How a solid strategy was the key to growth in a competitive local hospitality market
7th Heaven Cafe
7th Heaven is a cafe in the Sutherland Shire that was hit hard during COVID but after pivoting offerings and with the right marketing were able to not only survive the lockdown period but managed to thrive in the tough environment after...
When we started with 7th Heaven, they were a relatively new cafe that had been operating for just under a year, had a great product and fit-out but were struggling to increase their customer base and bring in their target revenues as there was a lot of competition in the area and a tough trading environment.
That’s where they sought the help of CPM, which they heard about from another cafe owner.
They chose to go with our “ Short Black Strategy “, which is designed to lay down the marketing foundations that sets a solid foundation up to build a strong brand and attract customers. The strategy is a multi-pronged approach that brings in attention from all areas a potential customer would be looking to find your cafe or restaurant. This is far more comprehensive than just posting up on social media and hoping for the best. It’s a formula that’s been continually honed and tweaked over 6 years and servicing over 100 hospitality clients until the right mix had been found.
It started with a shoot from one of Sydney’s best food photographers to capture the product and space spectacularly as this would be the basis for the new image of the cafe.
We then made sure that the forward content for the 3 months was planned out in advance to tell the story with the right mix of food, people, and lifestyle photos and videos. Posts for Facebook, Instagram would go up at the most ideal time for them daily with Instagram stories also being done daily.
Influencers from the CPM influencer community would also visit the cafe and spread the word to their large followings. A wide variety of bloggers would visit from the Food, lifestyle, and fitness communities as they all have very different audiences and a wide reach across Sydney.
PR and press were achieved in the local publications which brought a strong local following of repeat customers. In the area, it was identified that the local customers would be the most loyal and likely to be repeat ones so a lot of the attention and press was directed in that area.
The social paid Ad strategy focused mainly on the local audience rather than spreading the next too wide. This was achieved on a very small ad budget with different offerings and images always being presented and changed on a strategic basis.
Another area we concentrated on was everywhere else that the cafe would be seen on its digital footprint. These would be places such as the Google business listing, Zomato, Trip Advisor, local listing boards, etc. All the relevant current images menus and videos were then uploaded to all the sites which made sure that everything was up to date, looking its best, and continually updated. It’s not only important to be consistent on social platforms but on all the other rating and listing sites as your customers can find you from everywhere depending on their age and demographics.
There were also many other strategies that were contained in the Short Black package that combined with the ones above to make a highly effective complete and comprehensive marketing strategy.
When the COVID lockdowns kicked in, 7th Heaven was just as heavily impacted like everyone else in the industry. We quickly pivoted the marketing to takeaway and saturated local area marketing to quickly build up awareness and a loyal customer base during this time. By doing this we started to build a loyal fanbase that we had started with. This really helped them to survive the toughest days of the lockdown.
Once the lockdown lifted they already had a good loyal audience and we expanded the marketing to cover more and started to build up a good base. We knew there were more people at home during the week so we changed the marketing to suit them and then used the weekend marketing to attract visitors to the area. We are continuing to have an adaptive approach in this COVID-affected environment and changing to suit the rules and consumer trends as they change.
By being adaptive, flexible, and consistent CPM was able to help 7th heaven thrive again when so many others were struggling. James, the owner really understands how marketing has been able to help him achieve his goals during this tough period and how important it is to continually keep in contact with your customers!
We are small business owners too and understand the challenges and constraints that other small business owners go through. That’s why CPM was first formed and our aim is to take away the hassle of the all-important aspect of marketing, which brings customers and cashflow into the business.
We want to bring professional marketing services that other larger companies get to the small business owners who need them the most.
If you are interested in learning the whole strategy and how this can apply to you, then contact us so when can give you an obligation-free assessment. CPM is Sydney’s leading hospitality marketing specialist and can help you too!
FROM 7TH HEAVEN OWNER
"We heard about CPM through word-of-mouth referrals from other businesses like ours. Hearing success stories from past clients inspired us to recruit their help in marketing our cafe. We own a cafe in Sutherland Shire and face tough competition in the local area, so knew that marketing was required to assist in boosting awareness. When we hired CPM, we were realistic about our expectations of the effect the marketing efforts would have on our business.
To our surprise, within a month of working with CPM, we were already feeling the positive effects of their marketing efforts. The professional photo-shoot captured our offering beautifully and allowed us to showcase this online. We were also able to pick up a feature in a notable local publication, had a string of social influencers visit us, and our social media following grew considerably in a matter of weeks – which led customers to our door.
As the campaign has continued, we have been progressively getting busier despite a competitive retail environment. We managed to increase our revenues by 27.5% within 2 short months, which has offset the initial cost of the campaign, and then some. We now have a steady stream of customers as well as a strong local base of regulars.
Now all that’s left is keeping up with the ongoing demand. CPM has been with us every step of the way, helping us to execute ideas and strategies that have actually worked. Their professionalism and can-do attitude are exactly what we needed to bring our cafe to the next level.
Without a doubt believe that if you have pride in your business and really believe in its success, team up with CPM and try your best to retain the new customers that are brought in via the excellent social media management of Claire and her amazing team."
"James Sidrak, Owner of 7th Heaven Sutherland"