Stakeholders

WEBSITE PRICING QUESTIONS

What's your website host?

The site is built using Squarespace (but I’m ok with changing it) it’s hosted by Mediatemple.net

What's your current POS system?

We use square for our POS

Do you have any payment merchant preference?

Not really.

WEBSITE FEATURES QUESTIONS

What's the first thing you want your customer to see in your site?

I’m kinda open to what the first thing a customer would see on our site. I'd like it to be a connection to Nicaragua (my wife is from there originally) or one of our stores

What products do you want to feature on your site?

I’d like to feature our coffee for sale, how to contact us to become a wholesale account, the stories of traveling to origin, our own origin story, and some merch - tshirts, mugs, etc

What information about your product do you want your customer to see?

There are four general directions the profiles of coffee will go:

dark to light

earthy to citric/floral

Also, not sure if I should include the processing, as most people don’t understand what that means. Maybe we can add a page about processing in the future?

Is there a story you want to tell on your site? If so, what do you want the customers to know?

I'd like it to be a connection to Nicaragua (my wife is from there originally) or one of our stores. I’d also like to tell stories of our farmers and their daily lives and the process of making the beans, and emphasize that we roast them in small batches—From farm to you.

What key elements does your company have that represents the brand? Which of them do you think your customers identify the most?

We are going through rebranding. Since we are going past 10 years, I’d like to mark this as our new era. I’ve had a designer make coffee bags. The bags will have the redesigned logo with black and white as a color scheme. There are Southern California native shrubbery under the bags to represent our community. The unicorn dog sticker is pretty popular to our customers and has been associated with our brand throughout our 10 years. Although, I’d like for it to be subtler.

Looking at your competitor’s sites, which feature/s do you like the most? Why?

Gget.com did a good job with the matrix.

Onyxcoffeelab.com ‘s landing page is something we want to emulate.

Verve.com ‘s detailed farm-level stories are good.

Catandcloud.com has a wholesaler and good branding.

Barista

Interviewed a barista from Café de Leche and Peet’s Coffee

selling coffee

How do you sell your coffee? Take me through the process.

CDL: If they’re new and looking for suggestions, I’ll ask:

Do you like hot or cold?

Proceeds to recommend their best sellers.

What coffee do you like? (describes their best sellers, what customers like and why they like it)

Once I made a choice, they commented a bit about the coffee and says, “good choice”

Cream and sugar?

Then I’ll make the coffee.

Peets: Customers usually know what they want.

First, I’ll greet them, “Welcome, What can I get for you?”

Sometimes, they’ll look at the menu and then order.

If they already know what coffee they want, I’ll ask these questions:

What size? What flavor?—suggests flavors. Cream and sugar?

Then I’ll make the coffee.

Why do you think your customers buy coffee from you instead of your competitors?

CDL: I think our customers buy from us because of the overall experience. I think our customers aren’t just buying a coffee—they go here to buy an “experience.” It’s the store ambiance, our customer service, our particular flavors and taste.

Peets: Probably our coffee’s quality. Plus, we’re different from Starbucks, I think people in general like to try different stuff and coffee’s no different.

What are your customers’ frequently asked questions?

CDL: “How much?”

“Do you have ‘product A’?”

“How does this flavor taste like?”

“What’s the difference between A and B"?”

“What’s in it?”

Peets: Usually, customers don’t ask us questions. I usually ask questions. haha. ‘Would you like some cream or sugar?’ But every now and then, there will be some ‘coffee nut’ who’d like to be specific with their coffee; i.e., type of roast, etc. Casual customers usually don’t ask much questions.

Approximately, how many customers buy coffee bags? Why do you think they prefer it?

CDL: I’d say more than 20 a day. Personally, I like buying a fresh cup coffee and go outside, so our cup of coffee sells more than our bags. I buy the bags to make fresh cups at home when I don’t feel like going out.

Peets: Yesterday on my shift (8 hours), I sold at least 150 lbs., so we probably sell roughly 2,100 lbs. in a week.

Do you encounter any roadblocks/problems when selling coffee?

Peets: When it’s busy, I have to make sure the quality for the product we’re making doesn’t suffer.

Customers

Interviewed two regulars from Café de Leche.

Do you come here often?

A: Yes, almost every other day.

B: At least once a week.

What are the reasons you buy coffee here?

A: I like the Ambiance and how close it is to my dorm. I do my homework here when I wanna get out of my dorm.

B: I read my news while drinking a cup. (I’ve) been going here for a while and it’s nice supporting local business.

Do you usually order to go or for here?

A: I usually hang out here.

B: for here. I make coffee at home if I’m in a hurry.

Do you have a usual drink? a favorite?

A: I usually hang out here.

B: For here—I make coffee at home whenever I’m in a hurry.

Have you tried some of the café’s flavors aside from your usual?

A: My usual is iced horchata con espresso. I buy some pastries if I’m hungry.

B: Mexican Mocha. I tried a few.

Do you ask questions to baristas when buying coffee? If so, what questions do you ask?

A: Typically, I ask for the wifi password. if I’m new to the place, I’d go to Yelp and look at the menu ahead of time.

B: I read the menu beforehand, if I have questions about the coffee, I’ll ask them.

Do you stock coffee at home? Do you buy coffee bags?

A: No. Honestly, I don’t know how to make coffee. haha.

B: Yes, I do.

What is the first thing you look for when buying coffee?

A: The taste—I like it sweet and creamy.

B: The type of roast and flavors.

Would you buy coffee bags online?

A: I don’t think I’ll need it.

B: Yes, but only if the shipping cost is free. Otherwise, I’ll just pick it up here.

Would you consider subscribing for coffee? If so, how often do you think you need it?

A: (didn’t ask)

B: Yes, I would, but again, it depends on the shipping cost. Probably once a month.

Anything to add?

A: I like my drink my coffee when I go out—already made for me.

B: I’m open to buying online, but if there’s additional cost on shipping, I’d rather pick it up in-stores.