Eight marketing ideas for your coffee shop
[Commission for Business Fiction for Beambox]
Forget the COVID bounce. Coffee shop business has been booming for many years now. Things are showing no sign of letting up, although competition is fiercer than ever. Each outlet or brand must not only offer something special, but make sure everyone knows about it too. Here are 8 ways you can strengthen the bond between your venue and customers old and new.
1. Get to know your audience
You want everyone to be welcome, to feel included in your shop, but that doesn’t mean your audience doesn’t skew in a particular direction. Older or younger, affluent or bargain-hunting, male or female – tapping into your audience can lead you to consolidate your brand around a certain theme or maybe pivot to develop a client base you never knew you had!
However sure you are about what your customers want, it’s time to really find out. You can do it informally by making careful observations on the shop floor or perhaps offering a free coffee to customers who fill in a short questionnaire about what they’d like to see in your café.
But it’s better to get a bit technical. Analyse your social media likes and check-ins to get a rough idea of age and gender breakdown. Take a look at who’s sharing or commenting on your content – what are their interests? Not to blow our own trumpet too hard, but Beambox keeps you up to date with your customers’ activity, birthdays, and preferred social channels. It really is neat.
2. Lean into what makes you different
Knowing which segments your primary audience belong to can help focus your thoughts on what your brand is trying to achieve. You have a vision, and you have an audience. Now try to turn up the contrast and stand out from the crowd.#
Run with it
Let’s say you find you’ve got a younger, more millennial customer base than you’d imagined. Do a bit of research on that age group and you’ll find that there’s a concrete trend of people eschewing alcohol on nights out, looking for alternative ways of enjoying themselves without intoxication.
Many coffee houses are now staying open into the evening and offer more than just a great decaf latte and a well-curated playlist. Life drawing classes, live music, talks, and stand-up comedy nights are all starting to find a natural home in night-time coffee venues. Alcohol is, of course, still around: You may want to look into getting a license.
Maybe your vision is less artsy and more glamorous. You could take the non-alcoholic evening vibe and add low lights, table service, and small plates – either from your own kitchen or in collaboration with a popup franchise, say.
Whichever direction you take your brand, it should be in the centre of a three-way Venn diagram containing your demographics, your location, and your passion. Think about it from all angles. A chandelier here and a halloumi burger there do not a strategy make!
3. Collaborate
When you’re confident with the direction your coffee shop is headed in, you could add value sooner than you think by working with other businesses – your coffee shop’s very own side hustle. Again, don’t just throw anything at it. What kind of “bonus features” are most aligned with your branding and your biggest demographics? Maybe:
Of course, you don’t have to franchise these out; doing it in-house could be profitable. But it could also take important time out of your day from staying on top of your core operation.
4. Keep ‘em coming back for more
You may have a beautifully designed stamp card for your customers to get their tenth coffee, bagel, or mocktail on the house, but it’s quite a passive approach. And there may be better, less predictable ways to reward loyalty.
More than a stamp
Much repeat business is down to the holistic impression customers receive in your venue. Service is an enormous part of this. Whether it’s fast-paced interactions at the counter or a more leisurely table-side chat, having your staff develop genuine relationships with regular customers is often the best way to ensure they return. And maybe that’s when a coffee on the house would have the greatest effect. Why not give your baristas a daily allowance of giveaway coffees?
Perhaps you’d like something more precise. Using Beambox, you can schedule giveaways to repeat customers, offer them something special on their birthdays, and reward their tenth visit even if they don’t have a stamp card: Each time they log on to your Wi-Fi network, their visit is registered.
5. Name recognition
First thing: name, address, and phone number (NAP). Make double sure you’re listed clearly and consistently across all platforms, channels, review sites, and – crucially – Google. Register your business, being careful to input the same address and phone number details everywhere. List your COVID-19 safety protocols, too.
Then consider other ways to sneak your brand into people’s heads. Merchandise is a nice, old-school way to do it. Sell your own branded mugs, hot flasks, water bottles, and even clothing. It’s criminally easy to get all sorts of items printed in tiny batches nowadays – why not make all of your merch limited-edition?
6. PR, darling
Advertising all that’s good about your venue needn’t cost the earth. Making yourself known in the community and beyond can cement your coffee shop in the scene and do some good while you’re at it.
Events that are on-brand and newsworthy can bring information about your venue to whole new audiences. Stories could involve:
7. Helping out
Corporate citizenship is more than just the latest buzzword. It’s about having a truly positive influence on your community – while still turning a profit. More than clubs and bars, coffee shops are often key social hubs for local communities and therefore are perfectly placed to play a role in helping local people and causes. For example, your coffee shop can:
On a more everyday level, you could find the biggest employers nearby and work with them to provide an exemplary lunch offer. Ensure packaging is sustainable and up to the job. Wrap up a promotional offer in each sandwich. And definitely give free coffee to the PA who helps organise it all!
8. Social, social, social
You’ll naturally want to weave all the above elements into your social media presence. But do you have a strategy? Enthusiasm and vision can go a long way, but if you don’t set explicit goals, how will you really know if it’s working? The great thing about social media is that many of the analytics are done for you.
Pull them in
Bombarding followers with offers or samey photos of muffins may start putting people off. Achieving true engagement takes a little bit more effort and a touch of inspiration, but it can start conversations that snowball.
The low-hanging fruit are the reviews and comments you organically receive, both on social channels and review sites. Be sure to respond to as many as humanly possible, as they’re the perfect places to promote your brand: Hear new suggestions from loyal followers, limit negative publicity by reacting thoughtfully and generously to complaints, and generally join in the conversation – it’s the next best thing to seeing them in person.
Beambox helps minimize poor reviews by asking customers to rate their experience via the app. Three-star reviews and lower get deflected back with a feedback form, which gives you the chance to improve the customer’s impression of your coffee shop before they leave a permanent review.
Competitions work!
Competitions offering gift cards or product giveaways can have multiple benefits. Take the example of a photo competition:
Content
Whether it’s user-generated or in-house, keeping your social channels buzzing with interesting, entertaining, and appropriate content is not as big a task as it might seem. The trick is to weave it into your daily routine.
When something exciting, out of the ordinary, or just totally on-brand happens, consider sharing it. Arrange a time – and outfit? – with your top barista to shoot a video of their best latte art. Get your resident wordsmith to do some research into the provenance of your coffee beans, espresso machine, or furniture to share as a blog post or Instagram Reel.
Highlight how to get involved with the latest conversations, competitions, and content through signs around your coffee shop. As much as your venue is going digital, bring the online world into your physical space, too.
Don’t hang around!
The pace of change and the relentless growth of the coffee shop sector means there are plenty more surprises up its sleeve. Your imagination and commitment could be behind the next viral trend to sweep the world. Let’s get started!