An ice cream shop needs two things to be successful: delicious ice cream and a good locale. Warm weather wouldn’t hurt, either. If you’ve chosen a great location, you might be able to get by with little more work than putting out tasting spoons and waiting for customers to stroll by. Of course, even those with an incredible location will want to increase foot traffic to their shop to rake in higher rewards. With these clever methods, you’ll soon market your ice cream shop to passersby with no trouble at all.
Custom Packaging
One of the most effective ways to brand your business is custom packaging. It’s also an area many small businesses skip because they don’t truly understand the effectiveness of it. Don’t fall victim to shortsighted thinking! When others see your customers carrying custom printed cups with your logo on them, eating delicious ice cream, they’ll look for you.
You also get the added benefit of visual recognition. People will remember your logo, or the primary colors it uses, and will be able to spot it while they are walking down the street.
You can also choose different colors, or even different shapes for your plastic yogurt spoons. It’s a bit costly to order customized spoons, but changing colors or opting for a spoon that has a different shape can be something fun and unique that identifies you.
Emphasize the Sophisticated
One of the trends that has taken the market by storm in 2015 and 2016 is the usage of a more sophisticated ingredient set, aimed at an older crowd with a more qualified palat. There is a time for the old chocolate-dipped ice cream cone, but those seeking some new flavors can easily find them today. Ice cream makers are sometimes combining alcohol, cheese, bitter fruits, and playing with the sweet and salty flavor combination to great effect.
If you can feature something that taps into that growing trend, your ice cream shop can attract some new customers it otherwise wouldn’t have. Be wary of stocking items that would constitute a complete re-branding, but you can draw new customers in quite easily.
Final Thoughts
In the new retail and restaurant landscape, loyalty is key. Give your customers a reason to come back, such as a card that eventually rewards buyers with a freebie after a certain number of purchases. You’ll often have made the difference of the freebie several times over. Just having the card will bring back more repeat customers, even if they never cash in on the benefits of holding it.
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Gelato Products offers a range of fine gelato cups, plastic yogurt spoons and ice cream shop supplies online.
