Gone are the days when your coffee shop could set out a simple chalkboard sign advertising a hot brew. With Generation Z, Starbucks, and other chain coffee shops are on every corner — but it takes more than a simple brew to bring them in.
Multiple studies have found that younger generations are becoming more and more conscious, focusing on deeper emotional connections when choosing where to shop and what to buy. For your coffee shop, that means branding is a critical requirement to stay on top of your game.
Members of Generation Z don’t just want a cup of delicious coffee, although the quality is certainly on their list of priorities too, they also want an experience that accompanies that cup of coffee. They also expect to align each purchase with their ethical values, which for you means considering the origin of what you serve.
Considering that 43% of Generation Z members read labels, ingredients and where they come from will definitely play a role when determining how well a product aligns with their values. At your coffee shop, you can stay attuned to Generation Z by paying attention to a few primary factors.
Associate Your Coffee Shop With A Cause
Similar to Millennials, Generation Z members want to know that at least part of every dollar they spend is going to a good cause.
Your coffee shop can start by choosing a charitable cause to support. A straightforward contribution promise like “$1 from every sale goes to ______” is an excellent way to show your customers how supporting your business is supporting a great cause. Even if you don’t specify an amount, advertising the cause(s) you support will go a long way.
In addition to donating a portion of your proceeds to a non-profit, you should also openly advertise when your coffee is fair trade and when the products you sell are natural or organic. Associating your brand with a list of core values will promote a deeper connection with your customers.
In turn, having that connection with your customers will encourage them to be more loyal to your brand. When you associate your coffee shop with good causes and campaigns, use that as part of your promotional and branding strategy.
Influence Sales Through Social Media
Social media has a big impact on any business today. In fact, about 80% of sales are influenced by social media, and that means your coffee shop has its work cut out for you.
● Instagram has the biggest impact on sales, affecting about 44% of them. That’s why it should be a primary point of focus for your coffee shop.
● Snapchat has about a 21% impact on sales, which means it’s worth being active on this platform too.
● YouTube is also in the lineup with a 32% impact on sales. While it’s harder to use YouTube as a coffee shop, you can definitely come up with some creative content to showcase your brand and what you do.
Ensure Your Coffee Shop Is Transparent
With Generation Z, transparency is important in just about every aspect of your coffee shop. Aside from being transparent about where their dollars go, you should also be transparent about where your products come from.
Experts say that pleasing Generation Z’s high demand for quality is easy: Just list where your ingredients are sourced. If all your fruits and vegetables come from local farmers, be proud and put that on display. Your menu should list the sources of meats, fruits, and vegetables because Generation Z wants to know what they’re getting from who.
If you only sell a few select sandwiches and foods, it’s typically easier to be transparent about where all of your ingredients come from. Even if you aren’t able to source all of your ingredients from local or organic sources, being able to advertise the ones that are local/organic will show your customers that where your ingredients come from matters to you.
As a coffee shop, the origin of your coffee brews is definitely going to be a customer’s primary focus. Generation Z and countless consumers in other generations want to know that it’s fair trade no matter where it’s from. Proudly and explicitly advertise local, organic, and fair trade ingredients when you can.
Foster Loyalty In Your Customers
Millennials can recall a time when restaurants still took cash or even widely accepted checks. Generation Z, not so much. With Generation Z, they have high expectations for tech integration. Their phones aren’t just used to share pictures of their plate on social media, they expect devices to be integrated throughout their experience.
One of the aspects that deserve special consideration is your loyalty program. With fewer and fewer people carrying cash with them, the old punch card concept is falling out of fashion. While the concept is still solid, most people find themselves losing the punch card or forgetting to bring it with them, thus defeating the purpose.
Instead, move your loyalty program online with the help of Loopy Loyalty like these coffee shops do. With the use of a digital loyalty card, your customers will always have the card with them when they want a coffee because it will be integrated into their smartphone, which every person carries these days.
With a digital loyalty card, you and your patrons will also benefit from features you couldn’t offer with a paper or plastic card, like:
- The ability to send customers location-based messages and notifications that remind them to stop by when they’re near your coffee shop.
- Mobile wallet enabled, which means you can access the native capabilities of Google Pay and Apple Wallet.
- The ability to deliver a complete mobile experience for your customers without them having to install any extra applications.
- As a business owner, you’ll also benefit from the ability to get rich insights into your customers’ activity with your brand. This can help you better shape your outreach and promotional campaigns in order to promote greater brand loyalty.
A digital stamp card will help promote brand loyalty across all generations among your customer base.
