Case Bastiano: how a caterer digitalized and boosted his business
Bastiano is an Italian-inspired caterer and hotspot for food lovers in Bonheiden. It's not a restaurant or bar, but you can buy delicious dishes and products there. Debby Swinnen runs the business with so much passion that it has even been noticed by Gault Millau. They awarded the business a star in their Cahier POP, which lists the best gourmet, street food, and fast food addresses.
When COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, businesses suddenly had to adapt quickly. Everything closed, and only take-away was allowed. 'Ironically, that forced switch was the beginning of an incredible business boost for Bastiano,' Debby recalls the periods in which she engaged ClickForest. 'I knew I had to ride the wave of take-away and needed a digital platform for that, but I couldn't get beyond some tinkering in Wix. By chance, I bumped into Frederiek during a delivery, and he said he didn't know we did home deliveries. That's when I knew: I'm not doing well, this needs to be publicised more. Frederiek turned out to be the man to help me out.'
Migrating from Wix to Shopify
The first step was to ditch the Wix platform and create an e-commerce environment in Shopify. This resulted in an ideal blend of webshop and website, with a clear overview of all products available for takeaway and pickup. The advantage of Shopify is that it is very sales-oriented. 'Frederiek set everything up in no time. Very functional, and it looks great too,' Debby recalls.
Next step: let's get advertising
Even more impressive was the speed and efficiency with which Frederiek set up our advertising strategy. What and how he did it all remains a mystery to me, but I can say that we immediately reaped the benefits. Of course, the corona factor may have helped, but at the same time, the orders never stopped coming in, not even today. Before corona, I could count the digital orders on the fingers of one hand, after which the order volume increased tenfold at peak moments.
The advertising strategy isn't a mystery; it's simply a logical implementation of best practices. When Debby needs to drop off, we explain our approach:
We always start at the top of the sales funnel by organizing our ads to be as cost-effective as possible. After all, conversion ads cost significantly more than reach or traffic ads.
Awareness (Reach): Here, we generate interest in Bastiano among new users. With these ads, we explain to users why Bastiano is so valuable. We show the ad to as many people as possible within our broad target audience.
Consideration (traffic): With these ads, we ensure that people consider Bastiano and seek more information. With these campaigns, we encourage people to visit the website.
We use two types of ads to drive conversions:
Conversions: We encourage people to take a specific action on Bastiano's webshop. Examples include adding items to their shopping cart or making a successful purchase.
Sell catalog: We showcase products from the webshop catalog to generate sales.
Traditional business is back, and digital business remains alive and kicking.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the long-awaited era of freedom has arrived, and takeaway orders and deliveries are still booming. The business segment of family and communion celebrations has also recovered. 'We really know what to do, week in, week out, and on weekends,' Debby beams. 'Frederiek kept thinking along and adjusting, adapted advertising budgets, and extracted all possible information from Google Analytics to do even better. I will be eternally grateful to him for the boost he has given Bastiano.'
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