Coffee Shop Machines To Menus

A number of urban dwellers who live a fast paced life tend to depend on coffee for a pick me up in the morning as well as coffee breaks.

This is good news for you who wants to start a coffee shop because according to statistics, more people are living the fast paced life which makes a coffee shop an investment that will keep on growing.

Statistics alone, however, will not lead to a successful coffee shop so this article will give you important tips on starting a coffee shop.

For example, we will let you know from the get-go that the percolator in your kitchen can not serve as one of your coffee shop machines. This list is just a summary of some of the important aspects but we would gladly give you more information on request.

1- Expand your knowledge about coffee

You probably imagine that because you love coffee and you have been preparing great coffee at home, you are a professional in this field. Well, coffee shop business is a lot more than you may imagine. You need to take up everything and anything related to coffee, this could be the types of coffee, how much coffee is consumed every month, different types of flavours that people may like and so on and so forth. Reading an article like this is a start but you should also visit blogs that are about coffee for example:

• Barista Magazine
• Roast Magazine
• Matthew Algie’s Facebook page

2- Research the competition

It is important to know who your competition is, where they are located, what are they doing and what are they not doing, what kind of coffee shop machines are they using. And so on. Try to know everything about your competition because it will help you improve as well as let you know how relevant you will be in the market as well as where you should set up you coffee shop since you may not want to set it up in an area where you will not get enough customers because there are already many other in that area. Knowing your competition will help you with the next tip.

3- Define your competitive advantage

After you know your competitor, it is much easier for you to determine how well you compare to them and what unique thing are you bringing to the coffee shop business. You need to realise that the competition already has customers and unless you are providing something different, you would just be another coffee shop that people walk past. Some unique ideas could be:

• Complimentary pastries for every cup of coffee
• A business friendly environment where people can discuss business without people eavesdropping
• Efficient and fast service
• Exceptionally brewed coffee by the finest barristers

4- Do it for the customer

Like any business, you are trying to please the customer. The best way to please the customer is to understand them and their needs. Even before you start the coffee shop or think of buying coffee shop machines, you need to know who your target is, what they want, what they expect and if you are able to meet their demands. While you may love your coffee a certain way, you need to let go of that and find out how the customer likes their coffee and what else they would want from you. Even the decoration and extra offers should be aimed at pleasing your target customer.

5- Plan and create your menu

A lot of the tips we have discussed before are focused on research, now you need to put that research into practice. Your menu needs to be customer centered but also based on what you have learned about coffee from reading blogs and what your competitors are doing. While you want to provide what the customers seem to like, you should also give them the chance to experiment by trying something new so from time to time you can add new things to the menu. It doesn’t hurt to plan ahead.

Your target will determine the new things you add to the menu but at the same time do not do away with proven best sellers.

6- Coffee shop equipment

It is important that you have the right equipment to be able to provide the things on the menu. You can choose to rent or buy equipment depending on your finances and how flexible you want to be. Renting coffee shop machines would mean that you can have it serviced easily by the company that rents them out to you.

Also remember you cannot just find a few machines in your kitchen and think they will serve you well in the coffee shop. Get professional machines so you can provide your customers with the best.

7- Identify the best coffee suppliers

There is a lot involved in finding the right supplier. It will range right from quality of the supplies right up to consistency and how well you can work with a supplier. A good supplier is not only looking for someone to buy their products, they also are looking out for your best interest. They can for example share ideas on how to improve your customer experience or what coffee shop machines you should use to make the coffee better, Sometimes you may need to get a different supplier if you identify a better one.

8- Train and instruct your Staff

Your staff can make or break your business, it is important that you have them trained in every aspect of the business so that they can deliver with the best skill possible.

Training starts right from customer care. They should know how to treat the customer as well as have full knowledge of how things work at your coffee shop.

For the sake of the customer as well as you, make sure they know how to work with the equipment. You do not want a fountain of coffee spraying the customers and you do not want the machines getting spoilt so train the staff to use the equipment.

9- Give a reason for them to come, stay and return

You need to attract customers to your coffee shop. Having an attractive display may entice someone walking past to come in but when they come in, you should be able to get them to stay and not just walk around and then leave, and the experience they have should make them come back.

10- Embrace change

Tastes and preferences are always evolving and you should be able to keep up with this change. Do not allow to be left behind or else you will lose customers to other coffee shops that are able to evolve. But remember not to have drastic change which will chase away people who are happy with the old.

If something is selling, keep it, if another no longer sells, change it, if you competitor is attracting more customers with something new, research on it and adopt it as well.