Coffee Shop Marketing You Should Be Doing Every Day

Marketing for your coffee shop should not just be a once and a while kind of thing, but something you should be doing constantly.

So apart from the permanent stuff, like your location, signage, or your killer coffee, what are some other ways that you can continue to promote yourself every single day? 

Here are some easy, and also relatively cheap, ideas:

1. People like to be recognised, so get to know your regulars. There is no better way to make people feel welcome in your establishment. If you can remember their regular drink, and especially if you can remember their name too, they’ll be more likely to come through your doors than your competitors’.
2. Don’t worry too much about product specials. It can’t hurt it you wanna try it, but building a loyal customer base who will pay full price for coffee because they love the place are worth way more to you than people looking to save 75 cents on their espresso.
3. Involve yourself in the community in some way: fundraisers for a local nonprofit, donating a portion of your yearly profits to a local charity, or something else of this sort. Most people are happier to support a business that invests in the community.
4. Holding on to unhappy customers is always more cost-effective than finding brand new customers. Offer your sincere apologies to any dissatisfied customers, and don’t be afraid to offer freebies to make up for whatever the problem is.
5. Though building regulars is more important, drink specials can help to bring new people in, some of whom may eventually become regulars. You can also make seasonal drinks for Christmas or Easter and offer promotions on them (people like this kind of thing).
6. Bundling can get people to buy more than they normally would: for example, offer an espresso plus energy bar combo at a discounted price and you’ll find yourself moving far more energy bars, if not more espressos as well.
7. People go for those “buy 9 and get the 10th for free” punch cards, and you’ll find it keeps people coming consistently to one shop for coffee so they can fill the card faster. Another good trick is to get business cards with a “buy one get one free” coupon on the back and hand them out to random people you encounter outside of work (it’s a good incentive to try a new place out for people who don’t know your shop).
8. Give out samples frequently. It not only delights your customers, but it also lets you test out new menu ideas by getting feedback from your customers about what they like and what they don’t.
9. Change up your decorations from time to time, especially for holidays. Also serve up holiday drinks like pumpkin lattes for Halloween.
10. Try to win over your neighbours just as much as strangers to your coffee shop. You could offer a 10% discount to local businesses, or give out coupons to them now and then to give them a reason to drop by before work or on their lunch break.
11. Work with your vendor: here at Koffeeone.com we are always happy to let you in on our monthly specials that can let you showcase products at a discount without losing any profit. We are also happy to give advice about drink specials or new recipe ideas.