Sipping and surfing: The Bean NYC’s blueprint for Wi-Fi marketing success

Certain smells are so undeniable 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 has three locations in high-traffic areas in downtown Manhattan, allowing its shops to take advantage of high foot traffic from thousands of tourists who pass by every day. However, the brand's coffee shops are also a few blocks from New York University. This makes The Bean NYC a favorite local spot for students, digital nomads, freelancers and work from home professionals who need a "third-space" to do their work and creativity.

How do you take advantage of high foot-traffic when your cafes are consistently crowded with customers who are connected to your guest Wi-Fi and glued to their laptops?

The Bean NYC's challenge

The Bean NYC is a sit-down full-service / fast-casual coffee shop that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner an dlate-night snack menus. It's also a popular hangout for New York University students, digital nomads, work from home professionals and freelancers, some of who only choose to purchase a single drip coffee while using the space, guest Wi-Fi and bathroom for hours. Space in Manhattan is limited, so every square foot needs to be allocated to a revenue center.

Ike and The Bean NYC team should be excited about their popularity among the East Village community. The consistent overcrowding situation resulted in more work for the front-of-the house team with sales remaining stagnant.

The lunch time crowd remained sluggish. Potential diners seeking a place to sit and enjoy a meal often found The Bean NYC bustling with a crowd of guest Wi-Fi users intently focused on their laptops.

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 tried many Wi-Fi marketing solutions that promised to control guest connectivity and collect guest data.

None of the solutions available in the market could offer unique guest Wi-Fi codes that is aligned with a purchase. His coffee shops were still contending with overcrowding issues and he was still having trouble encourading customers to purchase additional menu items. Sales remained stagnant, while the overcrowding problem persists.

Recognizing this challenge, The Bean NYC turned the situation into an opportunity. This is where GoGoGuest comes in.

The solution: Premium Guest Wi-Fi

GoGoGuest Wi-Fi captive portal technology is designed to transform the way coffee shops engage with their customers by providing a fully branded and user-friendly digital interface for guest Wi-Fi access.

The technology offers three main functions:

1. As a digital billboard, allowing cafes to showcase their brand
2. As a guest Wi-Fi policy software to empower businesses the capability to add timed access, user controls and security to the amenity
3. As a channel that consistently grows a brand's marketing funnel by collecting valuable customer data such as email addresses and phone numbers with permission.

Collect payments with Square, boost your sales

GoGoGuest comes built-in with a Square POS smart integration. Coffee shop owners can leverage Square POS and payments system further by implementing the GoGoGuest captive portal technology to enhance the customer experience with a sustainable guest Wi-Fi policy.

With the capability to configure guest Wi-Fi connectivity time, access rules and require a purchase, coffee shops can measure the sales performance from guest Wi-Fi users and none guest Wi-Fi patrons.

Implementing a guest Wi-Fi policy with GoGoGuest not only elevates the café experience but also encourages an increase in purchase frequency during longer stays. Guests spending extended periods at the shops have increased their average purchase by 32%, while lunch and dinner orders have surged by 12%.

Escava acknowledges the impact of GoGoGuest on his business, stating,

"Before GoGoGuest, we tried everything to get people to make additional purchases, but it didn't work. Now, guests who enjoy working in our space only have to keep buying menu items to keep using our guest Wi-Fi amenity, which increased our average purchase each visit to $18-$24 from guests who use our Wi-Fi amenity."

The responsive design of the captive portal ensures that customers have a smooth experience across various devices, making it easy for them to connect and engage with the café’s offerings.

Capture first-party data, grow your marketing funnel

Since implementing GoGoGuest, The Bean NYC has seen significant growth, with over 30,000 subscribers engaged in personalized retargeting campaigns. New customer acquisitions have increased by 200 customers per day.

A consistent funnel of highly qualified contacts, means that The Bean NYC's marketing funnel is aware of the brand, are paying customers, which means the opportunities for upselling and cross-selling high.

A steady stream of highly qualified contacts means that The Bean NYC's marketing funnel is comprised of brand aware and paying customers. This greatly enhances the opportunities for both upselling and cross-selling of the brand's many offerings.

A robust customer lifecycle marketing for independent coffee shop owners

Unlocking The Bean NYC's success does not end there. GoGoGuest’s seamless integration with Klaviyo and Mailchimp allows independent coffee shop owners who also retail coffee beans online to effortlessly upsell to their expanding customer base acquired through the GoGoGuest captive portal.

The Bean NYC uses their captured first-party data for special offers that are personalized based on frequency of visit, average purchase each visit and to some extent, product preferences.

Escava beams when he shares:

"With the customer data we have collected, I am able to craft special offers that is more attuned to the spending habits and personal preferences of our guests. The segmentation and automation features and capabilities available on GoGoGuest, Mailchimp or Klaviyo email marketing makes it super easy for an independent business owner like me to run customer lifecycle marketing campaigns. The big benefit of GoGoGuest is that they give me the option to work with systems that I'm most comfortable using. "

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The Benefits: Six key reasons GoGoGuest is vital to The Bean NYC's success

GoGoGuest empowers coffee shop and restaurant owners to transform their guest Wi-Fi into a powerful sales and marketing tool that not only enhances customer satisfaction but also drives sales each visit and loyalty.

By leveraging valuable customer data, GoGoGuest enables you to understand your patrons' preferences and behaviors, allowing you to craft personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience.

When the right data is optimized for your coffee shop's marketing pipeline, coffee shop business owners gain the unique position to enhance their product mix and pricing, align special offers with personal preferences and expand distribution and sales channels ultimately driving sales growth and performance.

The six key benefits when using GoGoGuest

1. Technology solutions that enhances a coffee shop's guest Wi-Fi policy
2. Drive increase in average purchase each visit for guests with longer stays
3. Seamlessly capture first-party data and insights with permission
4. Powerful dynamic organization, segmentation and engagement at every stage in the customer lifecycle
5. Smart integrations that make it possible for coffee shop owner to choose their preferred systems
6. Deeper view into your business data and insights for business owners who are selling on Shopify. Ask us how.

Ultimately, GoGoGuest empowers business owners to harness the power of Wi-Fi in your coffee shops, organically drive brand awareness and grow customer loyalty with personalized marketing campaigns at each stage in the customer lifecycle.

What can GoGoGuest do for you?

GoGoGuest is a lot more than smart Wi-Fi solutions designed for coffee shops and restaurants. Our suite of software products is designed and built to empower innovative food service and retail entrepreneurs to easily transform their marketing strategy with a complete view of their audience and customers.

Next steps

Learn how GoGoGuest can elevate your guest Wi-Fi policy to enhance your coffee shops' guest experience, boost sales and grow your marketing funnel. For multi-location coffee shops also selling online, learn about our smart integrations. Book a demo today.