New technology offers enormous potential to build sales, and yet retail bakeries understand that at the end of the day it often comes down to people who drive your business in a positive and sustainable direction. A blend of technology and human interaction, therefore, offers great promise to create sustainable sales growth that will make a difference to your bakery’s growth and survival. That’s where Drum dives into action.

Drum is a new, community-driven online platform that allows businesses – including retail bakeries – to promote themselves through a network of everyday citizens who become your customers and supporting community. Customers create an offer, and Drum publishes it to “drummers” who share with anyone they know who might love your business and products. You can even offer commissions to “drummers” to reward their efforts.

Sign up is easy. Simply go to https://business.drum.io/register.

“Drum connects restaurants, bakeries and others with gig workers who share deals with their friends,” says Eric Nalbone, vice president of marketing for Drum Technologies, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. “We think there are tremendous applications in that space right now.”

For those who may be skeptical of yet another tech company promising the moon, consider that the top executives at Drum earned their stripes from such tech innovators as MoPro and Kabbage. Nalbone previously worked as vice president of marketing for Bellhops, prior to stints at Kabbage and eBay.

‘Our group got together to focus on the basic wiring for small businesses,” he says.

Advances in technology had moved many companies successfully into online payment acceptance and inventory management but, still, something is missing. The people factor.

“We sought to leverage a business’ most valuable asset – customers – and share that with their network,” Nalbone says. “We all trust people we know and talk to every day.”

Here is how it works. In the Drum for Business section of the website, customers create an offer, for example, a $50 gift card to a favorite bakery in Atlanta. Setting up your offer online means that it can be tracked, which is important. Once the offer is set up, Drum enlists its network of drummers to promote your offer. The real success story kicks in when the offer begins to spread, as it is shared throughout the online network. One simple offer can lead to thousands – or more – sales.

“It is a compelling message for businesses that have not been able to realize the current value of customers,” Nalbone says, “which is tremendous.”