Social Listening

For this blog assignment I am choosing Dutch Brother's Coffee. I chose Dutch Brother's because I've been a regular customer of theirs for years, I am also sitting here with one of their coffees next to me! Dutch Bro's Value Proposition is about the experience and service you receive, and serving quality drinks. They always strive to give great service - quick and accurate with coffee orders, and wanting to put a smile on everyone's face. 

I've heard a mix of thoughts/experiences from people just in conversations, but their social media accounts are also filled with numerous different comments from their customers. Here are some specifics:

A customer commented on a drink Dutch Bro's. was advertising.

A customer sharing her needs for sugar free options.

A customer complaint that Dutch Bro's responded to positively.

Dutch Brother's is constantly promoting their new drinks on social media - their initial post advertises a new drink while also trying to engage with the consumers by asking a question or saying "tag a friend for (insert purpose)". In the comments section their responses always seem positive and "upbeat", which is the kind of attitude the employees have when you visit the coffee stand. 

I'd say all aspects of Dutch Bro's. relates to marketing. Their use of social media to promote products and their upbeat "attitude" in their responses makes people want to go there for their coffee (and other drinks). They also have word-of-mouth marketing from their customers - if customers have a good experience and receive great tasting drinks, those customers are going to tell their friends and it'll be a chain reaction. I think the marketing challenge Dutch Brother's faces is appealing to all ages: they have a variety of drinks for all ages, but the in-person experience isn't necessarily catered to everyone - a mother of a young child wouldn't want to hear explicit music blasting from the store with their child in the backseat, and the older customers don't love it either. 

The company responds well to customers - they respond positively with customer comments, such as "We're glad you love it! 💛", and even with complaints they respond with "feel free to swing back through and let your broista's know, they'd love to help you out!" I think this is a great decision for the company because customers like to be heard and acknowledged, it makes people feel like they matter. Plus, it's just one more positive thing for customers to talk about with their friends. If I were the manager I definitely would use social media to promote products. Dutch Bro's is a growing company, there are always new stands popping up, and in current times social media is a huge platform for marketing. I also would respond to customer comments/complaints because it truly goes further than just that one customer, others will see the comment and think "wow, this company really cares".

From this assignment I've learned that the way a company treats their customers really can determine whether or not people go back. I've also learned that bigger companies (such as Dutch Bro's.) wouldn't be affected too much by the small percentage of customers that don't return.