Being Organized

My grandfather used to say: “measure twice, cut once.” What a great double-check philosophy that has always been helpful. Double check that you have all you need before setting up or heading out.

Be Organized: Frequency

We recommend actively sampling and demonstrating three times per day.

Sample more frequently at the beginning of a promotion, when customers are more likely to try a new product. Continue sampling new products throughout the promotion to sustain customer interest and purchases.

Sample featured food, beverages, and products to customers standing in line to help increase the average ticket.

Sample to a full store to introduce existing customers to our featured food, beverages, or product. They will then be more likely to purchase these items the next time they return.

Sample at the start and end of your store’s peak periods, as sampling is most effective when you have a strong customer flow.

Be Organized: Schedule

Designate on the daily schedule which employees will perform the sampling, what product will be sampled, and the time and location that the sampling will occur.

Have enough staff to have dedicated samplers/demonstrators. Don’t count on pulling someone from their existing tasks to “sample if they have time.”

Be Organized: Be Prepared

For busy stores, establish a total quantity goal (e.g., 100 beverage samples each day), while maintaining a minimum frequency of sampling three times per day. Budget for food costs when sampling new promotional food products. For example, know how much food sampling costs your store and sample according to your budget.

High-volume food sampling (100 samples per day) on high-cost food items will increase your product mark-out budget.

Build employee enthusiasm about sampling by carefully tracking who is in the lead for the most sampling activities completed. Recognize your team’s contributions.

A successful sampling program requires appropriate planning. As a first step, set a store sampling goal and communicate it to employees.

Be Organized: Employee Awareness

All baristas in the store should be aware of what product is being sampled and be familiar with its attributes. For example, when baristas sample Vanilla Latte Extra Shot to customers, they should explain what makes it unique. Knowing your products and being able to talk about them is another key point in converting samples to sales.

Ensure that all employees have tasted the featured products and reviewed any “need-to-know” information before the promotion starts. This helps them have meaningful conversations with customers about the products.

Be Organized: Sampling to Employees

Be sure all employees have tried or tested the products you’re featuring and can describe them easily.