Are you the owner of a coffee shop or a consumer who loves the roasted bean beverage? If so, you are not alone. Over 30 percent of the world’s population enjoys coffee on a regular basis, and the independent coffee shops have sales totalling more than $12 billion in annual sales. Whether your shop specializes in espresso based drinks, blended drinks, cold or hot coffee, there are small changes you can implement to make sure your customers continue to come back. Below are just three quick ideas:
1. Coffee Accessories – One of the ways that you can make sure your customers love your business is by making sure that even the smallest details are excellent. For instance, what sort of stirrers do you offer in your store? Are they ones that you just buy in bulk at your local restaurant supply store or did you put some thought into the purchase? Maybe your store focuses on being environmentally friendly so you should consider using biodegradable stirrers, napkins, lids, etc. There are dozens of ways for you to be innovative with your store’s accessories.
2. Custom Paper Cups – Another way to really showcase your brand is to invest in customer paper cups for your customers who are taking their drink to-go. The standard coffee cup is 9 ounces, but because you want to offer various sizes to your customers you may want to consider finding a small, medium and large option. Whether you think that white disposable coffee cups will fit in with your image or want to go a more personalized route that mimics your branding, this is another simple way to increase customer engagement with your store. Consider how many people will see your logo on the white disposable coffee cups that leave the store in the hands of your happy customers. It’s called free advertising for a reason!
3. Variety of Add-ins – While 35 percent of coffee drinkers prefer the beverage black that leaves 65 percent of customers who you will need to accommodate with add-ins. Make sure to give your customers a ton of variety in this department so that no one leaves saying that you didn’t have what they wanted. Consider various flavor syrups to really make lattes shine, but don’t forget to offer sugar free options too! Other add-ins can be personalized to your brand from marshmallows to raw sugars, honeys, and other flavors.
There is no doubt that people love drinking coffee, no matter the season or time of day. In that area your local coffee shop business is thriving. The difficult part of owning a coffee shop comes when you attempt to stand out among the competition. The next time you are working with your team on a marketing or branding strategy consider the three items above. Are you providing fun, innovative coffee accessories? Are you making the most of your bulk ordered white disposable coffee cups? Have you given your customers enough variety? If the answers to any of these questions is “no” then you know exactly where to start improving.
