I walked along a 50 metre retail shopping strip the other day in Leederville in Western Australia. I counted 11 different places that you could select from to buy your coffee.
Which is the best? It doesn’t really matter. It’s about each coffee shop striving to be the favourite coffee shop for the types of customers it is focussed on attracting.
US based ‘Restaurant Doctor’ Bill Marvin puts it another way in a recent edition of his free e-newsletter – check it out at www.restaurantdoctor.com.
He mentions that his colleague Joel Cohen talks about becoming ‘The mayor of your market area.’ He says that you (in this case as a coffee shop owner) are running for office all the time. What are you doing to earn votes? How are you supporting local events and causes? How are you giving back to those who give to you? How important are you to the quality of life in town?
And what are you doing to become the favourite coffee shop for your constituents, who will vote with their feet and their custom?
I've just checked out Joel Cohen's website and blog. Full of fantastic resources and tips for cafes as well as restaurants.
His 30 April 2009 blog posting about Starbucks store closures on his www.restaurantmarketingblog.com is interesting. I'll stick with the comments I made in my 'Startled Bucks' August 2008 posting.
Posted by: Jurek Leon | May 03, 2009 at 08:59 AM
My concept of "Mayor of Your Market Area" works great. You can get more at: www.RestaurantMarketing.com and www.RestaurantMarketingBlog.com
Thanks,
Joel Cohen
Posted by: Joel Cohen | May 02, 2009 at 11:43 PM