As hospitality businesses face uncertainty and potential future lockdowns or restrictions, being agile has become essential to survival. One of the ways that coffee shops have been able to continue operating is by offering takeaway coffee.
As people around the country have enjoyed purchasing takeaway coffee, we outline some of the key steps businesses should be taking to secure returning coffee lovers.
How to improve your takeaway coffee business model
- Promote your takeaway coffee shop offering
The first step to growing your takeaway business is to promote it. Use signage, social media and your website to explain what you’re doing, share hygiene measures and reassure customers. Shout about your takeaway menus, festive treats and unique drinks. Creating fantastic branded content will work to boost awareness of your coffee, promotions and much more.
- Reconsider your layout to improve workflow
If takeaway is set to form a major part of your business over the winter months, consider redesigning your layout to facilitate this. Changing your coffee shop’s layout can help staff to cope with increased demand, streamlining processes. A great way to understand areas that could be improved is to ask team members, as they are the ones that work in the environment and will have the best idea of the challenges they face.
As an example, this could include more of a teamwork approach to serving customers, each carrying out specific tasks to avoid staff having to walk past each other as often. Increasing productivity can make an enormous difference to the number of orders you are able to fulfil, as well as the level of customer service you can offer. On top of that, it takes pressure off members of staff, creating a more enjoyable working environment.
If you plan to redesign your coffee shop’s interior, consider changes that can be adapted as required, meaning you can easily move furniture back and introduce seating as and when required.
- Socially distanced queues, ordering and collections
Take time to think about the most suitable way to organise queues, orders and collections. Designing a process that works efficiently is essential to serving fantastic coffee and keeping customers satisfied.
For some businesses, a takeaway collection window could be the answer, while others could create a one-way system inside their coffee shop to keep customers warm as they wait. Signage can also play a great role in explaining safety measures, whether this is through social distancing floor markers or signs that explain coffee collection processes. Making messaging clear to customers reduces the amount of time that staff will have to spend explaining and enforcing these measures, creating an enjoyable and stress-free experience for customers.
- Contactless payment
It has become increasingly important to offer contactless payment, so you should make sure every order point has the ability to offer this, making transactions hygienic, quick and hassle-free.
- Packaging
With more disposable cups, drink holders, lids, sleeves, sugar packets and stirrers being used than ever before, now is the time to rethink your packaging. Consider more eco-friendly and recyclable packaging options, combining functionality with environmentally friendly options. Many consumers are becoming more ethically conscious and being able to help the planet while serving fantastic coffee is a certain way to stand out from the competition.
- Reward your customers
If you don’t already have a loyalty scheme, now is the time to introduce one. Keep your customers coming back to enjoy your coffee with offers for regular customers, discounts in newsletters and much more. This can be a brilliant way to incentivise repeat visits and continue to grow the number of regular customers you have.
These tips will set you on your way to developing a successful takeaway coffee shop model, allowing you to grow business even in times when it is not possible to welcome customers into your coffee shop.
Recommended Reading: How to Open a Coffee Shop
Holly brings a wealth of experience in both print and digital publishing and is very passionate about the hospitality industry.