Whangarei McCafe’s Trials Waikato Company SmartCoffeeCard

August 30th 2012

Whangarei McCafe’s Turns to Waikato Company SmartCoffeeCard to trial Loyalty Card System

Whangarei McCafe’s have turned to Waikato business SmartCoffeeCard to trial their unique loyalty card system in two of their cafes.

The loyalty card system will be trialled at two McCafes in Whangarei - McCafe Bank Street and McCafe Kamo. "I was surprised and pleased to receive the call from Antony Bax, Restaurant Manager at McCafe Bank Street," says Hendrik van Blerk, CEO of SmartCoffeeCard. "We were still in beta testing and to have a company of their stature ask for trial was stunning! Stretching, but stunning!"

SmartCoffeeCard saw an increase in smartphone usage throughout New Zealand and changes in people’s habitats especially around the use of loyalty cards. “Many people were getting tired of carrying dozens of coffee cards, one for every cafe they visted” says Hendrik van Blerk, “So we came up with a solution”.

SmartCoffeeCard uses a 'free to consumer app' on smart phones to replace the traditional cardboard coffee loyalty card and digitally stamps on your phone. SmartCoffeeCard charges cafes a small monthly fee to be part of the programme which allows cafes to communicate direct with their customers on their smart phones.

Smart phone penetration into New Zealand currently stands at 44% and continues to rise.

SmartCoffeeCard is now available at 3 cafes in the Hamilton region, including de Vice & S’orbi Cafe with more Cafe's in discussions to use our system. "Interest and uptake so far has been very pleasing, with a number of very positive Facebook comments" says van Blerk. "At this point we are right on the cusp of rolling this out nationally. The interest from McCafe has only spurred us on".

SmartCoffeeCard is more than just about coffee loyalty cards. SmartCoffeeCard’s backend system allows cafes to get a better understanding of their customers and their purchasing habits. Gone are the days when cafes just ‘bin’ a fully stamped card without knowing how many stamps were collected or free coffee given away. SmartCoffeeCard lets cafes know how long it has taken the customer to fill their card for their free coffee plus much more. It opens up a whole new world of data for these cafes and allows them to break down their customer base and find out what is and isn’t working.

SmartCoffeeCard has been developed over past 15 months and has been available at trial Cafe's since May 2012. Hendrik frequents coffee shops and carries a separate wallet just for his loyalty cards, of which there are a great many! Being very frustrated with a thick and separate wallet and trying to find the right card amongst a deck of loyalty cards was not easy. No guesses where the idea of SmartCoffeeCard came from!

Hendrik van Blerk has a long association with the coffee industry and has a successful business leasing fresh bean to cup commercial grade coffee machines for a café style coffee solution to business. These machines can be found in offices though out Hamilton and Hendrik uses two local roasters (La Roma and Weka) for fresh beans.

“Not only will we endeavour to give Cafe Owners and coffee lovers a great experience using Smartphone technology in everyday use, we will help you build great and lasting relationships ‘One Cup’ at a time and ‘One stamp’ at a time!” Hendrik van Blerk.

See full details of the Smart Coffee Card at www.smartcoffeecard.co.nz

ENDS

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