Beginning entrepreneurs and businessmen often face the question of how to attract the attention of potential customers to their project. Today we’ll talk about how to promote a cafe. You will find practical tips and tricks in this article.
Why do small or suburban cafes have so few customers?
Often, the problem of low attendance is faced by owners of small single cafes located on the outskirts of the city. This is no coincidence: residents do not like to look at institutions located “side by side”, and those that are closer to the center choose for exits. There you can look at others, and show yourself, and take a walk along the beautiful streets, and run into a tasty snack. In general, most people combine business with pleasure. However, this does not mean at all that the owners of peripheral cafes and restaurants have no chance, and their establishments are uncompetitive. In order to understand how to promote a cafe, it is necessary to determine which category of consumers the main system of innovations, changes, innovations will be directed to. This will be discussed later.
The introduction of additional bonuses, promotions, offers
Obviously, for the outlying institutions, the main contingent is the residents of nearby houses and the countryside. What can attract such customers? The system of discounts and pleasant bonuses, which include:
- Loyalty programs. For example, cumulative points, which as a result will allow the visitor to purchase a free dinner, drink, snack, etc., or the “invite a friend” campaign, which will also allow the client to activate any interesting additions.
- Programs for football fans. Many men do not want to travel far from home, but to pack up and watch the match with a company of friends and comrades is still a holy thing. It is on this that a cafe or restaurant can play, especially if special paraphernalia, thematic elements, etc. are introduced in honor of the event in order to create a special atmosphere that is different from other institutions.
- Introduction to the business lunch menu. Such a step can help when there are shopping centers, offices or just the workplaces of a large number of people near the cafe. As a result, well-designed recipes, coupled with affordable prices, will attract new customers to the establishment, which may well become permanent in the future.
- If the manager is faced with the question “How to promote a cafe?”, It will also be useful to introduce a delivery service to homes and offices, and this system should not stand still - it needs to be constantly developed, improved, changed, finalized in order to cover the desires as much as possible more customers.
- For the weekend, the implementation of the “Open Doors Days” project may turn out to be effective: everyone who is passing through can be offered to taste new menu dishes for free. It is important to remember the quality and taste of the food on offer, as well as the fact that people may not stay right away. But if everything is done correctly, they will nevertheless take note of the institution and take note of it.
- Introduction of draws for free gifts for visitors with the largest check.
- Holding holidays of national cuisines (European, American, Caucasian and others), especially those that are not represented by competitors and are something qualitatively new, unique.
So, these are the most basic tips on how to promote a cafe. Moving on!
Competent marketing policy
Unfortunately or fortunately, no business project can be started without investing in its advertising. How to promote a cafe in a residential area? The answer is simple: you need to bring advertisers in the region to business, create flyers, flyers and business cards, order ads on the Internet, on signs and billboards, and, finally, spend time developing the site of the establishment. The accessible interface will allow visitors to easily find out about all the latest news, promotions, menu offers, the location of the establishment, etc. Various communication channels include various publications on social networks, ordering articles in local newspapers and other print media, and distributing coupon services. 
Price policy
How can you promote a small cafe so that it becomes even more visited than institutions in the city center? In fact, this is possible, but on the condition that a more democratic monetary policy is implemented in the institution on the periphery. Residents consider their sky-high prices to be the main disadvantage of the restaurants and cafes of the center, because of which many people no longer want to go to them completely. From 70 to 83% of visitors today look at the cost of dishes. It is precisely on this that the outlying institutions can play, but everything must be calculated so that the costs as a result do not exceed incomes. 
We pay attention to families with children
Today, an important point in the instruction on how to promote a cafe without alcohol (after all, the topic concerning such establishments is also relevant today) is to pay due attention to the desires and needs of families. District cafes and restaurants are often the places where parents with children want to come, relax, relax and be together, but very few managers today can correctly capture this desire. In order to attract as many clients of this category as possible to your institution, it is recommended to introduce various family holidays, as well as promotions for children's birthdays with discounts on the menu or an invitation to the children's animator.
Often, the so-called word-of-mouth radio works even better than specially paid advertising: parents who like a day spent in the cafe will definitely recommend the place to friends of the family, those to their friends, and so on and so forth. 
Timely response to customer requests
Among the representatives of the already developed client base (even if it consists of only a dozen people) it will be useful to conduct a survey on what the main advantages and, conversely, significant shortcomings they see in the institution. This should be a short profile that does not take visitors a lot of time. Depending on the results obtained, the manager and his managers will be able to decide which vector of future development to choose and how to promote the cafe. The methods of constant feedback analysis are even used today in large restaurant chains designed for food, entertainment and relaxation. 
What is wrong if the tips do not help?
If all of the above provisions covered something that could stimulate the influx of visitors to the cafe, then in this section we will talk about without which any discounts, promotions, innovations and business plans would be ineffective. What else can I advise entrepreneurs who are wondering how to promote their cafe in a small town or sleeping area?
The main thing is to be able to prioritize correctly! It will not be possible to cover everyone and everyone: families will look at some positions, companies of friends - at others, business people - at a third; the older generation will appreciate coziness and comfort, and the young ones will appreciate cheap but high-quality drinks and energetic music. It’s impossible to please everyone, in principle, and therefore you need to plan and focus on a certain direction.Above, the option of developing an institution was proposed mainly for families, but this, of course, is not an axiom.
Points to always pay attention to
However, regardless of the chosen path, the following will be fundamental:
- Quality of service. Low rates of this item are unacceptable for most customers; So says a little more than 87% of experts.
- Good taste. This is important for 85.1% of respondents.
- Low or medium food prices. 78% of people do not approve of the high cost of units presented on the menu.
- The stuffy, stale air, the presence of cigarette smoke in the room (72.3% of customers do not like it) and overly loud music (51% of people spoke against it) negatively affect the visitors' impressions.
All this must be taken into account by the manager who wants to make his establishment popular, prestigious, and visited.