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

Keyona, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

We show customer appreciation by offering discounts and running specials. We also do raffles and giveaways. I truly believe they appreciate those discounts, when they are buying multiple items, especially around the holiday time.

Keyona, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well, I am a mother of 3 wonderful boys and a bonus son. I work full-time at a courthouse in downtown Savannah. When covid started in 2020, while working from home I took a strong interest in baking and trying to perfect it. I was an individual who really did not consider myself as a baker, however, people really took a liking too what I was doing. I provide a large variety of cheesecake desserts, from your traditional cheesecakes, fried cheesecake, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, ice-cream and everything in between. I provide a menu for everyone, even for the individuals who say they do not like cheesecake, there are items on the menu such as cupcakes, stuffed strawberries and stuffed apples that consist of just enough cheesecake that it will not be overwhelming. My menu items are budget and inflation friendly. I am proud to say that I have been in business for 2 years and I have had the honor of attending major events/festivals and reaching milestones along the way. I want people to know that I take pride in what I do and all items are made with love.

How did you build your audience on social media?

In the beginning, I struggled with how to market my brand. I was familiar with the social media outlets, however, I just did not know where to start. My friend Eboni came over one day and said you need to get on Instagram and Facebook. She started my Instagram accounts both business and personal. She gave me advice and tips about posting. I took her advice and began posting everyday and using all the hashtags I needed to make sure Cheesecake Spot would appear in the searches. My advice to bakers just starting out on social media would be, everything is content. Make sure that you take good quality pictures. Promote your business at all cost, do not get discouraged and be creative. Make your next move your best move and remember word of mouth is the best marketing strategy.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think having quality desserts and being consistent has helped me build a great reputation. Most people eat with their eyes so if you post something or make something and it looks delicious you are going to get someone’s attention. They will keep looking and if you have great prices they are going to buy. If your product is delicious they are going to tell people and buy again. So to sum it up word of mouth has helped build Cheesecake Spot reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cheesecakespot.co
• Instagram: cheesecake_spot
• Facebook: Cheesecake Spot LLC