To be able to create a successful coffee shop you need to be interested in numbers. Some of them, at least.
If you are like me and suffer to like or even understand numbers, I have a tip for you. Try to think the numbers are there to help you and serve you, not to make you confused or ruin your day. Remember there are many areas hugely affecting on your business and making it profitable (or not). I listed three if them below.
Be aware of the number of service providers and know the coffee products and services available in the area. Also, keep an eye on the quality in general. Do you know the number of people commuting through the area on a daily basis? Find out the gaps in the area: what would people like to have but is not yet available?
MARKET SATURATION
Be aware of the number of service providers (=competitors) and know the coffee products and services available in the area. Also, keep an eye on the quality in general. Do you know the number of people commuting through the area on a daily basis? Find out the gaps in the area: what would people like to have but is not yet available?
BUSINESS PLANNING
Some things you want to give thought already before opening the coffee shop.
Vision and mission. Be clear and know what you want to do. You can’t “just sell coffee”. What exactly you want to do?
- Who are you selling to? What is your target group and will you reach them as planned? Who would you like to get as customers? Do you have the correct offering for them?
- Cost structure. Are you aware of all the costs that running a coffee shop or a business in general brings along? Especially staff costs can be huge so be smart in shift planning. Peak hours need more hands and feet than other times. Also, if there is a lot of manual work or table service, those need to be taken into consideration when planning the shifts.
- Pricing. Start with coffee as it is the product with best margin. Find the overall balance between the competitors’ pricing and your cost structure.
BOOSTING YOUR SALES
There are many ways to sell more. Here are some tips and stories behind them.
Take Away
Think of all those busy people that don’t have time to stay anywhere. It is easy to rise up your sales by selling coffee to go for them. Also, a takeaway customer does not sit down so there are more chairs for those who stay. It might also be wise to consider your takeaway cups because they are basically free advertising.
Multiple coffee choices
We know that those loving their dark roast are not going to drink light roasted coffee if they are not forced to. And there are always people who want their coffee crispy and fruity as well as people who want their coffee chocolaty and nutty. Have at least two choices of coffee to get more customers. You can also change them on a regular basis to keep the selection interesting. Remember the non-coffee drinkers, too!
Cross selling and upselling
Always have combos available. Tell customers about them and have nice POS material on the products visibly placed. Would it be nice to have one product a week the baristas are always recommending before accepting the payment? Taste pairs work great in coffee shop environment, why not to have one or two sets defined. Always ask if the customer wants a double espresso instead a single or additional flavour syrup to their caffé latte. Also encourage the customer to choose a premium product over a regular one. Name the medium coffee as a regular and add one more cup size if you only have two so that you have small, regular and big. People want to have the regular, not the small! Having a nice selection of sweet and savory delicacies makes it easy for customer to buy more. And remember that a full and mouthwatering display sells better than a half empty one.
Social media
This we subject we covered in my previous blog post but I just wanted to remind you that utilizing social media is mostly free advertising. Make sure customers can tag your place on their posts. Maybe you would like to have a recognizable hashtag? What about social media marketing? Should you spend a few euros to e.g. Instagram advertising so that you make sure potential customers find your account?
Conclusion:
Starting a coffee shop can be a great way to earn a living. However, there are certain things you need to do in order to make your coffee shop a success. In this essay, we discussed six tips for making your coffee shop a success. We hope you found this information helpful and we wish you the best of luck with your coffee shop.
