This is a guest post by Susrita Sen.

Excited to go home for vacations I end up reaching the airport early; an hour early. I look around to do something to kill time. Right beside me was a swanky coffee café and trust me it was not the aroma alone that pulled me towards it. The comfortable seats, the neat display of fast food items and wait a minute.. Wi Fi.. You got to be kidding me. Well they weren’t. So I buy myself a large cup of steaming hot coffee, a sandwich and start tickling on my laptop.. Boy wasn’t I happy or what. As I finished my sandwich I looked around. I wasn’t alone. The cash kept flowing in. some were in a hurry so preferred to pack. Families were around with kids sprawling all over the place. Today when we think of coffee cafes there is a plethora of local, national and international names. Flury’s in Kolkata, Café Coffee Day, Barista, Aromas, Costa Coffee, Mocha, Star Bucks and so on. So what is this entire coffee business and its marketing?

Let’s look at the P’s of Marketing

PRODUCT
When you enter one of these coffee cafes, its not just a café for coffee lovers. In comes the snack lovers, the chocolate lovers and if its summers then off course the frappe lovers. The anchor product remains to be coffee and the entire merchandise mix constitutes a wide range of products that compliment coffee. Yes there are other merchandise that might appeal to the consumers visiting the café like t-shirts, coffee mugs, instant coffee powders, coffee beans, cookies, cakes etc.

PRICE
The price is set at various brackets as per the quantity you order ie small regular large etc. a cup of coffee might range anywhere between Rs 45 – 80 or more depending upon the ingredients. A lavish heap of extra cream and best quality coffee bean will off course be more expensive than an espresso.

PLACE
Now this is where the fun lies. These cafes are usually placed in every possible location where some business can be generated. Waiting room of an airport, IT park, Malls, a busy street etc. This is a prime factor in determining the success of a retail chain.

PROMOTION
Many businesses look at promotion with blinders on. They think of media in terms of what it was able to sell. Everything you do is promotion.
Use the Internet. No matter how simple, develop a Web site featuring your specials and what products or entertainment you have to offer each month.
And yes off course cross-market; whether that means sponsoring a soccer team, donating to a good cause or working with another small business in the same area. Get your name out in the community.

PROCESS
As they say simplicity is the key. The process should be as flexible as possible. Easy takeaways, quick order delivery, open option for both self service (for those who like to do their own) and order on seat (for the royalties )

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Along with great customer service and excellent product quality, ambiance is one of the most important features that will bring people in and keep them coming back.
The overall image is usually referred to as “branding.” Use the logo everywhere. It should be on cups, employee aprons, all in-store signage, to-go mugs, T-shirts, etc. in short, anywhere a customer’s eye goes, the logo should catch.

PEOPLE
Employees are the frontline marketers. If they can’t explain the products or possess little passion for coffee the products sold, they will be unable to convince customers that the product is special and different.

It doesn’t matter if you are new to the business or have been open for a number of years — it is never too late to step back and look at your operation, to get out from behind the counter and market your business. It will be the one aspect that will make the difference between either just getting by or becoming a huge specialty beverage success story.

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