Using The Web to Sell Another Cup of Coffee

When you are a big-brand franchise like Dunkin’ Donuts, your business model is based on high volume sales of low cost items. For example, cups of coffee. With scale like Dn'D has, selling one additional cup of coffee to a small percentage of your customers each day can create massive incremental revenue.

Too often brands look at the web as merely a place to aggregate brand loyalty, build fan clubs, and communicate with customers about offers and promotions. Not that those are bad things mind you. When done well those efforts can pay off, however Dn'D has built something ridiculously simple (by modern web development standards) that can actually add to their bottom line quite extensively if it catches on.

The app is really simple, just visit www.dunkinrun.com and sign up for an account. You can then create a “run” when you are ready to head to your local Dunkin’ Donuts. However instead of walking around to everyone’s desk at work and making a list, you just shoot them an email via the “run” creation process…they then choose what they want from a nicely laid out menu and the tool creates a nice printable list for you to head to the nearest Dn'D with. When you get back from your “run” you can let people know you’re back via the tool, and if even integrates with Facebook so you can make people aware of your “back” status.

Is this a goofy little app? Perhaps, but the better question is, will using this tool make it easier to order coffee for everyone in the office? And will that garner an incremental cup or two? I think yes!

Does it need to be integrated with Facebook? Probably not, but what a great way for DnD to enable their loyal customers to promote their brand for them!?

Add to all this the fact that I just learned about this app via following @DunkinDonuts on Twitter, and the picture of a modern brand making the best us of “social media” emerges! Nice work Dn'D.