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Aug 15, 2019
More than using high-quality ingredients, having the best brewing recipes, and being consistent with providing quality service day in and day out, a truly remarkable coffee shop can position itself uniquely in the minds of its ideal customers.
But, how exactly can you do that?
Especially when there are thousands of coffeehouse stores across America, and not to mention the big coffee shop chains that dominate most areas, it sounds too impossible.
In this article, we will give you tips on how to market your coffee shop business like a pro, so you can differentiate your business, start driving more local customers to your store, and make more sales this 2021.
What’s great about local coffee shops is that, unlike big coffeehouse chains, you are in the position to provide the best customer experience possible by making your customers feel valued and understood.
In other words, you can easily develop a closer and more personal relationship with them.
Even if you might not have high-end equipment or use the most expensive coffee beans, your customers will keep coming back because they feel a special connection with your shop - a connection they can’t get anywhere else.
The challenging part, however, is getting people to come to your store so that you can provide this one-of-a-kind experience. That’s why we’re here to help you.
To drive local customers to your store, follow these tips and tricks:
One of the reasons why Starbucks is incredibly popular is because it was able to establish itself as the go-to place for people to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee outside their homes and offices.
How was Starbucks able to successfully do this? Through branding.
The company was able to communicate effectively who they are and how they want people to perceive them through their logo, brand messaging, tone, customer service, and many more.
As a local coffee shop owner, you want to do the same. You want your brand to effectively communicate who you are and what sets you apart from other coffeehouses in your neighborhood.
But for you to reach the likes of Starbucks, you need to master your coffee shop’s branding first. Your brand identity should be reflected in every element of your business - from your logo and captions, to how you serve your customers.
By ensuring that your brand identity is articulated at every touchpoint, you can successfully position your brand in the minds of your customers the way you want to be perceived.
If you don’t know who you are, or if you do but aren’t effectively communicating this to your audience, then you will have a hard time reaching them and winning them over. In turn, they’ll have trouble remembering you or identifying with your brand.
Here’s what you need to do to establish who you are:
You want to go back to your business plan and review who you are as a company and what you set out to do.
Is your goal for customers to feel like they’re at home the moment they step into your store? Is your coffee shop a place for the hip and trendy to get together? Or, do you want people to recognize it as the coffee shop with a heart?
Then, interview customers and your target audience. Ask them how they perceive your brand and compare.
If they don’t see you the way you want to be perceived, you might need to develop your brand and work on communicating your brand to your ideal customers.
Once you’ve identified what your coffee shop is all about, you need to be able to explain this to your customers and target audience effectively.
Make sure that your online and offline visual identity, tone, and messaging are consistent at every touchpoint. Everything from your social media pages, ads, fliers, coffee cups, and menu board should be uniform.
According to Reboot, consumers can recognize a brand immediately based on its signature color.
You’ll want to take time redesigning and rethinking your captions to ensure that your online and offline branding is consistent. This will allow people to quickly identify your brand as soon as they see your logo, social media posts, fliers, etc.
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One of the best ways to strengthen your branding is to make sure that your customer service communicates who you are.
If you want to be known as the friendly and homey coffee shop in your neighborhood, you can greet your customers and give them your warmest smile. Sometimes, paying attention to the smallest of details is the key to winning over customers.
After establishing your brand’s identity and communicate this at every touchpoint, it’ll be easier to market and reach out to your target audience and resonate with them.
According to The Marketo Engagement Gap report, 56% of consumers expect brands to have a deeper understanding of their needs and wants. That’s why it’s critical to know who your ideal customers are.
Conducting research will allow you to gather data on how you can effectively market your coffee shop business, what channels to use, which coffee to promote to the different segments within your target audience, and the kind of narrative to use to be able to meet their expectations.
The more targeted your approach to marketing your coffee shop is, the more you’ll be able to give them what they want.
Find out how to identify your desired customers below:
You want your marketing message to be powerful enough to motivate your target audience to take action. To do this, you should make them feel as if you’re speaking to them in a personal manner.
Segment your target audience into groups according to their age, gender, or hobby. Next, craft different messaging for each group you know they’ll most likely respond to.
For example, you know that some college students stop by your store to buy coffee for all-nighter during finals. You can reach out to them by offering a free upgrade during exam week, or perhaps even special discounts for students.
When you speak directly to your target audience, you’re more likely to attract and convert them into quality leads.
As shown in the example above, creating special discounts and free upgrades exclusive to students during exam week can encourage them to buy coffee from your store. Plus, they’ll most likely tell their friends about you!
After identifying your target customers, you can start refining your coffee selections, pricing, and whatnot. This makes it more convenient for you to serve the different groups within your customer base.
Here’s what you can do:
Knowing your target audience and giving them what they want is the best way to stand out.
For example, cat lovers are your target audience. To attract them, you can make everything about your store cat-themed - your mugs, the names of the coffee, the furnishings, and just about anything else you can think of. You might even want to put cats for customers to pet.
The more you’re familiar with your target audience, the more you can connect with them on a personal level. When they’re able to identify with you and believe that you genuinely care about them, they’ll continue to be loyal to your brand.
Now that you’ve mastered your coffee shop’s branding and you know what your target audience wants, it’s time to use the information you obtained to market your products and services to your target audience.
And, what better way to start than by personally promoting your coffee shop?
Nobody knows your coffee shop better than you or your employees, which means that you’re in the best position to promote your brand. You can also feature your employees or your most loyal customers to be the face of your business.
If you advertise your coffee shop and interact with your customers directly, it’ll feel more personalized and it helps create a genuine image for your brand.
So, how can you start promoting your coffee shop? Take a look at our tips below!
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It can be as simple as posting a photo of your morning coffee at your shop with an inviting caption like “Enjoying my morning coffee at X Café. Have you had your daily dose of caffeine? If not, drop by today for a cup of extra strong coffee to power your week!”
People love paying attention to stories.
Feature your coffee shop’s story in your social media accounts. Better yet, use TikTok to flaunt your beautiful cafe and go viral overnight!
Upload a video of you or one of your baristas making a giant cup of cappuccino, or show your audience what usually happens when getting ready to open the shop. There are countless ideas to think of.
Starting a YouTube channel is a great way to share your knowledge and expertise about running a coffee shop business.
You can also use the platform to share any coffee hacks, narrate the story behind your coffee shop, feature your products, and so many other contents that can help increase the value of your brand.
Aside from personally promoting your business, it’s also a must to create social media accounts for your coffee shop.
Whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter, you should be active on social media since it’s where everyone seems to be most of these days.
Posting regularly, replying to comments, and answering messages are fantastic ways to build a strong connection with your existing and prospective customers. It can also strengthen your visibility online,
For these reasons, you’ll want to put all the essential information on your coffee shop’s social media pages. Be sure to include your location, business hours, website, and contact number.
Your social media pages can also be an excellent avenue to share engaging content with your followers, get more traffic to your website, provide value to your audience, and increase brand awareness. There are many types of content you can post on your social media accounts, as shown below:
Infographics lets you share interesting information with your target audience, while catching their attention through the visuals. They also tend to get more shares and engagements compared to an all-text post.
Sharing blog posts, articles, and guides on social media can get you more people to visit your website.
You can write different topics, such as a beginner’s guide to coffee, the different types of coffee, the best type of coffee to maximize productivity, and many more.
You can also tackle the business side of your coffee shop - from starting a coffee shop business to effective marketing secrets to entice coffee lovers.
There are so many things you can write about. But, to make sure your blog posts cut through the noise, give these tips a go:
Post images with a simple caption on Instagram or Facebook to keep your customers posted. Something as simple as asking them how their week is going so far, a thank you, or sharing a quote can go a long way. Here’s Subculture Coffee giving you an example.
Did you know that social videos tend to get 1200% more engagements than images and text posts combined?
Videos are the most engaging type of content, which explains why people love them.
These are the different types of video content you can create:
There are also two kinds of video feature on social media you can use to share content:
Organizing a giveaway or contest can boost your brand awareness by 30%, making it a very effective marketing tactic.
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For instance, ask your audience to come up with a name for a new recipe,. The participant with the most creative name will be the winner. You can also have them post the most Instagrammable shot of your coffee, or share their most unforgettable experience at your coffee shop.
While you’re at it, make a hashtag for people to use so you can easily track the engagements and the conversations around it.
Hosting social media giveaways or contests can benefit your coffee shop in numerous ways, among which include:
By offering attractive prices, you can encourage coffee lovers across your town or even outside of your local area to participate.
If many of your customers will join your contest or giveaway, chances are, more people will know about your coffee shop.
For example, customer A, who has 1,000 followers on Instagram, takes part in your event and posts about it. Their followers will obviously see the post, get curious about your cafe, and before you know it, they become your new customers.
With contest or giveaways giving you new faces, you’ll surely expect more sales and foot traffic to your business.
The best part about hosting a contest or a giveaway is by being an opportunity to collect insights and data from your potential customers. You can identify the age group who are most likely to participate, their location, demographics, contact information, email, and many more.
Hosting a contest or giveaway can get people to follow you, especially if it’s a part of your mechanics. You can grow your followers 70% faster when you use this tactic.
You can use UGC for content curation, find unique content, boost your SEO ranking, and gain customer insights.
COVID-19 propelled the food delivery industry to grow and thrive despite such challenging times. The top U.S. food delivery apps reached a revenue of $3 billion jointly during the lockdown.
Even though there are no lockdowns anymore, people still prefer to have their food delivered rather than dining in at a restaurant for safety purposes. Don’t think that the food delivery business is going away anytime soon.
Make the most of this situation by signing your coffee shop up at any food delivery services, like Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash, and many more.
Get customers to buy from you again and again by creating a loyalty program.
It could be anything from a free refill if they order a large-sized brewed coffee, or a point system they can use to redeem an item or pay for their next coffee. You can also use weekly promotions, to encourage sales and traffic throughout the week.
For example:
One of the most effective ways to market your coffee shop is to use geo-targeting to send relevant promos and marketing ads to customers near your area.
According to a study conducted by MarTech Series, 83% of marketers said their campaigns are more successful when they use geo-targeting technology.
By sending the right message at the right time and place to the right person, you can put your brand on top of your target audience’s minds and your coffee shop in front of people looking for coffee within proximity.
This can drive customers to your store and boost your sales!
There are many ways to market your coffee shop business.
Before you start running ads on Facebook or Google, it’s best to establish your brand first and make sure that your branding is consistent on all touchpoints.
This and knowing your target audience are the only ways you can effectively promote your business and reach your ideal customers.
Once you’ve perfected them, shift your focus on content marketing, video marketing, social media marketing to communicate who you are and what you have to offer to your audience.
At Digital Resource, we can help you advertise your coffee shop business to your target audience successfully. We will handle the marketing side of your business, so you can focus on running your coffee shop, stress-free! Contact us to get started today.
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