We all love coffee. Well most of us do, and there seems to be a new coffee shop popping up every few blocks in recent years. In order to keep your seats filled and the java flowing you need to be strategic with your coffee shop marketing. The staples are a must such as comfortable seating, nice ambiance, low hip music, fast wi-fi and of course, exceptional coffee. To become a staple in your neighbourhood as the goto coffee shop you need to do much more though and to increase your sales you must market the additional products over just the cup of joe.

To help sell your other items such as sandwiches, soups, and your other money-makers, you need to think about your menu. Not just the cluttered chalk board with fancy writing above your sales counter; rather you should be designing some very clear and fancy looking menus to showcase your other offerings. Put one of these laminated custom menus on each table so that patrons can browse the menu items you have to offer. If your menu is attractive and well-priced then your customers will surely fill their bellies with more than just a cup of coffee.

Additionally, it can be beneficial to advertise some services that you offer that my be unknown to your current customer-base such as catering options, group packages/discounts and delivery if offered. When designing your menu for your coffee shop you should keep in mind what is known as the Golden Triangle in marketing. Customers open a menu and then first thing they do is zone in on the center of the menu with their eyes. So your most rewarding (financially) offers and promos should be placed in the center of your menu to draw the most attention and increase your sales of these items.

Furthermore, you should get some custom printed loyalty cards for your coffee shop. The reason being is simply that they work. Thousands of tests and surveys and customer reports all point to the same fact that loyalty cards work, even more so now that customers are showing an increase in brand loyalty. You should always have some loyalty cards on hand to give to customers to encourage them to come back more often and also reward them for their purchases. It may seem counter-intuitive to discount your prices but in actuality you are running a volume business and the more sales means the more revenue because you will be keeping costs low by purchasing your supplies in bulk. Plus discounts to existing customers are quickly offset by the reduction in advertising money you will have to spend to attract brand new customers and also that these customers will usually introduce new customers to your business – no one wants to have coffee alone.

Start implementing some of these strategies with print marketing for our coffee shop and you’ll see that your sales start to increase and seats are filled. Plus you will be able to sell more of the other items you offer in addition to your steamy cups of coffee that help fuel our everyday lives.