Small Home Businesses - A Unique Marketing Spin for a Coffee Shop

The location was too large for it to survive as just a coffee shop something extra would have to be added. They had not worked out what type of food or coffee they would serve. Which is very large for a coffee shop, foot space. They had already leased a 3000 sq. Three business partners contacted me about creating a marketing plan for a coffee shop that they were opening in Greenwich Village in New York City.

And special interest groups, art and theatre groups, discussion groups, since they had already signed the lease on the location that was to large to succeed as just a coffee shop I created a plan for the coffee shop to be used as a place for community service groups. I convinced them to follow a plan that I created that would solve the extra space problem for them. I met with the three partners where I discussed my concerns about there new business venture.

And to provide other entertainment for the college students, the coffee shop will have a part time program director who will work with the various groups to help facilitate community meetings and set up interesting forums and discussion groups. And a place for college students to meet after classes, associations, organizations, the coffee house will strive to become a meeting place for various community groups. After 9:30 A.M. 65% who are professional, and breakfast muffins and an assortment of pastries to the people in the morning, cappuccino, in the morning it will offer coffee. I arranged for the coffee shop to operate a two-prong strategy.

The coffee shop will set its pricing approximately 25 percent below typical Starbucks' pricing. With instruction on how to make a great espresso, the coffee shop set up a separate espresso station, to accomplish this. To capitalize on this the coffee shop should try to get its espresso drinks to over 50 percent of the drinks served. The shops with the best tasting drinks did five to ten times the business of shops with average tasting espresso. I conducted some research on successful coffee shops and found that the espresso machines contribute well over 50 percent to a coffee shop's revenue and even more to its profits.

Two employees along with the manager were trained in the proper technique of making specialty coffee drinks. I suggested that the coffee shop purchased a high-end cappuccino coffeemaker that has a shiny copper and bronze exterior that can be set out in a separate station to attract interest to specialty coffees. And people who understand the art of making good coffee, which involves having the right coffeemaker and coffee, the key to the coffee shop is the merchandising and taste of its specialty drinks.

The coffee shop will send out coupons to groups offering a 25-percent-off discount. And what meetings are taking place and how they can attend these meetings, i created a web site explaining what the coffee shop has to offer. A discount was offered to any group or individual who would bring in groups. I worked with the part time program and sales director with finding groups and creating groups that will hold meetings in the coffee shop.

Print ads were also taken out in a small local publication that the targeted market reads. These articles contained links to the web site for the coffee shop that would list the upcoming events and discussions that would be held at the coffee shop. And local community groups that held meetings at the coffee shop, associations, articles were written for on line publication for the organizations. I created online discussion groups that would involve potential clients for the coffee shop. I wrote solicitation letters to them explaining what services the coffee shop had to offer. And local community groups in the area, associations, i bought a list from a list broker of organizations.

You must promote your success to get new business. And on the new web site, i got permission from the clients who are using the coffee shop for meetings to use there names in the next set of ads that will run. And associations holding weekly meetings in the coffee shop, organizations, the coffee shop had 8 regular groups. The coffee shops morning business was doing 10 percent better that was forecasted. After about 5 months the results of these marketing efforts had paid off.