8 Marketing Strategies for Coffee Shops

Be the coffee place everyone in your area is talking about.

People love coffee, and many drink two or more cups in a day. Because of the demand for this aromatic caffeinated drink, coffee shops have opened in many places. This is especially so in areas where people work overtime or work the graveyard shift. If you are a coffee shop owner, this means a lot more competition for you. That said, it’s time to work on some strategies to make you stand out from the others.

Here are eight strategies that can help you be the coffee shop people would love to go to and chill.

Make WiFi and electric outlets available.

Unless you are Luke of Luke’s Diner (Gilmore Girls), it would be a sin to forget not to have free WiFi available in this age. There will be customers who will read e-books and require an internet connection, and there will also be ones that are aching to post a photo of their morning cup of coffee on Instagram. Electric outlets, on the other hand, are for your customers with laptops who are in your coffee shop to study or work on their business reports. Providing these are one way to make your business pro-customer.

Have comfy seats and the perfect ambiance.

Aside from the usual tables and seats, also provide comfortable couches. This would be for your elderly customers who find dining chairs a bit too hard on the back. These are also great for your customers reading books or those who just want to enjoy their coffee and chill. The perfect ambiance is also important -- the lights should not be too bright, nor too dim. Provide reading floor lamps near couches, and spotlights on areas where it needs to be bright. Make it a comfortable place for everyone, including your staff.

Provide live entertainment.

You may or may not provide live entertainment, as it all depends on your coffee shop’s theme. However, you can have a live acoustic band every Friday or weekend nights. To know which kind of live entertainment works, ask your loyal customers. Find out what type of music they would like to hear and when. Remember, you are doing this for your customers, so always choose the music they would want, not what you would want.

Install LED signage.

Let people know from a distance that you are offering the best coffee in town. Set up LED coffee shop signs outside your shop, or a 24-hour open sign. You can also install scrolling LED signs inside in which you can program today’s specials. You can also flash motivational quotes in these signs to uplift your customers. Be creative and make someone’s day.

Create a customer rewards system.

As with the major coffee shops, a rewards system is a thing people love. Collecting these points allow them to become loyal customers. This can be as simple as punch or sticker cards offering a free drink or pastry after the nth number of coffee. Aside from that, you can also offer gift certificates and discount cards, especially during the holiday season.

Have daily promotions.

Keep customers coming back to your coffee shop with different daily promotions. It can be a discount on a particular drink for the day or a free cake for every nth cup of coffee. Make sure that you offer something special to your customers every day. You can also flash your daily promotions in your programmable LED signs or write them down on the bright and colorful writable LED boards.

Utilize social media platforms.

Do not forget to create social media brand accounts. This is where you can advertise your business and products for free. Posts photos regularly -- these can be images of your menu, staff, the shop's interior and exterior, and your happy customers. You can post your promotions on these channels as well. Lastly, make sure to always respond to every inquiry to make your customers love you more.

Hire staff who love their job.

If you’ve done all seven but do not have staff that does not love your job, your coffee shop is doomed to fail. No customer wants a frowning barista who takes orders lazily. Hire people who are sure to enjoy their job no matter what. You will need people who can take grace under pressure, and are as polite to the customers as they can be. You need to remind them that smiling is infectious, that’s the first rule!