Guest writer, Sean Edwards, is a true coffee enthusiast. Sean has racked up over 14 years in the specialty coffee industry and his resume is extensive. Sean has been a successful café owner, coffee trainer, freelance marketing consultant, Director of the national trade event, Café Biz and Editor of The Home Barista Book. Sean now reigns supreme as Editor of Café Culture Magazine. It’s Sean’s mission in life to educate the public and assist the industry in developing a greater appreciation of coffee.
Over the last few years the task of running a successful café has become more challenging for café owners. The rising labour, food and rent costs and increasing commodity prices of items such as fuel and utilities have put a real strain on café owners.
With a café, like other businesses, you can only take product price increases to where your customer base can withstand. A solution to help ease the pressure is marketing your café and its products successfully.
Well marketed cafés stand out from the competition and are the ones which will show increased profits, having good growth cycles.
Marketing does not just mean advertising: it is the process that encompasses your whole sales structure. I have broken down some positive ideas and strategies I have witnessed out there in our competitive marketplace over the last few years.
Marketing Plan and Budget
The marketing plan is a necessary tool for your business, as we live and work in an increasingly competitive society. If you want your business to succeed you need to market your product correctly.
A marketing plan will help you to focus those hard earned dollars in the right direction, while helping you to understand your product i.e. know where it fits into the market, know who you are trying to talk to, know how you are going to reach them. Once you have this understanding, make sure you monitor your presence in the marketplace to know that in fact what you’re understanding is correct. A marketing plan is written evidence that you understand what you are trying to achieve.
Your Plan Should Take in these Factors
Where you are — where you want to go — how you might get there.
Set yourself goals and objectives (achievable ones).
Define your market and start with your present customer base.
Understand your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT Analysis).
Establish a marketing strategy.
Implement tactics to achieve this strategy.
Define the difference between marketing and advertisement. Advertisement is only one part of your marketing plan/budget.
Look from the outside in. Fish bowl your workplace — stand at the front door of your business and have a real good look in.
Do a budget on how much you need to spend to make real financial growth. A rule of thumb is to spend on marketing 5% of your gross income, up to 10% for start ups of a new café in the first year.
Use a calendar and have a new marketing initiative every month.