I thought you all would like this site: Marketing Over Coffee
Great podcasts. Enjoy.
Coffee
Why The Digital Age Is Creating A Stronger Sense Of Community
Getting things for free feels so good. Getting things for free when you know you shouldn’t – that feels even better.
Everything that this digital age is producing – whether it be ads, shifts in cultural norms, or tangible products – the result is the same: a stronger sense of community.
(unrelated to digital age) You go to your favorite local coffee shop and since you bought one Turtle Mocha, you get a second one to go for free. Compare this to going to a local coffee shop and buying one Turtle Mocha, but when you pick it up, the barista gives you a second one to go “on the house.”
(related to the digital age) You get one month of Netflix free, after that one month you have to pay. Compare this to getting one month of Netflix free, and after that one month, you get the username and password of your girlfriends’ parents account.
In the coffee shop scenario, getting something free when you shouldn’t have established a connection between you and the barista (effectively the coffee shop too). In the Netflix scenario, you’ve reaffirmed the connection between you and your girlfriends’ parents (obviously a win-win).
This effect is one of the single most important reasons why I love advertising in the digital age. No matter the success or failure of ads, they always leave a stronger sense of community.
Either you buy into the brand and become part of that brands community (coffee deal drinkers or addicted Netflix supporters) or you find a way to get something free when normally you shouldn’t – be it through pre-existing connections (step-brother, in-laws, etc,) or through making new connections (class mates, coworkers, etc,).
The end result is the same: stronger sense of community.
Stay Positive & There’s A Reason It’s Called The Connection Economy
Garth E. Beyer
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Here’s a bonus read. Enjoy.
Enlighten Others
What Size Would You Like
I’ve had it with all the different cup size names (e.g., trenti, kid, venti, grande, sixteen, large, extra-large, power, original, regular).
Here’s a quick solution: Let people pick out their cup as they get in line.*
Sometimes being creative is a set-back. It’s fun to make different names for sizes (whether they make sense or not), but not everyone can keep up. If you had the option to appeal to all customers and lose some or appeal to all customers and keep all, it’s clear which is the better choice.
Yet, in an effort to stand out, businesses sacrifice some customers that, if time would be taken, could otherwise be kept. Note, the best kind of creativity is the uncomplicated kind.
Stay Positive & Have Fun But Keep It Simple
Garth E. Beyer
*The take-it-too-far part of me would insist that you could give customers markers to color their cups while they wait in line. Have them write their own name on it too. Starbucks never spells it right anyway. (But they do when I say Voldemort. -sigh-) And yes, there will be a line at a place where you don’t have to figure out what cup size to order, ending up feeling like an idiot when you order it wrong.
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Enlighten Others
Morning Stream Of Awesome Better Than Coffee
Checking Facebook when you first wake up can be a good thing. I’ve read articles that suggest you shouldn’t check your phone right away (FB,email, texts,etc,.), that you should wake up on your own schedule, enjoy life a bit, and deal with all the work that your phone is blinking at you at a later time. But then, ignoring these suggestions, this morning I read the following on Facebook,
“All artists should be treated with respect I always see many people getting put down at doing what they love and lose confidence to making music,making art, dancing , and whatever you do, keep your head up and chase your dreams, because every person out there has the capability to do anything in life!”
This is as livening as a cup of coffee, if not more.
Those suggesting you don’t check your phone right away are half right. I am all for staying unplugged a couple of mornings a week to take a walk down to the lake or do a workout without any distractions, but what people fail to recognize is our need to evaluate what calls our attention in the morning.
There are negative consequences to checking our phone as soon as we wake up when we read a Facebook feed filled with complaints, an RSS feed of the days most negative news, our work email instead of our personal email.
Give yourself a morning stream of awesome on your phone and I don’t see a problem with checking it before we all get out of bed.
Stay Positive & Combine It With Coffee, You’ll Be Set To Go All Day
Garth E. Beyer
Photo credit
Enlighten Others
The Types Of People Who Tip In A Coffee Shop (Starbucks)
I’m spending my 4th of July observing and writing in Starbucks. This post is about all the observations I am making about Starbucks, customer service, behaviors and types of people.
The people who feel they are really cared for and given friendly service, not just customer service. These people will, after they have already walked out the door, come back in just to put a dollar in the tip jar.
The people who understand that the little adds up and are the predecessors of change. These people will not just toss change into the tip jar, but thank the coffee connoisseur for their effort.
The people who I call jingle haters. They can’t stand the spare change in their pocket so they toss it in the jar, doing their hardest to ignore the last clink of change they will hear until they make another purchase and get change back from that. I doubt any Starbucks employees complain about these jingle haters, they account for 3/8 of the tips.
The financially conservative people who treat themselves from time to time don’t tip. They also don’t just keep the change, they keep the receipt too. More power to them I suppose. Everyone’s gotta make a living.
Want to get tips? Make a game out of it? There are two registers and two tip jars, which person at which tip jar can serve remarkably enough to get larger tips? One wins but both have fun.
What I love about Starbucks Barista’s really is that they have fun. They really do live the Starbucks motto of “Rewarding Everyday Moments”. They don’t care about tips, it’s just a bonus, it’s not something they actually work for, serve for or slave for. It just so happens anyway that the more fun you have making and serving Coffee, the more tips you get. Starbucks understands the essence of relationships, not just between customer and coffee but between customer and barista.
Stay Positive & You Get Tipped For Having Fun Outside Of Starbucks Too
Garth E. Beyer