1541

Pastries and
Coffee
Audit

Table of
Contents
3
4
5
6

15
16
29
63

Executive Summary
Audit Tools
SWOT
7 Ps
Survey Respondents
Summary
Survey Findings
Recommendations
1541 Brand

Executive
Summary
1541 Pastries and Coffee is a locally owned coffee
shop in College Station. Unlike other coffee shops in
town, 1541 targets an older demographic, makes all
of their food and drink products in house, and puts a
strong emphasis on quality.
This audit was performed to find any areas in the
1541 business model that could be improved. Furthermore, recommendations were formed with the
intention of the owners using them as helpful guidelines if they choose to make changes to 1541.
I hope you will find this audit and its recommendations helpful and insightful. I have enjoyed working
with you.

-Karli Ragan

Audit Tools

Survey
Personal experience as a
1541 customer
Knowledge and skills obtained through studies and
real world experience

SWOT
Strengths

Weaknesses

Coffee Art

In house made, quality food offerings

More labor costs than many

coffee shops in the area

Atmosphere isnt viewed as the

best by customers

Differentiated target market

(missing the college crowd, a lucrative segment in the area)

Branding

Macaroons

Differentiated target market

Opportunities

Lunch crowds

Unique dessert/pastry options

Threats

Other shops in the area that may

enter into the macaroon market

Made to order cakes (bridal/

special occasion business)

Other shops doing more events

with the public

Special events

Instagram

Loyalty programs

Coffee shops trying to position

themselves as a luxury, older than
college coffee shop

7 Ps
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
Physical Evidence
People
Processes

Product
Defined: Designed to satisfy the
wants and needs of the target
market.
Application: Providing coffee
and food items to consumers.
Strengths

Weaknesses

Artisan coffee art

Few lunch items

In house made food products with quality ingredients

Pumpkin/seasonal offerings

Coffee sleeve

No mugs for consumers

staying to drink their
coffee

Mugs to sell with logo

Gluten free offerings

Macaroons

Price
Defined: What the customer gives

Application: What customers

trade off in order to consume 1541
products.
Strengths

Fulfills want for energy, relaxation, study place or

hunger

Weaknesses

More expensive than some

other locations in town

Place
Defined: How customers get a product offering

Application: How customers consume a 1541 product

Strengths

Weaknesses

Location (easy access)

Macaroons run out quickly

Typically there is usually

adequate seating at the
store

Only one location (as opposed to Starbucks many)

Parking can be an issue at

times

Other locations are open

everyday and for longer
hours

Typically you do not have

to wait in line

Promotion
Defined: How an organization communicates what they have to offer to
their customers

Application: The different ways

1541 communicates with their target
market
Strengths

Weaknesses

Frequently updated Facebook

Do not have goods for sale

with logos

Facebook has many followers

Logo on car

Logo is recognizable to consumers

Not selling any items at register that could increase revenue (like jewelry, mugs, etc)

No Instagram/twitter

No regular special events

No contests/customer feedback

Physical
Evidence

Defined: The way a product, ser-

vice, and everything about your company appears from the outside.

Application: 1541s servicescape;

the tangible aspects customers encounter.

Strengths

Logo used often

Consistent usage of Lavazza

blue

Weaknesses

Website doesnt have unique

photos of 1541 for all products
listed

Employees dressed appropriately and look clean cut

Remove online ordering will be

available soon from website

Clean bathroom, tables and facility

More information regarding

events like macaroons

Atmosphere was not highly rated

by customers

Too much emphasis on Lavazza

People
Defined: All people in the service

environment; including service people

and other customers.

Application: 1541's staff and customers.

Strengths

Friendly staff

Weaknesses

Students that may take up

tables from the target market during finals/midterms

Processes
Defined: The procedures, mecha-

nisms, and flow of activities by which

the service is delivered - the service delivery and operating systems.

Application: The process a po-

tential customer of 1541 follows, from

initial searches to the moment they become a customer.
Strengths

Comes up for coffee (#1) and coffee

shop (#4), macaroons (#1)

Comes up on yelp (with good reviews)

Easy to access counter

Easy to view the goods

Weaknesses

Doesnt display promentaly gluten

free, macaroon Wednesday information, sugar free, soy options, or ordering cake information

custom cakes/wedding
cakes/special cakes didnt show up
on main page

gluten free desserts didnt show up

Need better process to order macaroons/custom cakes

Survey

29 Questions
52 responses
82% female, 18% male
82% older than college, 18% college
aged
82% live in CS, 9% live in Bryan,
One respondent lives in Bryan and
works in CS, and another lives in
Austin but visits when in CS

43% said they come in less than 3

times a week, 35% 3-7 times a
week, and 22% more than 7 times a
week.

Survey
Findings

Customer
Acquisition

39% heard about 1541 through a friend,

26% through an online search (like yelp)
and 35% heard about 1541 through
other sources like:
1. Walking in/driving by
2. Gluten free desserts
3. Picture posted on Facebook

87% of the survey respondents said

they were very likely to refer 1541 to a
friend and 13% said they were likely to
refer a friend.

Breakfast

57% were interested in English muffin

option with eggs, potatoes and German
sausage
43% were interested in the quiche with
spinach

Other preferences included:

Croissant (3 respondents)
Chocolate croissant (1)

Breakfast tacos (1)

Bagel or English muffin with egg
and bacon (1)
Something with strawberries (1)

Sandwiches

78% would prefer a toasted sandwich

61% said they would only come in less than once a

week if you offered more sandwich choices. The other
39% said they would come in 1-3 times a week.

Customers were NOT interested in either of the two

possible sandwich choices of 1. turkey with lettuce, tomato, cheese and mayo or 2. ham, lettuce, cheese,
mayo because neither options got votes.

Instead, customers wanted:

Chicken salad sandwich (5)
Grilled veggies (2)
Turkey and pesto (2)
No mayo (3)
Italian sandwich no one else has (1)
Mozzerella, tomato, bazil (1)
Interesting grilled cheeses (1)

anything with bacon (1)

Lunch
Customers noted in the survey that they
wanted food offerings that they couldnt easily make at home. Customers also hinted at
wanting sandwiches, soups and salads with a
European flair.
Soup (7)
Salads (6)
Sandwiches (4)
Chicken salad on a croissant (2)

Fruit option (1)

Tomato, mozzerlla and basil sandwich (1)
Flatbread personal pizza/flatbread (1)
Interesting grilled cheese sandwiches (1)

Macaroons
Consider new flavors, customer could
pick multiple flavors they were interested
in. Respondents could pick more than
one option for this question.

Pistachio (57%)
Lemon (52%)
Lavender (48%)
Others included:
Rose (1)
Grand mariner (orange) (1)
Hazelnut praline (1)

Desserts
30% would be interested in Mexican Flan
on a regular basis
Other customers said they would prefer:
Specialty cookies (2)

Tres Leches (2)

Crme brulee (2)
Chocolate croissants (1)
Tart (1)
Cheesecake (1)
Chocolate cupcakes (1)
Arroz con leche (1)

Gluten Free

78% of your respondent were not interested in gluten free desserts.

Those that were interested wanted:
something chocolate (1)
Cookies (1)

Cake
Preference

83% of respondents would prefer custom cakes and 17% would prefer premade cakes.

Possible New
Products to
add to 1541s
Product mix
70% of all survey respondents said they
would be interested in fair trade and local products.
35% were interested in coffee Mugs
22% T-Shirts
Others:
Tea (2)

Drip coffee beans (1)

Expansion
70% would prefer for an additional 1541
to be in South College Station, 22% in
Bryan and only 9% at a kiosk in the mall

Loyalty
Program
96% of all survey respondents would be
interested in a loyalty program

Atmosphere
Although customers felt the service was
good at 1541 and they felt welcomed, they
thought the atmosphere of 1541 could improve.

Bringing
customers in
more often
Customers said they would come into 1541
more often if there were loyalty programs,
more comfortable seating, taste testing, and
events. (and not if there was a TV )

Awareness

70% of the survey respondents did not

know that they could preorder macaroons.
65% of respondents did not know that you
offered soy milk and almond milk for your
drinks.

87% did not know that the macaroons,

crme brulee and chocolate cake were gluten free
26% did not know you made custom cakes

This is important because these customers

are your most involved customers and they
didnt know that you offered these services.

Social
Media
100% of the respondents follow you on Facebook (not surprising since the survey was distributed through Facebook), but 0% of the respondents follow you on Instagram and Pinterest.
Survey respondents would prefer (ranked):
1. Updates on whats going on in the
shop

2. Contests and promotions

3. Photos of items in the shop and
information on the products (tied)
4. More information about the
owners

Recommendations

Product

Teas

Consider implementing teas into 1541s product

offerings. Many consumers noted that they would
want tea in the survey and it would be an inexpensive product offering with little preparation
time.

Make the tea an experience for consumers, differentiating 1541 from other local coffee shops. Allow the consumers to brew their own tea with
personal tea sets.

Consider partnering with Cat Spring Tea. This

company was started by two Aggies and is made
in Texas. Promote this partnership via social media. I have already contacted the company and
they interested (see email on next page)

Sell teas at the register, along with novelty tea

brewing items

Lunch

Give consumers unique, high quality options that they couldnt easily make at
home.
Sandwiches with fresh ingredients like pesto, mozzarella, basil.
Chicken salad on a croissant roll should also be implemented
Fresh salads and soup were also very popular from survey respondents. These
should be easily prepared items.
Consider:
Mexican tortilla soup
Minestrone soup

Salads with Kalamata olives, cucum-

Breakfast
Try the English muffin option and the
quiche option out. Respondents to the
survey also wanted croissants/chocolate
croissants.

Dessert/
macaroons

Have fun with the dessert and macaroons, try the different options out that
customers asked for and maybe even
some they didnt.

New Menu
Items
For all new menu items include a feedback survey to get the consumers opinions on these new items and consider
making these items a Taste Testing Tuesday item to get the consumers involved.
As always, promote these new items via
social media.
(Find out more about surveys and Taste
Test Tuesday on later pages)

New Products
to Sell

Fair trade chocolate

T-shirts

Promotional coffee mugs:

Give a certain percentage off on

drip coffee if the customer brings in a
1541 travel mug
Links to different products ideas
to sell at: http://
www.pinterest.com/
karliragan/1541-pc/

New Products
to Sell
Use promotional mugs as the dine in option for customers.
I have posted some ideas for promotional
mugs at:

http://
www.pinterest.com/
karliragan/1541-pc/

Place

Expansion
If you were to add another location, it
seems like South College Station may be
the best bet.
However, I think you guys should focus on
maintaining this location and improving
on other recommendations before deciding on expansion.

Promotion

Social
Media

Make a unique hashtag to make your

business stand out on social media,
#1541 #1541P&C
Promote your unique coffee art;
i. create a hash tag for every coffee
art post; #1541coffeeart
ii. Encourage customers to post
photos of their coffee art; see flyer
on next page for contest idea
iii. Surveymonkey.com see Survey
page for more details

Contest

Social
Media

Continued

Other things to post about:

Links to surveys for the business

Information about the coffee

Fun facts about the owners

Questions like what items would you like

to see in the store? whats your favorite
dessert?
Information about the tea company/fair
trade items you may potentially sell
Fun facts about coffee/desserts

Special
Events
Every couple of weeks, host an event to
create interest from current employees
as well as bring in new ones

Taste testing Tuesdaythis could be an

event on the first Tuesday of every month
where you give consumers a sample of a
new product that you want to get consumers opinion on. Include a small survey for consumers to take so you can get
their honest opinions and make the consumers feel like their voices are being

Special
Events
PROMOTE
THIS! Make a
Facebook
post.

Loyalty Program
Implement one, but make sure its a measurable. Look into the options that your POS offers.
If it can be linked to a customers credit card or
gives you info on how often they come in/what
they purchase that would be the best.

Signage

Make sure you make it known to customers

that you offer custom cakes, soy/almond
milk, and which desserts are gluten free.
Include stars next to the items on the menu
that are gluten free.
Make Facebook posts as well as display a sign
of these offerings in the store (see flyer on
next page)

Flyer

Physical
Evidence

Website

Add photos of actual 1541 products

(and not generic product images) this is evident on the coffee/
beverages page
Include the slogan on the web page
Have a picture of an artisan coffee
with coffee art as the first picture a
consumer will see when visiting the
web page
Remove the first photo on the home
page photo slide show, too blurry

Website

Continued

Add more photos to

the portfolio section of custom orders. Customers will want to see all
the previous work

Ad a feed back tab and post a

survey monkey survey for regular
feedback.
Add a order tab with an order
sub category for custom cakes (a
survey monkey survey that is always open) and instructions on ordering macaroons

Processes

Surveys

Use surveys regularly for customer feedback and to

streamline processes

Have an ongoing survey for feedback

Have an order survey for macaroons every week. Post

the link to Facebook as well as instructions (include a
closing date and let your customers know the closing
date).

Also, you can make a survey to collect orders for custom

cakes

1. Go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
myaccount_join.aspx to create a free account
2. Survey ideas (with already made templates):
i. Which coffee art do you want this week?
ii. An order form for macaroons:
Open it every week from Thursday until whichever
day you prefer. Promote it on your Facebook.
iii. Feedback form (ongoing)

Physical
Evidence

Branding

Stick with the same color scheme

throughout all methods of communication with customers
Maintain consistent fonts

Find what differentiates your brand

and from the competition and use it
to solidify your brand image in your
customers mind

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of 1541 seems to be the

most lacking according to consumers.
Higher finishes with a Spanish/European
influence may be more in line with 1541s
brand, and may enforce consumers perception of 1541 being a luxury, craftsmanship coffee brand
Consumers wanted comfortable seating
Consider smaller tables to detract students
from wanting to study (this will solve the
People problemalso encourage them
to use the bar for seating)

Atmosphere
Inspiration

Atmosphere
Paint color for wall behind counter
(first wall you see walking in)

Redesign

Continued
Continued

Reclaimed wood bar

For over the register
(first thing you will
notice walking in, a
statement piece for
the shop)

Links to different products ideas to sell at: http://www.pinterest.com/

karliragan/1541-pc/

Atmosphere
Continued
Paint color for other
walls (besides wall
behind the counter)
For over some of the
tables

Reclaimed wood table

(same wood on bar) with
interesting/European pedestals

Flooring

Overstock.com (currently
$311 for a set of two)
Overstock.com (currently
$197 for a set of two)

Links to different products ideas to sell at: http://www.pinterest.com/

karliragan/1541-pc/

Keeping
Track of
Margins

Find out which products are really making the most revenue for your company.
Remember, time is money.
Some of the products are very time intensive, and only sell for a few dollars.
Decide which products to really promote after finding which products are
the best investment for your time.

Branding
Consider removing the Lavazza coffee
cups and sleeves from your products as
consumers may not associate 1541 with
the brand. Furthermore, many consumers may not even know what Lavazza is
and it may be causing confusion. This
may be an item that would be great to
test via survey.

The 1541
Brand

Brand

Associations
Popular terms used:

Quality (5)

Delicious (5)

Terms alluding to artistry (4)

Fresh (2)

Authentic (2)

Great service (2)

Friendly/welcoming (5)

Appeal
The top reasons customer choose to come
into 1541 instead of other coffee shops are:
1. Supporting a local business
2. The coffee quality

3. Service & fresh food items (tied)

Other reasons were the family atmosphere,
the macaroons, croissants, tiramisu and
coffee art.

Positioning
Defined : an attempt to manage how potential customers perceive a product or
service. An aspect of differentiation.

High quality
House made / Home
made
Elegant
Cultural (Spanish elements,
artisan quality products,
future artwork)
Local

Connoisseur

Slogan
Guidelines: Should represent ideals from
brand positioning

Current Slogan:
Taste just like grandmas, its
made from scratch
Proposed Slogans:
Our passion, in a cup
Elegantly crafted with you in
mind
Our passion, crafted with you
in mind

Branding
Template

A tool to make sure your marketing

message are consistent in color and
feel. Helps reinforce brand image for
consumers.
Use these colors, fonts, patterns etc
for all future marketing
Template is on next page!

Thank you
Ive loved getting this opportunity and I
hope you find the recommendations
helpful.
-Karli Ragan