INDUSTRY INSIGHT


How hot beverage outlets can build customer loyalty


While there are still some challenges ahead as you look to rebuild your hot beverage business in the long run after the pandemic, for many outlets, priorities have changed.


W


ith footfall on the streets continuing to increase, the focus has shifted from recovery to the future and how to maintain and encourage continued growth.


BRITA Professional’s recent research found that two thirds (61%) of


hospitality businesses believe the key ingredient to future proofing their business is through customer loyalty. So how do you go about encouraging customers to come back time and again, especially following lockdown where many people have trained themselves up as ‘at-home coffee connoisseurs’? Based on insights from coffee shop professionals themselves, Steve


Buckmaster, director of sales at BRITA Professional, shares four tips to build customer loyalty and future proof your hot beverage outlet.


EnhancE thE ExpEriEncE


Almost half (45%) of hospitality businesses believe consumers want an enhanced experience when eating or drinking out. That’s not to say they want service with a show, or all the bells and whistles that cost a fortune. What they’re looking for is something that they can’t make themselves at home. This is especially true when you consider how many people have


become accustomed to making their own drinks at home during lockdown, meaning that knowledge and expectations are higher than ever. Now, consumers want a greater choice of hot drinks and increased information about the quality of what is served.


OffEr sEnsatiOnal sErvicE


As always, customer experience is key to not only encouraging and maintaining customer loyalty through word of mouth, but it can also drive new customers in. Some cafés offer loyalty schemes and others are investing in technology to improve their service. In fact, BRITA Professional’s research found that 50% of hospitality businesses will be adopting innovative customer service tech in the future and 31% will invest in ‘Internet of Things’ enabled kitchen equipment.


22 | vendinginternational-online.com stay agilE


Agility has become a stalwart of the industry over the past 18 months, with the pandemic providing constant change and challenges. However, it’s also an ability that will serve you well in terms of future proofing your business. The research found that 49% of hospitality businesses agree that responding to consumer trends and hiring innovative and creative staff (46%) will be key to their ongoing success.


safEguard yOur quality sErvicE


What’s key here is to showcase how the combination of quality ingredients, tip top equipment and your team’s expertise will offer an experience that can’t be replicated at home. But when it comes to serving great tasting brews, well-sourced tea


and quality roasted beans are just the beginning. In fact, some 84% of coffee shop professionals place unfiltered water as the most important factor for adversely affecting hot beverages. Enhancing the water quality used in tea and coffee can be achieved


by using a water filter on hot and cold beverage equipment, which removes any unwanted impurities which can negatively affect the taste, appearance and aroma of hot beverages. Impurities such as limescale not only affect the taste of the tea itself but can also be damaging to equipment and cause expensive breakdowns further down the line. It’s vital to use the right water filter and exchange it on time to


help keep beverage equipment in peak condition and to ensure you’re offering consistent, great tasting hot drinks, and making cost savings in the long run.


For more insights on how to future proof your hot beverage business in the wake of the pandemic and beyond, listen to BRITA Professional’s latest podcast series ‘Return, Renew, Reinvent’. It explores these insights in more depth and hears from industry leaders on how they have responded to current challenges to protect their business in the long term.


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