Coffee shops are specifically designed to be zen.
A discreet getaway where you can escape to with friends to mull over the latest ‘goss’ & have a general catch up. Call them the polar opposite to a nightclub – the only shots you get here, are of Espresso.
So it’s little surprise that these quaint caffeine-fuelled corners of the country have become one of the largest trends in consumer history. So big in fact, that some coffee shops are even famous worldwide: Regency Cafe, Central Perk, and Twede’s Cafe being just a few. Try & rid the world of coffee shops, & there’s a good chance you’ll start a riot, especially if you take your anti-caffeine campaign to Amsterdam (wink-wink).
Question is then, what’s with the allure of coffee shops? How has a place that basically only serves 1 type of drink managed to become SO popular?? Are coffee drinkers under a spell? Or is there more to coffee shops than meets the eye?
To help you unravel what makes a coffee shop such a popular destination, we’ve compiled all our caffeine-based knowledge to bring you 3 tips on how to create a successful coffee shop…
Set the mood with background music
Before even opening your doors to the public, as a cafe owner, you’d be wise to invest in a quality surround sound system. Sounds kind of an unusual priority at first, but bare with us.
Remember: a coffee shop is all about ambience & setting the mood. So unless you’ve got a killer sound system that drowns out the background bustle, customers aren’t likely to stay for long – i.e. remain in your coffee shop & spend more money on snacks, cakes & paninis.
And then of course, there’s the music you play through this system – you have to think it through! Because with coffee shops being all about getting social & relaxation, the last thing your customers want is to be shooed out by a boisterous bassline or expletive lyrics.
If you’re a fan of Hip Hop, Dance or Heavy Metal, that’s great – but keep it between you & your MP3 player. Blasting tunes like that is an easy way to obliterate your elderly clientele.
By far the easiest way to keep your coffee drinkers happy, would be to switch out what’s charting for a portion of smooth jazz, classical symphonies or even meditation type music. Look at way the music is produced & this is basically any song with few lyrics & very little bass.
Serve a high-quality product
Coffee drinkers aren’t thick.
With their being that many coffee shops these days, a lot of us have developed a taste for good coffee. So the scrimp on the quality of your beans or your roast, is really just shooting yourself in the foot.
Besides, with a coffee shop essentially operating around this one focal ingredient, you could argue it’s even more important than the building, price or atmosphere itself. In fact, if you’re a proper marketeer, your coffee could even be the key to more profit. How?
Well, aside from the fact that a better quality bean can demand a higher price + the fact it can double as your USP (Unique Selling Point), it could even become part of your brand. In other words, your bean can give you major bragging rights. Some of the most famous coffee beans are: Arabica, Robusta, Robusta, Liberia, and Excelsa.
Note: In the case you want to make even more money out of your coffee shop, you could later expand your operations online & sell your beans separately too. That way your customers can support you whether they’re in town, or chilling in their own kitchen.
Aesthetics & curb appeal
Everything starts with attraction.
If you don’t get potential customers through the door, then there isn’t much hope for your sales figures. Hence why it’s important to get it right from the offset, to entice all the coffee drinkers you can, through the door.
And just to be clear, by the ‘from the beginning’ we mean from the beginning. See, there’s a lot of factors to take into consideration before even renting your premises. Yes – plush sofas & a neutral colour palate will do a lot to woo potential customers through the door, but really that’s just an afterthought. So before you rent any sort of shop with the aim of starting a cafe, be sure to consider these 3 factors…
- Demand – There’s no good starting a coffee shop in a place where the majority are hooked on booze or energy drinks. So choose your location carefully & do you research, as it not only determines your sales figures, but also the type of footfall you get through the door. The last person anyone wants in a quaint cafe is a rowdy football hooligan.
- Position – Don’t debate it – as a coffee shop owner it’s well worth paying extra rent to secure yourself a prime position. When doing so, be sure to take into consideration factors such as how many other coffee shops are in the area + how close each building is to transport links & other services. Travellers love a good coffee!!
- Front Facade – With attractions being the key to business with any coffee shop, the overall look of the building is arguably the most important aspect of your entire coffee shop, bar the coffee itself. So if you can, bag something with character & perhaps even aim for a street corner – that way you can use two sides of the building for advertising & (crucially) the shop itself is likely to have more windows. Just like with houses, lots of natural light is a ‘must’ for any coffee shop, not to mention the allure of a window seat; we’re yet to meet any coffee drinker who doesn’t enjoy indulging in the odd spot of people watching.
Pro tip: If you’re struggling to entice people inside, stand outside & offer some free samples of the things you sell. No one can resist a freebie.
Further reading: Green Tea vs. Green Coffee: Which Is Better for Your Health?
