How do you keep a coffee shop’s regulars coming back?
A good café already has a community. It’s the people who come in every morning, the ones who know the barista’s name, the ones who’d show up for a cupping night if they heard about it. Here’s how a café keeps them close on Fellow.
Juniper CoffeeJuniper CoffeeLatte Art ThrowdownHosted by @junipercoffeeFri 7:00 PMJuniper Coffee
+Give them a reason to come back and a way to hear what’s on. Fellow is free for cafés: give regulars a stamp card on their phone, post events like cuppings and latte art nights, keep your hours and links on one page, and let a Fellow Friend answer customers’ questions on your website and in the app.
Where most cafés start
Most cafés juggle a paper punch card, an Instagram account, a Google listing that’s wrong on holidays and a DM inbox full of “are you open?”. None of it tells you who your regulars are.
The right app keeps the regulars close: a reward they don’t lose in a coat pocket, a way to hear about events, and quick answers when they have a question. Fellow puts all of it on your café’s page and in one app your customers already have on their phone.
A stamp card that doesn’t get lost
Set up a stamp card with the reward you want, like a free drink after 10 visits. When a regular comes in, scan the code in their app at the counter and the stamp lands. When the card is full, they claim the reward right from it.
You see who your regulars actually are, and they get a reason to pick you over the place next door.
Cuppings, latte art nights and the Saturday market
Post events to your café’s circle: a cupping, a latte art throwdown, a pop-up with the bakery down the street. Set a cap for the small ones and the rest go on the waitlist. Sell tickets when there’s a tasting flight involved. Everyone who follows your café hears about it, and it shows on your page.
Your hours, kept up to date
Your café’s page on Fellow has your hours, your address, your menu link and an Order Online button if you have one. Closing early for a private event? Tell your Fellow Friend and it updates today’s hours on your Fellow page, then drafts a post to let everyone know.
Let your Fellow Friend answer “are you open?”
Every café on Fellow gets a Fellow Friend with its own name and face. Juni learns from your website and menu, sits on your site and in the app, and answers the questions your baristas hear all day: oat milk, wifi, whether dogs are allowed on the patio. Anything it shouldn’t answer, it passes to you.
Beans, merch and a coffee club
Put bags of beans and mugs in your circle’s Shop, with the number left on each so a limited roast feels like one. Start a monthly coffee club as a paid membership with perks like a members-only price. Customers pay in the app and the money goes to your Stripe account.
Juniper Coffee · Shop
Gesha Reserve, 250g$32 leftRoasted ThursdayWhat to keep using
Fellow doesn't ask you to give up the tools that already work. Here's how it fits next to them.
Your POS
Keep it for the till. Fellow is for the regulars around it: their stamp card, your events and their questions.
Keep posting the latte art. Put fellow.so/junipercoffee in your bio so followers can follow, RSVP and see your hours.
Google Maps
Keep your listing for people searching nearby. Your Fellow page links to your address in Maps. Fellow doesn’t change your Google hours, so update both when they change.
What it costs
Fellow is free to start, with unlimited members and events, and members never pay to use it. Fellow only earns when you sell something through it: 5% on tickets and Shop and 10% on paid memberships on the Free plan, less on paid plans, plus card processing. See pricing
Getting started
- 1Set up your café’s pageAdd your hours, address and menu link, and connect your website so your Fellow Friend can learn it.
- 2Set up the stamp cardPick the reward and how many visits it takes.
- 3Put the code on the counterRegulars scan, follow and start collecting stamps on their next visit.
Questions
Fellow is built for it and free to start: a stamp card on their phone, events with RSVPs, your hours and links on one page, and a Fellow Friend that answers customer questions on your website and in the app.
Yes. The Free plan has unlimited members and events, and members never pay to use the app. Fellow only earns when you sell something through it: 5% on tickets and Shop and 10% on paid memberships on Free, down to 1% and 3% on Fellow Brand, plus card processing.
You set the reward and how many visits it takes. At the counter, scan the code in the customer’s app and a stamp lands on their card. When it’s full, they claim the reward from the card.
It doesn’t replace your POS. Many cafés use Fellow’s stamp card in place of a paper punch card, alongside the POS they already have.
Yes. Add products to your circle’s Shop with prices, options and how many are left. Customers pay in the app and the money goes to your Stripe account.
It answers customers on your website and in the app with your café’s name and voice: hours, menu, dietary questions, events. It updates today’s hours on your Fellow page when you tell it plans changed, and hands anything else to you.
Juniper Coffee is an example made up for this article. Names and numbers in the figures are illustrative.
