Latest / The Local Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Small Business, Google Maps, and Local SEO / How a Local Baker Uses Google Maps for Preorders
Transcript
- Lucas: Let's talk about something that drives me crazy — how many local food businesses still don't take preorders seriously. Luna: Right, I see bakeries and delis that make everything fresh, and then they're stuck with unsold inventory at the end of the day. It's such a simple fix. Lucas: Exactly. And the tool is already sitting in their pocket — Google Maps. Not some expensive online ordering platform, just the attributes and Q&A section that most businesses ignore. Luna: So today's episode is about a bakery that actually nailed this. Which one? Lucas: Sweet Rise in Portland, Oregon. Owner Maria Ramos. She runs a small storefront in the Alberta Arts District — mostly walk-in traffic, a few regulars. She was throwing away about 15 percent of her daily bake every night. Luna: Ouch. That's real money. So what did she do? Lucas: She started with the attributes on her Google Business Profile. Most people don't realize you can add things like 'preorder', 'curbside pickup', 'same-day pickup'. Maria checked 'preorder' and 'curbside pickup' — that's it. Two clicks. Luna: And that changed something? Lucas: Within two weeks, her preorder rate went from basically zero to about 15 percent of daily sales. Customers were searching 'bakery near me', seeing her listing with those attributes, and clicking through to place an order. She uses a simple Google Form link in her profile for orders. Luna: So it's really about signaling. People browsing on mobile see those badges and know she offers preorders. It's like a digital storefront sign. Lucas: Exactly. And she didn't stop there. Next she tackled the Q&A section. You know how Google lets anyone ask questions on a business profile, and the owner can answer publicly? Luna: Yeah, and most business owners ignore it or give a one-word answer. Big missed opportunity. Lucas: Maria went through every question that had ever been asked. Things like 'Do you make gluten-free bread?' and 'Can I order a custom cake for Saturday?' She wrote detailed answers — not just 'yes', but 'Yes, we offer gluten-free sourdough on Wednesdays and Fridays. Preorder by Tuesday at 6 PM to guarantee availability.' Luna: That's a whole conversion path right there. She's answering the question, setting expectations, and giving a clear call to action. Lucas: She also preemptively added her own questions. Google lets business owners add up to 10 Q&As themselves. So she added things like 'How do I preorder?' and 'Is curbside pickup available?' with her own detailed responses. That way, the first thing a new visitor sees is a ready-made FAQ. Luna: Smart. That also reduces the chance of getting random, unhelpful questions from customers. You control the narrative. Lucas: And then she layered in Google Posts. Every morning she posts a photo of that day's special with a brief description and a 'Preorder now' button. She doesn't overthink it — just a quick shot on her phone, two sentences, and a link. Luna: How often does she post? Lucas: Six days a week, takes her maybe five minutes. The result? Her preorder share climbed to 40 percent of daily sales within three months. And her waste dropped from 15 percent to under 5 percent. Luna: That's huge. So she essentially shifted a chunk of her demand from impulse to planned. And it's all within Google's free tools. Lucas: No paid ads. No third-party app. Just the profile she already had. And the best part — she says the preorder customers are also her highest repeat rate. Because once someone takes the time to preorder, they're more invested. Luna: There's a behavioral economics angle there. The act of preordering itself creates a commitment device. They've already made the decision, so they're more likely to come back. Lucas: Right. And Maria also started using the 'curbside pickup' attribute in combination with a simple sign in her window that says 'Preorder online, skip the line.' She gets customers who saw the sign, then went home and preordered for the next day. Luna: So the physical and digital reinforce each other. That's smart. A lot of businesses think of online and offline as separate, but here they're connected. Lucas: Exactly. Let me walk through the exact steps she took, because it's replicable for any local food business. Step one: log into your Google Business Profile and go to the 'Info' tab. Scroll to 'Attributes' and add 'Preorder' and 'Curbside pickup' if they apply. Luna: And if those specific attributes aren't available in your category, you can add them as services or in the description. Lucas: Right. Step two: go to the 'Q&A' section. Answer every existing question with a detailed, helpful response. Then add your own questions — at least five, covering preordering, customization, availability, and pickup. Luna: She used questions like 'Do you take same-day orders?' and 'What's the cutoff time?' — practical stuff people actually want to know. Lucas: Step three: commit to a daily Google Post. Doesn't have to be fancy. A photo of your product, a short description, and a link to your order form. Maria uses Google Forms because it's free and simple, but you could use any link. Luna: And the key is consistency. One post a day is better than ten posts one week and nothing the next. Lucas: Step four: update your business description to mention preordering. Maria's now reads: 'Artisan bakery in Portland's Alberta Arts District. Preorder online for guaranteed availability and curbside pickup. Fresh sourdough, pastries, and custom cakes.' Luna: That's an SEO win too. The words 'preorder' and 'curbside pickup' match what people are searching for. Lucas: And step five: track your results. Maria uses the 'Insights' tab on her profile to see how many people clicked 'Preorder' or 'Curbside pickup' each week. She saw a direct correlation between posting frequency and those clicks. Luna: So she was measuring. That's rare. Most small business owners set it and forget it. Lucas: Right. And she found that posts with photos of a finished cake or bread loaf got triple the clicks of text-only posts. So she leaned into that. Luna: That makes sense. Visual proof of quality. People want to see what they're preordering. Lucas: Now, one thing Maria didn't do that I'd recommend — she didn't use Google's 'Products' feature. You can list individual items with prices and photos. She said it felt like too much maintenance, but I think even a limited set of top sellers would help. Luna: Yeah, that could be a next step. But what she did already moved the needle dramatically. I'm curious — did she see any downside? Lucas: She mentioned that a few walk-in customers were disappointed when items were sold out because preorders took everything. But she turned that into a positive — she put up a sign saying 'Preorder to guarantee yours, or try your luck same day.' That actually drove more preorders. Luna: So scarcity became a marketing tool. That's smart. And it's honest — you're not creating fake scarcity, you're just being transparent. Lucas: Exactly. And the overall takeaway is that Google Maps isn't just for discovery — it's for transaction. Most businesses treat it like a digital Yellow Pages. But if you add the right attributes, answer questions proactively, and post daily, you can actually shift customer behavior. Luna: And it's all free. No ad spend. Just time and a little consistency. Lucas: Which brings me to something I want to mention. The reason we can make episodes like this every week — with specific, actionable cases — is that a small group of listeners supports the show directly. No ads, no sponsors pushing a product. Just people who find value and chip in. Luna: Yeah, it's a really lean operation. And that support makes it possible to keep digging into these stories instead of chasing ad revenue. Lucas: So if you've gotten something useful from this episode or any of our past ones, and you want to help keep it going, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure ever, but it's appreciated. Luna: And it genuinely helps us spend more time on research. Anyway — back to Maria. Lucas, what's one thing a bakery owner could do this afternoon after listening? Lucas: Open your Google Business Profile and add the preorder attribute. That's the single highest-impact action. Then tomorrow, answer one Q&A. Do that for a week and you'll already be ahead of 90 percent of competitors. Luna: Good advice. And if you want to see Maria's exact Q&A answers, we'll link to a screenshot in the show notes. Lucas: Perfect. Next week we'll look at how a food truck uses Google Maps to manage real-time location changes. That's a whole different challenge. Luna: Can't wait. See you then.