So you’ve acquired your longed-for café business, but sluggish coffee sales and fierce competition from the nearby Starbucks are threatening your success. What now?
In this blog, CoGoGo presents its top 7 strategies to increase sales in your new café business.
Build social proof and improve your local SEO results through Google reviews
Encouraging your café customers to leave Google reviews can have a major impact on your sales for more than one reason.
According to a 2022 ReviewTrackers report, the tech behemoth hosts nearly three-quarters (73%) of all online business reviews. Google reviews also wield significant influence over consumer behavior, with 63.6% of consumers indicating they’re likely to consult Google reviews (via Search or Maps) before visiting a business.
Google reviews can also impact your overall SEO success, including local SEO results, by improving your keyword rankings, increasing the CTR (click through rate) to your website, and building reputable backlinks.
You may wish to make it easy for customers to leave Google or Trustpilot reviews by placing QR codes on tables.
Create a competitive pricing strategy and establish your market niche
Most businesses will stand or fall on their pricing strategy, and a café is no exception.
Cafés and coffee shops generally employ one of two strategies:
High-volume, lower-price: Ideal for busy locations like train stations or city centres, focusing on quick service and affordable options.
Low-volume, premium quality: Well-suited for upscale neighborhoods, emphasising artisanal products and a curated experience.
Whatever the strategy, you ought to master your chosen niche – whether it’s offering premium coffees or Café de Flore-style hot chocolate or offering the cheapest coffee in a 10-mile radius.
To reduce prices for your customer, you may also wish to streamline the menu by focusing on high-margin items and removing underperforming or low-profit items, or by paying close attention to portion sizes and food waste.
Don’t underestimate the importance of appearances and invest in your décor
Don’t judge a book by its cover, the adage might go. But passing footfall will judge your café based on its signage and ambiance.
If your café is tucked away and is liable to be overlooked by passing footfall, consider investing in an eye-catching sign to direct them towards your location.
The exterior and interior design of your café is also a powerful tool which will influence your customers’ purchase behaviour. The layout and seating, for example, will influence dining pace and turnover; lighting and colours will set the mood and appetite; and acoustics will affect conversation and dwell times.
The Instagram era has further amplified the impact of interior design on business success: when customers share their experience online, they’re not just showcasing your food – they’re capturing your café’s entire ambiance.
Cultivate a strong social media presence and invest in Meta ads
A robust social media strategy, particularly one that leverages the power of short-form video content, can be a major boost for hospitality businesses.
According to consumer insights platform GWI, Facebook may have the best reach, but TikTok has the greatest cultural power. Leveraging both can drive brand exposure, as well as engagement and relevance.
While the power of the humble iPhone can’t be underestimated, you may wish to hire out professional photographers or videographers to bulk create content that can be posted across a period of several months.
Alongside organic content, paid ads can amplify high-performing organic content and target specific demographics more precisely. Meta ads, for example, offer a “location targeting” option, allowing you to narrow in on your local audience.
Another way to get your brand name out there? Encourage user-generated content (UGC) by making your café Instagrammable – think lush indoor plants, murals, other quirky décor choices, and most importantly, show-stopping drink and food presentation. A visually appealing space can turn casual diners into social media ambassadors.
Capture the remote working market with superfast WiFi, co-working days and networking events
The post-pandemic rise in remote and hybrid working seemed to sound the death knell for a lot of central town and city café establishments.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 14% of UK workers worked exclusively from home and 26% of UK workers had some kind of hybrid working arrangement between 22nd May and 2nd June 2024. And in the higher £50k+ salary bracket, the percentage of remote or hybrid workers rises to 80%.
However, this trend also presents an opportunity for cafés to reinvent themselves as remote work hubs.
You may wish, for example, to consider introducing superfast WiFi, ample power outlets, or special offers such as all-day coffee passes or lunch-and-workspace combos to attract the digital nomad crowd.
You could also go one step further and host networking events or co-working days to attract freelancers and remote workers looking to connect with others. This strategy would be particularly fruitful for establishments in town or city-centre locations.
Hop on the latest café trends – from speciality coffees, bubble tea, through to health-conscious offerings
Staying current with the hottest café trends is crucial for attracting customers and boosting sales.
Offer a diverse menu that includes popular items like speciality coffees, which appeal to discerning coffee enthusiasts, or introduce trendy beverages such as bubble tea or matcha lattes to capture a younger demographic.
And with health due to remain at the top of consumers’ priorities in 2024, it is wise to cater to health-conscious consumers by providing nutritious options, including plant-based milk alternatives, sugar-free syrups, and healthy snacks. Depending on your target demographic, you may even wish to look at niche ingredients such as adaptogens and nootropics.
Innovate to boost café productivity and yield
“Entrepreneurs, by definition, shift resources from areas of low productivity and yield to areas of higher productivity and yield,” says Peter Drucker, the Austrian American management consultant, educator and author.
For a café, this may mean removing low-margin or underperforming items from your menu or becoming a hybrid venue – trendy café by day, cocktail bar by night.
You may also wish to offer mobile ordering to go beyond the in-person market and launch on platforms such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and JustEat.
