I believe attracting and keeping customers is an ever ending cycle. The result, if done so correctly, is an ever-increasing base of loyal customers.
You must give them a reason to enter your coffee shop. And then, more reasons to stay and consume your products. If they liked the experience, they may come back and start spreading the word to other potential customers.
Everything you do at your coffee shop is an input to this cycle, from the quality of the food you serve, customer service level, and even the toilet’s cleanliness. It all adds up to this concept: the cycle of loyal customers.
How do you attract customers? How do you keep them coming back?
You can attract customers to your coffee shop by marketing to people passing by, through social media, search platforms, and spreading the word mouth to mouth between customers or influencers. You can then retain and have customers returning through excellent and consistent product quality, customer service, customer loyalty programs, and community engagement.
Okay, so let us discuss all this in further detail.
1. How to attract customers
In general, you can say that there are four methods for communicating and attracting new customers:
1.1 By hooking people that are passing by
1.2 Through social media
1.3 Through search platforms
1.4 Through other customers that spread information mouth to mouth
The four of them use different means of communication , although they can also interrelate. Marketing is a form of communicating to potential customers the benefits and values of your products, and the experience they can have when going to your coffee shop.
So let us discuss each of these.
1.1 By hooking people that are passing by
Try to think of yourself as someone walking down the street passing by your coffee shop. What makes you want to go inside? What is your coffee shop saying to someone completely new that is just passing by? Is it clear that you sell coffee? Do you have someone or something inviting people inside?
It would be best if you aimed to try to catch people’s attention from the outside. It can be through the sign of your coffee shop, through the communication of your main categories, or by having a promotion. You can also have someone giving away flyers.
A busy place usually draws more people inside. And coffee shops with terraces tend to be more inviting for people from outside, for they love to get a glimpse of what is inside.
Other ways are to have a display of desserts, a window with merchandise, or a supplier giving away goods. Anything you can do to catch people’s eyes and invite them in is worth a try.
Also, you can do experiments. Try putting a promotion and then evaluate how people react to it from outside. Is it attracting people inside or not? Is the reaction different during weekdays than during the weekends? How do you appeal to working employees versus families?
It can be a lot of fun trying and testing, seeing what draws people inside, and what is not. However, to do this, you have to let time pass by to evaluate, some weeks preferably, to see if there is a different reaction close to paying days or not, during weekdays versus weekends, etc.
Another aspect that draws people inside is your brand. If you build a brand that reflects your values and communicates your essence, and people start to associate your products and experience with your brand, this can help with that loyal following. People will begin to remember your brand and associate it with your products.
1.2 Through social media
Social media is a must these days. People are expecting you to have a Facebook or Instagram account. Over there, they are expecting not just posts but stories, live videos , and events.
Social media is more present than ever, and if you are not there, you may feel left behind.
It is also a great way to communicate about new product launches, discounts, promotions , and events.
However, it is also a great way to connect to your customers by delivering other information that is not just about selling.
See, people usually do not go to social media feed to buy; they go to be entertained. Your content will get viewed or passed by depending on your customer’s mood and how much of their attention you can capture.
If you are only displaying information about products that are being sold, then people may get bored. However, if you combine this with other things like videos, quotes, and stories, people will understand you are a human too. Try to relate to that human side , and probably people will follow you more.
Then, when you do market your products, people may feel more inclined to to pay attention to the messages.
I have seen that live videos and stories are a great way to connect , and people seem to be more engaged in this type of content.
Another way to use social media in your favor is by having other people, like customers, talk about your coffee shop and spread the word. This can be done , for example, if you have a spot in your coffee shop that is ”instagramaeble” if such a name exists. It means that there is one or few spots where people want to take a picture of themselves, take it to Instagram, and then tag your business.
Also, there are products that people tend to be drawn to and post a picture of themselves consuming the product and then tag your business. It is as if your customers are doing the marketing for you, without even realizing it. It is a natural and organic form of marketing.
Of course, this is the nice side of social media. But it can also be very harsh. Sometimes people are mean and do not doubt a second about giving a bad review or comment after a situation happened, like for example if the coffee was cold.
Instead of telling you upfront they go and give a bad review without you even realizing it until after it is done. It can even happen that your competitor sends someone to your place for an excuse to give a bad review.
When this happens, try not to stress too much about it and, as much as possible, take advantage of the situation by addressing it in a manner that communicates confidence to other potential customers.
For example, suppose someone says they disliked a food item. In that case, you can answer by saying something along these lines: “We are sorry that you did not like the product. We strive for excellence of quality in all of our products, so we will contact you directly to understand your experience better and improve.
An answer like this would give new customers the sense that you care about quality and customers, and may even have a better opinion of your business then if the bad review did not exist.
So, even though there are two sides to social media, a good one and a bad one, and risks involved, it is a no brainer these days.
Finally, with social media, there are influencers. Influencers are people that have a loyal following and influence their following with their decisions and recommendations.
Businesses hire influencers to market their products and recommend them to their following. Some people believe this is the most modern way of marketing for businesses.
We have seen success and failure stories using influencers. On one hand, they can be an excellent way for people to follow your business. If they know the influencer, they trust him or her, and then this person recommends your coffee shop ,you may automatically gain a strong following.
However, I have also seen cases where an influencer will agree to give a review after tasting your product, they receive the merchandise and then make a really small one time video with no real traction.
So if you are going to work with influencers, I suggest being very specific about the return for your money or your products. Even better, if you can share the risk with the influencer like a commission for every person he/she sends to your coffee shop, this will drive them to communicate and connect to new potential customers with a stronger urge.
Finally, with influencers, study what messages they communicate. An influencer’s values will be associated with your business when promoting it. Try to understand what following hi/she has and if you believe it is a match for your business values and essence.
1.3 Through search platforms
Search platforms are , in a sense , similar to social media. Having a presence of search platforms can be a good way for people to know you.
For example, Trip Advisor is a page where people can see what other customers thought about a particular place and share opinions. The same goes for foursquare.
Search platforms is a way for new customers to know about your coffee shop. If people search on google: ”coffee shops near me” a common search phrase, and you are there, then it is a powerful way to get new people to visit you. This is especially important if you are in a tourist location.
The same goes for other types of platforms like Waze or google maps.
1.4 Through other customers that spread information mouth to mouth
I believe this is probably the slowest but most reliable and consistent way to scale your business.
When someone recommends your coffee shop to other people, it usually comes from a place of genuine non-interested intention. The person recommending is not seeking to gain a commission for a sale or additional benefit. It is the purest way of marketing.
When this happens, the person receiving the information will generally be open about it with no judgment or compromise to go or not to the recommended place. If you can gain one customer at a time, and each customer brings one person back, your business will grow steadily and persist through time.
Another way to get to know your coffee shop through interaction between people is by making events with allies. These can be suppliers or people with similar interests to yours.
For example, we did an event with a local organization that supports coffee farmers. They had a fundraising event in our coffee shop. This represented our values and drew new customers inside.
Having a list of planned events beforehand is a sure way to attract new customers and reduce the risk of waiting for people to come inside.
2. How to retain customers
Okay, so now that we have attracted new customers, you must strive to have them coming back.
A customer who comes once, has a bad experience and never returns, will probably talk about this to at least one person. The same can happen for someone having a great experience.
So, think about this. Would you rather have lots of people come at a particular time only once, or fewer people at a time, but coming several times a month?
I, for one, believe that the second option is far less risky and more reliable for your business’s sustainability in the long term.
Let’s talk about ways to keep your customers.
2.1 Good and reliable food quality
According to Douglas et al. (2019), in a study performed in the United Kingdom, it was determined that the quality of products, friendliness of the staff, and high standards of hygiene were the top factors for determining the success or failure of coffee shops.
Quality has two sides: the first one is determining your product’s desired quality standard, and the second one is maintaining it through time.
Determining the desired quality standard origins from your coffee shop concept and determination of your menu. What level of quality are you striving for? What do you believe your customers are looking for?
Let us take, for example, a cake. It is not the same quality of a cake with three inside frosting layers, a top-quality chocolate fudge, compared to a cake with one layer, no frosting, and that does not use real chocolate.
It is not that one is bad, and the other is good. It is just what you determine for your quality level and what type of customer you are striving for.
The quality also has a strong relation to your pricing. If you charge more, people will expect more. If you charge less, they will expect less. If you can somehow make people feel like they receive more value for what they pay, then you will have gained terrain for success.
Another important aspect of this is your coffee. Do you strive for having great coffee, or with a medium quality coffee is sufficient for your customers? Again, there is no right or wrong; there just is.
Also, your products will most likely be the heart and soul of your marketing. Although you can also connect through other type of information like stories about your employees or the history of your coffee shop as said before. However, marketing your products will be necessary for the sustainability of your business.
So try to have regular everyday products and others that are unique and give you a strong base for developing creative content. This can be from the type of ingredients you use, the method used for creating a particular product, or how it is presented.
For example, you can play a lot with different types of beverages and colors. Or you can decorate your pastries in an unusual way. Think of your products as excuses for developing marketing content that will drive people inside.
The other important aspect of the quality of your products is consistency. The determination of your quality standard will attract customers but maintaining that quality through time will want them to come back again and again.
The first step would be for them to like your products. If they did, they might want to come back for the same or similar products and expect the same quality. Think of yourself as a customer, what you like and dislike about other businesses.
Has it happened to you that you are fond of a specific product in a particular place and continuously go back for it?
Has it also happened that one time the product was not the same as before, in a bad way? How did this make you feel?
When you build a connection with a place and the quality is not kept, I feel disappointed. It is like they have let you down.
Maintaining the same standard of quality will be hard, and I consider it one of the most challenging aspects of running a coffee shop.
Different people may make the product; the raw materials may vary; even the weather can affect the quality. Things are not steady; they are consistently changing, so you should have systems to make sure your quality is as consistent as possible.
Systems may include having employees follow recipes, not just for ingredients quantities, but also for time and temperature of cooking or mixing., for example. And then have a system verify that the standards are being met, for example, an audit with a particular frequency.
2.2 Great and consistent customer service
Customers go to a coffee shop not just for the quality of the products but also for the experience. Customer service is directly related to that experience and, therefore, essential to retaining customers.
The first step, as with quality, is to determine your customer service standard.
Will you be serving directly to the table, or will the customer order at a coffee bar? How do you expect your employees to treat your customers? How should they say hello and goodbye? Determine what your customer service level is and then develop a system for maintaining it.
When communicating the quality service for your team, be specific about the behavior you expect them to have. The words you use to share this can make a huge difference.
For example, it is not the same to tell your employees to continually sell products to your customers, then to ask them to strive for your customers to be happy. If they care about customers being happy then sales will come afterward.
You must also consistently give an example of this behavior, for they will tend to emulate what you do.
After establishing the desired level of customer service, now comes the tricky part, maintaining it. For me, this is probably the most challenging aspect of running a coffee shop, holding a standardized customer level service. There are so many factors that affect this, starting with the variety of customers you will get.
It is not an easy skill to be able to connect and read customer’s intentions and needs. Some people do not wish to have much interaction and want to be left alone. They will be satisfied with you taking the order and delivering, and that is it.
While others will want to engage in conversation. It is tough to maintain a conversation with a customer about coffee quality, for example, while having other customers in line waiting.
How you handle this delicate balance while at the same time maintaining consistency in quality is a considerable challenge.
Also, how do you make sure your employees keep this standard when you are not around?
Unfortunately, no one will take care of your business as you, the owner. As much as you try, it is just not the same engagement for an employee as the owner. Try to have a system to consistently verify if your customer service is delivered the way you established.
Some ideas for a system are to have cameras and verify employee behavior towards customers, conduct surveys, or have a mystery shopper evaluate their experience.
Whatever you decide, try to measure it consistently. Once it becomes a habit for your employees, it is easier to maintain.
Also, try to encourage employees when delivering consistently good customer service, but also correct them when not.
2.3 Community engagement
Adeleke (2020) conducted a case study where interviews were made to coffee shop owners in Arkansas, who ran businesses that survived and were successful after five years of operation.
This study determined that community engagement was a key factor for the coffee shop’s survival and was seen as a good marketing practice.
The interviewed owners referred to activities related to community engagement, such as conducting fundraising events, knowing the customers and their families, hosting poetry and civic affairs, and being there for the community and it’s needs.
If you think about it, it involves all the aspects we have discussed before. It means that people from the community have a place to go to that they feel represents them. It can also mean that this place can host events that benefit them, raise funds for activities, and be a place for gathering for birthdays or celebrations.
When people from a community feel proud of a place in their area, they will usually support it.
It makes a lot of sense. I was surprised when I found this study that referred to it as a factor of success. It is so true. When you think about it, it integrates everything discussed before, like having a standardized quality and customer service, communicating to customers in different ways, hosting events, connecting with customers.
Striving to deliver value and connection to the community around your coffee shop is an excellent way to retain customers and have sustainability through time. It should be done from a genuine desire to connect and help, and in turn, sales and stability will come. Not the other way around.
2.4 Customer loyal programs
Having a structured program for customers is a way of retaining them. This program can include gathering their contact information, like email, and sending regular communication.
It can also include having special discounts for them, a schedule of planned events when they get to be the first invited, or a customer loyalty card.
A customer loyalty card is when you offer a customer a small sheet where you can stamp or mark for every visit or buy. After a certain amount of purchases, you can provide either a free drink, product, or discount.
It is a way to engage with your customers and to measure if they are returning.
While I have seen many businesses use them, and we do ourselves, it is also somewhat controversial.
Collin Harmond from the book what Iknow about running coffee shops, an excellent reference for studying, feels that a customer loyal card is a way of giving away money with not necessarily a good return.
So definitely consider the financial aspects of giving discounts and whether you are getting a return from this activity type. But like all, try it, test it, and evaluate the results.
I hope you have gathered great ideas from this article. They are all based on experiences and challenges from our own coffee shop.
References
Douglas, Jackeline; Douglas, Alex; Cano, Michele; Moyes, David. 2019. Investigating the Success of Independent Coffee Shops and Cafes in the UK: Findings from a Pilot Study. Conference: 21st Excellence in Services International Conference (EISIC), Paris. Obtained at file:///home/chronos/u-f1196ad1e6a4462431cdb8beeb2f0920a43c7af2/MyFiles/Downloads/21-Douglas-Douglas-Cano-Moyes.pdf
Adeleke, Abi. 2020. A Case Study of the Marketing Tools Coffee Shop Owners Use to Sustain Businesses. Walden University, Minneapolis. Open Journal of Business and Management. Vol.8 No.2. Obtained at https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=98940.
Harmon, Colin. 2018. What I Know About Running Coffee Shops Edición Kindle. Can be found a https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Colin-Harmon-ebook/dp/B07DTJ4Q6J