Community Shops + Delivery Becoming the Mainstream Style for Coffee Shops!? Is Opening a Cafe Viable Under the Pandemic?

"Can physical coffee shops still survive during the pandemic?" Yes, they definitely can.

"Opening a coffee shop during the pandemic, isn't that crazy?" No! Not at all!

Although there have been many cases of failed businesses during the pandemic, there are also owners who successfully operate coffee shops. This success isn't just "Oh! They were lucky to survive during the pandemic." Success is never accidental—it only comes from thorough planning and preparation for both the present and future.

We see cases of failure but rarely analyze the reasons behind them, simply dismissing them with: "They were unlucky." Is that really the case? No. In fact, many failed cases are primarily due to poor positioning, such as target audience positioning, store location positioning, and sales positioning.

Eight Questions to Ask Yourself Before Opening a Shop (Think in Order!)

Why do you want to open a shop? Who will run this coffee shop? (A recent classic case I observed: a coffee shop opened, but the two owners hadn't decided on their work distribution, arguing over who would be responsible for opening in the morning) What kind of customers do you want to attract? What do you want to primarily sell to customers? What style will you adopt? Where will you open the shop? When will you open the shop? How much capital will you need to open the shop?

That's right—capital considerations should come last in your thinking process. When you haven't decided on the first 7 questions, your capital needs will always be in a state of flux. Many coffee shop owners simply have some capital and impulsively decide to open a coffee shop. More than 60% of them don't understand their target audience or what they want to promote, thinking that since people have such high demand for coffee, customers will come as soon as they open;

Or perhaps they think that as long as their coffee is specialty enough, connoisseurs will definitely come to the store. That won't work. Business is about promotion and reputation. Without target customers, you're just "looking for a needle in a haystack" on various social platforms. This approach might work, but it's not a long-term solution.

Only when you determine your target customers—can you determine your product positioning—then you can determine your store positioning—then you can determine your promotional direction.

Starting promotion only after opening is already too late! Because you won't know what to promote or who to promote to. Many people might think that customers catalyzed by specialty coffee culture or traffic from influencer models are the best targets. But in reality, the traffic such approaches can bring is very limited, and the repurchase rate will also be low. The reason: pricing is too high.

Specialty coffee pursues the quality of coffee beans, the quality of coffee production, and the value of the barista themselves, but very few people can truly appreciate it. "No! Many people drink specialty coffee!" That's because you're in the specialty coffee circle. Ordinary consumers don't recognize that the value of this cup of coffee includes the high cost of the beans themselves and the barista's expertise. You might have a thousand explanations for why it's expensive, but not one that can convince ordinary consumers.

If your target is consumers in the coffee circle, then the first thing you need to do is improve your own level (including knowledge reserves, technical mastery, etc.). If even the owner themselves aren't convincing, how can they retain the palates of those who come for coffee?

Influencer coffee pursues the uniqueness of store decoration and style. Both decoration and equipment require significant investment, and these high costs will inevitably be spread across product prices. If you do well with promotion before opening, this style can indeed gain high traffic in a short time. But once the hype dies down, it's difficult to form repeat purchases among people who are enthusiastic about checking in and exploring stores, and high-priced consumption frequency won't be very high either.

If your target is customers who come for influencer check-ins, then you need to think about product innovation and regularly launch series of activities, continuously innovating according to consumption trends to attract more curious consumers.

After determining your target customers, main products, and store style, then consider where to open your shop.

If you find a location first and then decide on customers, products, and style, the result will definitely be very passive, because geographical location and surrounding traffic will limit many things, and rent is often the highest cost in the shop opening process.

Renting a shop rashly without a clear plan, then spending time thinking about decoration, or making major changes while decorating, or starting to determine menus and promotional materials only after decoration is complete—all this wastes not only your own time and costs but also incurs expensive rent every day.

Is it really unsuitable to open a coffee shop during the pandemic?

Not necessarily.

Although chain brands are rapidly expanding their stores, independent coffee shops offer consumers many things that chain coffee shops cannot: one is human warmth, and the other is an environment that allows for a slow pace.

Therefore, if you choose to open a shop at this time, you can try opening it in a community, but not too far from bustling areas. Compared to opening in high-traffic areas, community shop rent will be significantly lower, and when people in nearby bustling areas use apps to search for food or nearby options, your shop will have more exposure.

The shop doesn't need to be too large. A small community shop + delivery can satisfy some customers' needs for space and specialty coffee, while also attracting the attention and consumption of ordinary consumers. During the pandemic, coffee shops need to be more "compact and efficient," while also having well-standardized operating procedures to improve order efficiency. This not only reduces operational pressure but also strengthens risk resistance.

Important Considerations

While focusing on efficiency, you must also pay attention to product quality and provide good service to every customer who visits the store.

The most important thing for a shop is having a customer base. Be good at observing what your customers like, when they typically visit, and other characteristics, keeping these small details in mind and making timely adjustments. Customers will also notice the changes you've made, thereby increasing their satisfaction with the shop and becoming loyal customers. The cost of developing a new customer is several times that of retaining a regular one! Cultivating regular customers is the most valuable business model.

Consistent quality, continuous innovation, and reasonable pricing are prerequisites for sustainable coffee shop operation.

You need classic products to retain customers and innovative products to attract them. When thinking about product innovation, not only should you focus on the appearance of the product, but also on whether the taste is acceptable to the general public. You shouldn't abandon the flavor combinations between ingredients just for the sake of innovation. Both product development costs and production costs need to be controlled so that product pricing can be more easily accepted by consumers.

Operating with online platforms is an important way to gain users and brand promotion at low cost.

Live streaming on platforms is actually a great and low-cost promotional method. The pandemic has made more consumers accustomed to online shopping and getting discounts online, so newly opened coffee shops can use various video and e-commerce platforms for live promotion. Although initially, very few people will watch, don't give up because of this. Even if only one person is watching, you must persist, because you never know how many users might come across your live stream.

Through live streaming, you can launch coupons and promotional activities, or answer coffee knowledge questions and interact with netizens online, which can effectively increase brand exposure and improve consumer trust in the brand. Offline, you should also establish a good membership system and membership promotional activities to increase customer repurchase rates.

Conclusion

During the pandemic, opening a coffee shop is possible! But you must pay attention to product quality and customer service. Currently, the coffee market is continuously expanding downward, and our goals cannot just focus on the small group of specialty coffee consumers; we need to pay more attention to the needs of ordinary consumers.

Image source: Internet

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