Case Question
Cool Beans Cafe is a small, local coffee shop located in Boston, MA that operates not for profit, raising funds for veterans and their families. It began serving its customers three years ago. The shop has a menu of 12 drinks; 7 hot and 5 cold, which are priced above the local Starbucks but below other small cafes in the area. For its first two and a half years of operations, Cool Beans Cafe saw high sales growth, but over the past 6 months its revenues have seen almost no growth. Here, revenue is defined as the total amount of money the store collects from its customers through sales.
Cool Beans Cafe’s manager has reached out to our consultant group to help them determine how to boost the store’s revenues for the future. They have drafted four potential strategies and are looking for our recommendation:
1. Strategy One: Increasing the number of sales made to each existing customer using the existing menu
2. Strategy Two: Increasing the number of customers buying from the existing menu
3. Strategy Three: Increasing the number of customers by changing the menu to attract new customers
4. Strategy Four: Increasing the price of the existing menu items
Which strategy is the best option for Cool Beans Cafe to pursue? In your response, make note of both the risks and advantages of that strategy, and address at least three specific ideas for implementing your chosen strategy (e.g., if you chose Strategy Two, how can they increase the number of customers? If you chose Strategy Four, how should they decide what their new price should be?).