It’s true that there are any number of factors involved in whether or not a cafe succeeds, but there are several that have been proven to be fairly reliable.
High Quality Espresso
In fact, consistently offering one hundred percent quality may not be the best commercial decision for the owner of an establishment to make. Many will advocate for eighty percent as an optimal model. Espresso, however, is one of those rare products that consistently demands top quality. A coffeehouse’s consumer base will often be made up of picky customers that will gladly walk past ten other competitors in order to find the best espresso on the market. This simple fact makes having a highly visible location less of a factor in determining the fate of a coffeehouse, so buying the best coffee machine possible, installing it with a water purifier, using the right grinder, and procuring only the best freshly roasted beans are great first steps to success. Of course, that will only matter when the baristas are adequately trained and motivated.
Ergonomics
High volume coffee sales are the foundation upon which every successful cafe is built. Because of this, making sure the workstations are perfectly laid out is a vital part of guaranteeing speedy service and keeping sales up. The barista should hardly need to move their feet in the process of performing their duties. Above all, they should not need to compete with their fellow staff members for elbow room. Easy access to bins, beans, and milk is a must. The counter should be at just the right height, and the barista will need to be able to reach any cups, grinders, overhead supplies, and accessories. Keeping the cash register near to said workstation will allow the baristas to hear their customers’ orders and get a head start on making them during those daily rushes.
Loyalty Cards
The use of so-called “loyalty cards” can be polarizing in entrepreneurial circles, but they tend to result in cheap customer acquisition. Cards like this will need to have a durable quality that will ensure that they withstand the wear and tear of frequent handling on a busy day.
Promoting Multiple Sales
At the end of the day, the fact of the matter is that coffee sales alone will never be enough to keep a cafe startup afloat. There’s no denying that the promise of a good cup of coffee is the primary motivator keeping customers walking through the door, but if they’re leaving without multiple sales, then there’s a decent enough chance that the numbers will start to falter. A general rule is this: coffee should never comprise over forty percent of a cafe’s weekly sales. Smart owners will make sure that the traditional companions of a good cup of coffee, such as muffins or cookies, are close at hand when a barista is making a sale, and particularly dedicated ones will take pains to be able to offer cold food, cold drinks, and some hot food. Nothing else keeps people buying like a good cupcake.
Limiting the Assortment
The common temptation among the majority of cafe startups is to put a huge amount of effort into providing wide assortments of products and extensive product offers. In most cases, the owners of such cafes are forgetting that, above all, the customer is either hungry or thirsty (or both). Being presented with too wide a range of choices actually tends to confuse. Successful cafes will definitely cover the previously mentioned necessities, but they’ll make sure that their offers are limited and strategic. It’s always worth remembering that every item added to the menu can incur additional costs without generating revenue or pleasing customers.
Merchandising Margins
In cafes, products should usually be priced according to their perceived customer value. Some of the more well-known items may demand prices that are at or below those typical in the market, but the losses in these cases will be covered by the comparatively high margins on products that are exclusive and unique or “addictive” in the eyes of customers.
Proper Strategy
Establishing a beachhead in a highly competitive marketplace can be one of the most difficult aspects of launching a new venture. This is especially true for cafes, and owners will need to have a clear understanding of how they’re going to win over prospective customers if they expect to have any degree of success. Beyond that, it takes a solid plan to keep them coming back and generating referrals via word of mouth.
Counter Service
Counter service is today accepted as the cheapest, most efficient, and most effective service method for a contemporary cafe. Widespread success stories in the fast food industry have helped guarantee customers’ acceptance of counter service, because it tends to be hassle-free for both the server and the customer. Getting customers to order and pay upfront, giving them a number, and delivering their food will enable establishments to be able to handle those peak demands during breakfast and lunch.
Have as Many Ready-Made Products as Possible
Products that are custom-made make one critical assumption: they assume that the customer knows precisely what he or she wants. Oftentimes, they simply don’t. Many customers see the baristas as the experts, and they tend to hope that the baristas will offer suggestions as to what they should try out. Countering this can mean having most food products made beforehand and keeping customization limited to the coffee.
Understand What’s Being Sold
Far too many businesses (and owners) make the sad mistake of not really understanding what need they’re satisfying for their customers. This causes them to concentrate most of their time and money on the wrong parts of their offer. While it’s hunger and thirst that are, more often than not, bringing customers in, there are a variety of reasons people spend time in cafes. Cafes provide them with a desperately needed escape from the mundane stresses of the office, the opportunity to engage with friendly and familiar cafe staffers, and sometimes a venue for doing business or negotiating in a non-threatening environment.
Target Takeaways
Unfortunately, it’s far more trendy for cafe startups to focus on providing a litany of in-house amenities for their customers. Comfortable lounges and free Wi-Fi are popular examples, but those only scratch the surface. Takeaway customers wind up paying the same price as sit-ins in the long run, and they don’t incur any occupancy costs.
Serve on the Front Lines
Cafes, not unlike restaurants, demand the care, attention, and engagement of a dedicated owner. The customers expect it, and the staff will experience a significant morale boost when the owner is on-site and taking orders or making coffee.
There are plenty of things an owner can do to increase his or her chances of overseeing a successful cafe startup. Achieving financial stability for a new establishment may be tricky, but it doesn’t need to be impossible.