

The lesson for executives is clear: exceptional scones are rarely the product of inspiration alone. They emerge from disciplined planning, process compliance, and unwavering commitment to the recipe. (Angela: Follow the insights – don’t do what you think the customers want or what you think works – look at what’s proven)

In an uncertain world, the path to bakery transformation remains remarkably simple: trust the framework, execute the strategy, and deliver the scone.

 One last question – is it cream or jam first?

 

 

The Insight House – insight with an action plan