How to Survive in Singapore Coffee Shop Industry?

However, the risk can be mitigated if one is prepared. In fact, the right planning can cut down the risk of failure by more than 50%.

The 3 main problems with the coffee shop industry in Singapore are all related to the owner. They make too much decision based on what they know!

They choose the location based on what they see and think is good. The cafe theme and products are selected based on the owner's feeling.

And the plan is done drawing heavily on the owner's experience.

The result is a cafe that is styled according to what the owner believe can work. That seldom happens. How many Steve Jobs are there that can create demand?

For the rest of us, mere mortals, it is best to create a business center on what the consumer need. The coffee shop business plan should be based on the demand of what consumer is looking for and trying to meet that demand.

It is expensive? Well, it used to be, but now, it can all be done by yourself without any charges.

The first thing before any plan is you need to know what consumers are looking for. Here is how you can do that:

1. Go to Google adword keyword tool and type in your business, coffee shop, coffee business, espresso, cappuccino etc.

2. A string of keywords would come out, and those keywords are the products and related products that people wanted to know more about (think about it, if people would to Google for latte, they are likely latte drinkers right?).

3. With each of these search terms, you would see numbers beside it, and that is the number of people searching for it. Now, you would know if cappuccino sells better than cappuccino.

4. Using the same Google adword keyword tool, search for the shopping center or location that you shortlisted to open your coffee shop business.

It would show the number of people searching for it, based on that, you can see which location is more popular. In fact, you can even track it for a few months.

5. Even before starting a cafe, use your friends and relatives to do a poll using survey monkeys or squidoos asking them about the type of food they like, the time that they leave offices for their lunch etc.

The tighter your survey, the more information you would collected, the better your plan.

Doing all the above would not take you more than a few days, but it would greatly mitigate the risk of failing in the hyper competitive coffee shop industry in Singapore.

If you are looking for some professional help, drop us a line and we would be glad to help you in marketing your coffee shop.

Alternatively, try out OCM marketing package for a fuss free marketing that would drive walk in traffic to your outlet. coming soon

Learn more about other elements that can assist you to navigate Singapore turbulent coffee shop industry, or check if you shop is listed in our Singapore Coffee Shop guide

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