I am sure everyone agrees that it is necessary to have a solid marketing plan. One that covers our seasonal activities (Valentines Day, Spring, Summer fun, Fall, holidays, etc.) We have found that weather has a lot to do with our sales in general. We make big money on ice cold smoothies but hardly anyone wants a smoothie in the cold, wind and rain. We are in a college town so our smoothies don't do as well in the cold and our kids only want hot chocolate that is if they think to come in. Most will settle for McDonald's or other quick specialty drinks. Our coffees are much more expensive and most of the students don't drink coffee. So we have to spend more energy on enticing people to come in for specials and seasonal activities. That requires a lot more of the budget than we can actually afford. Which means radio, television, billboards are out. We are not making enough money during the cold and rain to afford such things.
We are now relying a lot on posters that are provided through our vendors. They are free or very cheap. Also we send our employees out an hour a day when it is slow to put flyers on cars at markets and other crowded places. We have added sandwiches, salads and wraps which make up about 50% of our sales when business is slow.
Anybody got any more suggestions out there?
marketing
Take a look at your local market. Who are the players? What can you do that they won't or can't? What do you do that will make your customers adore what you offer and tell all of their friends about it?
We roast right in the front of the cafe, so we've got a big differentiator from any other shops in our region. We have a 100% commitment to sustainable trade (Fair Trade, organic certified, environmentally certified and direct farm). In a college town, that's a big deal as some 120 colleges and universities have banned non-sustainable coffees from their campuses. (You better be damn certain of the authenticity of any "direct farm" purchases and be able to name the farmer and why her coffee is sustainable. We buy a Costa Rican coffee from a farm that pays 150% of prevailing wage, for example, and a Nicaraguan coffee that is organic and fertilized by worm poop.)
If you don't roast, get your coffee from a local, independent roaster who delivers fresh -- 3-5 days out of the roaster and get your inventory cycle so beans sell out at about the 15-day mark.
Sample. Heck with flyers and coupons. If your coffee or drinks are better, then walk the streets and give it away! Get people talking about what you do. Word of mouth is your strongest marketing tool. If you have what it takes, get your local paper to do a chain vs. indie shop challenge, like a Bobbie Flay throwdown.
Engage your community. Supply coffee to charity events. Set up an espresso/coffee/smoothie/hot chocolate vending at your local high school games.
We're not a college town but I toured the coffee shops in Iowa City. College kids are buying drinks and I'd love the kind of walk-in traffic. Are you doing Chemex service -- pour over so you can have a coffee list like a wine list? That's another way to differentiate from typical brew service. We're not doing this yet but it was the way to get a straight coffee in Iowa City from the independent shops.
Be absolutely excellent at espresso. Make sure your shots are pulled perfectly. Practice and product latte art and give your customers another thing to talk about.
Do hot chocolate like a mocha latte and not from a machine. Froth the milk and your chocolate sauce together. Charge a bit more.
Make your place really comfortable with free WiFi and let people play Scrabble. We find very little time abuse. Put fresh flowers on your tables -- work out a cross promotional deal with a local florist and leave their cards alongside the flowers.
Watch Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares on BBC and learn. Read Tom Feltenstein's book, Four Walls Marketing (or something along those lines!).
Jack Shipley
Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters & Cafe
www.consciouscup.com
www.jdshipley.com
Marketing
We have simular problems. . . we are just coming up on our 7 month annivesary, and it's tough to figure out where to put your money.
We have had really good luck bringing drinks to the radio stations in the morning during the commute, and things like that. I will say that the best marketing tool we have is me personally going out and meeting people. But how do you do that when you're still working a full time job on top of the coffee shop to make ends meet in the coffee shop and at home. So, we have found the the second best thing is the raido stations in the mornings. We try to hit them up every other week, close to pay days.
Have you found any other ideas that work?