How to increase café traffic? Experiential marketing in a café

Know the real reason why people go to coffee shops. A cup of freshly brewed coffee is only a sub-goal of café-goers. The joy of their cup of coffee is complemented by the desire for an experience. Find out now how experiential marketing works in the coffee shop environment.

What your café guests want

Do you think that a visit to a café from a customer's perspective is all about the coffee? Don't be fooled! There are many other influences on the café guest. Whether social

such as sharing a space to work, or perhaps just the desire to enjoy their moment of relaxation with a coffee in a pleasant environment. These are exactly the areas where you can boost your café's potential and increase footfall. How to do it? By experiential marketing.

Customer satisfaction is as much about the premium product as it is about the service and the atmosphere in general. A technique that focuses on providing memorable experiences to the customer is then called experiential or engagement marketing. To build a good relationship with the customer, this technique (according to a study on the effect of experiential marketing in a café) mainly uses the following 5 aspects: feelings, perceptions, thoughts, actions and relationships.

Customers in the café

Experiential marketing in café practice

The products offered in your café can be perceived by customers through different senses. In addition to the textual description in the printed menu or the verbal presentation by the café staff, a direct demonstration of the product will definitely boost sales. Just as it happens with the cake offer in the showcase.

You can use even more of the customer's senses to awaken their interest in the product. By this I mean trying the product before buying it. Practically - offer a small amount as a taste of your batch brew to customers who are unfamiliar with it. You can demolish their fears of the unknown and encourage sales of this coffee.

Customer satisfaction and café design

There is also a strong relationship between customer satisfaction and interior design. It's not just about the appearance per se. The main influencing elements in the interior are space, colour, lighting, air circulation and sound system. The combination of these elements leads to the customer feeling as comfortable as possible in the café and will be happy to return.
The physical environment of the café is also linked to the popularity of social media. Especially the younger generation of coffee drinkers use social networks on a daily basis and having a "photofriendly" café is a sought-after experience by this target group of your guests. In doing so, you don't have to embark on radical interior redesigns. When it comes to photography, having good light is the most important thing.

Make sure you have lighting that is not over lit or too dim, in short perfect for the atmosphere of your cafe. The right light in a cafe, along with attractive decorations will get customers to take photos, which then spread organically across the internet. Sharing their photos of your cafe then acts as a natural advertisement, costing you only the initial investment for the interior design.

Product design in the café

Let's build on the idea of the so-called insta-friendly café. Catching the customer's curiosity and stimulating their desire to share the experience of your café can also the right packaging design. You can put your café's logo or your entire brand identity on the packaging. Whether it's coffee cups or dessert boxes.

You start by stamping the café logo on the packaging, but you can go further. Choose only eco-friendly materials for your packaging so that your cup also speaks volumes about your company's values. You can communicate other company commitments on them, such as donating a percentage of the price of your takeaway coffee to charity etc. By making this promise and being socially responsible, you will reach other customers sympathetic to your efforts.

The stamp on the cup is such a subliminal advertisement of each photo taken. However, as part of experiential marketing also pay attention to the coffee and dessert serving utensils in your café. Creative and visually appealing service will translate into both on-the-spot customer satisfaction and motivation to take a photo and share the joy of not only delicious, but also nicely served coffee.

Good quality and nice china always works for a great café experience. An example of Loveramics porcelain.

Gamification and other tips to increase café traffic

Are you familiar with the concept of gamification? It's a relatively new technique in marketing, but I'm sure you've come across it in the coffee shop environment. It is the use of gaming principles to increase customer interest. For example, loyalty cards. You entice your customers to a game strategy of collecting points - usually in the form of stamps or stickers, for which they then receive a reward. For example, buying 9 coffees with them will earn a 10th coffee on the house.

Again, you don't just have to stick to the classic paper cards. The modern version of these "loyalty cards" are apps on your mobile phone. If you're a real fan of digital technology and it's also an adequate strategy for your target customer base, commit to implementing online ordering. Your guestswill conveniently order from their mobile phones, which will also speed up the preparation of their drinks or snacks.