If you own a coffee shop and are keen to boost its profitability, here are three tips which should help you to achieve this goal.
Create an outdoor seating area
Establishing an outdoor seating area is an effective way to boost your business's profitability. Providing your customers with a comfortable outdoor space in which to sip their drinks will ensure that, even during periods of hot weather (when people are less inclined to visit an indoor coffee shop), your sales will continue to rise.
An outdoor seating area can also help to entice passers-by (who perhaps did not intend to visit your coffee shop) to stop for a drink; the sight of people sitting comfortably, relaxing and sipping on a delicious drink, is often enough to motivate people to pop in and treat themselves to a drink and a snack.
As such, if there is enough space outside your premises, consider setting up a few tables and chairs around the front entrance and adding an awning overhead to shield customers from the sun and rain. Do not forego the awning, as people will rarely linger anywhere outside where they may be exposed to extremely bright, hot sunlight or a sudden downpour. Roll up awnings are the best option, as these can easily be retracted (and thus protected from vandals) when the coffee shop is closed.
Create a display of small items near the cash register
Many people make impulse purchases throughout the course of the day. These purchases are usually opportunistic; that is, they are made simply because an appealing item is readily available when the person has already taken their wallet or cash out of their pocket to buy something else.
One way to increase your coffee shop's profitability is to encourage last-minute impulse purchases. Set up a display of small, relatively inexpensive items next to the cash register, so that customers who are queuing up to order and pay for their original purchase can easily see and access these goods. In this display, you might want to include gift cards, magazines and snack foods (such as cereal bars, individually-packaged biscuits, bottled water and chewing gum).
Make people feel at home
If a customer is made to feel at home in your coffee shop, they will be more inclined to linger. Should they decide to spend an extra hour or two on the premises, the chances of them ordering a second (or third) cup of coffee, along will perhaps a few snacks, will increase.
Whilst they may not have any intention of buying more than one item when entering the shop, the physical comfort of the environment itself coupled with the inviting aroma of coffee beans, cake and other tasty foods could quite possibly be enough to entice them to make an additional purchase.
It is surprisingly easy to create a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. Dim lighting, overstuffed sofas and armchairs, slow-tempo music playing softly in the background, along with an excellent wi-fi connection will lull your customers into a relaxed state and encourage them to stay put and hopefully purchase more of your goods.
Share24 June 2017
I never really suited working in someone else's business. I couldn't see the point of working hard to make someone else money. I have been working at building my own businesses since I started in the workforce and this blog has stories about how small business owners have enjoyed being their own bosses. A lot of people worry about work-life balance but one of the best ways to control the stresses of working and having a personal life is to work in small businesses, where you can combine these part of your life. This blog is all about managing work-life balance as a business owner and has tips on the best sorts of business to have flexible work. I hope it's useful to people looking to manage their out work-life balance while being a business owner.