The adage, "If you build it they will come," may apply to grand structures and perhaps even baseball fields, but if you rely on this piece of wisdom for your coffeehouse, you could be setting yourself up for a difficult road ahead. Simply opening the doors and expecting a steady stream of customers is not the way to build a business. The smart thing to do is to devise a road map that will contain details of your marketing strategies and hopefully lead you on a journey to success.

Yep, that's right, another plan. Didn't you already say something about marketing in the business plan? Well, you should have. But it shouldn't be the final word. The marketing plan is an extension of the ideas that were introduced in your business plan.

A marketing plan is sometimes considered the heart of the business plan. It works to ensure that revenues will be pumping throughout your business venture by providing a strategy to attract and retain customers, the lifeline of any business.

Like the business plan, the marketing plan includes your goals. But, this plan focuses more in-depth on the marketplace and how it affects your business. While the plan can be as comprehensive as desired, it should contain some basic elements, such as goals, strategy and targets to determine how well the plan is working. When establishing a strategy, essentially how you plan on attracting/retaining customers, keep in mind that a lot of dollars don't necessarily have to be spent on marketing. Being creative with inexpensive publicity and promotions and even employees may achieve the results you're expecting.

WHY ANOTHER PLAN?

Before embarking on another writing assignment, many burgeoning retailers may want to know why they need more plans when they've spent all this time on finding the perfect location and the nearest competition is miles away. Aren't meeting those criteria enough to attract customers?

Well, maybe at first. But what happens when business starts trailing off because customers tire of your selections or another coffeehouse opens down the block? Wouldn't you like to be prepared for such possibilities, or some might say, probabilities?

A road map comes in handy for retailers, "As a way to project what's going to be happening in the future," says industry consultant Kate LaPoint, owner of To the Point Business Imaging, Seattle. "They need to have a plan that is going to keep their customers coming back."

In effect, then, the marketing plan provides a long-term link to customers in addition to defining strategies or methods that will attract new ones and thereby increase your chances of success.

The marketing plan should also act as a measuring tool encompassing specific targets that can be referred back to within specific periods of time to gauge your success--which is why the plan should be written and not some vague ideas roaming around in your head. But those who see themselves slaving into the night writing something akin to a term paper need not fear.

LaPoint says the plan can reflect the style of the retailer. It may be typed and bound and include details down to every dollar on where your budget will be spent. Or, the plan may just be a simple outline of steps that will enhance your business.

"It can be one page or it can be 100 pages," LaPoint says. "As long as it includes deadlines."

LaPoint suggests coming up with three goals and three plans of action on how you're going to implement those goals and then setting deadlines for when these actions will take place.

Another objective of the marketing plan is to help the retailer really focus on the marketplace, identifying more finely the target market and coming up with ways to connect with that group--instead of just leaving it to chance. The plan should guide a retailer in how to use his resources efficiently in order to reach the goals of the business.

"One of the main benefits of the marketing plan is that it will help in developing what that strategy is," says Doug Wilson, vice president of sales and marketing for Eugene, Ore.-based Palo Alto Software, which develops marketing and business plans software. "So, rather than a trial-and-error kind of experience, which often happens, there is some information that's laid out, understood, and then specific actions are implemented to accomplish that goal," Wilson says.

READY, SET, GO

Regardless of the length or style, any marketing plan should define your goals, state your strategies, and set specific deadlines. As long as it includes these three elements, the rest is pretty much up to the individual needs of the retailer.

The marketing plan that is a component of your business plan or will be viewed by outside interests (landlords, for example) should be more formal and can include an introductory component describing your business and summarizing your overall goals. But a separate marketing plan that will be read mainly by the retailer doesn't require this extra information.

Stating your goals is important because that will guide you in devising a marketing strategy. Of course, knowing your marketplace and how it affects your individual business is key in creating goals.

When creating a marketing plan for his drive-through coffeehouse concept, Bart Fisher realized that his stores would not be a destination place, but a convenience for commuters.

"The Daily Perc, being a double-sided drive-through coffee shop, isn't gonna grab somebody five miles away," says Fisher, who for that reason decided against traditional media advertising on radio or in newspapers initially. "I figured my money was better spent keeping the people that come here happy."

So, Fisher's marketing strategy discusses the use of in-store promotions and involvement in charity events as a way to create goodwill with current customers and the community, and garner publicity for his store, which opened in January 2002 in Rock Hill, Mo.

For instance, one promotion offers customers 25-cent refill discounts on any competitor's refill mug and 50-cents-off refills for customers using Daily Perc mugs. The marketing plan also includes the use of a mobile café that will be driven to various schools, hospitals and corporations. According to the plan, a portion of sales while the trailer is at a specific campus then goes to a designated program or charity.

Fisher's plan also outlines an advertising budget that increases as the concept grows and more franchises are added. For instance, the plan calls for spending $4,000 on advertising during the first year of operation and then increasing that to $20,000 for the second year, when several Daily Perc locations are scheduled to open.

Finally, it's important to set targets and deadlines for implementing such strategies. Fisher's marketing strategy is included in his business plan. While the strategy is detailed, Fisher does plan on writing a separate marketing plan in the near future.

"You gotta basically be able to measure and decide where you're going to spend the money and how you're going to do it. So, if it succeeds, you can repeat it, but if it fails you can adjust it," Fisher explains. "It might just be three or four pages. But you gotta write it down."

The ability to measure the success of your marketing strategy is, in fact, one of the purposes of having a written plan.

"That, I think, is where the primary value comes in terms of the learning process," says Doug Wilson of Palo Alto Software, "to validate that some of the things you did were successful and (you) should repeat them again versus the program that didn't work."

THE LONGER PLAN

These basic elements--goals, strategies and deadlines--can be supplemented by additional sections. Along with the executive summary, the plan may also include a definition of your target market, an analysis of the competition, or an explanation of the allocation of your budget.

Even further, says consultant and author Bruce Milletto, the marketing plan may include such elements as how the retailer is going to brand his items in order to sell better, the kinds of promotions he will be running, and how the coffeehouse's products can be cross-marketed with other local businesses.

One other element that is not exactly included in the marketing plan, but is nonetheless essential to its success, is communicating the plan to the staff, Milletto notes.

"The marketing plan is nothing but words until they get it across to employees," says Milletto, president of Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup Inc, Eugene, Ore.

Milletto believes that retailers should specifically design a way to educate their employees on how they can market the products to customers. If employees, for example, are taught the difference between a French roast and an American roast, they, in turn, can educate the customers and this may lead to a sale, Milletto explains.

"With any marketing plan, I think the key is the employees," says Milletto, who is currently writing a book that is tentatively titled Essentials to Successfully Marketing Your Coffee Business, and is planned for a fall publication date.

Of course, in order to relay a marketing plan, there has to be one in the first place. Milletto has been in the business long enough to know that an actual written marketing plan is a rarity. Sometimes, he says, a real plan can only take place once the store has actually opened and the marketing needs are more evident.

Nevertheless, Milletto agrees that putting your ideas down on paper always has its advantages, especially as a system of checks and balances. While operating a small business is hectic, planning is always worth it, he adds.

"People get so mired in the day-to-day," he says. "They really need to plan and figure out what to do to make their operation better."

Here are few resources to get you started on your marketing plan:

1. Small Business Administration The SBA has plenty of information on the importance of writing a marketing plan and what to include in it. A good place to start is with marketing basics at: www.sba.gov/starting_business/marketing/basics.html. Also check out the Online Women's Business Center at: www.onlinewbc.gov/docs/market/index.html.

2. Mplans.com--Run by Palo Alto Software, the Web site has many resources on creating a marketing plan along with available software that can ease the process.

3. Espresso101.com--Here's where you can watch for the publication date of Bruce Milletto's forthcoming book on marketing for coffeehouses.

Copyright © 1999-2002 Adams Business Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.  Reproduction Prohibited. Would You Like A Reprint of this Article? CLICK HERE!

Please Note: Some pictures or diagrams are only
available through the printed media.

Originally published - October 2003
Specialty Coffee Retailer.
For more product/company information go to the
READER SERVICE area.