Coffeebru
Located in a suburban neighbourhood in Cape Town, Coffeebru had a lot of things going for it – but it had the usual suspects of the coffee which wakes you up right, a friendly environment and a steady clientele who all knew the baristas by name.
What it didn’t have, though, was any of this online. Or at least, not in a way that would help. The people in the know all loved Coffeebru. But far too few people knew about them. It was a bit like having this gorgeous little café… with a velvet rope up.
It needed a spark online. Not a new identity. Just a spark.
Lead Time: 3 months
Sector: Food and Beverage (Coffee Shop)
Target Type: Local Customers and Tourists
Demographic: Adults aged 18–45, including local residents, remote workers, students, and tourists.
Website Goal: Increase website traffic, drive online menu exploration, promote special offers, and boost in-store visits through enhanced local SEO.
Services: Local SEO Optimisation, Google My Business (GMB) Optimisation, Reputation Management
20%
Increase in Visitors
in 3 Months
The Challenge
Essentially, the challenge was a simple one: they had to appear online, and their online activity had to be converted into customers.
Their Google My Business listing told one story, an outdated one. Trading hours were out of date. Photos were few and far between. Even the menu wasn’t “wow”.
And it didn’t help that Coffeebru wasn’t actively engaging with their reviews. There were a number of lovely ones, with the odd constructive moan and groan, that they weren’t responding to. Which meant they were missing those simple, authentic interactions that can have a local business grow its credibility.
On top of that, some of their competitors were on top of their online game. Active. Visible. And almost without realising it, Coffeebru had been pushed out of the limelight.
They needed to bring the warmth and personality they offered in real life, online.
Crafting a Unique Brand Voice
Coffeebru wasn’t talking to customers in their online reviews.
Their responses were few and far between and made customers feel like they weren’t being heard.
That made the brand seem distant in a crowded coffee scene.
So we partnered with Coffeebru to create a friendly, down to earth voice that would connect with their crowd.
Every response – good or bad – showed real appreciation and a promise to get better.
Now customers feel truly heard, knowing their feedback actually matters.
Optimizing Google My Business (GMB)
Coffeebru’s Google My Business profile was a mess.
Outdated hours, boring menu and zero promotions or eye catching photos.
No wonder they weren’t showing up in local search.
We gave their GMB a full makeover. Everything got updated and accurate.
We added a new menu and took some great photos of their cozy space and famous coffee.
We also added some special deals to grab people’s attention.
Then we used Google GMB Insights to keep an eye on how the profile was doing and made sure Coffeebru stayed top of mind in local search.
Simplifying Review Management
Reviews on GMB were… um… becoming a little… unpleasant to deal with for Coffeebru.
Not a disaster, not a crisis, just one of those things that keeps slipping down the ‘to do’ list until it sort of becomes… *shrug* too hard to bother with, because no one really knows how to begin.
Nothing behind the scenes to coordinate or manage replies. Missed replies. And any potentially amazing feedback that could’ve been reposted/shared/exalted? Probably never happened.
So we took a look and came up with a little something that made life much easier: a review management tool that aggregated everything into a simple, streamlined dashboard. No more tab switching. No more missed comments. Just one place for the team to see incoming reviews and reply whilst still fresh.
We didn’t just give them the tool and run either. We sat down with the team and walked through various scenarios – and the appropriate way to tackle those reviews, whether they were the five star ones; or those a little more awkward; or the two star with no comments that makes you question your life.
Trust in the system (and a little confidence) goes a long way, and they picked it up in no time.
And the difference was almost instant. What had been admin in the past was now an opportunity to engage with their customers and show their brand a bit of personality. Reviews weren’t to be feared, but instead a way to really home in on what made their service really, really special.
Encouraging Customer Engagement
Getting customers to write reviews… well, let’s be honest, it’s never as simple as it seems.
It’s always “I meant to do that!” and “I’ll do it next time!” So we get it. But for Coffeebru, it was a big priority — pretty much the whole strategy for building reputation and rankings was riding on reviews.
The issue was, there was no process to make it happen before. Reviews were definitely missed and I’d bet lots of nice comments got lost.
We put something straightforward in place — in fact, it was almost embarrassingly simple: QR codes. On receipts, on little table tents, even a poster near the counter. Nothing fancy, just direct to their review page.
This little tweak had an effect pretty quickly. People were scanning the code right after their coffee and doughnut, when the experience was fresh and the effort was zero.
Oh, we added another little incentive. Coffeebru would choose a couple of reviewers each month to be featured in their “Customer Spotlight” posts on social. Nothing major, just a public thank-you. Not a giveaway or discount or anything like that. But people loved it. And it added a nice community feel.
The result? More reviews, more frequently. And you can just feel the engagement.
The Results
And in only three months, the new Coffeebru saw signs of some tangible success.
- Website Traffic: +20% Coffeebru received an influx in web traffic immediately following the GMB update. The average time spent on the website increased as customers browsed menus, read promotions and, in some cases, even placed take-out orders online. The site had suddenly become just as inviting as the store.
- Phone Inquiries: +15% The phone rang with inquiries about menus, table availability, and even reservations. The shop was humming even before the first customer walked in the door.
- Review Responses: Fostering Responses Positive responses to reviews created a virtuous cycle. Within weeks, new reviews rolled in, praising not just Coffeebru’s attention to detail and hospitality, but the staff’s effort in making customers feel seen. And seen they were.
- Local Search Rankings: Reviews are the lifeblood of local SEO. After an influx of new, positive reviews, Coffeebru also began to appear in Google’s “Local Pack” for search queries such as “coffee shops near me,” taking a well-deserved prime spot in their local community.
Scope and Resources
The team at Coffeebru is small. We had the owner, two baristas and a part-time marketing maven to work with. We jumped in with both feet and got started.
We started with a comprehensive audit of their Google My Business listing. Then we implemented a review management platform, and launched a simple customer engagement campaign. Nothing fancy, just some focused, tactical moves.
Specifically, we created:
- An account manager to shepherd the project and ensure no stone was left unturned
- A review management platform that aggregated feedback into one easy-to-use dashboard
- Tailored QR codes to trigger in-store review requests – simple, effective and available right when a customer walked out the door
- Training for the staff on how to reply to reviews in Coffeebru’s authentic voice, as well as best practices for managing the GMB listing on an ongoing basis.
- Google GMB Insights so we could monitor and measure results, identify trends, and make adjustments as necessary.
It was simple stuff, but exactly the kind of focused, detail-oriented support the team needed to begin to shine online.
Technical Tools:
Google My Business Dashboard, Moz Local, Screaming Frog, Google PageSpeed Insights, Yoast SEO, Semrush and Canva
SEO Services
Local SEO optimization, Review management and Response strategy, Customer engagement campaign, Brand voice development, Content Creation, Training and support for GMB management.
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