I would like to warn the "small retail investors" of coffee: don't be a giant.

The weakness of small retail investors in coffee

Let's first talk about the weaknesses of small retail investors.

1. The operation cost of a single store is high.

There is a saying in the industry that only after cafes open to six stores can the various costs be optimized and balanced.

In other words, if you open a single store, the logistics cost, labor cost and supply cost are relatively high.

For example, renting a refrigerated car to deliver 200 yuan a day to one store and distributing 10 stores is just a little more money for gas.

For example, if you buy 1 pound of beans and 1 ton of beans, that is the difference between wholesale and retail costs.

In addition, many of the best locations in shopping malls are reserved for big brands such as Starbucks and Costa at lower rents, and independent restaurants have few opportunities.

Any business model is based on scale, collection and collection, and only after the formation of the industrial chain will the advantages complement each other.

Independent cafes, with 1 store in the majority, basically do not have any brand premium and bargaining power. Compared with large chains, the rent, materials and other operating costs of independent cafes must be high.

2. The management consciousness is weak and the cost control consciousness is poor.

Two days ago, "Ka Men" mentioned in an article that a cup of coffee costs 3.6 yuan, but the casual content caused a controversy in the message.

Some people say that milk alone costs 3.6 yuan.

A friend of mine is preparing 8 yuan coffee in Shanghai. It is said that he still uses medium-quality coffee beans. If a cup of coffee is only milk for 3.6 yuan, I still worry about him when I think about it.

In fact, it is only natural to say that everything in your own cafe is better. But in the mind of "everything is good"-good machines, good coffee beans, good milk, good baristas, good furnishings, so expensive.

The cost has gone up, but what about revenue? It is right to be affectionate in making coffee, but it is not good to be affectionate. I won't say much about this.

You can never wake a man who pretends to sleep.

Therefore, according to the positioning and operation of their own coffee shop, systematic control of various costs is serious. After all, the costs of independent cafes are already high compared to chain brands.

3. Always try to educate customers

During my visit to cafes all over the country, I have been educated by many baristas.

To tell you the truth, most of them have a good attitude, at least no one scolds me or kills me, usually pointing out all kinds of problems with your coffee and incorrect understanding of coffee.

But I dare not compliment many baristas on their understanding of coffee. For example, drinking instant solution is chronic suicide. Wait, a lot of sensational remarks.

In addition, in the face of ignorant customers, many baristas are trying to describe coffee as mysterious and looking up, so that customers are in awe of coffee. In fact, this kind of promotion is not good for the market except for X.

What impressed me was the aroma laboratory of Starbucks. For example, if you put a piece of bacon next to the coffee beans, if you smell the coffee beans and smell the bacon, you will basically have an impression of the taste on the flavor wheel. It is both simple and practical, instead of making the flavor wheel so mysterious.

4. Lack of awareness of stop loss

If not, transfer the stop loss in time. Procrastination, no matter the mood or financial, will not be good.

How does Xiao San learn from a giant?

Compared with the giants, the weakness of independent cafes is obvious. The role model is around us, and there are many advantages for us to learn from the giant.

1. Learning service

In any case, Starbucks will never be complacent about "driving out customers" like some cafes.

There is a fundamental difference in service between most independent cafes and giants: small retail investors are doing self-service, while giants are doing customer value.

To put it simply, small scattered cafes are mostly gifts given to themselves, all starting from their own needs and aesthetics.

Although to some extent, it is the projection of one's own personality that produces so many interesting cafes-but in the formation of the value chain, it is clear that customer value is the business destination.

The giant basically starts from market research and market demand to make an emotional judgment on customer value and determine the brand promotion strategy.

These are two completely different starting points, in the end, one is to serve customers, the other is to serve themselves.

I believe that there is always someone who can find a way out of the sword, but it is always a road to success.

2. Learning standardization solution

If you want to become a chain brand, standardized solutions are important for retail investors. For example, product standardization, operational standardization, can never be expected to stand in the way of a barista.

The founder of a well-known chain in the boutique coffee industry said after his head of coffee left that he "needs to reduce his dependence on people" and change the coffee machine to a fully automatic coffee machine.

The industry has also been discussing the idea that baristas will eventually be replaced by stable and reliable machines in the future coffee business chain.

Since McDonald's and KFC first entered China, the issue of standardization has been placed on the table of commercial chains. At present, these "foreign teachers" are still our teachers.

Standardization is important if retail investors want to become chain brands.

In these aspects, don't have nothing to learn from the giant!

Small retail investors and giants are different in scale and profit model, and there is a huge gap between them.

The brand system formed by international giants, collection training, strategic planning, integrated cultural brand symbols, in-depth investigation of market trends, in-depth planning of marketing, as well as resource grabbing, market prediction, product research and development, in terms of integration in the supply chain, retail investors do not have.

In fact, apart from service and standardization, it is difficult to learn from the giants. I can't learn, and maybe I'll be taken to the ditch.

1. Don't copy the price.

Starbucks, which entered the mainland earlier, is undoubtedly making money. It has also become the reference standard for pricing in almost all cafes.

With Starbucks' ability to integrate in the supply chain, as well as brand appeal and bargaining power, you can make a lot of money by selling 30 yuan. Independent cafes are not necessarily.

Then how to price it? Consider your profit model first.

Still take the low-cost coffee that the friend in Shanghai is preparing as an example. He picked 50 yuan / pound (454g) of coffee beans (already of good quality) from the factory, and 180g coffee powder to produce 2000ml ice extract coffee. A cup of 360ml costs 3.60 yuan per cup. Sell 10 yuan gross profit 64% muri-rent stalls in busy areas, rely on low prices to sell high-quality coffee, feasible ah! This is his pricing strategy.

In addition, the prices of some boutique cafes are not much different from those of Starbucks, but some are twice as expensive as Starbucks. Exactly how to price, must be based on their own business profit model to design, rather than simply copy.

2. Never learn strategy

Starbucks, Nestl é, costa and other big brands of the market promotion, have a very clear strategic route, strategic objectives. In terms of market input, data and market feedback are used to adjust the strategy in a timely manner.

The last thing small retail investors should learn is the strategy of Dalian lock to the market, because many things that big companies do are to lay out in advance for the next 3 to 5 years, and they need capital and time to verify, so small retail investors should not follow suit.

3. Don't try to cultivate the market

Please be a selfish small retail investor, proud of making more money and paying more taxes, and ashamed of not being able to support a storefront.

The cost of cultivating the market is too high, so let the giants do it. At present, small retail coffee owners still have to do a good job of products and services under their own circumstances and abilities.

Conclusion

Put their own coffee feelings and preferences into customers' common feelings and preferences to form real customer value and customer experience. With high-quality service, production, the storefront brand magnified to form a stable customer and passenger flow.

In this way, the opportunity for the growth and development of coffee "small retail investors" will come.

In fact, just like all industries, the premise of doing well must be to follow the business law-after all, no matter how stylish the coffee business is, it should not be a freak divorced from the business law.