A Digital Marketing Strategy for the perfect Coffee Brew
We are going to look at what will make your Digital Marketing Strategy the perfect brew.
You must have heard the saying, “OK, BUT FIRST COFFEE.”
Most people start their day with a fresh cup of coffee, so why don’t you do the same?
Brew yourself a nice cup of coffee, sit back and discover how you can take your coffee shop from being an ordinary cup of coffee to becoming a double shot espresso.
It doesn’t mean that because coffee shops and cafes are on every second corner, you shouldn’t start your own corner shop cafe. It only means that your shop should be so unique that your corner of the coffee world attracts the most traffic.
Just as the aroma of a cup of coffee can spread through an entire room, it is very important to decide which strategies will allow your business the biggest customer reach.
MEASURE YOUR CURRENT SUCCESS
“WHEN THE VISION IS CLEAR, STRATEGY IS EASY”
For your business to reach its full potential, it is important to first measure your current position.
Write down your mission and how that mission can be implemented to reach your vision.
Make sure both your vision and mission is clear and realistic.
A SWOT ANALYSIS CAN HELP YOU CREATE AN EFFECTIVE DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
Using a SWOT analysis can help you to determine not only the strong and weak points of your business, but also assist you in strategic planning.
LET’S BREAK IT DOWN
S – STRENGTHS
Identify characteristics of your company that will make it outstanding in its own right?
How is your company different and unique? What does your company offer that no other company will?
Is your barista maybe the world’s best barista?
Do you only use organic coffee beans?
Think of reasons why your coffee shop is the place to be.
W – WEAKNESSES
Don’t be dismayed. Knowing your company’s weaknesses or areas where you can improve, will only help you to identify ways of improvement.
It is a bitter pill to swallow, but knowing what your competition does better, can be the motivation your company needs to excell to the next level.
O – OPPORTUNITIES
Be aware of every opportunity that comes your way and make sure to grab the ones that will benefit your coffee shop with both hands.
You will know what is a great fit for your company and what not. Keep your vision in mind and make sure that every opportunity you take proppells you in the direction of your vision.
This element of SWOT, includes everything that can help you grow your business to the next level.
T – THREATS
Anything that can keep your business from flourishing, can be listed under threats.
For example, negative reviews on social media can have a big impact on a business and definitely not a good one. This will be your opportunity to use those negative reviews and turn them around for good.
Make sure to respond to customers’ reviews by acknowledging their “problem” and offering a solution or even an apology coffee on the house. This will show them as well as your potential and current clients that their voices matter and that you are a company that aims to offer the best customer service. Make your customers feel heard and valued.
IDENTIFYING YOUR GOALS ARE CRUCIAL FOR A DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
“SET YOUR GOALS HIGH ENOUGH TO INSPIRE AND LOW ENOUGH TO ENCOURAGE YOU”
It is very important that your goals are reachable, otherwise, you will just discourage yourself when not reaching the intended goals.
YOUR GOALS SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS
- Be challenging, yet realistic and reachable.
- Always direct you towards your vision.
- Be comprehensive.
- Your goals should be specific and timely.
- Break them down into smaller milestones. That will be less overwhelming and seem easier to reach.
Goals should always encourage and never discourage.
For your coffee shop to reach its full potential it is important to be clear about what your short- and long-term goals are.
SHORT-TERM GOALS are goals that you want to reach in the near future. It can range anything from a few days up to a year.
LONG-TERM GOALS will take more planning and will usually take between 1 and 5 years to reach.
When determining your goals, always make sure that they will direct you towards your vision.
Any goal that defers you from your vision, is not worth your time or effort.
EXAMPLES OF SHORT- AND LONG-TERM GOALS
SHORT TERM GOALS
- I want my social media followers to increase by 5% every month.
- To gain 50 “first-time” customers to my website and store in the next 3 months.
LONG TERM GOALS
- Within 2 years I want to branch out and open a second store.
- Within 3 years I want to be able to donate to a second charity.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COFFEE SHOP UNIQUE
IF YOU WANT TO STAND OUT, DON’T BE DIFFERENT, BE OUTSTANDING – MEREDITH WEST
For most coffee lovers it is not just about drinking coffee, but about sharing that experience with friends and family.
Make a list of what sets your business apart.
Why should customers walk past a perfectly good coffee place to order a cup of yours?
- Have weekly promotions – For example, buy one get one free on thirsty Thursdays.
- Give back to the community – People like to know that they are part of a bigger picture and that they too can make a difference. Your business can have the policy that for every 100 cups of coffee sold, your business gives a percentage of that amount back to the community.
- You can also run “unexpected” weekly promotions on Instagram. Every week you post on a different day and from the moment the post features, only for an hour, your customers can use that specific code for a discount at your cafe or for an online coffee purchase. This will not only improve the traffic on your Instagram page, but it will also give your customers the opportunity to receive some discount.
- The more creative the better. Keep your content and promotions fresh and interesting. You will have your customers coming back for more.
“CREATIVITY NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE”
GET TO KNOW YOUR COMPETITION
Not only can you learn what customers like from researching your competition, but also what customers don’t like.
Thoroughly analyze the competitors’ online presence.
Researching your competition will also give you a better idea of what most companies in your industry are doing to gain more success with their customers.
This will also guide you in a direction to think out of the box. To think of strategies and ideas that will set you apart from every other coffee shop.
Adopt the mindset that whatever other coffee shops are doing, that you are not only going to do it differently but also better.
A DIGITAL PRESENCE FORMS PART OF AN EFFECTIVE DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
“A CUP OF COFFEE SHARED WITH A FRIEND IS HAPPINESS AND TIME WELL SPENT”
In today’s time and age online presence is vital. You want to make sure that your business has a strong online presence that is easy to find.
Your customers will be more than just coffee drinkers, they will be coffee connoisseurs.
Being a coffee lover myself, I know that consistency in taste is key. That is exactly what keeps me going back for more.
Keeping this in mind, most customers will come back to your store because of the coffee taste that they first fell in love with. If you want to keep these loyal customers, your business should aim to deliver a consistent coffee taste. A taste so consistent that they will walk or scroll past another coffee shop, just to support you.
This principle of consistency can be applied to all the different platforms you choose to expand your digital presence.
Be visible on a consistent basis.
HOW INSTAGRAM IMPACTS YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
Research shows that Instagram has 500 million active users daily. Imagine the number of customers you can reach by creating and maintaining a constant presence on Social Media platforms like Instagram.
Being one of the most attractive social media platforms because it can be used to market your brand and create a consistent online presence.
Instagram is also a great platform to interact with your customers on a daily or weekly basis.
One of the reasons Instagram is a top social media platform for businesses is the fact that it is very easy to track the amount of followers your business has.
With regular business and promotional updates on Instagram, you will be sure to stay at number one when it comes to coffee choices. Loyalty in customers is what you want, so make sure your social media presence is creative, real and consistent.
Make sure the content you post on Instagram is very descriptive. Less is not more in this case.
The more descriptive your posts are, whether you use hashtags or keywords, the more Instagram will favor it.
This will make your business stand out as one of the best in a particular niche.
By posting descriptive content Instagram will recommend your business to active users, that will result in more followers.
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
It is a free and easy way to create more visibility for your business across Google. It enables you to provide photos of your business as well as your location and what your business specializes in.
This is an effective way to help customers find and get to know your business.
Google my business allows you to communicate to the world what your business is all about. You can upload pictures as well as text.
Keep in mind that this will be how customers view your business and that first impressions last. Make sure to upload high quality photos. How you present your business online says a lot.
CREATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE
Depending on your budget you can either create your own free website or get a website developer to do it for you.
The fact that you have your own business or are thinking of starting one is a great indication that you are creative and will definitely have the skills to create your own website.
Popular platforms to create free websites include:
SEO PLAYS A FUNDAMENTAL PART IN A DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
Search Engine Optimization is a way to get more free traffic to your online business from search results.
If managed well, SEO will optimize your business’s online visibility and potentially help you reach more people.
It will make it so much easier for people to find your business.
3 WAYS TO IMPROVE THE SEO OF YOUR BUSINESS
- Make sure that your website is optimized for mobile use.
- Make use of keywords.
- Always produce high quality content. Keep it real, informative and interesting.
ANALYZE AND IMPROVE MARKETING PERFORMANCE
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Google Analytics will provide you with extensive information on how your business is performing online.
One of the many benefits of Google Analytics is the fact that you will be able to track your online traffic. This will also help you to track user behavior which will allow you to gain a better understanding of your customers.
HOOTSUITE ANALYTICS
Your business will benefit from using hootsuite analytics as this will allow you to track your instagram analytics.
This will help you gain valuable information, such as what content your followers would like to see.
The more you get to know your customers/followers the easier it will be to create and post content that will keep them coming back.
CONCLUSION
I want to leave you with the following tips.
- Be consistent. Once the bar is set, keep on delivering and be sure to turn every customer into a loyal follower.
- Measure and analyze results. Be on top of your game and always make sure that your business is moving in the direction of your vision.
- Use social media such as Instagram to interact with your audience. This will build strong customer relations which will result in gaining your customers’ trust.
It doesn’t matter how many other coffee shops are out there. Be creative and find that one thing that separates you from all the other beans.
Be bold and you never know, your coffee shop might just be exactly what the world needs now.
