For you, people will come closer, for you people will smile, for you people will fall in love, for you people will become friends of each other. If you have already made up your mind to launch your coffee shop, there are few things you will need to consider before making it a success.
01 Good Location
Do you know why coffee shops are so popular? One of the reasons is its location. If you try to notice you will find out almost all coffee shops are beside busy streets. People make new friends; people fall in love with coffee shops.
But a good environment is needed to make it such a wonderful place. Only the internal design of an interior is not enough. No matter how good your coffee is.
If your shop is in the middle of nowhere nobody will come. So, finding a good place for your coffee shop is crucial to the growth of your business.
02 Reasonable Rent
You are not doing charity. You will need to mediate between your earning and the expense. You can start your business at the best location in your town but if the rent is too high, you may never see any profit.
No matter how popular your coffee shop is, paying too much rent will stop you from making fast progress. Normally a location with high traffic or inside a popular mall can be a good location for your coffee shop.
But the rent will be very high in those places. What you can do is, you can choose storefronts. The benefit of the storefront is its high visibility and the freedom of keeping it open without any restrictions.
You will have full freedom over your business hour. Rents in storefronts are also cheaper compared to malls.
03 Parking Facility & Bike Racks
If the parking facility is too much to ask you should at least have a bike racks facility. Bikes are getting more and more popular nowadays. Almost everyone has a bike. Giving the facility of bike racks in your coffee shop will increase your customers by leaps and bound.
04 Maintain High-Quality
Anyone can make a cup of coffee or tea at home. But they still go to the coffee shop. Do you know why? Because of the environment, because of the value, it provides, because of its high-quality coffee beans.
If you cannot give top-notch service to your customers, they have no reason to be in your coffee shops. Do not compromise on the quality of the drinks and food you serve. We have seen many popular coffee shops lose their popularity and go out of business.
The main reason was that once they got popular, they decreased the quality of their food and drinks. They stopped giving value to their customers. You must understand it is not the 80s anymore.
Back then there were so few coffee shops. People did not have much choice. But now people have plenty of choices. If they do not like you, they will replace you with better alternates without a second guess.
You must collect the best-roasted beans for the coffee. A high-quality espresso machine will cost you once but serve you for years. So, do not try to get the cheap one. But the best quality espresso machine within your budget. Never serve outdated foods. Make sure your staff is well trained.
They must never use harsh words with the customer. They must never neglect a customer. Replace your stuff as soon as possible if you find any of them slightly less suitable. Try your mixes and creations. Give customers free samples.
05 Customer Service
Any business can rise and fall depending on the quality of your customer service. Many studies have shown that customer service is sometimes more important than the product itself. Your staff needs good training before they handle their customers.
They must never point out anything wrong about their customer. They must never misbehave with their customer. No matter how annoying the customer is, they must never be impolite.
They should always wear a smile, be it real or fake. Their face should not show any sign of anger. Their voice should be calming.
Counter service is easier than table service. But if you give a table service you will get more chances to interact with your customer. Before you create a brand value, we suggest you give a table service.
06 Offer Gift Cards
You should offer gift cards and loyalty cards to your regular customers. If you can give your regular customers a premium feel. If you can make them realize they are VIP and important, they will do the marketing for your shop by themselves.
They will spread the word of your coffee shop like it is their own business. One more thing you should do is make your card look professional and premium. Though any type of card will do the same thing if you give off good looking cards it will create its value to the customers.
07 Wi-Fi
It is a tough one. Not long-ago free Wi-Fi was a must for coffee shops. But situations have changed. It was seen that in some cases not having Wi-Fi boosted the sale. So, what’s going on here? A coffee shop is a place to relax, a place to communicate with each other.
If it has free internet, most people stop engaging with others. They are mostly busy with their phone or laptop. Which in result also decreases sales. But it is not true for all areas.
But it is not easy to determine if the people of your area want Wi-Fi or not.
So, what we suggest you do is, keep a “No Wi-Fi” day once a week. It will help you understand what is best for your business. It will also give customers with different tastes to like your coffee shop.
We wish you good luck with your coffee shop. Always remember one thing, “If you rip off your customer, your customer will bankrupt you”. Coffee shops are more than a business. It is also a social service. If you give your heart and soul and keep providing high-quality service, your success will be just a matter of time.
