Café marketing ideasThe best strategies for success

Want to spread the word about your coffee shop but stuck for ideas?

It feels like there’s a coffee shop on every corner. Customers are spoiled for choice and competition is fierce. Devising better café marketing ideas than your competitors might help you attract new customers and entice your old ones back. But it’s easier said than done.

Whether you’ve got an established café or you’re just starting out, you’ll love this huge list of marketing ideas for your café. We had our team of qualified marketing experts develop this comprehensive, creative and actionable list of café marketing strategies for you to start using today.

38 marketing ideas for your café

Ready to get inspired and get people queuing up to experience your coffee? Let’s start with our 38 most useful and creative marketing ideas for coffee shops.

We live in an increasingly digital age, and cafés need to use all marketing channels to succeed. But at the end of the day, coffee shops are largely brick-and-mortar businesses with a physical location, and you rely heavily on foot traffic for daily sales. More and more customers are using the internet to research ahead of choosing a café but focusing on brick-and-mortar marketing will attract the attention of people passing by and help draw them inside.

1. Offer an exceptional dining experience

   The best way to keep your customers coming back is to be good at what you do. What this looks like depends on your niche. If you’re a family-friendly coffee shop, maybe you leave stroller-friendly spaces between tables, or supply coloring pencils and free hot cocoa. Knowing what matters to your customers and delivering it consistently is the key.

2. Use digital signage

   Digital café signage is the most effective signage for attracting attention. Installing digital signs can increase spend per customer and daily sales by 30%. Why not put digital signs in your café windows to increase foot traffic? Mouth-watering videos of your delicious pastries and steaming mugs of coffee will draw people inside.

   You should also consider using digital signage in your café as a menu board and for advertising specials, promotions and events. Make it easy by choosing a digital signage company that offers simple drag and drop café templates with food images and videos built-in. You can use their software to turn a TV or screen you already have into a powerful marketing tool.

3. Giveaways and branded merchandise

   Customers love free stuff. Giving away branded merchandise is a cost-effective way to drive foot traffic and build brand awareness and loyalty. Try to link the giveaway with your café’s brand. You could try branded re-usable coffee cups, recipe books, baby bibs, t-shirts or signature sauces.

4. Connect with the local media

   If you can form good relationships with local reporters and radio show hosts, you may be able to get regular exposure for your café for free. Do some research and connect with them on LinkedIn to build some trust. Think of an interesting hook for stories and pitch them in. A new menu item won’t be enough, but maybe your exclusive use of local organic ingredients or your diverse hiring strategy that gives opportunities to minority groups would pique some interest.

5. Try piggy-back marketing

   You’ll have a bunch of stakeholders who want your business to succeed. Maybe it’s your food or equipment suppliers or the local trader’s association. They will have their own marketing channels and you could ask to be included in their newsletters or promotions to get fabulous free coverage for your café.

They aim to boost sales and build long-lasting relationships with customers to make yours their favorite coffee shop. The best promotions are highly targeted to the needs of your target audience. It’s normal to have a range of customers who visit your café, so design various promotions to appeal to each group.

Use café promotions wisely. Try to think of ways to add value rather than just dropping your prices. Have the best darn coffee in town, not the cheapest. That said, offering discounts can be a very effective way to increase sales. Just make sure to analyze the financials to ensure you’re making more than you’re spending. Don’t offer discounts at traditionally busy times, instead use them to solve your challenges. If you’ve got an especially slow time of day or week or foods that aren’t selling, use promotions to increase your sales in those areas.

6. Offer a discount, promo code or coupon

   Discounts are hugely popular with café customers, with around 80% of people using one each year. They can also encourage people to travel further to your café. Know your margins and strategically choose the items you’re prepared to discount. Here are some different discounting ideas:

   • Buy one iced coffee, get one free
   • Combo deals, a free soda with every burger
   • Time-based discounts are good for creating urgency
   • Percentage based discounts, like 10% off your bill on Tuesdays
   • Dollar-off discounts, e.g., spend over $20 and save $2 off your bill

7. Use discount and promotion sites

   Discount and promotion sites like Groupon and RetailMeNot are great for reaching new audiences. Just make sure your discounts are short-term and you factor in all fees when deciding if it’s worthwhile. As we mentioned, constant discounting can erode your brand, so if you’re always leaning on discounting to maintain sales, think about what else you could change to build the value of your brand before dropping prices.

8. Barista’s specials

   Offering special menu items is a great way to bring customers in to try something new. Make sure it fits your general café theme and get your baristas to create the magic. Run specials for a limited time to create some urgency to visit. Advertise on your digital menu board and ask your team to promote the specials when customers order.

9. Do a letterbox drop

   Even though we’re in a digital age, old-school outreach strategies can still work. We’re bombarded with digital noise all day long, so a direct mail flyer can really stand out. Studies have shown that 42% of people read their direct mail, and 73% prefer it because they can read it whenever they want. It has a permanency that digital messaging doesn’t, and it’s perfect for targeting the local area right around your café. You could send a flyer with your menu, home delivery options and a discount offer if they visit your café before the end of the month.

10. Café grand opening event

    It’s good to hold a series of launch events when you first open your café. Start by having a friends and family event to let your staff get used to new procedures and the fast pace. Then do an influencer event, inviting local reporters, bloggers, celebrities and people in the community who have an audience. When you open to the public, open with great fanfare. Make it a celebration. Offer a special deal for opening night. If you have digital signage, include a countdown to opening day to build suspense for people walking by.

11. Leverage a local event

    Keep an eye on local events. If there’s a sporting event, concert or parade nearby, promote an event in your café to complement it. You could ask the event organizer for a cross-promotion opportunity. For instance, you could offer a 5% discount to anyone going to today’s football match. The football clubs might show messages on their signs to let attendees know of the deal during the game in return for a donation or discount for their players.

12. Offer coffee making lessons

    If you’re happy to share some of your secrets, inviting your customers in for lessons from your barista is a great way to build relationships. It’s best not to share all your secrets, but giving customers behind the scenes insights and new skills will encourage them to share content on social media and tell their friends about your café

13. Support a charity

    Over 50% of Gen X, millennials and Gen Z people are more likely to choose cafés supporting charities. You’ll gain the respect of your community and staff, and you’ll feel good about yourself too. You could ask your customers what causes they care about, then hold an event or donate a percentage of profits. Food banks are another excellent way to do good in your community.

14. Bring in a celebrity or become one

    Celebrities in cafés are a huge drawcard. Ask a local celebrity to make coffees and donate a percentage of the takings to their charity of choice. Or apply to be a contestant on a reality cooking show and become a celebrity yourself. This could bring a considerable amount of attention to your café. It might even be worth engaging a public relations expert to promote your involvement widely through the local press.

15. Events to celebrate the holidays

    Make your café the venue of choice for your customers to celebrate their favorite holidays. Create events so special they’ll want to make it a tradition to bring the entire family every year. You could have a Mother’s Day luncheon with flowers for the guest of honor, a Halloween costume contest with candy prizes or sweet tables for two for Valentine’s Day. As always, make sure the event is tied closely to your brand identity and something that your target customers will love. Promote your events through social media, letterbox drops, email marketing and digital signage.

16. International food holidays

    Food holidays are a perfect excuse for an event at your café. Could you offer 10 varieties of crepes on international crepe day (February 2)? Or a free slice of chocolate cake on world cake day (May 7)? Be creative and devise a series of events across the year that suit your customers and brand.

17. Multiple-purchase loyalty programs

    A simple way to reward loyalty is to give customers a reward after a certain number of visits or money spent. For example, every tenth visit gets a free coffee. It’s easy to track this with a simple reward card marked up each visit.

18. Exclusive member-only discounts

    Think about establishing a club that people are excited to be part of. Send regular emails with member-only deals. Some POS systems allow you to set up elaborate loyalty programs where customers earn points to redeem for free food and drinks or other prizes. Try to make it exciting enough that customers share on social media with your loyalty program hashtag. Don’t forget to offer them a reward on their birthday, if it’s clever enough it might even encourage them to hold their party at your café.

19. Offer referral rewards

    Give extra benefits to customers who introduce their friends to your café or share their experiences on social media. You might use a discount code and offer 10% off for both the referrer and their friend. Look at the financials to ensure that whatever reward you are offering isn't eating too far into your profits.

20. Online café advertising

    Paid online ads on platforms like Facebook or Google ads are a solid café marketing strategy. Around 80% of customers search for cafés online before visiting so it has a huge reach. You can showcase your offer to a highly targeted geographic audience and time your ads to run at peak times to get better results. With Facebook, you can even target your ideal customer by demographics, interests and behaviors. Analyze the detailed insights and keep adjusting to work out what brings the best results.

21. Retargeting

    Retargeting allows you to serve ads to people who have visited your website. Many people will visit your website once and never come back. Retargeting puts your ads on other websites or social media platforms to remind them of your existence, promote a special offer or encourage them to check you out. It helps them get to know your brand and start building awareness, interest and trust.

22. Local newspaper, outdoor, radio or TV

    Advertising offline is still an effective café marketing strategy. It can help build your profile in the local community, is cost-effective and has a good, targeted reach. You could promote specials and events in the local paper, put a sign in the overhead ad space on public transport, advertise on the radio or sponsor the weather report on the local news.

23. Promote your café on food delivery apps

    If you’ve partnered with food delivery apps like UberEats or DoorDash, plenty of marketing options are available through their platforms. If you’re prepared to pay, you can grab the first position when people search for a café. Just check the fees to make sure it’s worth your while.

24. Use your own screens for advertising

    When you’ve got digital signs in your café you can easily program them to advertise specials, new menu options, loyalty programs and discounts throughout the day. Digital signage in your windows can attract attention and bring passers-by inside, and your indoor digital signs can encourage people to buy high-margin items and drive upsells and cross-sells.

25. Keep your website up to date

    The world is digital. Whether you like it or not, you need a website that shows your menu, opening hours and reviews at a minimum. It’s the best way to showcase your brand and business to hungry and thirsty customers when they’re looking for a place to go. Build one yourself or outsource it to an expert. Ensure the information is always up to date and make it easy for customers to order online or make an online booking.

26. Optimize your website for SEO

    Most of the search traffic for cafés happens on mobile, so make sure your website is responsive and optimized for mobile. Have a simple website structure so users don’t have to navigate through multiple links to find what they’re looking for. Get other sites to link to yours (called backlinks) to improve your authority and help your site rank higher in Google searches.

27. Keep your Google My Business page up to date

    Local SEO is critical for cafés to make sure you show up in Google maps results, local search results (like ‘Café near me’), and the knowledge panel on the right-hand side of search results. Keep all your information up to date, including your contact details, questions and answers, popular times, photos and menu.

28. Set up a foodie blog

    Having a blog on your website will help build your authority on Google and help your website rank better. It’s also an excellent way to keep your brand in front of customers and gives you an excuse to stay in touch. Here are some tips for great café blog posts:

    • Make sure your blog topics are interesting to your target audience, like the latest coffee trends, recipe books you love or hacks for making healthy and delicious snacks
    • Share blog posts in emails and social media
    • Make the blog title intriguing to capture interest and attention
    • Use beautiful images and video content
    • Don’t forget a call-to-action button that prompts customers to do something like book a table or check out new menu items
    • Double-check your spelling and grammar before you publish

29. Ask for reviews

    Online reviews are incredibly powerful, and customers are usually happy to leave them. Mostly, they just need a little reminder (or incentive) to get it done. Asking for reviews should be part of your marketing strategy and daily operations. Here are some ideas to get you started:

    • Have a QR code on your digital signage, menu and receipt
    • Get wait staff to ask customers in person
    • Send an email asking for a review and offering a discount as thanks
    • Ask in social posts

30. Respond to reviews

    Make no mistake, potential customers are checking your reviews. Responding to all reviews – good and bad – is super important. Enthusiastically thank people for taking the time to leave their positive feedback to show how much you appreciate it. If you get a bad review, politely thank them for their comments and invite them to get in touch to resolve their concerns offline.

31. Build up an extensive email database

    Make gathering emails part of everything you do. The more people you’re talking to and the more you know about them, the more targeted your emails will be and the more impact they will have.

    • Gather email addresses at every opportunity
    • Have a pop-up on your website asking people to join the club with an introductory coupon offer
    • Put a QR code on your digital signage
    • Ask on social media, including a contest or limited time offer
    • Incentivize your staff to collect emails

32. Set up automated emails

    Find a good email marketing platform, then set up a series of automated emails to welcome your customers to your list.

    • Offer irresistible promotions
    • Invite them to leave reviews
    • Ask them for feedback – what do they want from you?
    • Segment your list and send more emails to people who are opening and engaging with your content

33. Send a regular newsletter

    Test different headlines, send times and content then set up a regular structure for your emails. Customers enjoy the familiarity and will begin to look forward to your content.

    • Include upcoming events, promotions and discounts, staff stories, new menu items, recipes, blog articles and customer reviews.
    • Make it mobile-friendly
    • Include beautiful images, social sharing buttons and call-to-action buttons that have links back to your website to make a reservation or place an order

Here’s a quick overview of social media marketing for cafés:

34. Create profiles on social media

    Set up profiles on the social media platforms used by your target audience. Think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Add a bio and include your location, hours, menu and contact details.

35. Post regular, engaging social media content

    This takes thought and effort, but it helps to embed it in your daily operations.

    • Use beautiful images and put effort into making your food insta-worthy
    • Videos are viewed five times more often than photos. Try live-streaming, coffee-making demonstrations and home baking ideas for behind-the-scenes insights
    • Share user-generated content to build connection, loyalty and trust
    • Introduce your employees or spotlight your local food vendors
    • Ask questions to get people to engage with your posts or get them to ‘Caption this photo!’

36. Run social media competitions

    You can offer prizes to encourage people to visit your café or simply engage with your social media. They need to fit your target audience and make sense financially. Ensure you check guidelines and regulations for running competitions with the social media platform and your state and local governing bodies. Here are some examples to get you thinking:

    • Want free movie tickets? Tell us why you should win
    • Name of the week – if this is your name, come in for free coffee. This one has the bonus of your followers tagging their friends if their names come up
    • Like our page this week and go in the draw to win breakfast for you and a friend

37. Stream your social media feeds on your café’s digital signage

    The best digital signage solutions have widgets that easily allow you to show your social feeds on screens in your café. It gives diners instant gratification from sharing their café experience with their friends.

38. Café influencer marketing

    Influencer marketing can be a cost-effective way to boost social credibility. Over 70% of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals. Ask food bloggers or anyone local with a large social media following to visit and promote your brand in exchange for a posting fee or free breakfast. Long-term, mutually beneficial relationships work best.