We were lucky to catch up with Courtney Courtney recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Courtney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

I love my customers! Without them I would not be able to do what I do. It is because of my customers that I am able to stay home with my little ones, make my own schedule to accommodate my family and help bring in additional income. I strive to always go above and beyond for my customers. I also try to make sure I treat all of my customers the same. Whether they are a regular customer, a corporate customer, a customer placing a huge order for an event, or someone trying my products for the first time. My goal is that people who place an order with me walk away saying “it was such a great experience and Courtney went above and beyond!”

With that in mind, instead of naming one particular instance where I showed a customer I appreciate them, I would rather discuss the things I do for all customers to show my appreciation.

In addition to trying to find fun ways to provide discounts for my customers, taking last minute orders without charging rush fees, putting personal touches on orders, one of my favorite little traditions is to give all of my customers who place a custom order a “Car Cookie”. A car cookie is exactly like it sounds. It is a cookie with the design of a car that my customers are given when they arrive to pick up their order. I try to use the same color and theme of the order when designing the car cookie. I then present it to my customer at pick-up as a thank you for placing an order with me.

As an added bonus, it reduces any temptation they may have to try and sneak a cookie from the order on the drive home.

I have had numerous customers tell me that the “car cookie” is their favorite part about ordering from me. I have even been told that spouses fight over who gets to pick up the order because they both want the cute little car cookie.

It may seem like a small gesture to some people, but to my customers, that little “car cookie” shows them that I not only deliver beautiful and tasty desserts and top notch customer service, but I also take that extra step to make their whole ordering experience end on a sweet note

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I run a licensed home bakery where I specialize in french macarons and decorated sugar cookies as well as other confections. I started my home bakery two weeks after my second son was born. Prior to starting my bakery, I was working for a local school district where I began as a high school counselor and worked my way up to a district level position. While I absolutely loved working with my ‘work kids” (aka my students) I was realizing that I could not give 100% to my students and 100% to my kids at home. I was struggling with the feeling of letting either of them down. Then COVID hit and I was in lockdown at my home with my son while pregnant with my second son. This gave me a lot of time to think and reflect. I came to realize that I could not handle the guilt I felt when I was not able to give everything to all of my kiddos, the ones at home and the ones at school. I decided it would be best to make a career change to become a stay at home mom. I also recognized that I would need something else to call my own. I had recently taken on a new challenge (as most did during the pandemic) to learn to make french macarons. I had heard they were difficult to make and I took that as a personal challenge. I began making batch after batch of macarons and because experimenting with all kinds of flavors. I quickly realized that my husband could not eat all of the macarons on his own, so I began giving them away to friends, neighbors and local businesses. Instantly I began getting questions about how I sold them or how people could place an order. Two weeks after giving birth to my second son, my bakery was born.

My bakery allows me to remain a stay at home mom while also pursuing my own passion and goals. As an added bonus, I am able to help my family financially. Through my bakery I am able to tap into my creative side, connect with people and other small businesses in the community and make people happy through my food.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I make an effort to keep in touch with my clients through social media as well as through my monthly newsletter. I have found that having a few methods of communication helps to reach more customers. I have some customers who are very active on social media, and are very good with interacting with me through my social media presence. I have other customers who are not on social media at all or rarely log on, so the newsletter keeps these customers up to date with the upcoming events and offerings.

Regardless of how I communicate with my customers, I always try to make an effort to get their feedback on what flavors or designs they want to see. I often solicit requests from customers and followers, which I use to develop my monthly and holiday menus. I feel that both the consistent communication and the use of customer opinions helps to foster brand loyalty from my customers.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I feel that two things that have helped to build my reputation within my market are the quality and creativity of my products as well as my customer service. I work very hard to make sure that the quality of my products always meet the high standard that I set. I regularly try to come up with new and creative flavors to get customers excited to place their next order. Finally, I make sure to always provide the best possible customer service for my customers. I often go above and beyond for my customers and always strive to make sure that their entire order experience is a great one!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cocosconfectionsatl.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/cocosconfectionsatl
• Facebook: facebook.com/cocosconfectionsatl