Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/50871
T hink back a month. It was December, and your store was likely buzzing with holiday-season activity: Gift cards flying! Lattes pouring! More cheer with every cha-ching! And now? Well, if your spot is like most retail coffee and tea establishments, the café environment and revenue sheets are probably a whole lot quieter. "January and February are the slow- est months of the year," says Taylor Minor, who has owned Stoney Creek Roasters in Cedarville, Ohio, for three years. "People spend all their money during Christmas. And here in Ohio you'll get a week where it's under 20 degrees every day. Nobody wants to even get out of their car." While you may not be able to alter the local thermostat read- ing or completely rekindle the holiday excitement, you can still work to keep your business hot in the dead of winter. Here are some tried-and-true tactics to push customers to your counter— or at least make the most of the industry's slow season. TEAM UP WITH OTHER COMPANIES The idea of group marketing is one that independent coffee and tea businesses have increas- ingly championed in recent years, and it makes sense to push the strategy even harder after the New Year. For one thing, other local establishments are probably weathering the same profit dip you are, so they will likely be will- ing to put in the time to organize a successful partnership. One noteworthy implemen- tation of this strategy can be seen at the Empress Tea Room & Bistro in Tampa, Fla. Near the end of last year, owner Kim Nauman (an admitted "Dancing With the Stars" fanatic) began approaching operators of dance studios around the city to ask if they'd be willing to teach in the tearoom's large dining space on Thursday evenings, when the store is typically closed. After get- ting commitments from the dance professionals, Nauman set up weekly ballroom evenings that she plans to hold throughout the coming months. Couples who sign up through Groupon receive dance instruction, dinner and then time to work on their own steps. "I want to be more and do more than just service a niche market," says Nauman. "I looked around and said, 'What are the trends happening?'" Silk Espresso, composed of a café and drive-thru in Gresham, Ore., puts a slightly different spin on the company coopera- tion idea. Owner Leah McMahon, who's active in her county's chamber of commerce, has agreements in place with a number of other small business owners whereby she pays for services using Silk Bucks, the company's gift certificate program. When the slower months roll around, however, she'll gently encourage those business owners to try to use some cash as well when they grab their coffee. "We would never say that to a regular customer," McMahon says, "but businesses understand that using a little bit of cash each time helps make both our programs successful." BE SAVVY WITH YOUR PROMOTIONS Most shop owners agree that early winter is not exactly the best time to offer steep drink discounts, but a store can con- tinue to profitably promote its menu. At Steeltown Coffee & Tea in Pittsburg, Calif., owner Adrian Badger says he makes an early- year effort to use Facebook and his monthly email newsletter to draw attention to menu items that are low in fat and sugar. "After January first, everyone is on their health kick and money-savings kick," he says. "We try to promote things that specifically target the reasons why people are not com- ing in as frequently: our Skinny Vanilli latte, for example, and our dark chocolate mocha because it has less sugar than regular." When working to get the word POSITIVE STEPS: Hosting ballroom dance evenings is a strategy the Empress Tea Room in Tampa, Fla., is using to push through the winter lull. out about especially appealing drinks or events, look for free avenues over costly advertis- ing. Badger says he often uses his space to help nonprofits hold fundraising events, and when he does so, the city allows him to promote the evenings through several municipally owned elec- tronic billboards. Using slower periods to create press releases for local media and put more time into building a social-media following are other cost-effective promo pushes. ENCOURAGE STAFF VACATIONS Perhaps the best way to avoid a bottom-line deep freeze in January and February is to cut labor costs, and step one is hav- ing managers and other staff take time off then—when their behind-the-bar and management expertise is not desperately continued on page 46 freshcup.com January 2012 45 RAMO