That coffee shop doesn’t have to have custom drink carriers. They cost $1 each to get. That might sound cheap, but there’s a minimum order of 8,000 and after shipping, tax, and employee time to accept delivery, unpack, organize, and pre-open (because they arrive compacted and nearly stuck shut) it costs them around $11,000 to have custom drink carriers.
We could stop the math there and forgo the carriers. Not worth it. Except…
Except the carriers have artwork on it from a local artist. The carriers have social profiles printed on them for people to follow the brand. The carriers help those who carry them share a story without words – that they’re clearly the coffee runner, the one that’s bound to surprise and delight others with caffeine, the person that’s willing to hit pause in their hectic day to do something for a group.
Along the way back with the carrier, about 15 people notice the colors and designs and wonder where the person is coming from. One person a week ends up asking the person with the carrier. “Where did you get that coffee from?” The carrier tells them about the coffee shop – happier than ever that they got to spread the word. The asker heads to it.
Can you begin to do the math of how many people notice the brand and how many might go in each week because of a custom carrier? And this is exponential. It’s not just one person per week because every few weeks that new person gets coffee for a group and subsequently walks out with a carrier … of which 15 people notice and one person asks where they got the coffee from…
And so on.
Of course, this is harder math to calculate. It requires assumptions and hopes and good design. It requires a little vulnerability to be wrong and it requires a hefty down payment on those first 8,000 carriers.
When you’re faced with math, it’s worth pausing to reflect if you’re calculating to survive (oh god, we have to save that $11,000!) or if you’re calculating to thrive (there’s no limit to the return on investment from these carriers if we do it right!).
Neither is wrong, per se, but important that we know the math mindset we’re in.
Stay Positive & Math It Up
Photo credit
- Truly Memorable - October 13, 2024
- Things To Take - October 12, 2024
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