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Coffee shops have so many lessons for those of us who want to make a success online or, indeed, in bricks and mortar. They are usually small, the operation is simple and the whole set up easy to observe and make notes on.
Once again a visit to a local coffee shop stimulated thoughts of mistakes we fail to see when we set up our online stores and other services. Offline/online we consistently make the same mistakes.
It was my own fault. I missed all the signs. I should have known better. There were few patrons (3 as I recall) at this shop when others nearby were bustling. It was in a great location on a beautiful sunny day; all reasons to expect people to be out and about enjoying a cup of coffee. We went into this particular shop because it was near a play area so my friends could supervise their children.
Experiencing customer service and business communication
Walking up to the counter and asking for coffee we were confronted with ‘the sign says go to the other end'. What sign? Ah, there it was on the counter drooping down at just below belt buckle level. Now, I'm not tall but I missed it completely. Why should I even be looking for it? We moved to the ‘other end', about 2-3 meters, and ordered. We were the only ones at the counter. There were two staff. Either one could have taken our order. That's probably called ‘Customer Service'. Customers should take some sort of priority. They are very important to business success. It seems that service reflected the apparently obvious sign.
While we waited 20 minutes for three coffees to arrive, three more unfortunate customers were drawn in. Our coffee was warm, not hot. Why didn't I take notice of the pending signs of disaster and move on to another shop? There are many in this mall, all close by.
I will never go back to that shop although I visit this mall quite often. Would I come back to experience what you have to offer again? Or would I stay away?
Frequently reflect for success
The shop is at an entrance to a large shopping complex, on a very busy mall with a lot of food outlets and a large pedestrian traffic flow. It should be bustling with clientele. The shop on the other side of the entrance always has people at its tables.
So the location is great, passing foot traffic is heavy and consistent, and the weather ideal for sitting under an umbrella for coffee and a chat. Other coffee shops nearby are crowded. The management has some serious reflection to do or they will do poorly.
What are the lessons for us; online or offline?
Signs are key communications
Make important signs truly obvious; place them in plain sight. Make them large or brightly colored, especially if they are a crucial part of communication to your customer. Does your site have any hidden (to the customer) messages that are important to smooth flow and operation? If so, move them or highlight them somehow. Signage must be ranked to allow for priority positioning.
Test and trial
Get someone to visit. Let them browse and buy to test your systems. Sit with them and ask a few pertinent questions about what you wanted their experience and learning to be (what color is …?, where was …?, how much is …?). More importantly, get their comments and observations (ease of use, ordering, finding information, sense of quality, sense of trust …). What you think you have and what the customer experiences may be very different. Make sure the customer experiences what you expect them to. Make sure your systems are as good as you think they are. Make frequent checks of everything to see if it still works.
Live up to your claims - deliver
Customers should get what they expect; more if possible. Anything less is failure. Do you serve coffee at suitable temperature (meeting expectations) and of style ordered (order fulfillment) and within suitable time frame (delivery promise).
In most retail situations customers have pre-conceived expectations. Customers are quick to remind us if any expectations are not met. If we want to do things differently we must tell our customers or educate them so they are not taken by surprise. Online we need to tell customers in detail all that we supply, all they can expect in terms of service and quality and any guarantees we are able to give to them. Then we need to do all this and more.
Too often we look at the online store as if it was removed from reality. We try to invent new propositions and processes for success. Most of what we need for online success has already been well-researched and tested. Why continually invent the new when solutions already exist? This article examines 'coffee shop loyalty'; its strengths and value to online merchants and its offer of free advertising.
I choose what I like
So you do not follow a sporting club; wear only Dior; drive a BMW. You wear whatever you feel like, watch all sorts of sports and drive a car you liked at the time of purchase; not because of its make, you just liked it. As I mentioned in our last article there are many types of loyalty besides brand, sport or club loyalty. Today we will explore one of the most important types of loyalty. One which I call: 'coffee shop loyalty'. This is not to be confused with loyalty programs which must by default be a keen topic of discussion.
Massive, free advertising
Many of us have a favourite coffee shop. We go there week after week. We meet our friends there; we may take business associates there. Not only do we offer the owner repeat custom, we bring friends along. By bringing business associates for coffee we are, in effect, recommending the shop as a good place to visit to the broader community. This increase in custom costs the coffee shop owner not one single dollar. The owner potentially acquires well-populated chains of customers from your friends and business associates through a single alliance; you. He pays you nothing.
This is massive, free advertising. You must ponder its success and the reasons for its success frequently. Can we find the secret recipe? To tell the truth, there is no one single and global solution. There are many aspects to 'coffee club loyalty' because we see people sitting, chatting, drinking and enjoying themselves at crowded coffee shops all across town. Examine those that you see often-crowded; examine even more closely those that seem to have a few less patrons than the others.
Getting it right
Why scrutinize empty shops? Surely we want to see what the good ones are doing to keep such repeat crowds sitting at their tables? Absolutely right! But is it not equally important to see if we can find out what the empty ones do, don't do, in order to remain empty? They are so regularly empty; it must be planned so it is up to us to see what they have in their plan. We will leave it out of our planning.
Gather information about people
Gathering information about people is just as important as gathering information about the goods we sell or the services we supply. So how do we start, remembering the budget for research is small? Think back for a moment to your favourite coffee shop and see if we can get some sort of criteria which we could use to plan for a successful coffee shop. See if we can stretch this to our online store. Make mental notes next time you are there. Better still take pen and paper. Ask a few of the regular customers why they keep coming back. Do this over several visits so that you can have time to analyse the thoughts of other customers and formulate more focussed questions for yourself. Do you see patterns emerging? I bet you do. Are you going there this week?
Staff turnover is typically high in coffee shops. My favourite shop has a high turnover too but the staff are always friendly, happy, courteous, know how to react with patrons from a large number of different backgrounds. The owner must look after staff as well as patrons. New staff quickly learn your name. Service is brisk, efficient, and reliable. There is nothing particularly expensive or outstanding about the décor. It is comfortable, rather than modern. Many regulars come several times each week and stay for much longer than it takes to drink a cup of coffee. There is nothing special about pricing. The menu is fairly static; functional. They occasionally run a special night such as their birthday party or to promote a local band. The owners are always mingling with patrons. It is in a good location; a lot of foot traffic, close to other shops and has parking near by. And that is about it. I will be there again next week.
Doing what corporate giants do
You are now doing just what the big corporations discussed previously are doing. The budget is slightly different. You are finding out what customers do and do not like. When we set up a store online we tend to forget that our customers will be the very people we talk to at the coffee shop. Online customers are coffee shop customers too. They know what makes them leave or stay; buy or not. Your own friends are an equally valuable source of information. Ask them too.
Getting the right blend is the key to 'coffee shop loyalty'; it is the key to online success.
Thanks for your time. Have a great day.
Paul Hathaway ©2005