Imagine your favorite coffee shop. Some serene sense of solitude, a little mug of mocha, and of course, some melodious Mayer playing in the background. You really thought of THAT place, didn’t you?
See? We didn’t even have to mention the name of your favorite coffee place, and yet, here we are. So, what makes these places so special? How can YOU make your coffee shop more special? You got it right—promotions. Hop on, for we have some ideas here!
Appealing Storefronts? Attractive AF!
While there are legitimate questions surrounding what “real marketing” is, there is no doubt that one thing stands out—superficiality. The fact of the matter is—what shows is what sells. Your customer base doesn’t widen only by the coffee you sell, but by what they see even before they enter your shop.
So, how do you promote your coffee shop better? Start with a really attractive design. It should stand out from the competition. It should make people want that last grain of coffee that you have. It should make them promote it to a lifestyle necessity, and not just a choice.
Once you have made your signs clear (pun intended), it is time to work on the store interiors itself. You can start by using color science to the fullest. Maybe get local artists’ works upfront? Or perhaps, some magnolias? You choose.
Refer and Earn
Once your customers enter your coffee shop, the next thing that should come to your mind is—how do I make them come back for more? The solution is pretty simple, though—make them an offer they can’t refuse.
For instance, right off the bat, you can consider free goodies every time they refer your shop to a friend? For this, you can also consider handing in referral cards! Every time they make a referral, they get a tokenistic gift. Referrals have existed in the business sphere for eons now, and implementing it in your coffee shop should work just as efficiently.
The other offer could be dealing with everything complimentary. Getting food? Get a complimentary dessert. Ordering coffee? Get a cup free too. You get the drift—as long as you have your “business” numbers in check, these are pretty good offers.
Half in Half
There is another pretty smart promotion tactic that you can apply. You can possibly give your customers a refill at half the price. While you can try out bottomless refills for a very limited (and we mean very, very limited) period of time, the half-in-half tactic seems to be better suited.
While you are at it, make this limited too. Cap it on a season basis, if not a time basis. Or perhaps, on days when you can expect a greater influx of people. The point is, half-expensive refills are a pretty healthy way to get a greater audience response, at the cost of not exhausting your resources either.
Coffee Sleeves
Speaking of offers, the other way to carve a great impression is to make custom coffee sleeves. Think about it, the moment you insulate your customer’s hand, providing them warmth by means of protecting them from the heat (oh, the irony!)—they wonder—hey, who made this sleeve?
That is where your ingenious promotion idea comes into play. If you can customize your coffee sleeves to your shop’s liking, then that should boost sales to the moon. Moreover, if you can sell coffee sleeves as an accessory, that should work wonders too. The choices here are endless, honestly.
Seasonal Sensations
When it comes to promos, seasonal drinks and greater audience numbers go hand in hand (pun intended). You would be surprised to see how excited your customers will be if you can find that one drink, that one offering, that one seasonal delight that they will be looking forward to.
This also helps you economically. Seasonal drinks often demand resources that are, well, seasonal. If done off-season, that would imply greater investments, which honestly are uncalled for. You can see how the big players do their seasonal promos and make the most of yours too.
Holiday Discounts
If there is anything that customers look forward to more than seasonal drinks, it is…the season itself. Holidays are one of the most sought-after things that audiences look forward to, and with it, comes offers, discounts, and everything in between.
Not just the holiday season, but calendar holidays are to be kept in mind here too. Think of it like a way to give back to your customers, to appreciate their presence in your lives. Oh, and a small tip—extend it to other days like Mothers’ Day or Fathers’ Day—just to make it a little special for your customers.
Internet Presence
Possibly one of the most important of them all, having a great internet presence is one of the most foolproof ways to promote your products. Right off the bat, reach out to your audience across social media.
Take polls, quizzes, what have you. Even if that means putting out a quiz to determine what kind of coffee your audience members are in, so be it. Ensure to make your social media presence quirky and recognizable.
You can obviously rely on Google Business or other third-party ways to maximize your reach, but the fact still remains—social media is king. Think of interesting posts or reels. Perhaps an ASMR coffee video? Or Snaps of your décor? Anything works, as long as you are making it engaging as well as intimate for your audience; this should be a great promotion idea.
Final Words
Barring the ones mentioned above, keep in mind that there are other ways too. Maybe set up a kids’ section, with balloons, toys, what have you. Or a geriatric section? Or ones pertaining to other sections of society?
The point is, as you can see, the ways in which you can promote your coffee shop are innumerable. As long as you can think of a way to promote your coffee, there will always be ways to market it. Oh, and don’t forget to back it up with some exquisite coffee too!