Understanding Coffee Shop Demographics: How to Target the Right Customers

Dilworth has been roasting and selling excellent coffee in Raleigh, NC, for thirty years to cafes and coffee shops up and down the East Coast. Many things have changed about coffee and the beverage industry during that time. Menus, popular ingredients, ideal locations, average customer, and so on. As the industry changes, owners and operations need to change with it, or else there is always the risk that your customers will find another place to get their morning cup of coffee. This happened once when home coffee machines and home espresso machines became affordable. It happened again when the work-from-home movement took off. The coffee industry shall surely continue to morph and change in the coming years, and Dilworth will be here to walk you through it. To meet the needs of your customers, you need to know who they are. What are the demographics of your customers? What is the segmentation of your customers? In this blog, we’ll help you answer some of these questions and what you, as an operator, should do about it.

Who are your coffee shop customers?

The easiest way to find out who your customers are is to work a few shifts at the register and make an internal list of your general customer base. This way, you’ll also get to know a few people personally, as well as get an idea of the flow of service. If you have other obligations that don’t allow you to be in the shop, let’s think about some alternative ways.

Asking your baristas is a great way to get a census of your customers. Especially if there are multiple shifts at your shop. Getting the perspective of multiple people is essential to acquiring your coffee shop demographics. Another way is investing in a good POS system that gives you details about your customers. Many will give location information, names, and emails, which could help establish a customer loyalty list. Understanding the segmentation of your customers is essential to a thriving business.

what determines your coffee shop demographics?

What kind of details would determine what your coffee shop’s demographics are?

• Location - The physical location of your shop is a major factor. If you’re on a college campus or near a high school, it’s likely that your customer segmentation is mostly young people. Those young people will place more orders for colorful and sugary drinks if market trends are correct. You’ll have fewer orders for black drip coffee than for lattes. If this is true, you should plan or change your menu accordingly.
• Menu - The items on your menu will likely be the most determinative factor of your customer demographics. Certain types of customers seek out certain menu items. For instance, if your café serves breakfast from 9am to 11am, most students will be in class. So, if you’re hoping to attract that kind of person with food, you’ll be unsuccessful. Which means the kind of food items you have on the menu should be things that professionals older than 24 years would likely order. A key feature to keeping track of your menu is good sales reporting. Every week, an operator should be looking at their sales and identifying the highest-selling items and finding ways to highlight those as best sellers. Customers like to be told a reliable choice that gives them value for money. The items that aren’t selling well should either be adjusted in marketing or flavor, or removed from the menu.
• Design - A coffee shop’s success is heavily reliant on the branding of the shop. How will the customer feel when they’re inside? Is it a place you want people to sit and laze around for 6 hours? Or is it a place where you want a high turnover of customers and high-ticket prices? These goals will determine whether the colors inside are warm and inviting, and if there’s a couch and a bookshelf in the corner.
• Marketing - How you market the shop is important as well. Different demographics consume different media. If you’re advertising on social media, you’ll likely reach a younger audience. If you’re advertising in local magazines or business journals, you’ll likely attract a higher-income business professional.

What is the right way to target your customers?

Good market research is essential to answer this question. The best market research in this industry is to go to other coffee shops in your area and see what kind of people are there, and what is unique to you about the location, design, and menu. Then ask yourself how you found out about that coffee shop. Did you have to search for it online? Did you hear about it through word of mouth? Did you see a social media post? However it is you heard of that shop, probably a good place to start for your own shop.

Once you’ve identified the new demographic of customers you’d like to target, identify the kind of items they’re likely to order, and the best way to market those items to them. Now all that’s left is creating a great recipe for the item, and you’re off to the races! Good thing Dilworth has got you covered with a catalog of dozens of inspired seasonal beverages.

Should you change your customer base?

Before you change interior designers, or add an untested item to your menu, you need to ask what it is you want to achieve besides increasing sales, of course. If the only unreached demographic is after work professionals, and the way to reach them is to add a limited coffee mocktail menu, what else does that mean for you? Does that require new equipment? New product that is single use? Hiring a skilled new employee? Sometimes the cost of acquiring a new customer segmentation is greater than the benefit. But this decision will apply specifically to your context.

No matter who your customer base is or what kind of beverage they want to drink, Dilworth is here to help! We’ve been serving cafes with excellent coffee and seasonal allied products for decades. All that experience is at your fingertips. Get in touch and let us help!