I’m an MBA student in Milan, Italy, and for most students sitting in class around me, they apply what they are hearing and learning to their old jobs at banks, consulting firms and top industry firms. I, on the other hand, tend to apply what I’m learning to the Third Wave/Specialty/Super Premium or anything else you want to call this coffee movement. Sometimes they are things that just reconfirm thoughts I’ve had but at other times I’ve found completely new insights.
Over the next few weeks, I hope to share a few of the things I’m thinking about in order to help me cement some thoughts.
#1 Southwest Airlines
In business school we read and discuss a ton of cases that give us the background and situations of companies, and then ask us questions on how to solve the problems they face. In two classes we have looked at Southwest Airlines. The amazing thing about Southwest is that during all of the financial turmoil of the last few years, they have remained profitable and even thrived when most other airlines were filing for bankruptcy. Everyone seems to have their own opinion on how they’ve achieved this. To me it is very clear. They provide a valuable service for cheap, with personality. They don’t just provide a low price flight, or make flying fun, or give great customer service, or almost never lose your bags. They do ALL of these things. At the end of the day, they realize that they need to excel at every customer touchpoint.
To me this is a lesson that needs to be learned in the Third Wave coffee movement. It is not enough to have the best coffee in town. There has to be great customer service and the experience needs to be unique. There will be a segment of people who find the Third Wave coffee product superior, but if the other elements of the experience aren’t great, there will be only a very small niche of people willing to take the hassle to get it. In order to grow and become fad-proof all elements of the coffee touch points must be remarkable.
Are you making the best coffee in your city? Great, now it’s time to ask if you are providing the best customer service.
2 Responses to “Marketing the Third Wave Pt. 1”
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I couldn’t agree with you more. In my job, I am all over my city (Atlanta) and I know where every high end coffee shop is. After years of this, there are shops that I flat out won’t go to because of the customer non-service, which is typically cloaked in a (pretend) upper crust snobbiness. On the other hand, there are shops that I seek out because of their people (new shop in atlanta called Condessa is a good example). You can be an amazing barista and be way into coffee and also be nice.
Yes, it just isn’t going to cut it for long term growth. The culture around coffee should be friendly and inviting. I don’t think the aim should be to emulate the wine industry in this way. I would prefer to see approachable luxury.