VIVO Cafes Using just the right ingredients to ensure business success

The online version of Nett Magazine www.nett.com.au recently published an excellent article written by Bernard Tanner, Chief Operating Officer of Commonwealth Bank Local Business Banking. The article features VIVO Cafes in Sydney CBD and quotes by owner, Angela Vithoulkas, on how restaurants were able to survive the tough times of the year 2009.  They discovered what VIVO’s secrets were in order that others could maybe apply to them to their own hospitality businesses.

As corporate expenditure decreased, VIVO Cafes needed to review their offerings and service to provide their customers with what they were needing at the time.  This included a major renovation of their flagship store at 388 George Street to ensure the right look and atmosphere as well as tripling their display of ‘food-to-go’.   This provides time-poor office workers a much larger choice for quick lunch and breakfast takeaways.

As well as fast take-away options and less expensive cafe fare, VIVO offers more sophisticated offerings to appeal to the serious business luncher.

VIVO also introduced a prepaid electronic coffee card, giving their customers a 20% discount — not just on
coffee, but on anything they chose.

“We already had a huge coffee trade,so we didn’t need to build on it,” Angela Vithoulkas says. “But customers could use the card to spend on food or any other drinks, and they were rewarded instantly. So customers who usually only bought coffee with us might decide to also buy lunch with their card to get the discount, rather than going elsewhere. It really helped keep customers loyal.”

The card also appealed to companies, who could give them as gifts to staff.   This ensured that staff could still have lunch on the company, but at a fixed cost — and a discount.

Like many businesses, VIVO Cafe has shown that online marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach a
sophisticated audience. As well as their website, they use a blog and Twitter to build their brand and speak
directly to customers who live and work online.

Click here to read the entire article and gain more good business advice for this economic climate.