How 4K+ Coffee Lovers Get their Cuppa at Costa Coffee with the Help of Google Maps
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Editor’s note: Gordon Lucas, Global Head of Digital Engineering at Costa Coffee, explains how Google Maps Platform helps direct customers to each of its 4,000 plus Costa Coffee shops across the world, as well as streamline payments, and optimize deliveries.
When brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa opened the first Costa Coffee in central London in 1971, they relied on word of mouth to grow trade. Personal recommendations encouraged people who lived and worked locally to visit the coffee shop and sample what became (and still remains) our signature blend coffee, Mocha Italia.
Fast forward 50 years and we have more than 4,000 coffee shops spread over 31 countries. To make it as easy as possible for our global customers to pick up a Mocha Italia, a Costa Americano, or any other Costa Coffee product wherever we operate, we decided to create a visual app. We wanted the app to help customers across the world find their most convenient eat-in, takeaway, drive-thru, partner store, or delivery platform, and highlight which services are available and at what times.
Enhancing the customer experience with intelligent maps
We were already using Google Maps Platform products on our website to provide our customers with a basic store locator service. So when we launched our mobile app in 2017, we added more interactive geospatial features to make our customers’ journeys quicker and easier.
We chose to enhance our existing Google Maps Platform solution because our developers enjoyed using it. Google Maps Platform offered all the capabilities we needed to boost our solutions, and we were excited to see how we’d be able to leverage geospatial data to improve the experience of our customers.
Our Google Cloud Premier Partner, Snowdrop Solutions, supported us in deploying all our requirements so the app’s new features could be rolled out globally. We wanted to direct pedestrians and vehicles to standalone Costa Coffee shops and kiosks in supermarkets and gas stations. We also wanted a dynamic map feature to highlight which locations offered click-and-collect, drive-thru, and delivery services. We then wanted to link these services to our online payments systems, seamlessly integrating our transaction process to make it as easy as possible for our customers.
To that end, we used the Maps Static API to embed maps within our app, and the Geocoding API to convert addresses into coordinates to create markers on our maps. We also use the Places API to allow customers to search for a Costa Coffee facility based on their location.
A new route for customer satisfaction
We had one issue when it came to locating Costa Coffee shops, however. We noticed that some customers were selecting the wrong store to collect orders. Fortunately, Google Maps Platform provided a quick fix that solved this issue. We updated the service to provide customers with a map of their collection point upon receipt of their order, remindIng them which store to collect from. A tweak like adding a map to a receipt improves customer satisfaction. The drop in calls to our customer service is testimony to this.
Geospatial intelligence became invaluable in the pandemic
We had to adjust our service when the pandemic hit and Google Maps Platform was again instrumental in helping us. Because we had to comply with unique lockdown measures and travel restrictions across different locations, it could be challenging for our customers to stay up-to-date on the changing opening times and service guidelines of our shops. So we used Google Maps Platform Places API to show our customers which nearby stores, click-and-collect outlets, or drive-thrus were open, and when, during lockdowns.
Integrating this with our mobile ordering system also enabled us to promote COVID-safe contactless payments. Customers can locate a Costa Coffee shop, select, order, purchase, and collect their order or have it delivered to their cars without the need for any human contact. This reduces service wait times and minimizes the risk of transmission between customers and baristas. It also makes our employees feel more safe at work.
Geospatial data optimizes our entire operation
When the lockdown ended, our in-app order data showed a spike in demand, illustrating how much our customers miss their Costa Coffee experience. This data not only helps us to identify demand, it lets us track user preferences, informs where to direct supplies to meet a raised demand, and creates more accurate forecasts. This data can also help us manage costs.
Geospatial intelligence is also used to improve the experience of customers, from when they first look to order a cappuccino to when they arrive at the shop to enjoy it. We are using geomarketing to surface local offers. Say a Costa Coffee shop is trialing a new beverage, a pop-up can suggest users of our app try it next time they’re nearby.
Google Maps Platform has become integral to our digital operations. New features and capabilities of Google Maps Platform products have allowed us to continue innovating. The Costa Coffee footprint now spreads physically and digitally around the globe, and with the help of Google Maps Platform we can still offer the same tailored personal service that spurred the initial success of the Costa Brothers 50 years ago.
For more information on Google Maps Platform, visit our website.
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The future of meetings in G Suite: Vision and roadmap
A study from MIT Sloan school in early April showed that 47% of US workers were already working from home. Compare that to just 13% before the pandemic. And these numbers are likely to be even greater today.
Video meetings help us connect in a human way, whether it’s for work, a personal commitment, or for education. We have seen Meet’s day-over-day growth surpass 60%. Meet daily usage is more than 30 times what it was in January 2020. And we have been able to scale to this demand easily. Scalability, security, reliability, come naturally to Google Cloud and are in-built into all our services. Our customers have been reaching out to tell us how much this has helped them shift to remote work rapidly during the pandemic.
G Suite continues to innovate on how teams communicate effectively, regardless of whether they are located in the same office or thousands of miles apart. In this video, we share our vision for the future of meetings, small and large, and how these innovations will help build human connections in a video-first world. We’ll also provide a sneak peek into what we’re doing to transform the overall life cycle of a meeting, from scheduling to follow-up.
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Are You Suffering from Spreadsheet Paralysis?
Today, within the four walls of your office there’s just one concern everyone has: What do the numbers say?
The answer to that question almost always rests with you. If they get it wrong, everybody gets it wrong. But does it have to be so hard to get it right?
Wading in the waters of endless spreadsheets, trying to figure formulas to slice data in every possible permutation and combination, and still keeping your sanity is a herculean task.
That’s probably why today’s business leaders are most likely suffering from what’s being termed as spreadsheet paralysis. The symptoms include confusion, anxiety and a desire to throw away your computer in the garbage.
It doesn’t have to be that bad. With Explore in Google Sheets,
Watch this video to find out how.
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How the UK’s Football Association Turns to Tech to Ensure its 29 Teams Deliver World-Class Performance
The FA is an iconic British institution responsible for overseeing all aspects of football in the UK, from the grassroots club level across the country to the national teams who play at Wembley.
However, even icons like The FA must evolve to stay at the top of their game and they realized their old methods of pen and paper needed to change.
So The FA partnered with Google Cloud to transform itself into a digital leader. The first step was to implement G Suite to get all 29 professional national teams on the same page.
For all 350+ staff at St. George’s Park training facility and coaches throughout the country and on the road, G Suite provides an intuitive and easy way for all these entities to work together.
Coaches could communicate through Hangout; analysts could
compile and share data in Sheets; AI training plans could be distributed
and executed using Slides; and Drive helped support players on the
move, giving immediate access to important information, like dietary
requirements, training data, travel docs and more.
Watch the video to find out more.
How One of the World’s Largest Insurers Improved Sales Performance with Better Collaboration
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When Generali Hungary, one of Hungary’s leading insurance agencies and one of the world’s largest insurance companies, was looking for a way to provide the company’s more than 1,800 employees and 2,200 self-employed agents with a tool to communicate efficiently, it turned to Google.
For insurance companies whose agents are scattered across territories and frequently on the road, having robust and collaborative systems in place, with access to forms, calendars, and documents anytime, anywhere, is crucial.
“Our aim with this project is to digitize sales processes and improve our internal communication. The unit manager has the opportunity to have continuous online contact with his agents as well as Generali’s employees,” says László Kriston, Sales Digital Transformation Team leader, Generali Hungary.
Insurance companies sell their products through sales channels such as brokers and tied agents, who are the point of contact with their clients. Generali Hungary had issues with its previous mail system, namely performance, administration, and calendar sharing. The Sales Digital Transformation Team looked for a way to improve performance and make communication more efficient for both agents and managers.
Nubian Skin Beats Spikes in Customer Interest with G Suite
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“Nude” comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. But for Ade Hassan, finding undergarments to match her skin tone took more effort than necessary. Born in the U.K. to Nigerian parents, Hassan searched unsuccessfully for underwear and swimwear that matched her skin—a problem that continued to frustrate her through college and into her professional life.
“My nude isn’t the nude I see in shops,” Hassan says.
Like many other black entrepreneurs, she created her own solution. Hassan founded Nubian Skin, a company that sells lingerie, hosiery, and swimwear for women of color.
With shades like “cafe au lait” and “berry,” Nubian Skin products reflect diverse skin tones and are sold in shops located in the U.K., Nigeria and the U.S., as well as online. Beyoncé and her dancers even asked Nubian Skin to outfit them for their 2017 “Formation” tour.
Since nearly the beginning, Hassan has used G Suite to keep her business humming.
From managing meetings with retailers and manufacturers, to coordinating publicity efforts with fashion press, to keeping track of retail invoices, G Suite has helped Hassan scale her business as quickly as people have demanded her products.
“There are so many pitfalls and so many things that are hard about business,” Hassan says. “It’s really amazing to have something like G Suite that is easy and intuitive.”
Nubian Skin’s fashion fame arrived seemingly overnight. When Hassan posted the company’s first campaign images, its Instagram followers jumped from 50 people to more than 20,000 in just a few weeks.
“People called asking, ‘Can we have the contact for the press department?,” says Hassan. “But at the time, it was just me.” To easily handle media requests, she set up a press@nubianskin.com email address through the G Suite Admin console. And because she had used Gmail for several months before launching the company, using the business version of Gmail came naturally.
“Having that nubianskin.com address gave the business an air of professionalism, which we wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Hassan says. “Usually you need a whole IT department to set up new emails and passwords, but the Admin console removes the hassle of that process.”
Because Nubian Skin employees aren’t always in the showroom together, they need to be able to access business documents—like model photos and customer invoices—from anywhere.
To help, Hassan securely stores business documents in Google Drive (which can be accessed on mobile, too) and works collaboratively with her finance team to process orders using Google Sheets.
“Everyone has access to the spreadsheet so we can fill in what we need at any given point,” says Hassan. “This way, nothing slips through the cracks.”
And when she needs to connect with colleagues quickly or face-to-face, she uses Hangouts Chat or Hangouts Meet. Chat makes it so employees are only a message away, and Meet helps her connect with people as if they’re in person at the office.
Five years after launching Nubian Skin, Hassan is a recognized entrepreneur who’s influenced other retailers to create more inclusive designs.
“Even if you’re small, you want people to see you as a professional business,” Hassan says. “If you’re still growing, you need the building blocks to get you where you want to be. I can’t imagine working without G Suite.”
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