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A-to-Z Intro
Preplanning
 Developing
a Business Plan
Finding Your
Location
Financing
Menu Planning
Design & Build-out
Alternate
Operational
Concepts
Learning About Coffee
What About Decaf?
Anatomy
of American Espresso
Making Tea Work
in a Coffeehouse
Coffee Equipment
Espresso
Equipment
Additional
Equipment
The Role of Accessories
Training
Successful Staff
Scheduling
Operational
Systems
Marketing
Measuring Up
Against
the Chains
Additional
Resources
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The Role of Accessories
by Karen Foley
With everything you have to consider when opening a coffeehouse, it's sometimes
easy to overlook less obvious items like accessories, but secondary merchandise
can play an important role in the overall success of your shop. And while the
idea of accessories seems fairly basic, the execution and organization of them
can be quite the opposite. Coffee shop owners often pay too little attention to
these items and don't have a plan in place when they decide to sell them.
So before you start making bulk orders for consumer grinders, brewers
and thermal mugs, ask yourself some simple questions. What should you be carrying?
What type of inventory should you have on hand? And how should you promote and
display these items? These are all necessary considerations, and by thinking them
through and exercising some creativity, you can get the most from accessories.
What to Carry?
When you're deciding what types of items to sell, think about who your customers
are. Do you have a lot of to-go customers? If so, perhaps you should have a wide
selection of thermal mugs and tumblers. You can even offer an incentive to buy
the mugs by giving a free drink of choice with the purchase of a mug and 10 cents
off the purchase of future coffees served in that mug. Not only does this encourage
the sale of your merchandise, but it reduces the use of to-go cups, thereby decreasing
the amount of waste your shop produces and easing up on the local landfill.
If you're a roaster/retailer, many of your customers probably buy
pounds of whole beans to take home. In this case you'll probably want to sell
some grinders and brewing options, such as French presses, drip brewers and home
espresso machines. But narrow down your customers' choices. Do the research for
them, and sell what you feel is the best home espresso machine on the market.
Also examine the buying patterns of your customers and talk to
them about their coffee preferences and interests. Do you seem to have a lot of
coffee hobbyists among your clientele—people who just love coffee gadgetry? This
is when you can get more creative with accessories, offering such quirky items
as moka pots, Turkish ibriks or even a selection of home roasters.
And if you're like many of today's coffee shops, you are incorporating
tea into your menu. The nice thing about tea accessories is that they're interesting
to look at and fun to use. Take, for example, tea balls and infusers. They come
in practically every design and aren't too expensive, and they're simple to use.
Offer an array of these as well as some decorative teapots and cups that complement
the types of tea you offer. Your menu is heavy on Asian teas? Perhaps you should
sell some cast-iron or Yixing pots. Other interesting tea accessories could include
tea presses, cozies and trivets.
Finally, always remember to carry smaller impulse items close to
the register, such as mugs, chocolate-covered espresso beans, or after-coffee
mints. These items are easy to sell, because they're inexpensive and they tend
to create an unwitting sense of need. ("Hmm ... I am meeting with a client after
this; Maybe I should mask my dragon breath with some mints and score some brownie
points with these chocolate-covered espresso beans.")
Don't Leave 'Em Hanging
So, you've done your research and tailored your inventory to your customer base.
You've educated yourself about your accessories, and now it's time to do the same
with your clientele. Make everything you sell easy to understand. Don't place
a home roaster on the shelf and leave customers wondering what sort of strange
contraption it is. Show them how to use it by holding a demonstration. Reveal
the wonders of home-roasted coffee with your beans.
Use accessories as a way to teach people about coffee and tea from
all angles. Tell them about the origins of home roasting, which can lead into
a discussion about the colorful history of coffee. Basically, extend the positive
experience your customers have in your shop to their homes. If they enjoy an item,
they're apt to tell their friends about it or buy more as gifts.
Apply this idea to every item you offer. Whether with written instructions
or by demonstration, show customers how every brewing method works and don't let
them leave with a grinder without telling them what the proper grind is for the
home brewing method they are using. This is a great way to differentiate your
store from the department store down the street that also sells grinders and home
brewers.
Some retailers place instructions in a box when they sell an item.
This is absolutely vital with many accessories, because if a customer leaves your
shop without knowing how something works, at the very least he will become frustrated.
Imagine he buys a French press, only to grind your beans too finely and also overextract
the coffee. Not only does he end up with a mouthful of sediment, but the coffee
is bitter and so is the customer.
Finally, remember to educate your staff. Your employees are likely
to have the most contact with customers, and you can't answer every question all
of the time, so make sure they know everything you do about the items you sell.
Not educating your employees can be one of the biggest detriments to your business.
The Power of Promotion
Here's where you can really be creative. The possibilities for marketing your
accessories are truly endless, and they can be very effective. Of course, the
easiest times to promote your merchandise will be during the holidays when people
are already on the lookout for gifts, and this is when you can also take advantage
of cross-promotion. Put together special holiday baskets that include a French
press, a couple of mugs and some fresh-roasted coffee.
Themes are another great way to promote products. There are the
obvious holiday motifs, but plan monthly promotions for the entire year. Secretary's
Day may be approaching. Encourage bosses in your area to buy special baskets filled
with coffee, chocolate and a decorative mug to show their appreciation. Just be
clever and take advantage of every opportunity on the calendar.
If all else fails, offer a sale on specific items. Maybe a week-long
teaware sale or a special on home espresso machines will pique your customers'
interests. Whatever you do, don't expect your accessories to sell themselves—promotion
can be fun and painless, and it will go a long way in moving your merchandise.
Showcasing Your Stuff
Your accessories will be as successful as you allow them to be. If you place them
on a high shelf that is completely inaccessible, no one will buy them. If you
clutter them so that nothing is distinguishable or easy to see, no one will stop
to look at them.
Find a space in your shop that is easy to approach and view, and
make it as visually appealing as possible. Look at your displays as a way to enhance
the store rather than detract from it.
First, give items ample space and create a clear pathway to your
merchandise. Also, pair like items together and create relationships between products,
such as displaying a Yixing pot with several small cups and fresh tea samples.
This is a great way to upsell customers who may have just been looking for a teapot.
Instead they feel tempted to buy the full set.
Also, keep display shelves well lit, clean and clearly marked,
and be sure to price everything. This way someone doesn't decide on a set of coffee
cups only to find they're too expensive. Lastly, rotate and reposition your merchandise
regularly. If something isn't selling well, it may because your customers haven't
noticed it. Try placing it in a more prominent spot and cross-promoting it with
another item.
How Much Is Too Much?
If you commit to marketing your accessories well, you shouldn't have a problem
profiting from them. But making money from accessories also depends on how you
deal with inventory. As a small retailer, you probably won't have much discretionary
space, especially for storage, so you need to be careful with your inventory of
accessories. In other words, don't make large orders with suppliers, because you
don't want to put yourself in the stressful situation of not selling anywhere
near the amount you have on hand.
Be judicious in your ordering, especially with more offbeat or
expensive items. Start out with just a few home espresso machines, for example,
and see how they sell. Or just start out with the essentials. You don't want to
invest in too many of the quirkier items only to watch them gather dust in the
back room. Also, diligently track what you sell and order accordingly. If you
know certain accessories sell well throughout the year, perhaps you should have
more on hand when the busiest holidays approach.
Just remember, every customer that comes in for a coffee drink
is a potential accessory sale, especially the gearheads among your clientele.
These people want all the coffee gadgetry they can find, and because they're already
loyal latte customers, they'll probably come to you for all other coffee needs
as well. Remember, you have an edge over the average chain or department store—your
expertise—and you can use that to sell your products. After all, you want your
coffee shop to be more than just a place to get an Americano to go—it should
be a enlightening destination spot teeming with all things coffee.
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