How To Make A Cafe Thrive In A Small Town

There are more than 30,000 specialty cafes and coffee shops throughout the U.S. Are you thinking about opening one yourself? Are you worried about keeping your business’s doors open in a small town?

Running a cafe in a small town can be tricky. It’s definitely not impossible to start and grow this kind of business, though. Read on to learn everything you need to know about helping a small-town cafe to thrive.

Why Open a Cafe in a Small Town?

Some people might discourage you from opening a cafe in a small town. It is true that there are some drawbacks you need to keep in mind. There are a lot of benefits, too, though. Here are some of the pros and cons you ought to consider before you decide to move forward with your idea of opening a cafe:

Pros

One of the main pros is the fact that it’s easy for you to get to know your client base. You’ll likely start to develop “regulars” right away and may have an easier time building customer loyalty.

There’s also a lot of flexibility that comes with running a business in a small town, and you can often purchase property for less than you would if you were buying a space for your cafe in a larger city.

If there isn’t a cafe in your small town (or the small town where you’re planning to open your business) already, you also get to enjoy a lack of competition. People will flock to your cafe by default and will be excited to have a new business open to them.

Cons

On the opposite end of the spectrum, it can be harder to attract customers in a small town if there’s already an established cafe or coffee shop there.

People may feel a strong sense of loyalty to that cafe and may be hesitant about venturing out to see what you have to offer. This, in turn, can make it harder for you to bring in the number of customers needed to keep your doors open.

This is not to say that you can’t survive opening a cafe in a small town. You just have to be a bit more strategic.

How to Ensure Your Small-Town Cafe Succeeds

If you’ve decided to go ahead and pursue opening a cafe in a small town, here are some tips to keep in mind. They’ll help you establish a business that people won’t be able to ignore:

Serve High-Quality Products

If you want people to take an interest in what you’re selling and come back for more, you need to make sure you’re serving high-quality food and beverages at your cafe.

Now, “high-quality” doesn’t have to mean fancy or elitist. It just means serving food and drinks that are crafted with care. After all, people don’t want to drink a cup of coffee that tastes like what they brew at home or eat a cinnamon roll that tastes as though it came out of a can, right?

Offer Great Customer Service

In addition to offering great food and drinks, you also need to make sure you’re offering unparalleled customer service.

Greet customers with a smile and serve them as soon as they walk in the door. Keep the place neat and clean and do your best to always get people’s orders right on the first try.

If people come to know your cafe as a place where they get treated like family, rather than just another customer, they’re going to be much more inclined to visit again and again.

Know Your Audience

It helps to get to know your audience as well, especially when you’re opening a cafe in a small town.

If you live in the town, use your knowledge of your neighbors to your advantage. Think about the type of people who are most likely to visit your cafe and brainstorm ideas on how you can cater to them.

If you don’t live in the town, spend some time there getting to know the locals. Consider it market research.

Create the Right Atmosphere

Once you know who your target audience is, work to create an atmosphere in your cafe that will appeal to them.

Will they be drawn in by something that feels youthful and trendy? Or, will they prefer a place that has a cozy, homey feel to it?

Don’t be afraid to bring some people in to look around at your decor and layout before you open your doors, either. This will help you figure out if you’re on the right track.

Be an Engaged Owner

When you’re opening a small business in a small town, it helps if people get to know you, the owner. Even if they already know you as a resident, being engaged and active in the business will help them get used to seeing you in your new role.

If you’re an engaged owner who regularly works the counter, takes orders, and interacts with customers, it’ll also be easier for you to get feedback on the business and find out what is and isn’t working.

Hire the Right Employees

You can do a lot as an engaged business owner. You can’t do it all on your own, though.

Make sure you’re hiring employees who are experienced, who care about your vision for the business, and who are eager to help your customers have a great experience.

Be Wise About Wi-Fi

To offer or not offer Wi-Fi: That is the question.

Offering free Wi-Fi to your customers is a great way to attract a younger audience, as well as people who might want to work from your cafe. Many people these days expect businesses to have Wi-Fi available, so it’s often a wise option.

However, it can encourage “camping out” in your cafe all day. If you don’t have a ton of space, you may not want to offer it, or you may want to put a limit on how long people can use it.

Promote, Promote, Promote

The great thing about opening a business in a small town is that the town’s residents will do a lot of promotion for you. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool in small towns where everyone knows each other.

That being said, that doesn’t mean you should avoid other types of promotion.

Make sure you’re talking up your cafe on social media and letting everyone know when your doors open. Utilize traditional promotional tools, too, such as flyers, ads, and direct mail coupons.

Start a Loyalty Program

Starting a loyalty program is a great way to incentivize customers to come back to your business on a regular basis. In fact, 83 percent of consumers said that a loyalty program made them feel more inclined to continue doing business with a particular establishment.

Create a digital stamp card with Loopy Loyalty, so that people can get a stamp with every purchase and work their way toward a free item. Little things like that go a long way when it comes to building and maintaining customer loyalty.

Start Building Your Small-Town Cafe Today

Are you ready to start building your small-town cafe? If you keep these tips in mind, you’ll have no trouble turning it into a thriving business.

Establishing a loyalty program, in particular, can help you drum up business and keep people coming back for more.

Do you need help creating this type of program? If so, check out our loyalty software today to create a digital program that your customers will love and be sure to use again and again.