Pioneering The Marketplace
Introduction
I want to talk about pioneering the marketplace.
So what do I mean by pioneering the marketplace?
So, I’ve just actually called into a supermarket attached to a petrol station, and just picked up a few bits and bobs that I needed to pick up.
Any of you guys follow my stuff, know me.
I like a cup of coffee.
I do like coffee, it’s one of my sins.
I don’t smoke, I don’t drink.
I’m pretty boring that way, so maybe we’ll have a debate about that separately.
But, what I do like is coffee.
Do You Need To Generate New Ideas?
No public push here for Costa.
It just happens to be that that’s the topic that I wanted to share my thoughts with you today.
Get you to get the ideas generating, and open up a debate with you about how you can pioneer the market.
Again, I’m not advocating Costa over Starbucks, or vice versa, or any of the other smaller independents.
They’re all great people.
What I’m saying is that Costa have extracted money out of my wallet in a petrol station where they don’t even have a franchise.
Because they’ve been, like many other companies, it’s not the only one, as I said, I’m not just promoting Costa here.
But it took the initiative to create a portable machine, or an on-site machine that petrol stations, supermarkets, events where they can, as long as there’s an electrical power surge, they can hook up a machine, and they can make a whole wide a drinks.
I can select lattes, I can select standard coffees, chocolate’s in there, with or without sugar, decaf milk, all sorts of wide range of drinks.
It’s no bigger than an old Space Invader machine or, for you guys that are old enough to understand what the old arcade machines look like.
It’s no bigger than that.
It probably stands about a metre wide.
I don’t know, a metre eight by two metres high tops.
That is up there, and they’re getting revenue.
Are You Making Your Customers Experience Worthwhile?
They’re maybe not getting the direct revenue, because the person at the petrol station and the supermarket actually gets a cut, but obviously they’re getting the source revenue where the supermarket’s paying the rent on the machine, or they’re maybe taking a cut off each drink that’s done.
I don’t know quite how the business part works if I’m being truthful.
But Costa is an original coffee shop starting out, I think about 1971, or something like that, roasting beans then about 1978, they move forward into doing coffee shops as we know them today.
That’s developed over time.
Now, they’re putting machines in there.
I don’t see Starbucks machines in there.
I do like Starbucks, probably a little bit more favourable than Costa, if I’m being truthful, more of the experience.
But Costa’s taken that to the market.
You see them all over, Costa portable machines in motorway service stations.
They even have them where the Costa Centres are there.
I’ve been in many a motorway services when there’s a full blown Costa there, and there’s also a take-away machine in the foyer area.
Cash Share of Customer’s Loyalty
So, to me that’s pioneering the marketplace and taking more wallet share or cash share of a customer’s loyalty happens.
If they’re providing convenience for me to get a cup of coffee on the go, which is better than maybe one of these traditional old horrible vending machines out of the plastic cups and everything.
Then, there is a good chance when I see a Costa I’m going to go in there and do a sit down experience.
So that may or may not include a sandwich, or some type of patisserie or something like that.
So, how are you going to pioneer your market?
Are you going to sit there, and are you just going to say, “Hey, we’re good at what we do and we’re going to keep doing it?”
Nothing wrong with that, I like that. Just get better at that and get more in it, get bigger share, that’s a great business model.
Are you actually currently looking at, how are you going to take your full blown High Street Costa Coffee Shop and condense that down into a business model that puts a portable vending machine into things like petrol stations and supermarkets.
Which means that you’re still getting money even when a customer can’t go to the coffee shop.
I love to know what your ideas are.
Shoot me a message on Twitter, #TheOpenMike, #GrowthEngine, either one of those.
That will get to us, and we’ll get the answer.
If you want to PM me you can connect with me on LinkedIn.
Just search Mike Midgley.
You can find me there.
Connect with me, I’ll be happy.
You can send me a private message.
If you’ve got something super sensitive, and you’ve got the next Facebook, I would probably advise you not to put that on public forum.
So, again, shoot me a private message.
I’m happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement with you, or something like that if that’s something that you want my advice on, I’d be more than happy to help.
