When looking into a prospective location, there are many things that you will need to consider to see if it will be a feasible opportunity.
Not only do you need to make sure that it will provide you with the buying customers that you require to make a profit, but you will also want to know that you will be able to properly place and service your machines once you have come to an agreement with the business owner.
There are a few questions that you can ask yourself when you are looking into a certain location as a potential placement for your vending machines.
For example, how many customers or employees does the prospective location have on site on any given day? Does the location already have vending machines? If there are already machines on site, are they in direct competition with what you have to offer? What are the widths of the doors at the location -- will your equipment fit? Are there stairs that you will need to climb or descend in order to place and service your machines? By answering these questions, you will get a much clearer idea as to whether or not the location in question has potential as a profitable and practical opportunity.
After all, if there are already drink machines at the location and there is only a small staff and no customers, then your own drink machines likely will not do as well as they could in a place that does not have direct competition and that has a larger number of people to whom you can sell your product.
Furthermore, if you cannot get your machines and/or servicing equipment easily to the location, then it may not be worth your while.
Your time is expensive and the longer it takes you to do your routes, the fewer machines you can have and the less money you will make in the long run.
After this initial research, you can look into the type of customers that the location has to offer.
This aligns well with the answers you will have obtained throughout the initial research.
To do this thoroughly, you will need to actually head over to the location and have a look around.
Speak to people there and find out about foot traffic, what they like and what they do not like, and their current vending machine use.
Listen carefully to their answers, writing them down if possible, and ask follow-up questions to obtain further clarity.
If there are already vending machines at the location, ask specific questions about how they are already used and serviced.
Find out how frequently the owner comes to refill the machines, whether he or she takes requests, and if problems obtain adequate responses.
Find out what the current owner is doing well and where the service is lacking in the minds of the people currently at the location.
Then, find out if it is possible for you to do better.
Once you have decided that a potential location could be a good spot to place a machine, it is time to consider the compatibility of the situation with your own vending machine business.
Think about the machines you have and the products you offer.
Are these the kind of things that would do well in the location you are contemplating? If so, it may be worth your while to try to place the vending machine there and see how it goes.
There is no guarantee for finding the right spot in advance, but by performing a quality analysis, you will certainly increase your odds.