Coffee House Guerrilla Marketing Strategies

by Nancy Wagner
Surprise your best customers with a free cup of coffee when they least expect it to build customer loyalty.


Finding low-cost, unconventional ways to market your coffee house is the idea behind guerrilla marketing. While you're delivering a tasty beverage to customers, the marketing strategies you implement need to focus on more than what's in the cup. You also need to highlight the local culture your coffee house offers to create unique messages that keep them coming back.

Digital Communications

Send fun marketing email messages and Tweets on slow days that encourage people to stop for a cup of coffee and other goodies. Ask them to mention the secret password you include in the message to gets a free pastry or shot of espresso. Or offer a two-for-one hot drink of their choice in exchange for the password to encourage customers to introduce a friend to your coffee house. Use this promotion to encourage people to sign up for your social media outlets, and ask them to share the messages you send with their friends to get more coffee drinkers into your shop.

Free Press

Deliver free espressos or lattes personally, or send an enthusiastic, outgoing staff member to the local radio station or newspaper office with some beverages. Don't be afraid to let them know you want them to try the coffee, and encourage them to mention it on their show or write about it if they enjoy it.

In addition, try to become known as a coffee expert. Keep up-to-date on coffee and tea trends so you can suggest article ideas related to coffee drinkers or the industry. Being seen as an expert will generate even more coverage for your shop.

Street Advertising

Put a few employees to work handing out coupons or fliers on the streets within a few blocks of your coffee house. Not only do you keep employees busy during slow times, but you also introduce people to your establishment who might stop in for a coffee or pastry with the coupon conveniently provided. If you put on events at your coffee house, such as coffee tastings, music nights or poetry readings, create fliers about each event and hand them out a few days in advance to generate interest and traffic.

On the Go Branding

Add your logo and name to caps, t-shirts and cloth coffee cup holders, and hand them out to customers to wear as a way to build brand recognition and introduce new people to your delicious drinks and coffee house atmosphere. Another affordable branding option involves adding bold and colorful stickers with your coffee house’s name on them to draw attention to the cups. Your customers will then become walking advertisements as they take their coffee to go, walk to their car or work, and sip their drink at their place of employment or while shopping at nearby stores.

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