Winter’s just around the corner! In certain states of the U.S, snowflakes are gracefully falling from the sky. Time to bring out your winter coats, mittens and scarves to make sure you keep yourselves warm this winter season. However, for those of you who own an ice cream shop, you may not be as excited for the upcoming holidays because this means that the cold weather will have a significant impact on your business.
It’s simply a no-brainer that ice cream parlors normally experience less business during winter days. But if you’re reading this, you may be thinking of ways on how to help your business to continue to thrive during the holiday season. Believe it or not, there's definitely reasons why you need to keep your ice cream paror open for winter.
Below are some ideas on how to boost your sales, keep your customers engaged and how to market your ice cream shop during winter.
You don’t have to keep your menu the same all year long. Try thinking outside the box and create new products to promote to your customers, such as hot drinks. The winter air can get chilly and people would most likely search for something to keep them warm. Why not offer them warmer choices such as a cup of your classic brew or even a hearty cup of cocoa? When you promote them, mention that these are only a limited edition or a holiday special in order to draw more curiosity on your hot beverages. Make sure to serve them in high quality coffee cups because if you provide good quality products, they'll be back!
If you’re lucky enough, people who come to your shop to try your warm beverages may have children tagging along who may want to have a taste of your ice cream, despite the weather outside. Be flexible and open your business to countless possibilities!
Instead of focusing on pushing your ice cream in this incredibly cold season, why not focus some of your energy to think of delicious desserts, such as a hot apple pie which can be perfectly topped with ice cream. There are various desserts that you can experiment from which you can prepare at home and partner with ice cream. This way, you are still able to increase your sales without having to eliminate ice cream from your menu altogether.
The biggest fear of any ice cream shop owner for the winter season is not just the possible drop in sales but also the chances of getting forgotten by their customers. In order to keep your customers engaged and up to date with your ice cream shop, connect with them through social media. Post photos of your signature ice cream just to remind them of what they are missing on, or give them a sneak peek of the new flavors that you have created to build up a sense of excitement and anticipation. After all, it’s not going to be winter all year, right? Keep your customers updated!
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