Digital firms connect with customers over a coffee
On a busy street in Hong Kong’s Central district, a shopfront sticks out. Painted on its pure white exterior are the words “How’s your coffee today?”
The shop, Preface Coffee, is one of two concept stores operated by Preface Coding, a digital education company with no physical campus that provides one-on-one data science courses to adults and children.
“The coffee shop is our physical classroom,” said Tommie Lo, the founder and chief executive.
Preface Coding is among digital companies tapping Hong Kong’s booming coffee scene to connect with customers. The environment of coffee shops makes these brands easier to engage with, while a physical presence helps boost consumers’ confidence and sense of security.
“Opening a coffee shop will not increase sales to a great extent, but I think it will help companies to build strong trust among their customers,” said Jane Jeongin Park, an assistant professor of marketing at City University.
“It’s a clever idea, because it removes some of the things that scare off people. Customers voluntarily enter a coffee shop, which makes them feel more open to new ideas and new brands,” Park said.
Preface Coding opened its first coffee shop in 2018. A second appeared this year in Tin Hau, with a third due this summer. In Tin Hau, there are benches, movable tables and sockets as well as projection screens make it easier to hold regular free workshops.
“Before we opened the coffee shop, it was difficult to explain what was the difference between us and other education companies. The coffee shop is a dynamic space [that gives us the chance to] explain what we do,” Lo said.
Bowtie’s Bow Coffee in Wan Chai is the first coffee shop in the city to be run by a virtual insurer. Its virtual insurance licence prohibits Bowtie from selling through agents, banks or brokers.
“A virtual business seems intangible and vague. Now, [our customers] can always find us in Wan Chai. This makes our brand more human. We hope that we can build trust [this way],” said Fred Ngan, Bowtie’s co-founder and co-CEO.
Bow Coffee opened in March this year, decorated in Bowtie’s signature blue and pink colours. The coffee machine is also in the insurer’s colours, which Ngan said was part of their soft-sell marketing strategy.
“The insurance industry can be pushy, but people know that they need it. It is good to give them some room to think about it,” he added.
Farmacy, a hydroponic mobile farms start-up, has partnered with Interval Coffee Bar on a farmto-table cafe in Cyberport. It has installed six mobile farms in Interval’s 4,000 sq ft store and provides a variety of herbs and vegetables.
“The coffee shop is a demonstration of the application of our products,” said Raymond Mak, chief executive of Farmacy. Customers can see how the company’s herb gardens work and replicate this at home, he added.
“Our time in restaurants is limited. However, in a coffee shop, you can stay for several hours by just buying a cup of coffee. This means that our customers are exposed to our products for longer,” Mak said.