If you are a small business owner operating a cafe, you may be looking for ways to improve your current operations. Business can fluctuate with the times, so it is always a good idea to be proactive and find ways to continue your success.

Find the Best Equipment

If you do not have good equipment, you have nothing. That is because if what you serve to your customer is produced on subpar machines, no matter how good the recipe or product, the quality will suffer. 

That is why you should take steps to partner with a company such as Liquidline. They provide solutions for your small business beverage and snacking needs. Once you have a standardized system in place to consistently produce the best products, people will take notice and keep coming back for more.

Incorporate Technology Into the Everyday

Even if your establishment is on the smaller side compared to regional or international chains, you should consider embracing technology. Outsource the creation of an app designed specifically for your unique business. Make it user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. 

An app adds greater visibility for your business. You can put your establishment’s menu on the app and encourage customers to place their orders on it to save time. Offer them options for pick-up or dine-in, but have the orders ready at a predetermined time, and people will be pleased with your efficiency. 

The app can also serve as a cardless reward system making it easy to track repeat customers’ purchases without the worry of them forgetting where their rewards card is every time they stop in. You can also offer push notifications through the app that notify rewards members, or simply those with the app installed, that there is a discount on a certain item for a limited time. Nothing brings people in like a deal, and they tend to spend more once they are in the store.

Watch this video for tips on how to improve the customer experience to foster customer loyalty.

Encourage Customers to Stay Awhile

So often, in this busy world, people will pop into your new coffee shop to pick up what they need and then dash off to the next thing. Change the way you and your customers operate by encouraging everyone to stay a little bit longer. While offering delicious coffee and food is certainly a draw, sometimes you need to be more creative.

Consider these ideas to bring people into your shop and encourage them to stay.

• Offer a student or service member discount. 
• Hold open music nights.
• Book local musicians.
• Invite local artists to hang their works on your shop walls.
• Host a book group.
• Offer accessible electrical outlets for remote workers.
• Make space for students to study.
• Stock a shelf with family board games.

Owning and operating a cafe is a labour of love. You work long hours but reap the rewards of doing what you are passionate about and earning an income, of course. Make strategically smart moves in your cafe by using the best equipment, embracing technology, and inviting your customers to stick around for a while.