In today's entrepreneurial wave full of opportunities, vending machines have become a "hot commodity" in the eyes of many entrepreneurs due to their convenience, low cost, and flexible layout advantages. However, what may seem like a simple vending machine startup actually hides many tricks. To successfully start and run this business, you need to understand the following key points first!
1、 Site selection is the primary factor determining success or failure
Matching foot traffic with target customer groups
The core of site selection is to find places with high foot traffic and target customer groups that match the vending machine products. Transportation hubs such as train stations, bus stations, and subway stations are excellent locations. With a constant flow of passengers every day, they often purchase beverages, snacks, and daily necessities to pass the time or meet their travel needs while waiting for trains or transferring.
The office building area cannot be ignored. Office workers are a stable consumer group. They need coffee, functional drinks to refresh themselves during work breaks, or snacks such as nuts and biscuits to fill their stomachs. They choose to place vending machines in the lobby and rest areas of each floor of the office building to avoid running out of business.
There is also a campus where students have a strong preference for snacks, beverages, and cultural and creative products. Vending machines are installed in teaching buildings, dormitory floors, and by the playground. As long as the products are selected correctly, sales will definitely not be poor.
However, while there is a large flow of people, the characteristics of the population should also be considered. For example, in the community, residents pay more attention to the cost-effectiveness of products, and the selection of products should be biased towards affordable mass goods; In the vicinity of high-end shopping malls, people with strong purchasing power can appropriately list some high-quality, imported goods.
Competition situation and site stability
In addition to paying attention to foot traffic and target customers, it is also necessary to examine the competitive situation in the surrounding area. Try to avoid clustering in places where there are already too many vending machines or convenience stores of the same type, unless you have full confidence in attracting customers through unique products, discounted prices, and other advantages.
The stability of the venue is also crucial, and priority should be given to cooperating with venues that operate for a long time and will not easily change their plans, such as public schools, public hospitals, large chain shopping malls, etc. This can ensure a relatively stable operating environment for vending machines and avoid the cost increase and customer loss caused by frequent repositioning.
2、 Selecting products, grasping the key to customers' "stomach" and "heart"
Keeping up with the trend and adapting to the scene
When selecting products, it is important to keep up with current consumer and fashion trends. When a certain popular snack becomes popular on social media or a newly launched specialty drink receives high praise, introducing them to vending machines in a timely manner can often attract many customers who try it out.
At the same time, it is essential to customize product selection based on the scene in which the vending machine is located. In the scenic area, in addition to regular drinks and snacks, prepare more souvenirs and snacks with local characteristics to meet the needs of tourists for souvenirs and food tasting; In hospitals, convenient food, drinking water, and simple medical supplies are more popular because patients and their families have these emergency needs during the medical process.
Product diversity and rational matching
Providing a diverse range of products can meet the preferences and needs of different customers, but it is also important to pay attention to the rationality of product combinations. For example, in the beverage area, there are carbonated drinks, tea drinks, functional drinks, fruit juice, etc; The snack area covers various products such as potato chips, cookies, nuts, candies, etc.
In addition, it can make related recommendations according to consumption scenarios, such as instant noodles with ham sausage, Soy egg, coffee with Dim sum. Such a combination can make it easier for customers to buy all the items they need in one stop, increase the possibility of purchase, and improve the overall sales.
3、 Machine equipment, the fundamental guarantee for stable operation
Equipment quality and function selection
When purchasing a vending machine, it is important to choose equipment with reliable quality and stable performance. Purchasing from a reputable manufacturer is crucial to reduce the hassle of frequent maintenance in the future.
Select machines with suitable functions based on business needs, for example, if you plan to sell refrigerated food or beverages, the refrigeration function must be improved; If you want to operate in scenic spots and other places until night, vending machines with lighting display effects can better attract customers; In addition, vending machines that support multiple payment methods (WeChat, Alipay, credit card, cash, etc.) can also facilitate customers with different payment habits to shop.
Maintenance and upkeep plan
The daily maintenance and upkeep of vending machines cannot be ignored, as they are divided into three parts for use and seven parts for maintenance. Regularly clean the machine body and cargo aisle, check whether the key components such as motors, compressors, and payment systems inside the machine are operating normally, replenish and clean up expired or damaged goods in a timely manner.
Establish a comprehensive emergency response mechanism for faults, prominently post repair phone numbers and other feedback channels on vending machines, so that customers can contact you as soon as they encounter problems. At the same time, you should also be able to quickly arrange professional maintenance personnel to handle faults and reduce the impact of downtime on business.
4、 Operating costs are an important consideration related to profitability
Cost composition analysis
The cost of starting a vending machine business is not limited to equipment procurement and product costs. The rental fees for different locations vary greatly, and although busy areas have high pedestrian traffic, the rent is high. It is necessary to balance the relationship between rent and expected revenue; In addition, replenishment costs, machine maintenance costs, electricity bills, etc. also need to be included in the consideration of operating costs.
Cost control strategy
In terms of cost control, it is possible to negotiate with the venue provider to pay rent based on a share of sales revenue, in order to reduce the initial financial pressure; Bulk purchasing of goods to strive for more favorable purchase prices; Reasonably plan replenishment routes and frequencies to save transportation costs; Regularly maintaining machines, extending their service life, and reducing maintenance costs are strategies to keep operating costs within a reasonable range and ensure profitability.
5、 Marketing promotion to enhance visibility and sales revenue
Combining online and offline
Use online social media platforms, such as creating accounts dedicated to vending machines such as Tiktok, Xiaohongshu, and WeChat official account, to publish product information, promotional activities, user experience sharing and other content, attract potential customers' attention, and guide them to spend at offline vending machine locations.
Offline, eye-catching and attractive posters can be posted around vending machines to showcase new products, discount information, etc. In addition, some on-site promotional activities can be carried out, such as buy one get one free, full discount, etc., to attract passersby to stop and buy, and increase sales.
Membership and Points System
Establish a membership and points system to encourage customers to register as members. Members can enjoy privileges such as product discounts, priority purchase of new products, birthday benefits, etc., and points can be used to redeem products or coupons. This can increase customer stickiness and loyalty, prompting them to choose to shop at your vending machine in the long run. At the same time, by collecting membership data, it can further analyze customer preferences, optimize product selection and marketing activities.
In short, starting a business through vending machines is not an overnight process. The key points of site selection, product selection, machinery and equipment, operating costs, and marketing promotion are interrelated and indispensable. Only by carefully managing and meticulously controlling every aspect can we establish a firm foothold in this field and reap the fruits of entrepreneurial success! Have you been tempted and ready to embark on the journey of starting a vending machine business? Welcome to share your thoughts in the comment section!
