We’ve all heard that Albert Einstein quote about doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result – the definition of insanity. And, let’s face it, for a lot of small businesses, your marketing sometimes feels like doing the same thing over and over again, hoping this time it turns out differently.

An example of this is hiring a new marketing person. On the surface it sounds ideal – pass along the day to day promoting and marketing of your business to someone else. You’ve been handling the marketing but it’s time to bring in an expert. But since you don’t know what your overall marketing goals are, you can’t communicate what you’d like your new marketing person to accomplish. Continue reading →

Illy Caffé was established in 1933 in Trieste, Italy by Francessco Illy.  When he founded the company, Francessco’s dream was to produce and sell the best coffee in the world.  Illy Caffé has built on that dream and become the leading espresso coffee, enjoyed in over sixty countries.  The company is committed to a marketing philosophy of  “One Brand, One Blend”.

Trade Show Objectives:
To be visible within the marketplace
To demonstrate Illy’s success and leadership within it’s own marketplace
To meet and retain existing clients
To identify new leads that will generate long-term business
To maintain consistency against competitors that exhibit sporadically or infrequently
To occasionally launch new products – launching at a show is best

Illy’s product is 100 years old so they have nothing new to say.  They provide a beautifully designed coffee bar exhibit and talk with people.  With a straightforward, no-frills offer, the Illy product becomes more accessible and the Illy message is easy to understand.  That means that visitors are more likely to make the commitment to come into Illy’s trade show booth. Continue reading →

From article by Holly Case, Natural Food Network Newsletter Editor, Specialty Coffee Retailer.

Leading indicators suggest that the recession may be nearing a close, but it has not yet caught up with consumers’ pocketbooks. Shoppers are still feeling the pinch of the recession, but according to Packaged Facts, one aspect in which they’re still willing to spend a little extra money is for products appealing to ethical concerns. This is especially important to us in the coffee marketing industry.

The report found that recession had not dampened coffee sales and marketing in natural and organic, eco-friendly and green or humane and fair trade items. A third of adults were willing to pay more for organic goods, with a quarter frequently purchasing them. Ethical consumption has become such a priority with consumers that they were willing to pay more for products that matched their value systems.

“With the economy foremost in consumers’ minds, heightened price sensitivity in the midst of the current recession is inevitably having an effect on the market for ethical products,” said Packaged Facts publisher, Don Montuori. Shoppers understand the environmental, social, and economic implications of their choices. The result is that a lot of consumers who will purchase typically more expensive ethical products even in economically challenging times.” In the past five years, consumption of ethical products has grown at a rate of about 10 percent each year, and is expected to continue to do so until 2014. Personal care products and non-food items will grow at a faster rate, even if they will represent a lower percentage of overall sales. Continue reading →

Everybody running a company should have the benefit of planning.   So what do you miss if you don’t have a working planning process in an existing company? You miss the opportunity to use that planning process to steer and manage your company. You need to manage change, correcting the course, keeping the long-term objectives of your marketing in mind.

Does your company develop an annual plan to polish its strategy, focus on main priorities, and manage its cash? Every business, including coffee marketing businesses, needs to plan. As an owner or manager of a small or medium business, can you afford not to plan?  What you need to do is plan to manage your growth proactively.

You could call it a strategic coffee marketing plan, annual plan, operational plan,  the name doesn’t matter as much as the management of it. While these kinds of plans are common in larger enterprises, they are surprisingly rare in small and medium business.

The benefit of a coffee business marketing plan is that you can guide your growth. Your business will grow or not depending on a lot of different factors, including overall economic trends, location, specific  coffee marketing needs, hard work, and other elements. Businesses that plan do it to guide and influence their growth, so that they move proactively towards defined objectives rather than just reacting to business events are far more successful.

Allocate resources where they will do the most good. Work towards your strengths and away from your weaknesses. Develop the company by doing the most important things, according to your long-term objectives. Continue reading →