Why We’re Giving Away (Free) Coffee
How are you going to trust us, if you can’t taste us?
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
― Ernest Hemingway
When we first started Bean Voyage, we lived by the principle that customer trust can be gained by referrals —the customers that initially trust in our mission and product will tell their friends and that’s an organic way of growing our customer base. The home try-on concept, championed by companies such as Warby Parker, has revolutionized several industries. However, as a non profit social enterprise, we were cautious of the risk in spending a great deal of our limited budget on a sample program. As a result, we didn’t have a sample program for many months — you either trusted us based on our mission and social recognition or trusted us based on the referrals of your friends who tried our coffee. Most importantly, we argued that we only wanted customers who would purchase from us based on our social mission.
Then, in July of 2017, a mentor pointed out a major flaw in our argument — why should any good willing customer purchase our coffee when there are a million other opportunities for them to be egalitarian? How were our potential customers going to trust us if they couldn’t even taste the coffee? Plus, the friend referral program would only work if everyone had similar taste, but coffee preference is unique to every person’s palate. With consumer products that relate to the daily life of many individuals, it is vital for interested customers to be able to try some sample before making a decision. As much as our social mission was a driving factor for supporters, we also struggled to grow outside a small bubble of early adapters and their friends.
So, after considerable reflection, we finally launched a free sample program! We started offering a bag of Bean Voyage coffee for free — customers just pay for the shipping. The results initially were not very drastic, but eventually that has increased our sales by 873%, and increased our repeat customers by an astounding 487% from the previous year! Not only do a larger volume of people sign up to sample the coffee, but a large percentage of those customers are returning to make a second purchase and in some cases, they are subscribing to Bean Voyage coffee.
When you go to www.beanvoyage.com and if you know your flavor preference, you can directly choose from a variety of flavors that best suit your taste:
But, for customers who aren’t sure of the flavors or the quality, they can request a sample (currently only with Home and Office Subscription options):
With this option, customers have an opportunity to try our recommended coffee, and provide us with feedback on what they like and what they didn’t. Based on that , they can make changes to their subscription or if they change their mind, they can simply cancel their subscription at any time (no strings attached!).
Not only has this change in our outlook changed the way we’ve grown, but it has also allowed interested supporters to try the coffee before they put their hard earned dollars on a subscription program. In addition, it builds the foundation for a relationship of trust between the customers and our venture. Instead of customers trusting us, we are now trusting them to come back and continue supporting some of our farmers.
So, if you’re reading this and haven’t had the chance to try Bean Voyage coffee, here’s an opportunity for you to give us a shot, for free! More importantly, we would love to hear from you — if you enjoyed the coffee, have feedback on the packaging, or if you want, share a note on your social media about our work!
- Currently we’re only offering the free subscription for customers in the U.S.A.
