We recently connected with Laura Madden from CookinGenie and have shared our conversation below.
Laura, appreciate you joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?
You don’t have to do just one thing! I’m an actor in education and trade so I went to New York and did the bartending-at-night-audition-during-the-day grind for about as long as I possibly could. My mental health was suffering because I was exhausted and stressed. I did not want to get a ‘regular job’ because the commitment might mean I would stop acting, which I still love. I never thought of the concept that it would always be there for melater. It was a big decision to make but I pivoted towards hospitality which have been the building blocks that lead me where I am now.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Well, I just gave quite a bit of exposition but can expand on industry and solving problems. I have always said that I’ll never be the expert that builds the solution (developer, engineer, etc.) but I will be your biggest cheerleader and people builder. I’m a sucker for simple solutions to everyday problems that make a difference – particularly in hospitality. At CookinGenie, our team as been able to build out a product with a very simple end user experience that takes a huge portion planning a gathering off your plate (literally). My position is connecting people to that experience as a solution they may have never thought of.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Honesty. We are not shy about the fact that we are small business with a little footprint (currently!). We’re not going to fudge numbers and say we have 50 chefs in your market or thousands of orders per week. We don’t need to sell you on our numbers, we’re truly just trying to share out this service that we think will be beneficial to people.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Being on the B2B2C side of the business, most of our clients are active on social media and we engage in that way often which is a great tool for keeping in touch. It sounds silly, but even if it’s a little heart or share out – they know they’re on our radar and we’re thinking of them. Other than that, we are highlighting our partners in customer emails, and I try to do a little maintenance every now and then. Just going through my rolodex and checking in or sharing a new feature that might have been released.
Image Credits
Annie Darr Drop In Wine Kevin Ornelas