From Drip Coffee to Drip Campaigns:
How The Bean NYC Used WiFi to Its Advantage
Certain smells are so undeniably amazing that you can’t help but stop and take a deep breath. For The Bean NYC, crafting the perfect cup of coffee time and time again in a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere has helped the brand succeed in the city that never sleeps.
The Bean NYC currently has three locations (with a 4th location coming in 2022!) in high-traffic areas in downtown Manhattan, allowing its shops to take advantage of foot traffic from the thousands of tourists who pass by every day. However, the brand’s coffee shops are also close to New York University and are a stop for students, freelancers, and other locals looking for a change of scenery.
But how do you keep tourist business brewing while providing a unique and comfortable experience for the locals?
GoGoGuest and The Bean NYC: A Perfect Blend of Taste and Technology
When Ike Escava, owner of The Bean NYC, began working with GoGoGuest in February 2021, he was facing an overcrowding issue. There were plenty of people visiting his shops, but he found it difficult to serve his lunch crowds because he was running out of space.
The Bean NYC is a sit-down full-service/fast-casual restaurant that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snack menus. It’s also a popular hangout for NYU students, independent workers, and freelancers, some of whom only choose to purchase a single drip coffee while using the space, WiFi, and bathroom for hours. Space in Manhattan is limited, so every square foot needs to be consistently generating revenue.
Escava tried several methods to address the issue, including asking managers to casually remind guests to stop by the barista station for a second cup of coffee or encourage them to buy other menu items like cookies, smoothies, or sandwiches. He also worked with other WiFi marketing solutions that promised to collect guest data, allowing The Bean NYC to re-target customers with personalized offers.
Neither plan solved the brand’s problems – his locations were still contending with overcrowding issues and he was still having trouble encouraging customers to purchase additional menu items.
That’s where GoGoGuest comes in.
Rise and Grind: Driving Revenue with GoGoGuest
Unlike libraries or free co-working spaces, coffee shops are businesses and need to generate revenue to survive. One way to encourage guests to spend more while sticking around a little longer is to offer WiFi, but many coffee shops struggle between offering the amenity and encouraging guests to keep spending after their initial purchase.
Local coffee shops are often cultural hubs of innovation where people from diverse backgrounds and industries gather together to talk for hours. Just like the java they brew, modern coffee shop owners have to strike the right balance between offering a comfortable environment for conversation while still attracting high-value guests, including lunch and dinner crowds.
GoGoGuest’s guest WiFi marketing solution integrates seamlessly with The Bean NYC’s cloud-based Square POS system and other cloud POS solutions, empowering each location to control access to its guest WiFi connectivity and require a purchase before guests can connect. The solution also allows restaurants and coffee shops to collect customer contact information but uses powerful dynamic segmentation and automation tools that make it easy for marketing teams to create and implement smart, targeted campaigns.
Even better? Both options feature a branded captive portal and comprehensive coffee shop WiFi management and email marketing tools. As a result, brands like The Bean NYC can use GoGoGuest to drive more revenue through targeted campaigns and offers to guests located near its shops and increase purchases from those who want to use the WiFi.
Generating Growth Through Coffee Shop WiFi Management
Soon after implementing GoGoGuest’s WiFi Marketing solution, The Bean NYC started seeing results. Since February 2021, the brand has generated more than 10,000 subscribers who are part of personalized local retargeting campaigns. Guests are also responding well to the new WiFi solution.
Since implementing GoGoGuest, the Bean NYC has grown its new customer acquisitions by more than 200 new customers a day, during their busiest days. More importantly, Escava saw the average purchase amount from new customers rise by about 28% with GoGoGuest, compared to his time without it.
Guests benefited from the newly implemented changes too. Customers who spent at least three hours at one of Escava’s locations increased their average purchase by 32% more each visit, while overall lunch and dinner orders jumped by about 12%.
“Space in Manhattan is expensive and hard to come by, so every square foot has to make money while we’re open,” Escava said. “Before GoGoGuest, we tried everything to get people to make additional purchases, but it didn’t work. Now, guests not only have to keep buying menu items to keep using our WiFi, but we can also stay in touch with them long after they’ve left.
GoGoGuest makes it easy for us to stay connected with our most loyal guests and keep building new relationships with people we want to see more of.”
Guests are seeing the difference, too. There are more tables available for people who would like to dine in, while guests who are stopping by to work or study are persuaded to keep making purchases to maintain their WiFi access. It’s a win-win solution that keeps everyone happy!
What Can GoGoGuest Do For You?
GoGoGuest is a lot more than restaurant or coffee shop WiFi management solutions. We’re foodies ourselves, and use our passion for unforgettable food and memorable experiences to create technology that gives control back to restaurant owners and operators.
Our suite of products is designed to bridge the in-store experience with digital marketing, connecting every restaurant, coffee shop, and bar to its most loyal guests while cultivating and curating new ones. We also work with many of the major point of sale providers, including Square, Toast POS, PAR, NCR, Clover POS, and many more!
Want to see what GoGoGuest can do? Learn more about our frictionless Restaurant and Coffee Shop WiFi Marketing solutions.
Then take the next step toward elevating your cafe guest experience with personalized and hyper-targeted offers on email, SMS or a loyalty program unique to your brand.
