We came across this story here in the office about our favorite coffee spot, Tim Horton’s.
In it, Pete Blackshaw breaks down the fall of Starbuck’s vs. the rise and intense loyalty of Tim Horton’s customers. While regional chains like Tim Horton’s have their charm, Blackshaw uses an interesting metric to track the positive reputation Tim Horton’s has relative to Starbucks, even though both experienced rapid, wide expansion: Facebook.
It’s worth asking here whether Tim Hortons is executing what Starbucks is trying to rediscover. Even though it’s a chain, the brand — its mission, its people, its community ethos, even its interaction-rich and user-friendly website — comes across as uniquely authentic. And the appreciation for its authenticity shines in the Facebook forums in particular. Yes, brands like McDonald’s and Starbucks have more fans in total, but Tim Hortons takes the cinnamon donut when you look at total fans relative to total outlets*. And the fanaticism is notable, if not a bit scary.
It’s an interesting take on using Facebook and other social networks – instead of quantifying numbers of people interested in a topic – music, restaurant, ice cream flavor – Blackshaw is using social networking as a way of gaging the qualitative value of a customer base.
It’s an interesting interpretation, one backed up both on the Internet by the unabashed names of these Facebook groups -
Tim Hortons for Our Troops: 15,500 members
Biodegradable Cups at Tim Hortons: 10,300 members
Addicted to Tim Hortons: 9,000 members
Tim Hortons Rules of Ordering and More: 5,600 members
Addicted to Tim Hortons #2: 5,000 members
Tim Hortons Is Like Religion to Me: 1,900 members
- but it’s also reflected in the customers at the Timmy Ho’s themselves, an experience we North Coasters are already quite familiar with, but one Blackshaw only recently discovered.
The Buffalo franchise was mobbed, and the drive-through line in particular brought back Southern California high-school memories of the congested, almost-communal In-N-Out Burger line. But in full pursuit of the “total” experience, drive-through would not do. So I kissed the wife and kids goodbye and walked inside, only to encounter an equally long, yet somewhat impressive, line. So with time to boot, I started quizzing folks around me about the “secret sauce” of the brand’s success.
“Good food — always.” “Great menu.” “Friendly employees.” “You mean, you haven’t been to a Tim Hortons?” “The coffee is addictive.”
While we’re all about Tim Horton’s, it’s interesting how social networks can be used more as a qualitative barometer rather than simply a quantifying tool. It’s something we’re looking into with our own web marketing campaigns – sometimes building a small rabid fanbase leads to bigger things down the road.
* Emphasis is ours
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