Winter is a prime time for coffee shops to boost revenue and attract new customers. With often sunny days but a chill in the air, people are more likely to stop by for a warming drink or visit with their dog on a refreshing weekend walk.

Here are six effective strategies to help your coffee shop thrive during this fantastic part of the year:

1. Embrace outdoor seating

Show your outdoor seating area a bit of love for autumn to encourage your guests to stay and perhaps enjoy a cake, sandwich or other snack during their visit. Consider adding some umbrellas to shelter from the sun, comfortable seating, decorative plants and even outdoor heating.

You could also introduce outdoor-friendly menu items like iced lattes, cold brews or fruit smoothies in personalised plastic cups.

2. Partner with other local businesses

Collaborate with nearby businesses, such as nearby bookstores or pet shops to offer joint promotions or discounts.

By cross-promoting events, you can reach a much wider audience. You could even work together to offer catering services to local businesses and organisations for meetings, events, and office parties.

3. Take advantage of social media

Social media is so important for all businesses, especially in highly competitive industries like food.

This autumn, run contests and giveaways to encourage engagement and attract new followers. Also make sure that you’re sharing visually appealing content, such as high-quality photos and videos of your coffee shop, drinks, and food, to showcase what you’ve got for sale each day. Be seasonal here and think about colours and decals such as Halloween. 

4. Offer seasonal specials

Introduce refreshing and seasonal drinks, such as iced lavender lattes or mango smoothies. 

You could also partner with local farmers to source seasonal ingredients and offer fresh, high-quality products. To mark the change of the seasons, you could take a leaf out of the Starbucks playbook and swap your standard coffee cups for a limited edition custom branded coffee cup in a seasonal colour.

5. Provide WIFI and charging stations

Create a productive workspace by offering reliable Wi-Fi and charging stations so you can advertise your coffee shop as a co-working space or a place to study.

This is a smart marketing move as it encourages customers to stay longer – with the kids back at school and everyone settling back into work mode, this is a great way to fill your venue during the daytime. 

6. Prioritise the customer experience

The most important thing for any business to take seriously is the customer experience.

Make sure that your staff are friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. Something as simple as remembering someone’s name or order if they come in every day can make a big difference.

Keep on top of daily cleaning to create an inviting environment for customers. When it’s busy, it’s easy to forget about these things, but they are so important.

Tags: coffee shop, food business, business tips, marketing tips