Now That Mickey D's Is Goin' All Specialty On Us...

[PinkRose]

Hello

Instead of feeling so threatened by the changes that Starbucks is making, I think it would be a smart move if every independent coffee shop owner would take a serious look at his or her operation and see if they could benefit by going "back to basics" like Starbucks is doing. It's smart to occasionally take a step back and honestly look at the operation from the customer's point of view. Every independent coffee shop owner should do this on a regular basis.

It's also smart to find out what the customer wants. I just read that Starbucks now has a "My Starbucks Idea" page http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/home/home.jsp where customers can submit their ideas. They have a team of people reading the postings, considering the suggestions, and presenting them to key decision makers along with recommendations on how to put those ideas to work. Starbucks knows that some of the best ideas will come from the customers.

Instead of feeling threatened, take the time to listen and learn. You may be glad you did.

Rose

 

[ABM]

Good Stuff. Also, I picked this up from some of the research I'd been doing:

1) Focus on location - What makes a great location? Whether you want to open a coffee shop, espresso cart, kiosk or coffee drive-thru, there are lots of factors in selecting a spot that will generate high volume business. Regardless of how good your drinks are, if you select a poor space, your coffee business will suffer.

2) Focus on layout - Is your espresso business space set up to ease the flow of traffic? Arranging your counter area for maximum efficiency increases throughput, enables baristas to move smoothly and helps your customers get in and out.

3) Focus on proper ingredients and equipment - Quality matters. Because of the demand for better coffee and espresso-based drinks, there has to be a commitment to using high-caliber ingredients and equipment (such as commercial espresso and cappuccino machines, etc). Investing in both areas is critical to earning repeat business.

4) Focus on marketing - Generating recognition and enthusiasm for your espresso business is crucial. Marketing incorporates everything from picking a name representative of your espresso business' personality to offering special promotions to menu set-up. Strong marketing encourages people to try your coffee shop offerings while building your clientele.

5) Focus on training - Do not underestimate the importance of teaching your staff properly from the beginning. Experience has shown that proper barista training increases store profitability, reduces turnover and encourages customer interaction since baristas are able to engage in conversation about the ingredients, the equipment and the drinks.

6) Focus on customer service - Treating a customer well is one sure way to create a loyal patron. Those working behind the counter are greeters for your business. Their demeanor, familiarity with the customer, ability to up-sell and degree of expertise satisfy new customers and create loyalists.

7) Focus on cleanliness - If there is a free moment, then there is time to clean. Whether it is your counter, your parking lot, seating area or restroom, your espresso business should be clean because your guests deserve it. Cleanliness is not only a reflection of your organization, but also the quality of product you serve.

 

[ABM]

Also, here's something related to recession-proofing your business I had found in the recent (April 2008) edition of Coffee Talk:

Is your market showing signs of an economic slowdown? So what do most businesses do first? Cut marketing. Right?

Now does that really make sense to you? Any other time, when you want to increase sales, you look to marketing, right? I profess that marketing often gets cut because it is easiest to cut and the less emotionally taxing than other options like cutting staff. So, recession proof with marketing by being a little more creative and smarter than your competitor.

Here are 5 things to think about when it’s time to hunker down on costs:


1. Focus on your existing customers. It’s more expensive to get a new customer than it is to leverage an old one. Interview current customers and those who you haven’t seen in a while. They can give you some good ideas. It’s just as important to know why they are still your customers as it is why they haven’t purchased from you in awhile.

2. Look for new options. Maybe it’s time to pull all those comment cards with customer mailing and/or e-mail addresses and give them an incentive to come in. Try a fresh promotion. How about a 16 oz smoothie for the price of a 12 oz. Maybe 2 for 1 punches on frequent customer cards for a particular day or time of day.


3. Be aware of your competitive environment. Are your direct competitors pulling their advertising? Maybe it’s time you advertise there and steal their market share. When the economy slows, people look for less expensive ways to achieve something similar – whatever it is, it’s competing with you. Are your cus­tomers brown bagging instead of buying a sandwich? Hold “Brown Bag” Thursday in your banquet area and offer sodas or a desert item for a heck of a deal. Chances are when they’re there, they won’t be able to resist the aroma of French fries.

4. Stay consistent. This is NOT the time to re-brand yourself. Do what you do best just do more of it and shout it at the roof tops. A consistent message is more important than ever now. Stick to your core message and core competencies.

5. Take advantage of what makes small business great; relationships. As a small business you naturally have the ability to have stronger relationships with your customers. You just know your customers better.


Lisa Olson is the President of Smart Marketing, Inc.
Have a marketing question? Submit it to Lisa at [email protected].

 

[PinkRose]

Thanks ABM!

Thanks so much for visiting the topic and posting such a detailed response. You included a lot of useful information that could help people "re-visit and re-think" what they're doing on a day-to-day basis.

I liked many of your comments in your postings. One part in particular really stood out:

"Is your market showing signs of an economic slowdown? So what do most businesses do first? Cut marketing. Right?

Now does that really make sense to you? Any other time, when you want to increase sales, you look to marketing, right? I profess that marketing often gets cut because it is easiest to cut and the less emotionally taxing than other options like cutting staff. So, recession proof with marketing by being a little more creative and smarter than your competitor."

I can't tell you how many times shop owners have told me that they "don't have money for advertising" (or marketing). Some even say that they don't believe in it. It's like they think that customers will magically be drawn through their doors without any effort.

And when business is slow, they cut the staff's hours; then the staff becomes grumpy, which has a negative impact on customer service; and then the business continues it's slow spiral "down the tubes." Perhaps instead of cutting staff hours, the staff could be useful in implementing many types of marketing ideas and promotions, or they can help create new ways to provide quality customer service. Some of the best ideas can come from the staff. It's unfortuinate that many shop owners listen more to their customers than they do to their own people. It's such a waste of good human resources.

Rose

 

[ABM]

Check it out...

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chi ... x?id=85319

 

[CCafe]

SBUX is well on its way to getting back on track, they bought the company that builds Clover and took it out of the hands of the industry leaders who were leaving SBUX in the dust with made to order coffee. Re-introduced the old logo, getting back to grinding in house, stamping roasted dates on the bags in plain English. Basically they are doing all of the things the innovative shops have been embracing and preaching for the past few years.

Howard is back and kicking butt. It should be interesting times for them and for the first time in years they are addressing the coffee and not the fluff around the counter (mints, stuffed toys etc..)

Schultz is one of the most competitive people I have ever met. He doesn't like to come in second and will do what it takes to win. Loosing to inyd shops let alone McDonalds is not an option, he will spend a hundred million dollars to reinvent the stores and frankly this is bad news for indy shops because his pockets are deep and his will is beyond stubborn. Think of stirring up a hornets nest.

McDonalds coffee is wretched, S&D out of North Carolina is their primary roaster and their coffees are suspect. In the NE they use Green Mountain which is marginally better, out west it is Gavina and Co. Honestly, how can you produce a consistent product when three different roasters produce your coffee? I had some on the west coast last week and it was a mess of natural Brazil and ten under Colombian. Really nasty, likely a 68 point coffee.

I guess I can understand why SB bought Clover so they could have a high-end machine brew one cup at a time. Without ever having used a Clover I really couldn't say anything bad about it. But waiting 40 seconds to brew a cup of coffee and that doesn't include the time it takes to grind the beans. Thats a lot of time on your hands. If you read the specs it plainly says 16 ounces per minute throughput. You would have to have a counter full of these machines in a busy SB just to keep up on the morning demand.

I don't believe a Clover will be replacing the dual 1.5 gallon brewers anytime soon. Beside when I first read about the Clover it reminded me of a Bunn BrewWise which has the ability to change settings with different types of coffee too.

 

[PinkRose]

Hello,

Thanks, ABM, for sharing the news article.

It looks like this whole McDonalds vs. Starbucks vs. the independent coffee shops saga is going to get very interesting.

Rose

 

[ABM]

Hmmmm..........

http://consumerist.com/379780/starbucks ... ium-coffee

 

[Carmine Domenaco]

I guess I can understand why SB bought Clover so they could have a high-end machine brew one cup at a time. Without ever having used a Clover I really couldn't say anything bad about it. But waiting 40 seconds to brew a cup of coffee and that doesn't include the time it takes to grind the beans. Thats a lot of time on your hands. If you read the specs it plainly says 16 ounces per minute throughput. You would have to have a counter full of these machines in a busy SB just to keep up on the morning demand.

I don't believe a Clover will be replacing the dual 1.5 gallon brewers anytime soon. Beside when I first read about the Clover it reminded me of a Bunn BrewWise which has the ability to change settings with different types of coffee too.

I agree, clover won't replace the big brewers, however it gives SBUX an edge against the fast-food coffee competition AND it removes a tool from the most progressive shops, thus lessening the distance between the avant garde and SBUX. There were many compelling reasons to own the company instead of just owning a lot of their machines. Some might remember they tried unsuccessfully to buy la marzocco several years back when they used to have top of the line espresso equipment.

The clover is a fantastic concept with kinks left to work out, if the designers are given the green light to develop a new series who knows what they could do.

Honestly the best clover cups I had used 90-120 second dwell times which are unrealistic for all but the most laid back places. The short dwells lacked a lot of complexity but play well with most coffee drinkers. I also know that Howard and crew understand that they can't use their run of the mill coffees in this machine so I expect it will allow them to enter a different segment of the coffee market, which in turn will lead to more bean sales, a high margin item in any shop. (Better than breakfast burritos)

I was in a shop with 4 clovers, a good barista could turn out eight 8 oz cups in under 90 seconds. Not enough to keep up with a rush, but it allows the theater of the process and time for the operator to interact with the customer. Again, a way to slow things down just a bit and diminish the reputation that SBUX is the fast food of coffee.