9 Social Media Lessons I Learned at the Coffee Shop

These days you can get your morning cup of coffee pretty much anywhere.

Around here it could be a convenience store like Turkey Hill, Sheetz, or perhaps Wawa. Perhaps a fast food restaurant like McDonalds, or maybe a diner. Then there’s the old stand-by, Dunkin Donuts.

Many prefer specialty stores, such as Starbucks, a chain that tries to bring you a rather generic coffee shop experience whether you are in Lancaster or Los Angeles. Which is part of the problem I have with them. It’s like the McDonalds or Walmart of coffee. I happen to be one of those people who believes Starbucks is one of those cases where the marketing far outweighs the actual product (I often tell people that I think Starbucks serves overpriced swill).

For me, the best coffee experience is the small, local, independently owned coffee shop. I have three that I frequent here in Lancaster: Square One Coffee, Chestnut Hill Cafe, and Prince Street Cafe. Lately I’ve been spending more time at Square One (Full disclosure: None of these shops are clients of mine).

For businesses utilizing social media as part of their marketing plan, we can learn a lot from our favorite independent coffee shops. And in order to write this, I picked the brain of Jess Steffy, who owns Square One Coffee with her husband Josh. Boy did she give me an education! But if I had to boil it down, here are the 9 lessons we can learn from shops like Square One:

• A unique experience – Unlike the generic-by-design feel of Starbucks, each indie coffee shop has it’s own environment. Different sizes, different food and beverage offerings, different decor, different locations. We need to provide the members of our social media community with a unique experience. I’m always amazed how competitors within a particular industry all have websites that look alike. And their social media presence is usually rather…generic. A key to marketing is differentiating yourself from your competitors, so why not utilize social media to help you with that task?

• Customer oriented – These small indie coffee shops take pride in focusing on their customers. While they take pride in producing a great product, they do so for their customers. Social media gives us the perfect chance to interact with our customers and potential customers. Instant feedback. Near real-time focus groups. Valuable R&D. Who wouldn’t want that, especially if we believe in our product?

• Educate – My friend Jess gave me a real education about coffee culture. But part of what they do is educate their customers. About the product, the process, and about things like Fair Trade Organic (FTO) coffee. Use social media to educate your customers about your company, your product, your industry, etc. An educated consumer appreciates their education, and has a greater appreciation for those who educate them.

• Quality – Square One Coffee is part of the “third wave” movement where the shift is being made from an emphasis on atmosphere alone to an emphasis being on the quality of the product. Jess says, “It’s about pursuing perfection or at least excellence in our industry. Sourcing the best coffee, craft roasting it preparing it with excellence, serving it with pride and knowing that you’re validating the hard work of everyone in the long chain of people who give their lives to get it to you.”  Just because most social media tools are available to you for free, doesn’t mean you should approach social media with that mindset. You may need to spend some money. And the way you handle social media should be no different than how you approach the rest of your marketing plan. Don’t take short-cuts. Pursue excellence, both in your product AND your marketing.

• One of the family – Walk in an indie coffee shop and there’s a good chance you’ll see comfy couches and chairs. A rather homey feel. It’s a relaxing atmosphere that helps you feel at home. Use your social media platforms to make people feel as if you are all part of the same family. Treat the members of your Facebook community as if they are your peers. Welcome them. Let them say as much or as little as they want. And listen.

• Conversation – Fast food joints and convenience stores are about getting in and out, with as little human contact as possible. Thus, we have the drive-thru. At smaller indie shops, not only will you get great coffee, but you are encouraged to hang out. Settle in. And converse. Not only will the staff engage you in conversation, but these places almost seem to encourage the social media mentality of allowing dialogue between strangers. Social media is a place for conversation…dialogue…engagement.

• Personal Touch – Some places, like Starbucks, use robotic machines to prepare coffee that Jess says, “can only be properly prepared by a skilled person (who has to continually adjust ALL of the settings to keep up w/the ever changing variables). There’s no comparison. By eliminating a little bit of human error, they eliminated the possibility of SO MUCH human excellence.” Social media is hands on. Know the members of your community on an individual basis. Treat them as individuals and let them know that there is a real person at the other end of your Twitter feed, not just an RSS feed. Engage them on Facebook rather than just spew out your marketing message.

• Responsibility and Ethics – Many coffee shops, including Square One serve (and roast) only Fair Trade Organic coffee. They are part of a wave of businesses hoping to make a mark by being socially responsible. As marketers, we can easily get a black eye by seeming shady. Advertisers are viewed by the public as lacking in ethics. With the transparency that social media affords, we need to be out there letting our customers know that we are one of them and that we care. Social media platforms are also great places for engaging your customers via good social causes.

• Forward Thinking – Jess says,  “Our goal, within the next 2 years, is to have an established Direct Trade relationship with a coffee farm. So we’ll “adopt a farm” (probably a small one who can’t afford FTO certification but meets its standards) & pay them MORE than Fair Trade does & do projects there.” Not only does this fall in with the previous category, but remember: don’t rest on your laurels. Have a plan and think about both your short and long-term goals. You may not meet those goals, but you should at least have direction, with the ability to shift-gears on short notice. I didn’t ask, but I bet Jess and Josh read blogs and trade journals to stay up on the latest information about coffee, brewing, Fair Trade, etc. Social media is an ever changing proposition. For me this means that I need to stay on top of the latest trends so that I can better serve my clients. Businesses using social media need to do the same. If you fall behind, you’re customers will notice.

Yes, this has been a long blog post, but in the tradition of Square One, I wanted to take my time so I could get you really thinking, both about coffee AND social media.

Boy, I sure could use a nice hot cup o’ Joe right about now. I wonder if I can convince Square One to create an Inkling Media blend just for me…

Tagged as: coffee, Social Media