A case of microblogging marketing in a cafe

There are many stories about very small companies using twitter (Weibo) to build global influence abroad. There are also more and more local companies using twitter Weibo, just to reach out to local people who see their locality as the most promising aspect of twitter r (Weibo).

What I'd like to share with you today is the case of Weibo, a cafe. Coffee Groudz is a popular but inexpensive mono coffee shop in Houston that sells a variety of locally baked coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches and alcoholic beverages. There are some elegant seats in the shop, 16 tables and 10 on the terrace. If you come to CoffeeGroudz, General Manager Cohen will try to make sure you "feel at home." people there really care about what you eat for lunch or breakfast, or even what you eat for dinner, if you happen to work or live in Houston.

Cohen, the cafe's general manager, hopes that if you happen to be somewhere near downtown Houston one day, you will at least come here for a meal. He sincerely hopes that you will enjoy your meal and then tell your friends about the experience.

Part of Cohen's job is to get more locals to pass the time in the coffee belt rather than patronize its rival Starbucks. Social media and twitter are one of the weapons in the battle for customers. For example, Starbucks offers Wi-Fi technology, but customers have to pay to use it. The coffee zone allows customers to use the technology for free, and there are plenty of power outlets so that customers with laptops no longer have to worry about running out of power.

In September 2008, a month after Weibo, Cohen launched @ CoffeeGroundz Weibo at the urging of angel investors in the cafe, and he had no idea what to do with Starbucks. I don't even know what DM (Direct Message,Twitter 's private message system) does! " I used it to chat with several customers, but nothing special happened. It wasn't long before he realized how important Twitter was to his business.

Later, on Weibo, Cohen went his own way in terms of interacting with his Houston customers. The growth of followers is slow, but the connection with followers is strong. He will ask his followers in Houston to "come to the store to find him." He seized the opportunity to meet every regular customer who called him by his name to strengthen his relationship with them. "it makes a lot of sense. If a customer sits on the patio outside the store with his dog and doesn't want to leave the dog out of his sight when he goes in to order, then he can send me a private message and order what he wants. I'll even get a basin of water for my customer's dog!" "everyone was impressed by the management of his to-go private message system," said one of his customers. "he's so efficient."

For Cohen and his customers, "this is what social media should look like."

Later, new opportunities emerged in the use of Weibo. One morning, a loyal customer named Sean was on his way to work. He was hungry and happened to pass near the coffee belt. Finally, in despair, he sent a private message to Cohen asking if he could prepare a burrito in front of the drive-in window. " What else can I get you? " Cohen replied. One blogger wrote on his blog: this is the first time Weibo has been used to order takeout.

Cohen thinks there may be a business opportunity in the online attention generated by these events. He left a message on Weibo that the coffee belt is happy to provide ordered takeout service. Before long, more vehicles lined up in front of the drive-in window.

The incident boosted the popularity of the coffee zone's tweet elite in the Houston area. The cafe has gradually become the preferred place for Houston tweeters to hold parties. Tweeters from all over the world are holding this kind of party called tweetup. Such a party is very interesting. For people who have only met on Weibo, plan and participate in an event where you can meet real people. Even the most enthusiastic supporters of social media have not conducted such face-to-face communication. It does make people inexplicably excited to meet a friend who has known for a long time for the first time.

Their gathering is basically once a month, each time attracting more than 200 people to the coffee zone, and each time attracting tweeters who have never been there before. Some people eventually become loyal customers of the coffee belt. And parties are usually held at night, which adds a lot of extra income to the cafe (the cafe provides dinners, drinks and ice cream for tweeters).

"it's a big deal," Cohen said. Without twitter and its influence, the coffee belt would not have been a destination for tweeters, and no one would have driven here from far away.

Good things come one after another. On the night of the presidential election, a party held by a tweet in the coffee zone attracted more than 250 people. The use of twitter has also attracted media attention: local television and radio are competing to report on the way businessmen in Houston use the platform.

In June 2009, @ CoffeeGroundz had about 6200 followers, far less than Starbucks Weibo, which has 200000 followers. But in this battle at home, Houston tweeters who follow Cohen are likely to outnumber Starbucks fans. Business has naturally increased a lot.