How price sensitive are customers?

John P

Active member
Jan 5, 2007
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Salt Lake City
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Here's a quick rundown... for specifics there would be a fee. 8)

I would only advise this if you want to make coffee an equal, or greater "partner" in your offerings. If it is an afterthought, even a good one, it just won't work.

You can't compete on speed. Don't try. And too fast denotes low quality.
Compete on quality. Freshness. Educate by the cup.
Drop smoothies.
Drop loyalty cards.
Local roasted, fresh, GREAT quality beans.
Raise barista skill.
Learn latte art... if you haven't already.
Raise prices.

You now have re-positioned yourself!
 

CCafe

Active member
Aug 11, 2004
1,557
2
Des Moines, Iowa
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John P said:
Here's a quick rundown... for specifics there would be a fee. 8)

I would only advise this if you want to make coffee an equal, or greater "partner" in your offerings. If it is an afterthought, even a good one, it just won't work.

You can't compete on speed. Don't try. And too fast denotes low quality.
Compete on quality. Freshness. Educate by the cup.
Drop smoothies.
Drop loyalty cards.
Local roasted, fresh, GREAT quality beans.
Raise barista skill.
Learn latte art... if you haven't already.
Raise prices.

You now have re-positioned yourself!

A lot of what you said really depends on your customer base. I've had the misfortune of watching a few coffee shops go down the drain this year after they made some drastic decisions based on information like that.

Just be careful of how you implement it.
 

roaster dave

New member
Aug 6, 2008
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Guelph, Ontario
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CCafe said:
John P said:
Here's a quick rundown... for specifics there would be a fee. 8)

I would only advise this if you want to make coffee an equal, or greater "partner" in your offerings. If it is an afterthought, even a good one, it just won't work.

You can't compete on speed. Don't try. And too fast denotes low quality.
Compete on quality. Freshness. Educate by the cup.
Drop smoothies.
Drop loyalty cards.
Local roasted, fresh, GREAT quality beans.
Raise barista skill.
Learn latte art... if you haven't already.
Raise prices.

You now have re-positioned yourself!

A lot of what you said really depends on your customer base. I've had the misfortune of watching a few coffee shops go down the drain this year after they made some drastic decisions based on information like that.

Just be careful of how you implement it.

Alot of what John P has said definitely holds true, however.....it sounds like kc1's business is not coffee focused, but food focused. That in itself is probably the primary issue with why coffee sales are hovering around 3% of total sales. The coffee offered is a companion product, and not the primary destination of the shop. That 3% is relatively common for a shop based on food sales, with companion products such as coffee.
 

Crazy4Coffee

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Jan 27, 2007
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roaster dave said:
it sounds like kc1's business is not coffee focused, but food focused. That in itself is probably the primary issue with why coffee sales are hovering around 3% of total sales. The coffee offered is a companion product, and not the primary destination of the shop. That 3% is relatively common for a shop based on food sales, with companion products such as coffee.

Bingo!

Starbucks is not the first place that pops in your head (if ever :lol:) if you want a sandwich, and likewise, Subway is not a place you think of (again, if ever) if you want a latte.
 

John P

Active member
Jan 5, 2007
1,052
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Salt Lake City
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As I mentioned,

I would only advise this if you want to make coffee an equal, or greater "partner" in your offerings. If it is an afterthought, even a good one, it just won't work.

More the "we have the best latte in town"... as opposed to "we also have great lattes".

If the location and demographic allow for greater coffee sales, where, even if sales overall are lower, profitability will be higher-- then you may want to rethink the direction and focus of your business. Any half-hearted attempt is just going to lead to more frustration. In short, if you want any significant change in coffee/espresso sales, you need to refocus the core of your business.
 
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