Without coffee, something is missing! That’s what most coffee lovers believe.
India may be a chai-drinking country, but coffee consumption has been growing steadily along with the young population, as more and more people adopt Western trends, and with the increase in spending income.
There are many coffee shop chains and neighbourhood shops that you have to compete for getting customers.
How can you attract new customers to your coffee shop? Apart from the people who walk past or know about your café? It’s important to have a good location, an attractive and consumer-friendly environment, Wi-Fi, good deals, and great coffee, but that’s not enough in today’s digital-driven world.
It is now important for coffee shops to have an online presence. But just going online isn’t enough.
It is essential for every consumer-facing business to improve online visibility to be found, to find more customers, increase customer loyalty, boost sales, and grow.
But, how can a coffee shop improve online visibility? Here’s how:
1. Make sure your website is attractive
Setting up the website for your coffee shop is the primary and the most important step to go digital.
Use attractive themes that suit your shop’s personality. Use words, photos, and videos to allow online visitors the chance to experience the atmosphere of the café virtually so that they want to visit it and see it for real.
A good website can help bring in more customers, help share hours and menus and take reservations, create an identity, and enhance brand awareness.
Regular posts and updates on the website – linked to social media profiles – can drive this further. Your coffee shop may be open 12 hours a day, but your website will be open 24/7.
Make sure your website is optimised for search engine rankings – so that it comes up when people nearby search for a coffee shop – and for mobile devices.
2. Use social media to attract and retain customers
In the Instagram age, we all often photograph our food and drinks before even taking a bite or sip. Social media plays an extremely important role in growing a coffee shop’s popularity.
People read reviews before experimenting with a new café, and most of them are clear that they won’t visit one with less than four stars. This makes it imperative to create a buzz and following on social media.
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat have their dedicated set of users, so it’s important that your coffee shop has a presence on each network and you work on growing it.
Recommendations on other sites such as TripAdvisor and Yelp can also be used to attract people searching for “coffee shops near me”.
Use the power of influencer marketing by organising a coffee meetup for food bloggers and influencers in your city and asking them to post photos and reviews.
3. Host an offline event to create an online buzz
What goes best with a cup of coffee? Another cup of coffee. Get people together and build a community of loyal coffee lovers who swear by your café. Don’t forget to offer free samples on the go.
One of the oldest marketing tricks used across the world, they attract customers and encourage them to buy. You can offer them – small cups of coffee and sweets and savouries – to get people to try new flavours as well.
If they like it, they may soon bring their friends along. Live entertainment – locals who are into music, poetry, book reading, art workshops, and more – can help liven up the place and create a buzz. A coffee-making class is also a great option.
All this needs to be documented every time without fail – on each of your social media channels and networks, with wonderful photographs – so that it creates a buzz around your coffee shop and translates into word of mouth and increased footfall.
4. Plan regular giveaways and contests
Giveaways and contests can increase your brand’s awareness by up to 30% as compared to traditional marketing tactics.
How do they help? Contests and giveaways help increase your online visibility and make you discoverable to people looking for giveaways. Coffee lovers are sure to share details with friends, families, and others – increasing brand awareness.
Giveaways also help increase your social media following; Instagram accounts that hold contests regularly grow their customers faster as compared to accounts that don’t.
A loyalty or rewards programme will make loyal customers happy and encourage new customers to return to your coffee shop.
Being rewarded for spending is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Over time, these interactive options attract more people to your social media pages and website, which can translate into more customers.
5. Partner with online food delivery portals
During the 2020 coronavirus lockdowns, hospitality businesses could serve customers by pivoting to online delivery. Tying up with food delivery apps have their advantages: getting new customers at low costs, ensuring orders during slow periods, reduce the chance of order errors, reach millennials and Generation Z (the food delivery market’s biggest clientele), solve logistical problems associated with managing deliveries, offer promotions, and build your brand.
No matter what kind of coffee your customers like – black, with milk or cream, decaf, or flavoured – a strong online presence is something all of them will appreciate. Take the first step with Boost360 and never look back.
