12 Ways to Make Your Coffee Shop Stand Out
- 11 May 2022
Making Your Coffee Shop Stand Out
Coffee shops are big business. They are a central location where people can go to work, socialise and relax. It seems like you can’t turn down any street in any city or town without finding a new and exciting coffee shop that has recently opened. This is great news for those who work in the industry. As more people buy into coffee shop culture there will be bigger opportunities to grow your business. In fact, studies suggest that the coffee shop and cafe space is set to grow a massive 42.8% in 2022. Yet, with increased demand also comes increased competition.
Now more than ever, making sure your coffee shop stands out from the crowd is crucial to coffee shop survival. After all, it doesn't really matter how awesome your coffee shop is if you can’t get anyone through the door to experience it themselves.
In this guide, we are going to offer you some tips and inspiration for getting your coffee shop noticed. So, read on and get ready to try some of these ideas yourself.
Use Social Media
Let’s be honest, suggesting that you ‘use social media’ to promote your coffee shop probably isn't any sort of revelation. In fact, whether your run a massive, multinational coffee chain or a tiny local coffee shop, social media marketing has become an integral part of almost all businesses’ marketing strategies.
However, most businesses don’t take social media all that seriously. In fact, many will start social media accounts and then fail to keep them up to date at all. This can result in negative publicity for a coffee shop, often leading visitors to believe you are no longer open.
Being active on social media is a great way to get your coffee shop noticed. Regularly publishing engaging content and joining in conversations around your community will push your business to the forefront of people's minds, so when they think ‘coffee’ they think of you.
Develop Authority
Even when it comes to something as simple as grabbing a coffee, people love buying from businesses that know what they are talking about. It is clear in all industries:
- If your car has broken down, you want a mechanic know is knowledgeable about cars
- If you are feeling sick, you want to visit a knowledgeable doctor
- If you are going to buy a new TV, you want to talk to a sales rep who knows all about the latest features and functions of electronics
Equally, if you want a great cup of coffee you want to know that you are going somewhere that knows all about it. Of course, this doesn't have to mean you offer artisan, bespoke blends - but simply that you know how to find and offer the best product for the money.
You can build authority in many ways. For starters, it should be clear in the way you serve your customers - such as offering them advice when picking what to eat or drink. You can also build your authority online by publishing content on your blog or social media to help develop people's knowledge about the products you offer.
Running specialist events such as coffee tasting can be a smart way to establish your presence as a local expert and further build your authority.
Run Events
When you are trying to stand out from the crowd, running specialist events around food and drink doesn't have to be your only option. In fact, running practically any event at your venue can be a fantastic way to bring new and potentially lucrative groups of individuals through the door.
For example, you may run weekly live music nights or comedy nights at your coffee shop. You may also agree to host local clubs such as book clubs or crafting clubs. Doing this will not only give you a small amount of custom from the club members but will also introduce new local people to your coffee shop - driving future profits.
The events you run really can be anything. The more ‘out the box’ they are, the better they will be at capturing people's attention. When you spend time getting to know your customers, you will be able to better understand what sort of events might attract others like them. For some, this may be live music, but for others, it may be art exhibitions.
Consider Interior Design
What makes a customer pick you over your competitors?
Sure, your coffee might taste better and your staff might be friendlier, but what actually grabs someone as they pass by your coffee shop?
Great interior design is a smart way to grab the attention of passing customers. Of course, your coffee shop needs to be functional, but it should also make people think about how they would feel sitting down to enjoy a coffee and a slice of cake.
Before you start making changes to your interior design, consider how you want to appear to current and potential customers. Do you want to be a space people come to relax? Perhaps you want to create some bustle and buzz around your venue? Maybe you want to be the place people love to come and work?
Whatever you decide, focus on creating an environment that is a step above what others offer locally. Although this will be a financial investment, if done correctly it can have a fantastic ROI.
Reward Loyalty
All too often businesses focus on bringing new customers through the door. Of course, this is an important part of continued business success and growth. However, retaining and delighting old customers is crucial for several reasons.
Firstly, retaining customers is usually much cheaper and more lucrative than bringing in new ones. Secondly, when you delight current customers you become a place they recommend to their friends, family and colleagues - this is a powerful way to make your business stand out from the competition.
Use Bold Signage
Signage should play a huge part in making your coffee shop stand out from the crowd. Well designed and placed signs are a powerful, physical way to catch people's attention. Signs can be used either on your premises in order to draw attention to it, or off your premises (with the correct permissions) in order to draw attention from external spaces to your coffee shop.
Try thinking outside of the box when creating eye-catching signs. For example, you may use a chalkboard sign to write out a thought-provoking or funny quote that will stop and make people think. Alternatively, you may use a sign to promote a generous offer or new product you are serving.
Regularly updating or changing your signs is a great way to keep people checking out your coffee shop. If you use external posters or even menu displays, consider designing and replacing them often so you continue to catch people's eye, even if they pass your coffee shop every day.
Focus on Customer Service
Great customer service is often overlooked as a key factor in making a business stand out from competitors. Yet people are more likely to remember really good or bad service, which means it can have a big impact on business success.
Similarly to rewarding loyalty, when you offer your customers better than expected customer service they are likely to go out of their way to tell others about it.
Doing this isn't all that difficult. Even a simple smile and warm greeting paired with a seamless purchasing experience can be enough to make your coffee shop stand out from the rest.
Get Out There
If you want more people to notice your coffee store you need to get out there and show them just why they should become regular customers.
For example, you may decide to set up a coffee stall at local music or sporting events. You could even have a small coffee cart that you use to sell in various locations around your town.
Doing this will help you get your name out there and help people to connect your brand with great coffee and great service. Just make sure that you advertise your permanent location when doing this.
Work With Influencers
Influencers aren’t just for the big brands out there. In fact, working with small local influencers can be a great way to get your coffee shop noticed.
What makes an influencer? Well anyone who is influential really.
This doesn't necessarily have to mean they have a HUGE following on social media. For example, you may have customers who are known by everyone locally and have a small social media following made up almost exclusively of locals. This could be a great person to approach about helping to promote your business.
When working with small local influencers it is also more likely they would be willing to help out in exchange for freebies such as coffee - this makes the potential ROI great.
Mix Up the Menu
However successful your menu might be, it is important to give it an occasional refresh in order to attract new people through the door of your coffee shop. This may simply include the introduction of new food or drinks. For example, you may introduce a new blend of coffee that people can pick to try.
Mixing up your menu will keep your current customers interested in what you have to offer, it will also help you to attract new customers. Another added benefit will be that it will give you something exciting to talk about on your social media channels and website.
Sell/Give Away Merch
Are you the coolest coffee shop in town? Have you built a strong brand that is instantly recognisable? Then merchandise can be a great way to get low cost, local advertising. In fact, do it well and you might even make a profit from this approach to getting your coffee shop noticed.
Try creating some wearable merchandise such as T-shirts, hoodies or caps and giving them out to your most loyal customers. As soon as they step out of the door you have free, moving advertising for your business.
For the best results, remember to do the following things with your merchandise:
- 1. Ensure your brand is clear.
- 2. Ensure it is obvious what you do (sell coffee, food etc).
- 3. Ensure it is clear that you are local (include the name of the town/city).
- 4. Make your designs super eye-catching and cool.
In fact, if you can make your merchandise look cool enough you could even start to sell it from your coffee shop or online - this means you will effectively be making a profit from locally advertising your coffee shop.
Have a Great Website
Sure, social media is a great place to promote your brand - we have already covered just how to do this earlier in the guide. Yet many local businesses fall into the trap of exclusively using their social media accounts as their only presence online.
There are a few reasons why this is a bad idea:
- You have no control over social media, the company behind the platform can change how it works at any time
- It can be difficult to impact local SEO exclusively with social media accounts
- A website can accurately represent your brand and can be developed over time as your business changes
A well-designed website is the perfect centralised location to drive all traffic from your online marketing activity. You can use large scale videos and images to give potential customers a true sense of what your coffee shop is like and what they can expect when they visit.
Make Your Coffee Shop Stand Out: Summary
It is clear that making your coffee shop stand out from the crowd is now more important than ever. Use the tips in this guide as inspiration to help you find ways to make people take notice of your business. Of course, not all of these tips will be totally applicable to you, so find the ones that seem more appropriate and give them a try.
So, what are you waiting for? Why not get started today?
If you enjoyed this article, you may also like…
- Make the most of your outdoor space with café banner stands
- Get your Business Noticed with Pavement Signs
- 5 Step Guide to Marketing your Restaurant
- 5 Powerful Ways to Improve Your Café’s Image
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