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Coffee shop management in the new normal era
Coffee shop era new normal How to adjust your strategy to continue, especially for small shops with limited seating and having to comply with government regulations? How to control costs? How to increase sales to make a profit? We have some guidelines to recommend. No matter how good the concept is, there will always be customers. For coffee shops or cafes, if they have a clear concept from the beginning, they have an advantage because what customers want in addition to the taste of the drink for coffee shops is the atmosphere. For example, a shop with a perfect concept is a natural theme, a forest garden, a rice field, a beautiful photo corner, a retro shop, or a shop with a barista as a selling point. A shop with a clear concept and a unique selling point will be easier to market and have a high chance of being shared by customers. So, try to explore what your shop has as a selling point. If you don't have one yet, create one. You can start with your own preferences or explore other shops and develop it further. Although the current COVID situation in the country is under control, many places are starting to relax a lot. It's like they're letting their guard down and starting to loosen the rules and regulations set by the government. We have to be careful because if there's a second wave of the outbreak, the symptoms will definitely be severe. So, no matter what, the basic COVID prevention measures set by the government should be completed by the shop, starting from registering customers, checking their temperature, keeping seats 1 meter apart, providing alcohol gel, employees must wear masks, wear gloves, check their temperature before entering the shop, and check the cleanliness of the shop and kitchen. This is to create confidence for customers. The guard doesn't drop, but the balance may drop because of following the measures. How should we adjust the strategy? Complying with government regulations has an impact on the number of seats in the shop, which may have to be reduced due to social distancing, which also reduces the opportunity to sell in the dine-in section. Customers tend to sit in the coffee shop for a long time. When there are few seats, the turnover is low, which will definitely affect sales. The recommended solution is to find a way to increase sales from the average per head. Consider creating a set menu instead of customers ordering only drinks and sitting for a long time. Make it complete with drinks, desserts, or savory dishes at a price that, when calculated, gives the shop more profit and the selling price is not too high. Or add a menu for single people, take-away, frozen menus, or meal kits that customers can take home and cook themselves. This is another idea worth trying. Delivery is also a necessary income channel, both through the food delivery platform and by delivering within a short distance. Try organizing a promotion specifically for delivery to increase the order quantity to the point of breaking even on the platform's delivery cost. This will give the shop a chance to be promoted by the platform to make customers more familiar with it. The point card that had to be collected before the right was reached has been forgotten or lost. Try changing the concept to only if you buy enough. This way, you will have the right to immediately redeem at a special price for customers to spend as much as possible. If employees are well-managed, their wages can be reduced several times over. For small shops, during this situation, you may have to rely primarily on your own abilities to reduce labor costs. For example, some shops are baristas and have a system where customers come to get their menus themselves instead of serving them, which will help save labor costs. However, if you still need to use employees, another recommended technique is to adjust the working hours. For example, some shops have employees work in 2 shifts, from 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM and from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. You have to assess how many customers come in the morning. You may adjust the number of employees to only one shift, which will help save a lot of labor costs. If you look at the current situation positively, it is a good thing that allows entrepreneurs to learn about their weaknesses and find ways to adjust and fix them. It is a good experience that builds strength because there is no fixed formula for running a restaurant or beverage shop. Learning, developing, and improving continuously is the way for successful people. I would like to encourage all entrepreneurs. And to be a part of promoting entrepreneurs to succeed, we are ready to help entrepreneurs learn how to choose a coffee shop location, who each menu should be sold to, which menu should be the highlight, what kind of equipment is appropriate, including the selection of coffee beans and other important ingredients, along with demonstrating basic menus. Just watch and fight, and you can be the real deal. Click to study a free online course !
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