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The Ultimate Guide to Coffee Shop Marketing

debbie

To some, coffee is just a morning pick-me-up that helps kick off the day, to others, it’s an opportunity to socialize, and to coffee shop owners, it’s a source of business and revenue. The coffee industry continues to grow every year as demand increases. Per the National Coffee Association, 41% of American adults consume specialty coffee each day, and the average daily amount of coffee for Americans is three cups per person, per day. With so many coffee shops out there, it’s important to implement coffee shop marketing to help you differentiate yourself from the competition.

To learn more about how to market a new coffee shop, keep reading!

Coffee Shop Marketing Ideas

All businesses are now required to have some form of online presence to be successful and coffee shops are no exception. Your business’s site is likely to need optimization using online advertising strategies and local SEO plans to maximize conversion rates and keep your business booming. Therefore, in addition to implementing a traditional coffee shop marketing plan, you must also create a digital marketing strategy for coffee shop customers that will maximize your reach.

Content Marketing Strategies

Publishing informative and helpful content related to roasting trends, new drinks, coffee brewing methods, and new products will attract customers to your online accounts which will then bring them into the shop to check out the hype. Content marketing usually includes blogging, but podcasts and videos can also be useful material. Create interesting videos and blog posts that highlight content related to your shop, the community, coffee beans, responsible sourcing from other countries, or even the roasting process. The options are endless!

In addition to creating informative and useful content, ensure its shareable to social media accounts. Before adding a new post or creating a video, ask if this is information potential customers want to pass along to their acquaintances, friends, and family. There are countless content marketing management tools to help you create topics that will connect with your target demographic. If you don’t have time to do this, you can outsource content creation.

Create a Social Media Presence

While having a website to inform customers about aspects of your business is a requirement, most consumers have moved past checking for needed information on a website and instead seek information via social media. Customers want to follow your store to learn about the latest updates, news, menu, products, and services. Best of all, customers will share your content with their friends, so your coffee shop will be noticed by others in the community. However, before entering the social media realm, you need to establish your brand so that it will wow your target demographic.

You’ll want to start by creating profiles on the most popular platforms while keeping an eye on emerging social media companies. Test new platforms you think may help your business and read about social media trends to remain ahead of the fads. Most platforms offer analytics for businesses, so you can easily view which are successful and which you should drop or limit time using.

Overall, social media accounts are a great way to keep customers updated with the latest information. Most visitors are interested in the behind-the-scenes action and the real individuals who are part of the business, as well. If you’re concerned about spending time juggling social media accounts, utilize a marketing management resource tool that helps organize and schedule future posts.

Develop a Brand Personality

Your coffee shop brand communicates the character and values of your company, which leaves a specific impact on visitors who associate coffee types, brands, products, and images with your business. Therefore, you must choose how you want your company to be viewed and remembered by the target consumer. That means you must create a unique, memorable, strong, and differentiated brand personality.

Do you want customers to think of your shop as their lifeline for on-the-go necessities and busy mornings? Or would you rather people associate your coffee shop with a cozy cup of Joe shared between friends, couples, or family members? After you establish your tone, style, and voice, stick with them to avoid confusion. Each time your customers see a new social media photo or read new content on your blog, you want them to feel like they are rooting for a favorite representative or chatting with an old buddy.

Make your presence known as an energetic and quirky voice in the caffeinated industry or take the high-end and elegant road. Timeless or youthful, indulgent, or organic, always ensure your company has a specific identity since there are so many coffee shop options available, including the big box shops. Take this identity and portray it in your personality across all accounts – social media, blog, advertisements, etc. In-store, you could create an express line if you’re targeting on-the-go customers or add seating for the more intimate coffee drinking experience, or both.

Put Your Mark on the Sleeves & Cups

Imagine if you could have walking and talking billboards all over town promoting your business. Sounds great right? Actually, it’s surprisingly simple to accomplish! Just add your logo and/or messaging on your sleeves and cups, and viola! This is an affordable and effective way to increase public awareness of your brand. This will spur conversations about your coffee shop when others see them holding their beverage back at the office. This can even increase the perceived value of your beverage by adding branding over a generic plain cup. The good news is that these logo cups and sleeves can be purchased in small batches from a company like Your Brand Cafe. They create custom logo cups for the coffee and restaurant industry. Peach Coffee Roasters found huge success in helping brand their business using their products.

Establish Mobile Marketing and Access

With large coffee chains like Starbucks making it easier than ever for customers to order, pay, and pick up their coffee in a hurry, your shop must offer something similar to be able to compete. Mobile ordering is a trend that’s continuing to grow at a staggering rate simply because it makes consumers’ lives much easier. Therefore, to offer this service to your customers, optimize your website so it’s mobile-friendly or utilizes an app to order and pay.

The Pew Research Center found that 83% of typical U.S.-based Internet users utilize a mobile device, tablet, or smartphone. Therefore, mobile access allows your customers to have an experience with a responsive interface to order quickly and easily from your business.

Mobile marketing and advertising solutions can help you identify customers based on potential interest levels and demographic to funnel them to your website. According to the National Coffee Association, a trend report released in 2018 showed that the 18-24-year-old crowd has a considerable preference for gourmet coffee. Therefore, this demographic may push your coffee shop to offer higher-end coffees and utilize better beans.

Guerilla Marketing Tactics

All business owners want to generate buzz around their stores and one way to do that is by utilizing guerilla marketing tactics. This means using unconventional methods to attract interest and boost sales in your business. One such idea is for you and your customers to be walking billboards beyond just having your logo on the cups. Investing in accessories and apparel to do your advertising for you is a tried and true method that works. Put your coffee shop logo or slogan on t-shirts, socks, mugs, and other items, and sell them or have giveaways (this is where social media can help again!). Over time, you could have hundreds of walking advertisements in your community.

Another beneficial idea is to create a “complain away!” day where customers can come in and provide spoken or written suggestions on what they enjoy and dislike about your coffee shop. You can tie this in with a limited promotion which helps get people in the door and gives you direct feedback on your limitations.

Get Involved With Local Youth Groups:

A small coffee shop called Steamers Coffee got involved with their local parks and recreation youth programs. They gave free drink cards to all the coaches and asked them at the end of every game to give out Steamer’s MVP of the game. They said these should be spread out so every player eventually gets a free drink.

It was not for the player of the game but for a player that did something great for their own ability. The community loved the program and when the young player came in to redeem their drink coupon the parents always bought something as well. This affordable marketing strategy kept their store packed. It gained many new customers and the community supported the shop in part due to this marketing approach.

Create an Ambassador Club:

Steamin’ Joe's found a clever way of getting new customers into the shop. In essence, they created an Ambassador Club of twenty loyal patrons and gave them five Ambassador Cards each entitled to one free drink. They were told to give these to people that had never been to the shop.

For the cost of one hundred drinks, the program gained eight daily customers and others that came in weekly. The owner, seeing the success of the program, continued it. In essence, it was nothing more than a simple business card that said “Steamin’Joes Ambassador Card on the front. Holder entitled to one free drink.” The owner also left a place for his signature to verify the authenticity and expiration date on the card.

Google Business Profile

Having a Google Business Profile, also known as a Google Maps listing, is a must for any locally owned and operated coffee shop. It allows people to find the location of your business, as well as your hours, phone number, and website. This is especially great when people are searching for a “coffee shop near me” on Google. Make sure to add photos, specials, holiday hours, and list your events. This is a free marketing platform that can be a game-changer!

Have a Concert or Music Night

Coffee shops can get a lot of attention by allowing local singers and musicians to play on the weekends. This will bring in new people to the shop and help get the word out. Plus, these nights usually bring in great revenue. The buzz from these events can also be beneficial for awareness and branding.

Implement User-Generated Content

Customers love posting about their food, beverages, and the companies they support. Foresight Factory has determined that coffee-based Instagram posts have increased by 4,500% since 2015 and this is a trend that is continuing to grow across the globe. This means your coffee shop and website can benefit from customer posts. Consumers trust the opinions of other real people who post about a product, brand, or business online because they view the recommendations as being dependable.

Therefore, by designating a place on your website to showcase customer images from different social media platforms, you are showing potential customers that current customers are satisfied with your coffee to the point that they are proudly showing it off to their friends!

Another option is to promote a hashtag that organizes all posts in a centralized area so you can highlight them on your website and social media accounts. Customers will love seeing that their photo contributes to your business. You can even contact customers via email to continue tagging your business in their photos or adding the hashtag.

To make this tactic even more impactful, give customers incentives for adding photos of your coffee or shop by running contests for the best captions or photos which are reposted on your coffee shop’s social media profile. Customer testimonials and reviews bolster your company’s reputation amongst potential customers. Shared user-generated content generates confidence in your company by sharing existing posts and reviews.

Offer Incentives

Cultivate loyalty by treating returning customers with rewards and exclusive discounts on coffee if they purchase a certain number of cups, recommend your shop to friends, or rave about your business on social media. A common incentive program is to purchase “X” number of cups and get one free, which is tracked through a punch card.

If you plan for your online website to sell ground coffee and accessories, then free shipping offers a powerful incentive. Add-on gifts are also a favorite, so consider providing a sample blend with every purchase, particularly around the holidays. Additionally, online coupon codes that are specific to regular customers make them feel like they must take advantage of this opportunity while it’s available.

Operate an Email Campaign

Customers sometimes get off their routine. Simply sending out a timely email will help keep them thinking of your brand. Email marketing is a critical aspect of any company with a physical or online presence to encourage continuous loyalty and purchases. You can gain a wealth of knowledge about the effectiveness of your email message by using analytic tools, which show the number of times links have been opened or emails opened. This aspect of your business can be automated so customers receive regular messages about specials, new coffee options, and news about your business.

You can secure email sign-ups online with pop-up offers or through the checkout process. At physical stores, when a customer signs up for a loyalty card you can ask if they would like to provide their email address for promotional offers and other updates. Currently, email marketing is at its peak because this practice is proving to produce excellent returns without spending a significant amount of money on advertising. Email marketing is a step that enhances online and offline coffee businesses by making customer relations and promotions beneficial and effortless.

Partner with Coffee Brands

Another tip on how to market a coffee shop is to partner with other brands like ceramic mug businesses, breakfast food companies, bakeries, etc. This symbiotic relationship with other local businesses offers a free flow of promotion that benefits both parties. You can advertise stating that you use bread from this local bakery on social media, on your website, and in-store.

In return, the bakery can promote that their goods are trusted and utilized by your store. This is especially helpful to create a level of recognition and trust for both parties within the local community, particularly when your shop is new to the area.

Also, for the coffee aficionados, using and rotating beans from different regions of the world will build your authority, provide customers with variety, increase the value of your coffee, and give consumers something to look forward to, encouraging them to return again and again.

Invest In Paid Media

Using Google Ads or Facebook ads can be essential. For instance, if you are trying to sell coffee beans and associated products online, Google Shopping Ads are incredibly effective. Facebook and Google's retargeting ads are great for branding and increasing conversions. In general, these ads are affordable and really help nurture people’s awareness of your offerings.

Partner With a Local SEO Agency

Hiring a small business SEO agency that knows how to boost your search engine rankings, especially in the local market, can really set you apart from your competition. A talented SEO agency can even help with many of the tactics mentioned above. Usually a local Georgia search marketing plan that helps you rank for local terms such as coffee shop & city name may be all you need. Make sure you hire an SEO consultant that is familiar with the coffee shop industry to get the most bang for your buck. Many SEO agencies offer affordable monthly SEO packages.

Like with any business type, coffee shops need to be promoted using a variety of tactics ranging from online and in-store promotions to harnessing social media accounts, incentives, email campaigns, guerilla marketing, and partnering with other local and national brands. By following these tips, you’ll have a line out the door in no time!

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