What would you do if you were Caribou’s digital strategist?
The first in a new series, these “What would you do…” posts aren’t intended to be critical of the companies and organizations I review, but instead meant to give us, the fans and customers, the chance to brainstorm new ideas for how they might be able to engage existing customers and stakeholders and win new ones in different ways. I’m hoping you all, the community of digital PR strategists I commiserate with each day, can add your two cents to each post so we can brainstorm these ideas together. Sound like a plan?
In this first post, I wanted to focus on one of my absolute favorite local brands, Caribou Coffee. As many of you know, I spend a decent amount of time at Caribou outposts across the Twin Cities each day. I’m a huge fan of the coffee–in fact, I’ve been known to drive as far as 10 miles out of my way for a cup of their joe. Let’s get to the ideas.
What would I do if I were Caribou’s digital strategist?
* Use Twitter as a crowd-sourcing tool. In case you haven’t noticed, Caribou recently rolled out its new “hand-crafted” oatmeal a couple weeks ago. They also routinely introduce new products and drinks to the menu. What better way to get instant feedback from your army of fans online than to listen, respond and ask questions on Twitter? A quick Twitter search for “Caribou” pops up plenty of tweets mentioning the brand in just the last few minutes. Heck, I tweet about the brand at least a few times a week. And, I’m sure many of those folks who are tweeting about Caribou would be more than happy to give their feedback on the newest drink or delectable, which would ultimately improve the menu and engage the many, many Caribou fans on Twitter (6,000-plus fans).
* Personalize the in-store experience for regulars. Coffee houses like Caribou are known “second offices” to a legion of consultants and solo pros. Some folks spend half their day at Caribou locations (not naming any names here 
). So, you have loyal fans sitting in your store (many with computers in tow). They’re a captive audience, so to speak. They probably have a bit of discretionary income. Why not increase the wallet share here? Some Caribou locations do actually bring around samples of new pastries–a wonderful idea. But, take it a step further. Why not offer free pastries or specialty drinks to your most regular customers? Or, maybe you give regular customers their own personalized mug when they visit your store? Better yet, what if once you log in through the Caribou site, a special offer pops up that’s tailored to your buying habits based on prior orders? Or, what about simply asking managers to stroll around the stores and greet regulars personally as they sip their coffee? I know some of these ideas don’t fit into the “digital” bucket, but the crossover from digital to real-life is key.
* Recognize and cater to the “brand champions.” Just walk in any Caribou and nearly 75 percent of the customers have their laptops open. Chances are, these folks are active on Twitter, Facebook or any number of other social networking tools. Why not take advantage of that fact to raise awareness and win new customers? After all, these people are apt to talk about their experience in your store broadly–and frequently. Better yet, use the tools as a way to take care of your very best customers. Maybe Caribou offers special deals to its FourSquare mayors. Maybe it gets its FourSquare mayors together once a quarter as a focus group to test new products and provide feedback on marketing campaigns? Or, maybe Caribou gives followers on Twitter special deals one day of the week (similar to what Punch Pizza does with its coupon offers). So many ideas here.
* Take better advantage of Caribou email. I signed up for the Caribou email a while ago. While I enjoy getting a heads up on the newest blend they release or special deals, somehow I don’t feel all that…well..special. Why not create a custom e-newsletter just for those customer who spend more than $75 in Caribou stores each month. The e-newsletter could provide “behind-the-scenes” looks at new blends Caribou is considering. Give these special customers the chance to provide direct feedback on products, merchandise and in-store experience. Maybe even share an interview with one of the Caribou roastmasters from time to time. Then, add in special value-add offers each week that would drive more traffic–and again, gain more wallet share–of these important customers.
OK, those are just a few ideas to get us started. What would YOU do if you were Caribou’s digital strategist?
11 Responses to “What would you do if you were Caribou’s digital strategist?”
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alexiaharris on January 28th, 2010
Right on, Arik!
What I like most is that not only are you giving advice from a PR prospective, you’re a huge fan.
It would be wise of Caribou to develop a relationship with champions of its brand. The fact that they have great coffee and snacks only makes supporting the franchise that much easier.
P.S. I think you should start a “What Would You Do” blog series. I really enjoyed this post!
Matt on January 28th, 2010
I’d look for an opportunity to offer customers new ways to link their real world experience with their online personas.
One thought is to offer status levels based on real world activity. If Caribou can encourage customers to register and use gift cards and if they can access data on activity for those that have opted in, they could offer awards and recognition for top customers.
Online forums often reward active members with special badges, avatars or titles online. Caribou could offer web badges and/or rewards by email to customers based on their activity too. There could be status levels: Caribou Fan, Caribou Obsessed, etc. or event based achievements: Visited 7 Days in a Row, etc.
Recipients could post the badges on their personal blog or just chat about them on Facebook or Twitter. Even if customers don’t spread the word, it’s nice to be acknowledged by a company that you’re loyal to.
arikhanson on January 28th, 2010
Alexia: Definitely planning on a series with this idea. Already have the next 3-4 brands in the queue!
Matt: Great idea. And, this plays to the concept of effectively engaging your biggest fans. I just had coffee with two business colleagues and initially they suggested Starbucks (1 mile down the road) and I told them I’d drive 5 miles the other way to hit a Caribou. That’s a fan. That’s what brands like Caribou would be wise to harness.
@arikhanson
Danielle on January 28th, 2010
I love that you bring it OUT of the digital world for once. Yes, Twitter and Facebook and FourSquare are important tools, but sometimes, we get so caught up in them, that we forget about good old fashioned customer service. I believe that ‘new media’ is about bringing together traditional and non-traditional platforms, as you suggest here.
The keys components I took away from this post are the importance of personalization and engagement. It isn’t enough to email customers; it isn’t enough to get them into the store; it isn’t enough to get X amount of followers on Twitter. Yes, that may drive foot traffic to your store and digital traffic to your website, which will help you make money, but it isn’t doing anything for your brand. Using social media, in store interaction, and email marketing, as you suggest here, will be so much more beneficial if your personalize it to your customers, making them feel special and appreciated. And on top of that, you have to interact with them. Listen, talk back, have a (two-way) conversation.
Overall, great post with great suggestions for any business!
alysonpitarre on January 28th, 2010
Thanks for the post… I really like the idea of creating a “What would I do…” series of posts. What I especially like is that you offer up a helpful, solutions-based critique instead of the usual “you suck” criticism with no ideas. It’s obvious that you really value Caribou Coffee the brand, and want to see them succeed in–and capitalize on–their digital media efforts. You pretty much got me at “known as second offices to a legion of consultants and solo pros.” As a PR pro who has just ventured out on her own, I must say that personalizing the in-store experience for regulars completely hit home for me. (Except we don’t have Caribou Coffees in LA… Peet’s anyone?) Regardless of the brand, personalization of the enthusiasts’ experience (in-store or online) should always play an important role in a digital media strategy. Thanks for the reminder.
Jackie Adkins on January 28th, 2010
Arik, I like the idea for the series and think there’s going to be some great ideas that come out of it!
When most people think coffee, they first think of Starbucks, which, whether we like it or not, has become the “cool” place to get coffee. I think if Caribou could empower their biggest fans to show everyone in their respective communities how they love Caribou, it could be really effective in getting people to drive right past Starbucks and visit Caribou.
One way to do this would be to have some sort of ongoing photo contest (whether it’s using tags on Flickr, tweeting pics, or on Facebook) where fans take a picture of them drinking caribou coffee or at a Caribou location and submit it. Then they select a weekly winner who wins a gift card or something. They could call it “You and Your Caribou” or something like that. Basically, a way to let their biggest advocates tell their communities how awesome Caribou is.
ShaneKinkennon on January 28th, 2010
This is brilliant. Take out Caribous Coffee, plug in any variety of businesses. Your personalization ideas are huge. What a well-constructed, thought-provoking case you’ve built. Thanks Arik.
arikhanson on January 28th, 2010
Jackie: Love the photo idea. Take it one step further. What if you asked fans to submit photos of the most interesting place they have drank a cup of Caribou joe? (within reason–with the requisite disclaimers and guidelines) That could be interesting. Also, then Caribou might have some photos they could feature on their Web site and/or marketing materials.
Alyson: You’re not the first person to mention that there’s “no Caribou” in CA. Wonder if they’re listening?
Shane: Thanks for stopping by. See we were sharing a brain today re: your post.
@arikhanson
Katie on January 28th, 2010
I just tried their new Cinnamon French Vanilla flavor today…yum! I hope it stays.
As a power Caribou drinker, I loved this post. And I’m surprised they haven’t caught on to establishing more of an online strategy already. Just like you, I tweet about them all the time. It would not be difficult to take the existing conversation out there and leverage it into a campaign. In fact, I would love to have that job!
Lots of great ideas thrown out there. Maybe they’ll see this and make stuff happen. Thanks, Arik!
@kshoop
Beth on January 28th, 2010
If they took the old punch-card style frequent customer card and made it a bar-coded rewards club card, they could track their customers’ order preferences and customize their incentives and rewards to that particular customer’s taste.
If I ordered a 16-oz non-fat vanilla latte and a blueberry scone every time I went in, I’d appreciate an emailed coupon for a free blueberry scone with my next latte purchase more than a generic coupon for an item I never order.
That’s a pretty specific example, but depending on how sophisticated their information management systems are, they could track a variety of metrics to help personalize customer experiences. Identifying the locations they frequent and introducing them to other businesses in the neighborhood they may find interesting (would obviously require partnering), sending incentives to come in on weekends if they usually only come on weekdays. There are a variety of options there.
Allan Schoenberg on February 1st, 2010
A few thoughts — and in no particular order because I’ve had too much Starbucks today — would be a YouTube channel. As a serious coffee drinker (I press; not drip my coffee) it would be nice to see their coffee master talk about how to make the perfect cup and educate people about the beans their roasting. Essentially, bring the customers into the back of the coffee shop and make us enthusiasts. And if you blend this (no pun intended) with Jackie’s Flickr idea you could add “behind the scene” photos regularly.
@allanschoenberg
And while I like your idea of rewarding loyal customers with freebies someone will always try to game the system and then you get nowhere. I would just steal the Starbucks Gold Card idea. It’s great to know that every day I get 10% off everything just because I go there. Yes, I pay a fee, but it’s worth it over the long run and every day I see the discount when I check out reminding me that they take care of me.