A high-quality dining experience will draw repeat customers.
Many people dream of opening their own café. But few remember that marketing is an integral part of owning and running any small business. A café needs to attract loyal repeat customers who will rave about the café to their friends and neighbors. Your marketing efforts should focus on attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.
Sidewalk Sign
Your "open" sign should be prominent.
A simple sandwich sign placed on the sidewalk outside the cafe can do wonders for your business. Rather than listing multiple menu items on the sandwich sign, advertise a single item, special or item category to trigger the desire for it in the minds of passerby. For example, advertise a lunch special with a gourmet sandwich, kettle-cooked potato chips, a sugar cookie and a drink for a discounted price. If advertising a specific dish, always use adjectives to let people know what the food is like and to subtly evoke an inviting impression. Instead of trumpeting a dish containing "grilled salmon," advertise "grilled wild-caught Aleutian salmon with cilantro-lime marinade."
Drink Card
Offer a free pound of beans after many coffee purchases.
Frequent, regular customers will keep your cafe in business. The most likely candidates for being frequent customers are, of course, people who live in the surrounding neighborhood. Target local residents with a special promotion that will encourage them to check out your cafe. Give each targeted household a flyer featuring a "frequent customer" card, specifically the kind where once they have purchased a certain number of items, they get one free. Distribute cards that has most of the boxes already checked off. That way, the cardholder only has to buy one or two drinks in order to get one free. The lure of getting a deal will get people to stop in a few times---and that gives you a chance to hook them with your tasty food and comfortable atmosphere.
Customer Appreciation Tokens
Encourage friendly, upbeat attitudes among staff members.
It is a business truism that it is an easier to retain an existing customer than to recruit a new one. Recognizing that principle, authorize your front-line staff people to issue tokens for free products to steady, loyal customers. Tell the front-line staff to sincerely thank the person for patronizing the cafe. Giving these tokens sporadically and at random will make them feel more personal to the customers who receive them.
Tags: customers will, front-line staff, repeat customers, sandwich sign, your cafe