Bringing business into a hotel coffee shop
Well, hello! I'm a manager of a little coffee shop inside of a hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. We (quite proudly, I may add) serve coffee from one of the best roasters in the city. The hotel recently opened last year, as did the coffee shop. But, my main issue I'm facing is with marketing. Clearly there are guests that love the ability to buy great tasting coffee, but I know that we could be getting much more business from not only employees of local businesses but also people passing on the street and local residents. We have a sidewalk sign with some amazing art that has definitely helped, we have walked around and handed out 'buy one get one free' cards, we've given out punch cards, we've set up social networking accounts. I feel like I'm at a bit of a loss on what our next marketing step should be.
Since we're in downtown Portland, which is notorious for its incredible coffee scene, I already know we've got some fierce competition, but I won't keep fighting to increase our revenue! I've been in quite a few leadership positions before this but this is my first time ever actually running the show myself.
Any ideas would be hugely appreciated!
Thanks so much! :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Fraser Jamieson on
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Hey there.
Would you be able to post pictures and links to your Facebook page?
Are you using Instagram?
I feel your pain. Traction is often difficult in the beginning.
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Permalink Reply by Janna Diderich on
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What do you think about inviting musicians to play at certain times in the hotel lobby? Like a solo cellist or classical guitar? Pass out tasters to people walking past during the busy times, or to nearby employees, maybe? Definitely make sure your online presence is strong. All major social media, but also google maps, yelp, trip advisor, etc. Push for lots of positive reviews and acknowledge the needs improvement reviews..
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Permalink Reply by Jojo's Cafe on
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Hey! A couple of ideas:
Find out what your target market actually wants! Talk to them - when you go passing around your coupons, find out why they are (or aren't) coming in.
Is your shop visible from the street? Or do people have to enter the actual hotel in order to get to your store? If it's visible, then if you can, make your store frontage quite different from the hotel, so that potential customers see it as being a separate entity.
Market your coffee in a humorous way that ties you with the hotel (as opposed to separating yourself, as the above idea suggests) - something like "sneak away to XXX hotel in the middle of the day! And grab a coffee while you're there) or something like that...
Good luck! It's a fun challenge you have in front of you!
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