The first thing I'd fix if I were responsible for growing your café

It's not what you think

I often get asked what I would do if I were brought in to help grow a coffee business. And because of my marketing background, people expect me to talk about social media. Or advertising. Or loyalty programmes.

Truth is, I probably wouldn’t touch any of those things on day one. I’d start somewhere else. Somewhere simpler.

I’d ask one question.

Why do people come back?

More customers isn’t always the answer

When business slows down, the instinct is: “We need more customers.”

That’s a logical conclusion to make. After all, more customers should mean more sales.

But this isn’t usually where the biggest opportunity lies.

Imagine two cafés. The first serves 300 customers this week. The second serves 220.

At first glance, the first café seems to be doing better. But most of Café A’s customers visit once every few weeks. Most of Café B’s customers visit three or four times a week. And they buy beans, bring friends and recommend the café to colleagues.

Which business would you rather own?

Coffee isn’t your product

You don’t sell coffee. Yes, customers hand over money for a cup of coffee. But that’s not why they come back.

People come back because they feel comfortable. They know your team. The service is consistent. They know exactly what they’re going to get.

The coffee gets them through the door. The experience brings them back.

So, if customers are returning for the experience, improving the experience is a better investment than spending more money trying to attract strangers.

If I were responsible for growing your café...

This is where I’d start. Not with your Instagram account. Not with your advertising budget. Not with your logo.

I’d spend a week watching your customers.

I’d ask questions. Who are your regulars? What do they order? How often do they visit? What makes them choose you instead of the café across the road? Why do some customers disappear after one visit while others become regulars?

Until I understood those answers, I wouldn’t spend another dollar on marketing.

The biggest opportunity is hiding in plain sight

Most cafés are working hard to attract new customers. Far fewer spend the same effort understanding the customers they already have.

Your regulars are the people who tell their friends about you. They’re the people who forgive the occasional mistake. They’re the people who buy retail coffee, attend events and become part of your community.

And the beauty is, every additional visit they make costs you almost nothing to acquire.

Compare that with paying for another click on Instagram or Google.

Five things I’d do this week

If I were responsible for growing your café, this would be my first week’s to-do list.

Learn the names of twenty regular customers.

If your team knows your regulars by name, you’re already building something that your competition will struggle to replicate.

Ask every regular one question.

“What keeps you coming back?” Don’t guess. Ask.

The answers will probably surprise you.

Look for patterns.

Do people come because they love the coffee? Or because your café is a great place to work? Or because your baristas remember their order?

Those are very different businesses.

Create one more reason to return.

It doesn’t have to be complicated.

A weekly tasting. A brew bar feature every Friday. A new guest espresso each month.

Measure returning customers, not just daily sales.

Sales tell you what happened. Returning customers tell you whether your business is getting stronger.

The first thing I’d fix wouldn’t be your marketing

It would be your understanding of your customers. Because that’s what great marketing really is.

It’s not posting more often. It’s not running more ads. It’s understanding why people choose you, then making that reason impossible to forget.

Everything else comes afterwards.