Www carpigiani co uk 5 ways differentiate coffee shop compet by carpigianiuk

5 Ways To Di erentiate Your Co ee Shop From The Competition by carpigiani | Mar 5, 2018 | Co ee Shops | 0 comments

Look down any high street, in any UK town or city, and you will normally see a good number of co ee shops. At the end of 2017, there were over 22,000 co ee shops in the UK, and that number had more than doubled from the previous 10 years. Competition from local independents as well as the big brand co ee shops is at an all-time high, and so it has never been more important to di erentiate your business from the competition. Carpigiani o ers 5 ways to make your co ee shop more enticing to customers and di erentiate yourself from the competition

1 Make Your Co ee Shop “Feel” Di erent Have you ever been in an Apple store? Apple the electronics giant, not a greengrocer. They spend huge amounts of time and money so that as a customer walks into their store they “feel” di erent. It was once said of the way Apple set-up their stores that they feel like “the coolest co ee shop in the world that just happens to not sell co ee”. They di erentiate themselves from every other electronics store in their store layout and approach to customer service. With a co ee shop, you are halfway their already. There is a romantic allure to a co ee shop. A place, in the heart of the community, where people can meet friends and catch-up on the latest gossip, unwind, have a snack and of course, have a great cup of co ee. Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API

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Or a business person can catch-up with emails or have less formal meetings with clients and do it in a relaxed atmosphere, away from the o ice. Bespoke table tops and a consistent colour theme throughout your store could make you look di erent from the major chain brands but go a little further. People want to “feel” di erent when they are in a co ee shop and that is why they visit rather than have a co ee at home or at work. What sort of vibe or feel do you want your co ee shop to have? Modern and trendy, with steel and glass? Rustic, with bare oak features and brick walls or more like home from home with comfortable sofas? Think about your local community. What is the general age group? More importantly, what is the age group of the customers in the other co ee shops in town? What environment could you create that would entice them away from their usual co ee shop? The biggest mistake is to design the interior of the co ee shop to how you would like it. Research the busy establishments in town. Which pubs, cafes and restaurants are the busiest? How would you categorise the interior? Design and decorate the interior of your co ee shop to how your customers would like it. Of course, there are some “basics” that the customer will expect. A clean table to sit at being one. Free Wi-Fi to be able to use their phone, or the business person to use their devices. Don’t “di erentiate” yourself by being a café where people cannot connect online – the world has moved on. When customers have time to sit in a relaxing atmosphere, with a cup of delicious co ee, this is their time to catch-up online. If a clean table and a Wi-Fi connection di erentiates you from the local competition – congratulations – you have a bright future ahead of you.

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2 Serving the customer Visit a local co ee shop and experience their service as a customer does. With many brand co ee houses the customer has to queue to place an order, then wait and o en queue again to receive the co ee. Normally, whilst being deafened by the ‘portafilter’ being emptied. All the while eyeing up the co ee shop for vacant table or chair, or keeping an eye on their belongings that are holding a table they have found. Not the most relaxing start to their “me time”. Could you di erentiate your co ee shop with a di erent type of service? Could you o er complete table service? Let the customer find a seat and order co ee from there? A more relaxing service for the customer. Those customers in a hurry or wanting a takeaway could then order from a less hectic counter. Could you take orders at the counter and serve the customer at the table? Again, consider the service your competitors o er. Take the best parts and then add to it to make your service more customer-centric and di erent. Complete table service (orders are taken at the table) allows a more personal interaction with sta . The downside is the customer is not standing next to a food display for 5 minutes, being tempted with the o erings, however, the sta member will likely get more sales by asking if the customer would like a cake or sandwich or by mentioning the “specials” of the day. Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API

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3 O er them something di erent Almost all co ee shops o er sandwiches, cakes and light snack. They are a natural accompaniment to a co ee. There are a number of ways you could di erentiate yourself with di erent fillings and flavours, but here you need to be careful. Avocado and anchovy sandwiches will certainly make you di erent, but also leave you with waste food that has to be disposed of. Instead, think of ways you can make popular snacks a little di erent. If you have a brand co ee shop as a competitor, you can almost certainly sell your fare at a lower price (without overly a ecting the bottom line). Could you o er homemade cakes? Is there a local bakery that creates delightful cakes that you could strike a deal with? Look to capitalise on trends. Some trends fall in and out of fashion easily, and businesses that were popular get le behind. Look for growing and sustainable trends in the community. The biggest growing trend in food production is to satisfy the massive, and it is massive, requirement for produce for those choosing a vegan lifestyle. Could you stock sandwiches and snacks to satisfy this growing trend? Is co ee vegan-friendly? With careful selection of your co ee beans it is. “Urban Vegan” a website dedicated to the vegan lifestyle highlights these important factors regarding co ee beans. “While shade-grown co ee trees can last for 30 years or more, sun-grown must be replaced every 15 years or less. Also, sun-grown co ee requires much more chemical input (such as chemical fertilisers, agricultural chemicals, and fungicides) and depletes the nutritional content of the soil. Because the soil becomes nutrient deficient, this land is unusable for future sun-grown co ee plantations, forcing farmers to clear out entirely new landscapes altogether! You can only imagine the chaos and destruction this process produces for the many species that rely on the trees and plants as shelter. Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API

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In contrast, shade-grown co ee prevents soil erosion, provides a safe-haven for countless animals and doesn’t produce toxic water runo (from chemical fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, etc.) that injures or kills wildlife.” If making your co ee shop vegan-friendly appeals to you then you also must consider the milk you have on o er. There are plenty of alternatives to cows milk. Hazelnut, soy, oat, hemp, almond and rice milk to name just a few. Another popular and growing trend is to o er ice cream. In major cities, you will have seen the explosion of artisan gelato and ice cream parlours. O ering so serve ice cream allows your business to appeal to the whole family. Although ice cream is not just consumed by children, o ering ice cream will certainly entice them in, and the rest of the family as well. The profit margin in so serve ice cream is very healthy and so the revenue and profits added to the bottom line in the ice cream production, as well as the additional customers will, I am sure, be very welcome.

4 Make sure your co ee is superior However, you di erentiate your co ee shop, the look, the “feel”, the method of service or the food available, one thing MUST make you better than the competition – the co ee you serve. It is obvious, but for a co ee shop, it is all about the co ee. You only have one chance to make a good impression when serving a new customer. If customers enjoy the co ee, they will return for more. It is as simple as that. Great tasting co ee has 3 elements that you will want to get right. Equipment, co ee blend and training.

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The equipment used in making co ee is expensive. The equipment used to make a high-quality co ee can be very expensive. However, trying to save a few pounds on equipment can be a mistake you will have to live with for a very long time. In using less expensive or lower quality equipment will dramatically reduce the quality of the drinks you make, even if you are using a good co ee blend. Carefully select equipment for your establishment and in particular the grinder, brewing equipment and espresso machine. Great quality equipment gives you a chance to serve great co ee. It will also have a positive impact on the image of your co ee shop, your brand and the calibre of the sta you attract. If you have low-priced, poor quality equipment it makes a statement about your business. It says you are not serious about the co ee you serve and more interested in the money you can save/make. Although costs and profit margins are important to a business owner, they are less so to sta who want to take pride in the co ee they serve, and even less important to the customer. If they were concerned with costs, they would drink co ee at home. As well as espresso machines and the brewing system make sure your water system and grinders are the best you can a ord. They have the largest impact on the quality of the drinks you produce.

Coffee Blend The growing number of co ee shops has naturally led to a growing number of co ee roasting companies. Many co ee shop owners choose a blend that they themselves enjoy drinking. This is a sensible place to start. A better way to choose a co ee roaster is to sample a few. You could even get a panel of customers, or even better the local “Chamber of Commerce” to sample and vote on their favourite (great way to spread word of mouth, and who wouldn’t like to be invited to a free co ee morning?). When you are satisfied with the co ee rosters produce, ensure that you can trust their delivery and customer service will accommodate your needs.

Training You may be tempted to train sta yourself. Unless you have years of experience this can be a mistake. Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API

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Having the best equipment does not guarantee the best co ee. You could drive a formula 1 car, but it doesn’t mean you will win many races. It cannot be emphasised enough the importance of barista training. Barista training will teach sta the basics such as how to make espresso-based drinks, steam the milk and how to maintain the equipment. It can also train sta on brewing experiments and create di erent tastes. A good Barista will be able to control and fix factors that a ect the taste of the co ee. Well trained Baristas will have absolute confidence in the brewing consistency to obtain great co ee and be able to troubleshoot any taste issues. If you are considering serving “so serve” ice cream or artisan gelato you will also want to consider training in this area. Carpigiani o er training across the UK (and the world) at their Gelato University. Upon completion, you will have the knowledge to create your very own recipes, strategically planning the perfect mix to create a bespoke o ering for your business.

5 Build Your Brand By now you could have a relaxing, customer enticing environment. You o er produce to entice the whole family into your establishment. Your equipment and sta training allow you to o er the best co ee in the local area – it is time to build your brand and loyal customer following. Nearly all co ee shops o er a customer loyalty card. It makes sense to o er a scheme, especially if you have competitors on your doorstep. Most co ee shops issue little cards to customers that are stamped with a purchase and o er a free drink a er 6, 8 or 10 purchases. These are easy and low-cost to obtain, yet they miss a trick. How many times has a customer come in with several di erent cards all with a few stamps on? How many times does a customer say, “I lost the card”. Physical loyalty cards are too easy to lose and too many customers start a collection of half-completed cards. Consider instead an app for mobile phones. These can also be low-cost, in fact, 2 or 3 runs of printing loyalty cards and replacing lost stamps would pay for a world-class app. Customers are less likely to forget or lose their phone and so it is a more practical solution for the business Create PDF in your applications with the Pdfcrowd HTML to PDF API

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owner and customer alike. Choose an app that allows you to update the content yourself and to send push notifications. Push notifications are messages sent to your customer base through the app itself. In being able to update the app yourself you can alter the daily specials and make o ers available to customers and notify them in an instant. This will drive up customer loyalty and only takes a couple of minutes a day. About Carpigiani – Carpigiani have been the world leaders in so serve and artisan gelato equipment for over 70-years. The Carpigiani 161 is the smallest self-pasteurising so serve machine and the 161 variations are packed full of state-of-the-art technology, pioneering features and inventive designs. Ideal for cafés, co ee shops, restaurants and kiosks lacking in available space.

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