Published August 13, 2014 by

Coffee and Food Pairings

When done right, choosing the perfect food to accompany your coffee feels like your taste buds have gone into ultimate sensory high – a match made in heaven! Here are some of the best pairings with coffee you can’t get enough of:

Coffee + Freshly Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Photo by www.browneyedbaker.com

Photo by www.browneyedbaker.com


Coffee + Belgium Waffles

Photo by www.mlive.com

Photo by www.mlive.com


Coffee + Scrumptious Pancakes

Photo by Nicole Franzen Photography

Photo by Nicole Franzen Photography


Coffee + Biscotti

Photo found on www.flickr.com

Photo found on www.flickr.com


Coffee + Morning Croissants/Pastries

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Photo by www.u-handbag.typepad.com


Coffee + High Quality Dark Chocolate Pieces

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Photo found on www.flickr.com


Coffee + Freshly Baked Scones

Photo by www.summerwillcomeagain.tumblr.com

Photo by www.summerwillcomeagain.tumblr.com


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Published August 1, 2014 by

Display Ideas for Your Coffee Shop

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www.oneweekofdesign.com

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Interior Design Tips

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Published July 24, 2014 by

9 Tips To Help You Increase Profits

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Need more ideas to help your business succeed? Cappuccino Connection has outlined a special tip sheet that will help you increase your profits.

Do you want to learn how to:

  • Learn low-risk ways to help increase your profits
  • Discover the new trends that are critical to your profit margin and success
  • Think creatively to market your products well

Download our complimentary tip sheet now!

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Published July 19, 2014 by

6 Interior Design Ideas for Your Coffee Shop

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Published July 18, 2014 by

Part II: Social Media 101 for Coffee Shops

social-media

In our last post, we discussed the benefits of implementing social media as part of your marketing strategy. While many coffee shop owners like the idea of trying something new, the other concern is finding the time to do it. Here are some effective ways to manage your social media tools:

Defined Goal

  • Be specific and set up a goal to avoid hassle and time wasted.

Find Your Customers or Potential Customers

  • Set up Google Alerts to find your customers and find potential areas where you can add value to online discussions or presence online.

Limit Your Tools

  • Instead of managing six different kinds of social media tools, focus on doing 1-2 at a time and to target ones where most of your customers or prospects are.

Manage Your Time Wisely

  • Managing social media shouldn’t take all day. Spend at least 20-30 minutes per day but be CONSISTENT. For instance, in Facebook, your routine should include monitoring or reviewing wall posts, private messages (answer questions if needed), and comments (respond professionally to concerns or compliments).
  • Consider these time saving tools such as HootSuite or HubSpot to schedule posts in advance on a weekly basis in Facebook and Twitter. Remember, mixing your original content posts will keep your customers engaged (promotions, upcoming events, contests, thoughts, etc).

Set Your Own Voice

  • Use your own voice to establish you and your brand.

Measure Success

  • Take time to also track the success of your social media efforts. Increase in “likes” or followers may seem nice but your real focus should be on your sales. Ask yourself, did the one-week long roasted coffee bean promotion increase in your roasted coffee bean sales? You can also track some of these analytics through HootSuite and HubSpot. Another great tool is Google Analytics to help analyze your marketing activities.

Best of luck and we wish you all the success!

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Published July 18, 2014 by

Part I: Social Media 101 for Coffee Shops

socialmediaThink having a static website is enough for your coffee shop business? Think again. Implementing the right social media tools can  unleash incredible potential to market your product and brand.

Here is why you should consider social media to your marketing mix:

  • In a competitive market, relying on quality product and environment is not enough to expand your consumer base.
  • Engaging with your customers outside of your coffee shop is difficult but using the right social media tools, you can interact with them, share ideas, promote events/products/services, etc.

Next, consider some of these popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube. You don’t need to be everywhere at the same time. Follow where your customers are likely to be online such as posting images on Instagram or tweeting on Twitter or liking pages on Facebook.

How to Implement Social Media The Right Way

When done correctly, utilizing social media can maximize the reach of your current and potential customers, build relationships with your clients outside of your coffee shop and receive feedback on your brand and products.

Engage! Engage! Engage!

  • Initiate conversations on Facebook or Twitter. Communicating with your customers through social media can be powerful and when they’re engaged with your business, you can receive very useful information that will help make your business successful. But do pay attention to responses as sometimes you’ll learn more about them than you thought (i.e.; tastes, thoughts, ideas, etc)! In return, customers will feel values and their voices heard, creating a relationship between you and your business.
  • Try marketing your product indirectly by implementing photo contests with brand related contest and prize that brings them back to the shop such as gift cards or store merchandise.
  • Vote contests also allow you to understand your customers better while empowering your customers.
  • Boost demand by offering a limited time only exclusive offer.
  • Don’t forget to build your fan pages, e-mail list and followers as well!

Visual is Key

  • Good quality visual graphics, company images, banners, running events, number of likes or followers all create a positive perception of your business. Make sure that the graphics are dynamic and fit the themes of your store.
  • Keep in mind that images are more powerful than words.

Stay tuned for Part II: Social Media 101 for Coffee Shops where we’ll discuss time management for social media.

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Published July 17, 2014 by

12 Ways to Run a Successful Coffee Shop

coffee shop

Ever wonder why some cafe startups fail? While there are many factors that go into the success of a coffee shop, Forbes reveals the secrets of running and managing one for the long run.

Offer the Finest Espresso – Quality is key but serve it up consistently. Customers don’t care how highly visible you are, it’s the beans they care about. Invest in a top quality espresso coffee machine and choose the best Arabica or Arabica 90%, Robusta10% freshly roasted beans and hire a well-trained barista.

Efficient Workstation Layout – During busy times, it’s important for the barista to work alone, taking more care in preparing the coffee for the customer without having to compete for space or cross-roads with the rest of the staff.

Loyalty Cards Rule – Treat your regular customers to something nice after their 7th or 8th cup and in return, they will keep coming back for more.

Offer Other Non-Coffee Items – Coffee sales alone will not pay the bills. Offer other complimentary items such as muffins, cookies, cakes, cold drinks and teas.

Limit The Choices – Don’t go over board by offering too many assortment of products as this will create anguish with your customers and it will not increase your revenue. Keep it simple (e.g.; three flavors, three sizes, three to four food items, etc.)

Price Well – Resist the temptation to apply a blanket markup for all of your products. It’s important to price according to the customer’s perceived value and market value.

Have a Clear Marketing Strategy – Have a clear understanding on the competitive marketplace and learn innovative ways to gain customers that not only keep coming back but those that help spread the word to their friends and family.

Counter Service – To reduce stress and hassle, especially during peak times, offer a number on the stand or a buzzer to your customers to call them when their order is ready.

Pre-Make As Much As Possible – Focus on custom making your coffee not the food (order or pre-make it elsewhere) as it limits your turnover during peak periods.

Understand Why You Are In Business – Customers go to coffee shops for many reasons, so understanding their needs will help you in your product offering and make wiser decisions that will get them returning for more.

Focus on Takeaway Customers – Takeaway customers pay the same price as sit-down customers without the occupancy costs.

Serve and Be Present on the Front Line – Personal attention is valuable both for the customer and business.

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9 Tips To Help You Increase Profits In Your Coffee Shop
Published June 16, 2014 by

9 Tips To Help You Increase Profits In Your Coffee Shop

Coffee HouseAs a specialty coffee and tea shop owner, you know it’s critical to your business that the beverage products you feature are the ones which will make you the most money.

As new products are introduced, and new “hot” trends develop, you need low-risk ways to market these new products to your customers. All this is critical to your profit margin and success.

At The Cappuccino Connection, we like to help our customer achieve the most profit possible for the effort they put into their shops. Here are some ideas you may not have considered, or just need to be reminded of again:

Tip#1: Flavored Syrups Sell More Drip Coffee – Pocket Up To $720 More Per Month

Flavoring added to coffee helps you sell more coffee. Almost 50% of ALL beverages sold include flavor. DaVinci brand flavored syrups have been shown to sell more drinks than other brands.

One simple marketing strategy using DaVinci flavored syrup can increase your profits by $720 each month. That is: Provide the flavored syrup FREE to your customers to add to their drip coffee. Make available 4 or 5 of the most popular flavors and encourage your customers to try them and report their favorite.

How will this increase your profits? Let’s assume you have an average size shop where you sell 150 cups of drip coffee a day. The FREE flavored syrup promotion should increase your coffee sales by 20%, therefore 30 more cups per day. If your profit per cup is currently $1.00, your profit after the cost of syrup is 80 cents. Those 30 additional cups are worth $24 per day, or $720 in 30 days.

In addition, as customers grow to appreciate the flavors, they will begin buying your higher profit specialty coffees.

Tip#2: Spiced Chai – Switching Brands Could Save You $203 per Month

If you are currently using Oregon Chai, a simple switch to DaVinci Spiced Chai could add $203 per month to your bottom line – while making your job easier, not harder!

The cost of Oregon Chai is about $1.10 per serving, the cost of DaVinci Spiced Chai is only about 65 cents – a 45 cent savings. If you average 15 Chais a day, that’s $6.75 in savings, or about $203 extra profit in 30 days.

And that’s while making your job easier. DaVinci Chai uses a pump system and a concentrated formula (9:1 ratio), which allows for easy measurement and clean dispensing. Also, no refrigeration is required, meaning the drink is not cooled by adding a large amount of cold liquid.

Greater profits, easier product to use, why not switch to DaVinci Spiced Chai?

Tip#3: Feature Flavors – Seasonal or Monthly

As we mentioned before – flavoring helps sell more coffee. Many of the DaVinci flavored syrups are ideal to feature at a particular season or month. Curiosity about that flavor can sell more coffee. How about Peppermint Paddy at St. Patrick’s Day, or Pumpkin Pie at Halloween? Red Hot Cinnamon on Valentine’s Day, Egg Nog on New Year’s Day … let your imagination run wild!

Or better yet, have your customers enter a contest to suggest flavors for certain events or celebrations. Offer a prize of a mug or free pound of coffee to the winner. Everyone will look forward to trying the next featured flavor.

Call us at The Cappuccino Connection at 1-800-249-0011 – we can send you a chart of suggested feature flavors for the year.

Tip#4: Nifty Names and New Recipes

Have a special drink? Give it a special name. Turtle Mocha is more catching than Chocolate-Caramel-Praline. White Zombie, Chunky Monkey, Winterberry Freeze … all can raise a curiosity in customers which can lead to more sales.

Need ideas for new drinks? Again, let your customers get involved – with a contest if necessary – to suggest flavor combinations and new drink ideas. Name the drink after the winning customer.

Also, DaVinci Gourmet publishes drink recipes and new drink ideas. Call us at The Cappuccino Connection – we can send you new recipe suggestions.

Tip#5: Package Deals – Everybody Likes a Bargain

Make it easier for your customers. Offer a package deal which includes popular items bundled together at a lower price than the individual items. Breakfast Wakeup Special of a latte and a scone, or an Afternoon Tea for Two Special of Chai and Biscotti. Packages make the decision making process easier, and easier makes for more sales.

Don’t forget take-out packages as well as in-store specials. A Sunday Romantic Brunch package of gourmet pancake mix, coffee, and a small bottle of flavored syrup in a small basket with napkins and a candle would make an attractive special offer. It could also increase you sales of syrups for home use.

Tip#6: Special Customers Club – Make Them Feel Important:

After all, they are the most important part of your business. Your regular customers should feel appreciated for their faithful patronage of your shop. Even a simple Customer Loyalty Card rewarding them with a free drink after purchasing 12 or 20 lets them know you appreciate their business and keeps them coming back regularly.

Offer Frequent Customer Special days with discounts for all customers with the Frequent Customer Card. As mentioned before, name a drink after customers who win a contest or are your most loyal patrons.

Tip#7: Joint Ventures – Coordinate With Neighboring Merchants

Is there an automobile oil change shop near you? Wouldn’t his customers appreciate a good cup of coffee while waiting for their car to be finished? (Do any of those places ever serve good coffee? – Why not offer the oil change merchant some coupons for a free cup of coffee at your shop? His clients would be happier – and they will usually order something else in addition to the coffee. You might even sell him the coupons at your cost. Or, you could offer to give your customers a discounted coupon to his shop after they have completed their Frequent Customer Card.

How about a hair stylist? An electronics repair shop? A Laundromat? Any shop where customers might need to wait for ten minutes or more. Just think of all the businesses around you and try to figure out ways you can drive business to them while they drive business to you … at little cost to either of you.

Tip#8: Special Needs – Special Opportunities

The most common special need is sugar-free products. Here again DaVinci meets that need with the widest variety of sugar-free syrup flavors (38 in all). Sweetened with Splenda – they have excellent flavor without the added calories of sugar or the “peculiar” taste of other artificial sweeteners.

Get the word out to your special needs customers – Splenda is safe for diabetics, pregnant women, and children, and carries no health warnings or usage restrictions. Is there a diabetic focus group, a weight reduction clinic, or health spa near you? Educate them on the availability and advantages of DaVinci Gourmet Syrups.

Tip#9: Gift Baskets – Help Your Customers with Their Gift Ideas

Design various gift basket combinations for different celebrations – Breakfast in Bed, Afternoon Picnic, Birthday, House-warming, or any holiday. Include a small selection of DaVinci syrups along with coffee or tea and gourmet cookies, pancake mix, or dried fruit or candy. This provides your customers with great gift ideas for their friends and family.

Flavored syrups give you all the tools to make customers happy. Soon they will be coming to you to purchase the syrups in small bottles for home use.

How can we help you with your coffee shop marketing?

At The Cappuccino Connection, we know that helping you make your business successful is the best way to make our business successful. Let us help you with your marketing ideas and products.

We offer best prices on coffee shop supplies, beverages and great customer service. You can order online or by phone 1-800-249-0011. We also have a dedicated team for espresso machine installations, repairs and service. Call us today or fill out this form to submit your request.

If you are a customer we can also provide you with Point-of-Sale products:

  • Hot and cold drink posters
  • Banners
  • Chalkboards
  • Coffee drink counter cards
  • Full color product sell sheets
  • Recipe brochures
  • POS order cards

In fact, in cooperation with DaVinci Gourmet, we can provide you with customized POS Counter Cards, showing your own drink name and your price.

Let us know how we can help you be successful and share your own tips below in the comments section.

 

 

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