10 marketing tips for your café
Ideal customers are those who are closest to
Take a survey of customers in your area. Are they single-family homes and moms with kids? Tailor your café to this, equip it with stools for the kids, but also include more healthy options that mothers are seeking lately, or decaffeinated coffee. An interesting accompanying programme can also be a great option, which can also attract more customers.
If you have office complexesnear you focus on them. You can interest them with a loyalty program or directly with an officedelivery system. It may seem like a complication at first and you will be looking for another employee for the morning shift. However, it's easier to become the #1 choice for customers from a nearby business.
Is your café close to ashopping centre? Base your promotion on your great coffee, which customers don't get at the mall, plus the fact that they can relax in your cozy café after shopping.
A café as a coworking space? Take advantage of it!
Not only if your café is close to an office complex, your business might also be a good place for coworking. If your cafe is one of the larger ones offering internet perhaps you could also function as a coworking space.
Customers who go to your cafe to work are likely to sit with you for several hours. Take advantage of this and offer them, for example, abreakfast or lunch menu to which they can get a refill of filter coffee at a discount, so they might not just end up having breakfast or lunch, but also a cupcake.
Logos on your packaging as a tool to promote your café
Having a logo on a paper coffee cup may seem like a small thing. And actually, yes, it is a small thing, but it can also make new customers aware of you. Imagine a situation where a customer comes to you for a takeaway coffee. Later, he/she meets a friend and he/she notices the logo on the cup and asks: "where did he get his coffee from, he doesn't know this cafe". He/she also gives him/her a positive review of the coffee in addition to telling him/her where he/she got the coffee from. The acquaintance will then go to your café the next time he/she is thinking about where to go for coffee.
Merchandise of your café
This tip follows on from the previous one. However, to start with, it is good to say that it is not a good step for new cafes, and even if your cafe is already established and has regular customers, it should not be overdone in that case.
If you don't know what merch is, it is an abbreviation of the word merchandise and therefore the goods that are the product of your cafe. It has an advertising function, but it is different from promotional items that are given away for free because it is sold. Thanks to the merch that customers use or wear, their surroundings get to know about you. Often this includesT-shirts, caps or canvas bags.
The magic of quality merch lies in the fact that you don't just put your logo on the product, but make it more creative. For example, you combine it with something that is typical for your café.
A suitable merch for a café can also be coffee accessories. An interesting tip could be, for example, to team up with a ceramics brand or a smaller start-up maker to create a limited edition range of cups, other serving utensils or coffee drippers.
If you decide to invest in creating merch, think about what your customers would want and use. For example, create a custom collection of thermal mugs that customers can use at any other time. You don't want to create something that will then be useless or that no one will even want. And it's best to actually ask customers directly.
The loyalty program as a basis
Sixth, eighth or tenth free coffee? Practically a classic of all coffee shops. So you might be thinking, since everyone has it, you don't need it. In the case of aloyalty programme, it's quite the opposite. Even something as small as the absence of a loyalty program can cause a customer to go to your competitors.
Whether you offer the seventh or tenth free coffee is up to you. But it's also good to think that not all customers go just for coffee. Some cafes solve this situation by providing customers with a card that is loaded with points for each purchase. These then give them adiscount on their next purchase, for example . Such a loyalty program is not only beneficial for the customer, but also for you. You can find out what your existing customers give you most often and adjust your offer accordingly, for example, or further encourage their loyalty, such as a nice treat on their birthday.
If cards are a waste for you, here's a tip for you too. Notonly loyalty cards, but also the classic free x-coffee clicks have online versions. You can also easily set up a loyalty program if you use Storyous for your orders . The customer will then just give you his own code when ordering.
I don't need to ask the question whether it makes sense to be on social media. It's practically a necessity these days. I myself often use Instagram to find businesses when I'm travelling, whether in the Czech Republic or abroad. It's practically a given to have an Instagramprofile , especially if your target audience tends to be younger. If it's older then you won't go wrong witha Facebook page either .
It's one thing to have a social profile and another tobe activeon them . This is what can be the key factor when a customer is deciding between you and your competitors. That's why, in addition to your address, you should also have easy-to-find opening hours on your social media pages and, among your posts, things like what coffee you currently have on the grinder or what cakes you've baked today. On the other hand, you don't have to share everything and you also need to think about the content.
Youmay be the one who knows your business best, but if you don't fully understand social media, try to find the person who will manage your social media among your employees or regular customers. Because who better to reach customers than the customer.
Coffee influencers as a way to promote your café
In connection with social networks, I will also mention influencers. They can also be a great opportunity to let more people know about your café. You can either hope that they will visit you by themselves or the other option is to approach them with an interesting offer. In addition to coffee influencers, you can also bet on those who just frequent cafes and are interested in coffee but don't make it their primary focus. Reaching out directly to local influencers is also a good option, because even though they may have fewer followers, it's quite likely that people from their neighbourhood, including your neighbourhood, are following them.
One of the common mistakes many coffee shops make is that they may have the perfect coffee, a beautiful space and the best pastries, but it's hard to find their branch. So make sure your correct address is onGoogle maps, plus you have it listed on your social media. Likewise, list your current opening hours on them, which you can adjust if they change.
Google My Business should also be agreat friend of yours . It allows information about your cafe to appear on the side of search results when you type in the name of the business. In addition to the address and opening hours, there should be acontact in the form of a working phone number or email. You can also add a few photos of yourself to the feature, so customers can easily see what your business looks like, and you shouldn't forget about the menu.
However, it's one thing to have online directions and another to have offline directions. If your café is not exactly on the main street it is advisable to sufficiently mark not only the place itself, but also the way to it.
Coffee workshops, courses, lectures and other events in the café
The emotions that the experience evokes in customers can take their relationship with your café to a whole new level. My next tip is to organise workshops, courses or lectures. These can be coffee-related and can be organised by you, such as courses on coffee brewing methods, cupping, i.e. coffee tasting, or a lecture on what's new in the world of coffee.
Similarly, they don't have to have anything to do with coffee. If yours is spacious enough you can either provide your space outside opening hours or, after adjustments, during them to organise, for example, various creative afternoons for women, a flower swap or a charity bazaar. During such events, your bar can continue to operate, you make money and the event attracts new customers.
Differentiate yourself from the competition with a menu or space
What makes you different from the competition? Do your competitors have something you don't? Find what, in turn, will set you apart from them. You have more space, use it! Do you have the option of a garden? Will your café be the number one choice for summer? Unique desserts or a signature drink. These are also options that make customers choose you. But it's important to let them know.
Delivery service or coffee or dessert to your home
If any services had a boom during Covid, it was undoubtedly the delivery services. And covid not covid, the use of these services is probably unavoidable in the future and especially if your café is in a larger city.
Starting a delivery service is not easy. The options are to either approach one of the larger delivery services or to do it all yourself. As I mentioned, setting up these services makes sense for you especially if you are in a big city and you don't want to lose customers who aren't close to you either. So a delivery service doesn't have to be a bonus for you at any cost.
Plus, you also need to think about the logistics of everything first. After all, you don't want to deliver coffee or other food cold to the customer (unless it's been prepared iced), and you don't want them to have to wait too long to get their goodies from you.
Coffee shops on social media