You don’t just make money by starting a business, you have to put in the work to be able to attract customers to your business. The truth is that, if you start a business in a city or location that is competitive, you would need to go the extra mile to be able to make sales in such a location.
Interestingly, there are marketing and sales strategies that have helped businesses over the years to generate sales and break even in record time.
So, if you are thinking of opening a coffee shop, or you already have a coffee shop that is struggling, then part of the marketing and sales strategies you can implement is to come up with some of the best promo ideas that are suitable for a coffee shop.
Promo ideas (promotional ideas) are the things a business does just for the purpose of winning more customers and consolidating existing customers. In this article, we will look at some of the best promo ideas that the owner of a coffee shop can implement irrespective of the city, state, or country where the business is located.
Best Promo ideas for a Coffee Shop
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Buy One Get One Free
If you run a coffee shop and you are interested in implementing a promo program that will help you generate more sales, then one of your options is to, once in a while, have a promo that encourages people to buy one cup of coffee and get the next cup free. Trust me, businesses have adopted such ideas and they have been able to scale up their sales.
As a matter of fact, people that participate in this type of promo are usually hooked to the coffee shop. They are usually some of the most consistent customers you will have. Although this type of promo will dip into your profit, but trust me, your business will benefit from it in the long run.
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Organize Social Media Contest
Another promo idea that is suitable for a coffee shop is to organize social media contests for the target market of the coffee shop. Interestingly, there is hardly any business in this age and time that is not leveraging social media to promote their business.
Good enough, there are several social media promotional ideas that a coffee shop can leverage to increase sales. One such idea is to post trivia on your social media page and reward the winners with a cup of coffee whenever they visit your coffee shop or reward them with your company’s branded souvenirs.
Another social media contest idea is to encourage customers to post a picture of themselves in your coffee shop on their social media handle, and the post that attracts the highest number of likes or shares wins the contest and can be awarded your company’s branded souvenir or a free cup of coffee whenever they visit your coffee shop.
There are several other social media contest promotional ideas that you can implement as marketing and sales strategies for your coffee shop.
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Sponsor Community Related Events
It is common for businesses that are thriving to sponsor community-related events, but a business that is just starting out can also sponsor community-related events as a means of promoting their business.
Usually, when a company sponsors a community event, aside from the fact that your promotional materials (banners, pamphlets, posters and flexes et al) are allowed to be placed in strategic locations at the venue of the community event, you will also be allowed to have a stand where you can give out your products for free or sell at a discounted price.
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Start a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program is a program that helps a business build loyal customers, and this type of promo has proven to be a success over the years. So, as a coffee shop, you may want to implement a loyalty program as a promotional strategy for your coffee shop.
Part of what you need to do is to encourage your customers that they will win a prize if they are able to inform and also bring their friends or family members to patronize your coffee shop.
For every customer they bring, they will get a point and at the end of the program, they will win a gift from your business. The type of gifts they will win will be dependent on the number of points they are able to accumulate during the period of the loyalty program.
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Organize Special Events
Another promotional idea that a coffee shop can implement as a means of generating sales for the business is to organize special events. The event should be targeted at attracting coffee lovers. Although, the event may be free and it will give attendees the opportunity of relating to your brand and also have a taste of your coffee.
Trust me, if they love your coffee and they have a good time at the event, they will most likely look for your coffee shop and become your loyal customer.
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Brand Your Vehicles and Your Employees
Branding all your vehicles and ensuring that all your employees wear your company’s branded shirts is another promotional idea that can work for a coffee shop. The truth is that, if your vehicles are well-branded when they drive through the city, people get to notice the coffee shop and the name automatically sticks with them.
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Offer Discount Days
Another promo idea that is suitable for a coffee shop is to once in a while have days where they offer discounts on all coffee and products bought from the coffee shop within the period. Trust me, some people that got hooked on a brand started by participating in the company’s discount days.
Interestingly, the discount might just be less than one percent of the original price of the coffee, but people would still want to participate even if it means saving a few cents.
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Start Referral Programs
Referral programs have been in existence for a long time now and it is no doubt, one of the promo ideas that has helped many businesses scale up their sales. So, if you run a coffee shop, and you are looking for a tested and trusted promo idea that can help you increase sales for your coffee shop, then you should consider starting referral programs for your coffee shop.
Basically, all you need to do is to give gifts or a free cup of coffee to anyone who successfully referred a customer to your coffee shop.
9. Offer Special Discounts to Students
Another promotional idea that you can leverage to promote your coffee shop is to offer special discounts to students. The truth is that most students would go to places where they know they are going to get a discount and a coffee shop is not an exemption. This promo idea is highly suitable for a coffee shop that is located in and around a university or college community.
Please note that whenever you are offering special discounts to students, you should ensure that you encourage the students to help you inform their colleagues about your coffee shop and what they will benefit from when they visit your coffee shop.
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Offer Special Discounts to Veterans
Veterans have served us, and it is only natural for us to give them back. One of the ways of giving back to veterans if you run a coffee shop is to offer them a special discount. The truth is that, if veterans know that they will get a discount whenever they buy coffee from your coffee shop, then you are likely going to get most of them coming to your shop.
In conclusion,
It is important to note that apart from the 10 promo ideas discussed above for a coffee shop, you are at liberty to develop a promo that is suitable and unique to your coffee shop. Trust me, there are several promo ideas that you can generate for your coffee shop. You may want to ask your customers to give you suggestions on the type of promos they will appreciate from you.