Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
Round 15 miles from Disneyland, Sunbliss Café in Anaheim, California echoes the cheery spirit of the theme park. After garnering social media buzz with its vivid blue lattes and Instagrammable inside, Sunbliss has turn out to be a well-liked vacation spot for espresso, tea, and wholesome eats like smoothie bowls and avocado toast. Lately, Sunbliss was awarded the #6 spot on Yelp’s High 100 Locations to Eat, a listing of one of the best eating places throughout the U.S., with the assistance of votes from Yelp customers.
Proprietor Tani Ahmed didn’t all the time see herself working her personal restaurant, a lot much less an award-winning one. Whereas engaged on the company facet of a giant beverage firm, she met varied restaurateurs and franchise homeowners who impressed her to begin her personal café. Since Tani had no restaurant expertise, the primary approach she realized to open a restaurant was doing analysis on YouTube.
“I had contemplated it for a couple of years, and I really feel like I’ve entrepreneurial blood. It is in me, and it is one thing particular that you need to have,” Tani stated. “It is like leaping off a cliff and constructing a parachute on the best way down.”
When making a menu for Sunbliss, Tani wished to carry a singular spin to the entire drinks. As a substitute of a basic mocha or latte, prospects can discover untraditional flavors just like the “Cloudy Coconut” chilly brew topped with candy blue foam. This selection is appreciated by prospects like Yelp reviewer Alyssa Mae L.
“I am one hundred percent into making an attempt new issues,” Alyssa Mae stated. “I actually love when espresso outlets do not simply have the generic latte, cappuccino, macchiato, so I discover myself gravitating in the direction of locations which have distinctive flavors.”
Sunbliss prides itself on providing the freshest merchandise attainable, comparable to sauces and syrups made in-house from domestically sourced components. Nevertheless, a problem to utilizing these high-quality gadgets is having to cost a heftier value to compensate for his or her value.
Tani stated it comes all the way down to good advertising to promote the product to prospects who’re skeptical of Sunbliss’s costs, particularly in comparison with a typical espresso store or café. For Sunbliss, this implies utilizing social media advertising as a chance to teach prospects on the well being advantages of its menu gadgets.
“We do educational-based advertising. What’s humorous is that folks do not actually see how essential it’s [to] spend extra in your well being,” Tani stated. “They will hesitate to purchase a juice for $9.50, however they will not hesitate to purchase a $20 drink like a cocktail. For $9.50, you are including good vitamins and good micro organism to your physique.”
Whereas Alyssa Mae cherished the drink she ordered at Sunbliss, the welcoming customer support made her expertise memorable and impressed her to go away a 5-star overview. Initially, Alyssa Mae was overwhelmed by Sunbliss’s in depth menu, however the workers helped by giving her solutions of what to order.
“They actually gave me endurance when navigating [the menu],” Alyssa Mae stated. “It was early within the morning, and I do know they have been entering into the groove of a morning shift, so it was good to obtain that form of endurance and get some guiding factors on what’s good.”
To make sure prospects like Alyssa Mae have a memorable expertise on the café, Tani emphasizes the significance of constructing a powerful tradition amongst her workers, which comes throughout to prospects. This begins on the hiring course of, the place Tani ensures group members haven’t solely the mandatory abilities but additionally the identical values as Sunbliss.
To maintain prospects coming again, Tani established customer support tips all workers members must comply with, comparable to asking each buyer what their identify is. After being open for under a few years, she’s pleased with the sturdy relationships her workers has constructed with prospects.
“We see the identical individuals each single day. Our staff are the explanation we now have that following,” Tani stated. “We’re all human. We expertise dangerous days. Anytime we are available with some unhappy information or simply that dangerous day hovering over us, it seems like if you begin your shift, every thing turns round as a result of there’s all the time somebody that you simply acknowledge or know that is available in and has that self-lifting vitality that rubs off on you.”
Different companies can study from Sunbliss’s journey to Yelp’s High 100 Locations to Eat, together with the next ideas:
- Convey creativity to your merchandise. Do not shy from bringing a private, distinctive contact to your online business’s choices, as Tani did with Sunbliss’s colourful espresso drinks.
- Use social media as a strong advertising software. Exterior of buyer interactions, social media is an effective way to attach with prospects and educate them in your product choices.
- Foster a collaborative group. A powerful group spirit will come throughout in buyer interactions. Think about creating customer support tips based mostly in your core values for workers to comply with.
- Make the shopper expertise memorable. Get to know prospects on a private degree by asking them how their days are going and what their names are. Remembering your repeat prospects may help flip them into regulars.
Hearken to the episode beneath to listen to instantly from Tani and Alyssa Mae, and subscribe to Behind the Evaluation for extra from new enterprise homeowners and reviewers each Thursday.
Accessible on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Soundcloud.
