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Probably the number one thing that all of us selling coffee need to focus on is that it is a business …… and we have all heard somebody sometime say that any business has to sell something and to do that you need to know your product and know your customer. Wise words indeed. It is probably not that surprising then that most coffee salesmen (and HELLO that is probably you!) don’t heed those wise words.
Even if they don't know you yet, you'd better know your competitors - and for the benefit of the 80% who read this, agree, understand and don’t actually do anything bear in mind that to know and not to do is not yet to know !
Get a clear picture of reality. Coffee Reality? What's that? It's simply the difference between the way your coffee tastes and theirs. It is vital to do absolutely everything better than them. In many cases that is actually not that difficult, however, it is difficult to do it consistently and that is the difference between those who make money and those who don’t. I know many excellent people who have real expertise, passion and ability who don’t make money because of an inconsistent product.
Think about your customer …… they are trusting you to provide a decent coffee everytime and they absolutely do not want to know about your problems and management issues because guess what - they are paying you to avoid that stuff.
Smart coffee people spy on their competitors, their suppliers, and especially, themselves. They realise that business information is more plentiful than ever and that competitors aren't really dummies. They're getting smarter every day, and the only way you're going to know how you measure up to them is by actively engaging in regular auditing.
Seek out who is meant to be making great coffee. Don’t know …… then ask – anybody … friends, family, customers, people who you meet every day,tourists - ask them where their favourite coffee experience is and then go visit. Don’t forget they will remember you for asking and may become a customer. If you find somebody who operates their business better than you do, feel good about it because you can learn from it, then make the necessary improvements. This is both inexpensive and informative. It should be practiced regularly, at least twice a year, and even more if you're serious about being at the cutting edge - because you will know in your bones that the truth is a valuable ally. Truth-finding is a painful job, especially when you learn that you are falling behind, but the opportunities to make your business the best make up for the pain.
Here are a few top tips on what to do to hook & addict that customer …… it all has to start with awareness …… allocating your time to find out what your customer actually wants - so many businesses (unprofitable ones particularly) assume that they know …… and then the key is acting on the results. I have found that we are much more likely to do something if we have spent the time to find it out in the first place …… because we are not stupid ….. are we ?
1. Order something. Buy something from yourself. Buy something from some of your competitors. Keep an eagle eye for the smoothness or rough edges in the entire process. There will be more differences than you think. And you've got to do what you must do to surpass your competition in everything … not actually as difficult as you think!
2. Visit your competitors. You yourself, and if you are known simply introduce yourself and be positive. Visit their website and take notes on every single detail that is better than yours. Note that it is the little details that win or lose customers.
3. Carefully quality audit their product and do it constructively. Have a system. You must compare like with like so make sure that you are consistent in your scoring. Keep the receipt, and have a scorecard filled in as you go because you will forget important detail. Make notes on additional observations about anything … you will be amazed how useful these are later.
4. Write it up that night. Have a system eg a folder on your desktop to file your reports. If you do one here and one there you may think it is pointless but at the end of the year you will have real gold on your hands.
5. Compare everything. Look through the eyes of your customer and scrutinise your offer. Consider service, pricing, presentation, people, choice, follow-up, signs, quality, delivery and attitude. Good operators know they compete in many arenas and must be superior at all times. Only good research will give you honest feedback on how you're doing.
6. Buy coffee everywhere every time. It always helps you to see what is out there. If its good then it’s the essence of down-and-dirty market research and enables you to spot your own deficiencies and ifs its bad then it highlights your own advantages and makes you feel good. Get a receipt and legitimately claim it as R&D.
Be prepared, if you're serious about your coffee business you will probably have to face up to some awful truths about your offer. There is some chance that you're doing everything better than your competitors, but if you observe properly and learn from what you see (and hear, feel & taste) there's a great chance that you will improve your bottom line … providing of course you act on what you've learned. You don't have to cheat, don't have to peek, don't have to engage in sabotage - All you have to do is observe keenly, keep your mind open, and be committed to improving.
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