Cafe Kombucha - Vegan Cafe
I was delighted to be approached by Elgin's first vegan cafe in its early days; days so early that the three storey historic, listed building was still in the process of renovation. They were 6 weeks away from completion which was an ideal time to secure a place both online and geographically. By 'drip feeding' enticing titbits of information and teasing images, this grew a phenomenal amount of interest which had the keenest of visitor interrupting the workforce, handing in CV's and trying to take pictures through the slightly ajar door. Of course, the subject of veganism is of considerable interest to many people who were gently encouraged to share the information and posts. A great degree of the legwork was inevitably done by the social media followers after the news had been spread across multiple platforms, this allowed time to be set aside for other concentrations in the project.
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Google were informed that a new business was starting, TripAdvisor and other food related, high profile sites were registered with, a template for the website was building, and the opening night was organised: music, tapas, wine and attendees. A MailChimp signup form had previously been integrated into Facebook which gathered nearly 300 interested potential customers and the launch was first announced by mail-drop, secondly on Facebook. Attendance tickets were snapped up within a matter of days and turnout was at maximum capacity.
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On the first official trading day, queues were out the door half an hour before opening. SO much interest and excitement had thrown the town and surrounding areas into a frenzy and people were loving the beautifully refurbished, ex-council offices. All businesses who helped with the interior were shared and promoted across the same channels which in turn, grew further interest and reciprocal links.
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The cafe has been established for 6 months now and with the foundations securely set, the business looks set to continue in popularity and reputation. Sarah and the team have been able to concentrate of where their skills lay: catering and hospitality, which they do with exceptional results.
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It has been a joy be a part of this project and I will continue to offer behind the scenes support to ensure web and social media popularity and to market future event launches and events.
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Kate says - "As you may be able to tell, I'm a huge sucker for social media channels and organic reach and when this is done right, the results can be spectacular. A good strong plan is key, especially when the project is of considerable size and maintaining this reputation are also of the utmost importance. Once these strong foundations are in place, considering a few, well placed paid campaigns is a worthwhile investment. While Rambling Scotland will continue to advise and recognise areas that could be strengthened, there is still a degree of procedures that the company must respond to as they require a more personal touch: replying to emails quickly and efficiently, responding to feedback, no matter if negative or positive. Your customers want to see someone 'real' behind the screen. We are not robots, don't be embarrassed to show that."
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For further advice and guidance of getting your new business off the ground, please contact Kate on 07761 753 632 to discuss how we can start your business in the right direction.
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