From Singapore to Scandinavia, Valentine's day will be widely celebrated this weekend.

So on this romantic festival how do you attract more customers to your independent coffee business, and how do you woo them so they love your coffee more than anyone else's?

SHY & AWKWARD
Many people walk past your door every day and buy their coffee from the chains because they are shy. They are embarrassed to make that first move. They like the look of you; your artisan styling and modern feel, they like your smell and the freshly prepared coffee aromas, but they feel awkward to step through your door for the first time because they feel embarrassed to leave their normal chain coffee shop.

It’s your duty to attract these shy and awkward guests by whatever means you can. It may be difficult to send them all a valentines card but there are plenty of other ways you can change their habits and get them to become your loyal guests.

LOYALTY
If you know the value of each potential new guest, then you can decide how much you want to spend to get them. Once they are over the threshold, the two most compelling reasons people return a second time to a new coffee shop; is ‘great tasting coffee’ and ‘a loyalty club’ according to Allegra’s Cafe16 research.

Taking ‘great tasting coffee’ as a given, you should make your loyalty scheme stand out from the crowd and ensure that everyone walking through your door for the first time is given the chance to join!