Stirring Up the Coffee Industry: National Coffee Brand Uses Crowdsourcing to Create the Ultimate Customer Experience

With the U.S. retail value of the coffee market reaching an estimated $30 billion dollars, coffee has become much more than just a cup of Joe over the last decade. When Nick Bayer founded Saxbys Coffee in 2005, he challenged the saturated coffeehouse market with the belief that award-winning coffee, smiling service and a community-based store atmosphere make all the difference to the customer. Since its founding, the brand has remained committed to its original mission, “Make Life Better,” by offering superior customer service and providing a truly social experience both in and out of each coffee shop.

Saxbys has strategically positioned itself between big chains and the mom and pops by offering a contemporary coffee café, which includes a strong focus on providing a memorable yet consistent experience to every customer.

As the demographics for those who drink coffee continue to skew younger, with 40 percent of 18-24 year olds drinking coffee (up from 31 percent in 2010), Bayer understood in order to make a positive impact on fans, you need to create a social experience they want to be a part of.

“While we continue to grow our units, we ensure each one of our locations still maintains and fosters an interaction within the community. Our social footprint is designed to connect our loyalists through an interactive playground. We plan on challenging the big boxes through social innovation by not only presenting great interactive opportunities, but by also listening and talking with, not at, our fan base,” Bayer said. To create an ongoing social experience outside of their four walls, Saxbys has recently launched several initiatives via social media platforms to drive fan engagement.  This spring, the brand has launched a Facebook contest, in which fans and Saxbys baristas alike are able to submit their own original drink creation.  Fans will then get to vote for their favorite submission, with the winning entry appearing on the menu at Saxbys locations nationwide this summer. With each location individually designed to reflect the unique culture of every community it serves, Bayer wanted to take it one step further and allow fans to be a part of the store design process as well.  This March, Saxbys launched a crowdsourcing initiative at their Georgetown location, asking fans to snap photos of where they enjoy Saxbys products in their community and tag the photos as #IAmSaxbysGeorgetown.  Saxbys will then select photos from fans to create a giant mural which will be featured in the store. “Social media gives us a platform to connect with our fans on a personal level that would have never been possible in the past,” said Bayer. “The foundation of Saxbys is all about creating a social experience, and through our different crowd sourcing initiatives, we are able to hear directly from our customers.  By encouraging these conversations about what Saxbys means to our fans, we can continue to provide that unique experience that keeps our fans coming back.”