On March 15, Starbucks stores around the country treated Americans to a free cup of coffee – deeming it the first-ever National Coffee Break. The company estimated that they would give some 500,000 cups of free coffee during a two-hour window. Since the actual results of this promotion have not been reported, we don’t know if it was a positive experience for existing customers, grabbed the attention on non-users or was a total flop.
But what I do know is that it was a success in terms of local store marketing. For the first time ever, the coffee giant participated in a grass-roots program intended to tug at the heart strings of loyal users – making those people that more loyal. The company also used the Coffee Break to cross sell in-home/in-office brewing merchandise. The sales strategy encompassed an Annual Brewing Sale to showcase grinders, coffee makers, coffee accessories and more. Again, a brilliant way to cross sell/upsell customers and ultimately increasing the overall ticket average that day.
Whether Starbucks is a part of your weekly ritual or not, you’ve got to hand it to them for stepping up and embracing neighborhood marketing. From the job postings on their website, it looks like they are gearing up to not only be the leader in coffee sales, but in grass roots programs as well. Only the future will tell.
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