There is no debate that everyone appreciates a great cup of joe. Whether it is kickstarting the morning or keeping the momentum through the afternoon, a pick-me-up can go a long way. Businesses recognize this and are providing more options than ever for buyers. With their tastes becoming more refined and particular than ever, it is essential that you keep up with the momentum if you are interested in the coffee industry.
It might sound like a daunting task to set-up, maintain, and find success while managing an online coffee store. Major marketplaces control a large majority of traffic and sales and offer savings on goods and shipping that a smaller merchant likely cannot match.
However, what many overlook is the hoops that these conglomerates have to jump through to keep their operations running smoothly. Restrictive seller policies inhibit creative branding techniques that vendors could use if they were on their own domain.
Unlocking complete control over the customer experience and tailoring the feel of your e-storefront to attract target markets comes much more easily when you aren’t playing by someone else’s rules. This customization enables these businesses and passionate entrepreneurs who work from home selling coffee an advantage over massive corporations.
Many people interested in the industry do not know how to sell coffee online. However, with the right information, you can jump-start your e-commerce business much faster than you might think.
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- Build Your Brand Identity With Creative Website Design
- Sell Coffee Online With Streamlined Website Design
- Build Your Customer Base with Quality Web Content
Build Your Brand Identity With Creative Website Design
Imagine you are shopping online and stumble upon a vendor with a lousy website that looks like it was created in the stone age. What is your assessment going to be about their products? If you assume that their products are chintzy, the company might be a scam, or they aren’t as professional as you think they should be, you would be amongst the 93% of consumers who consider the visual appearance of the website when making an online purchase.
A few short years ago, web design was a complex craft that would cost you a fortune to hire someone to do an exceptional job. Designing a website from scratch would require development, design, and coding skills, which is a diverse set of skills that were rare to find in one individual.
These days, the Internet is flourishing with premade templates that are customizable to your own coffee website design needs. Third-party vendors offer templates and themes as well as those native to their respective web-hosting platforms. Using the tools provided across the web, it should not take you more than an hour to have a fully functioning online coffee shop that looks like a pro made it.
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When choosing a template, there are a few features that you will want to make sure you can customize to get the best results and set yourself apart from the competition:
- Customizable color palettes: Taking the time to choose a color scheme for your website that fits your brand’s image is essential to stand out from competitors and provide a unique customer experience.
- Typography and font options: Find a happy medium between an exciting font and one that is easy to read. White space is your friend when adding important text to your domain.
- Custom layout options: Having the ability to rearrange your website to fit your needs is essential. Be on the lookout for plug-in support and menu customization options.
If a consumer visits your page, they are likely to decide on whether they want to shop at your site before they have spent any time browsing your products.
Your homepage is the first thing that web users see when arriving at your domain. To catch their eye, focus on full-width images and only include text that has a distinct purpose. Often, ecommerce owners overload their pages with information, which creates clutter that your potential customer will not want to sift through.
Ensure that your homepage — and website as a whole — uses high-quality photos and designs. Since the best layouts feature large graphics, an image you may think is suitable could become grainy and dull once it finds its place on your online coffee shop.
If you find yourself spending a lot of time trying to decide what images to use, think about what aspects of cafe-goers look for in a traditional coffee shop:
- Coffee: This one is a no-brainer. Be sure to include plenty of photos of your products, especially those that are most popular or unique to your business. These photos are what you are selling, so ensure that you accurately illustrate these delicacies in a way that visitors can not refuse. One great way to achieve this is to use pictures that depict the unique flavor notes of your blends, such as vanilla beans, cherries, or flowers. Even if you don’t have a cafe, you can still include active shots of your coffee pouring from a carafe or photos of customers enjoying a cup of your brewed coffee at home.
- Atmosphere: Even if you sell your products strictly online or in grocery stores, there are still plenty of ways you can get across your brand image. Do you brew your coffee in a unique environment, or harvest your beans from an exotic place? Displaying these aspects reminds enthusiasts that coffee is more than a pick-me-up and an experience similar to how people love wine or craft beer.
- Employees: Does your company have a team of eccentric and passionate employees? Showcase them on your website. People like seeing that a company is run by real people with personality, and illustrating that somewhere such as the “About Us” page could be the difference between customers choosing your brand or a competitor’s. Consumers love affirmation from those who have similar interests as them, and including photos of your employees can help customers think of your company as one for people like them, making them more likely to want to place an order.
Ensuring these elements are defined in an attractive and enticing way will give your online coffee store the best chance at success.
Sell Coffee Online With Streamlined Website Design
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While graphic design is a crucial aspect of boosting conversions and making more sales, there is more to the recipe than an attractive website. Here are a few more tips to help you succeed and meet the goals you set for your online coffee business.
1. Easy Navigation
If a visitor on your site cannot find the information they are looking for, they will likely continue their search elsewhere, and you will lose a potential conversion. Ensuring your site has clearly defined categories for each section such as “Homepage,” “Shop,” and “About Us” is important to streamline the user experience. But, it doesn’t have to end there. Underneath the “Shop” section, for example, you might put more drop downs that categorize your products. As an online coffee shop, these might include “Coffee,” “Equipment,” and “Merchandise.” If you carry a wide range of products, it might be a good idea to give each of these subcategories their own separate tab and further break down the products in each section.
Also, be sure your website is mobile-friendly. Online shoppers are already surfing for their favorite products on their mobile devices rather than on traditional PCs or laptops. Some templates do an excellent job at automating this task, but you should always tweak settings and ensure your online store is responsive and attractive on phones and tablets.
2. Competitive Advantage
Another thing to consider highlighting is what advantages you have over your competitors. If you offer free delivery or stellar refund policy, be sure to let your customers know. Do you believe your process for selecting premium ingredients and roasting them with expertise is at a gold standard? Explain that on your website. There is no need to clutter an otherwise clean page with these pros of choosing your business, but an icon with a few words will get the point across without being overwhelming.
3. Deals and Specials
If you are offering a discount or promotion, let consumers know when they arrive on your page. Sales campaigns create a sense of urgency within the customer, and they will be more likely to purchase because they are getting a good deal. Good products to focus on when offering specials include older stock or your latest collection.
4. Cybersecurity
In a world that is increasingly dangerous with online threats such as malware and cyberhackers, it is vital that you ensure that your webpage is secure and that the customers are aware of it. Security measures that reassure customers include HTTPS domains and SSL secure shopping on purchases.
5. Progress Bars
If your customer has made it to the checkout process, illustrate how much longer they have to complete the transaction throughout each step. Think about your shopping habits. How often have you abandoned an online shopping cart because of a daunting check out process with too many steps? To avoid this with your customers, make the sale transparent and straightforward with indicators and progress bars.
Build Your Customer Base With Quality Web Content
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There are different web pages and features your website should have for consumers to easily find your page and have a good experience navigating it. A few of the most critical facets include:
1. “About Us”
If your homepage is a hit and you have the potential customer’s attention, the next page you should make sure you get right is the “About Us” page.
If they are seeking to learn more about your company, they are already interested in what you have to offer, and now you need to prove to them that you are the coffee provider they are looking for. Use this page to tell consumers who you are, what you do, and what value you can provide to your customers. The “About Us” page is also the right place for achievements and testimonials.
Similarly to your home page, try to tell your story using only words that are necessary. Walls of text are intimidating to many visitors, so being clear and concise will use up less of their attention and time.
2. Contact Information
In addition to illustrating your online coffee shop’s story and success, be sure that contact information is displayed clearly. You will want to mention your:
- Contact email
- Company phone number
- Social media channels
- Location
Many websites include the “Contact Us” information at the bottom right corner of their webpage, and this footer remains static no matter what page you visit.
3. Informative Blog
Blogs are an excellent way to deliver value to your customers and increase rankability on search engines. Your posts should not focus on gaining sales, but instead being informative about topics that are relevant to your business. Although you aren’t pushing your product heavily in these posts, you can still implement clever ways to drive web traffic to your product pages and complete purchases.
When writing blog posts, make sure they contain search-engine optimized (SEO) keywords. SEO keywords or phrases make it easier for potential customers to find your site through search engines. To find these words and phrases, you need to research to understand the language coffee lovers are using to find the products they want.
4. Site-Wide SEO
Blog posts aren’t the only place that you should use keywords. Each of the pages on your website should also be optimized. It is wise to include keywords in the title, URL, and copy for starters. Including them within the page source helps search engines describe your page and rank it more appropriately in their results.
Choose these phrases wisely. You do not want to select the keywords that are too popular, because they are way too competitive, and plugging them in your posts might not get you anywhere. You also should focus more on relevant keywords rather than their frequency. Most search engines can detect when keywords are being used just for the sake of rankability, and your site will suffer in results because of it.
All these elements help build customer trust and loyalty, which is essential for a little-known company to gain enough credibility to start making significant profits.
Contact Joe’s Garage Coffee to Learn More
It is not easy to be a jack-of-all-trades. If you are looking to rise to the top and produce high-quality private label coffee, partnering with the right supply chain is vital. The people at Joe’s Garage Coffee are experts at providing solutions for any step of the process. Whether you need a co-packing partner for your roasted coffee, a custom blend made from scratch, or anything in between, it is our job to make you stand out. The services we offer include:
- Co-packing: Send us your roasted beans, and we package them for you.
- Toll-roasting: Send us your green beans, and we roast them for you.
- Roast-to-order: We roast our beans and create to your specifications.
- Contract manufacturing: Higher volume programs for brands with specific needs.
- Products: We provide cups for Keurig, pods for Nespresso, compostable pods for Keurig, one-cup filter pods, cold brew pitcher packs, and portion packs or bags.
We are excited to play a role in helping your brand grow and expand for years to come. We offer low minimums but have a scalable capacity, so we can stick with you as your business grows. Our short lead times and high-quality customer service will help you keep your customers satisfied and coming back for more. Contact us today and find out how we can help cultivate superior-quality products that compel your audience to make a purchase and convert them into loyal, repeat customers.
