Social Listening Insights

Portfolio Project: Social Listening Analysis for Great Grounds Coffee

Project Overview

For this project, I conducted a social listening analysis for Great Grounds, a regional coffee chain in the Northeast U.S. Using Twitter data, I analyzed customer conversations around the brand, its products, competitors, and industry trends. The goal was to gain insights into audience sentiment and identify opportunities to improve Great Grounds’ marketing strategy.

This process involved filtering social media mentions by positive and negative sentiment, analyzing trends, and suggesting data-driven actions to enhance customer engagement and business growth.

1. Filtering & Analyzing Positive Mentions

Key Insights from Positive Mentions:

• Customers love specific drinks like caramel coffee, white cranberry, and gingerbread latte.

• The Brooklyn store location is highly favored.

• Customers appreciate the purses sold at Great Grounds.

• Many people prefer sugar-free maple syrup and pumpkin spice creamer.

• Sundays see a high volume of coffee drinkers.

• Kids tend to drink coffee with more cream (almond milk, creamer, etc.) rather than strong coffee.

Recommended Actions:
✔ Promote Sunday Coffee Specials – Since Sundays have a high volume of coffee drinkers, Great Grounds can introduce special promotions or discounts for that day.
✔ Highlight Seasonal Favorites – Promote gingerbread lattes and pumpkin spice creamer as signature drinks.
✔ Expand Sugar-Free & Dairy-Free Options – Since kids and health-conscious customers prefer alternatives, offer more dairy-free and sugar-free syrups.
✔ Boost Brooklyn Store Marketing – Since this location is popular, run localized social media ads or in-store events to capitalize on its strong reputation.

2. Filtering & Analyzing Negative Mentions

Key Insights from Negative Mentions:

• Peppermint coffee received multiple negative reviews.

• Customers find prices too high and consider cups overpriced.

• Some customers want more online ordering options.

• Many potential customers don’t have time to visit physical stores.

Recommended Actions:
✔ Discontinue or Improve Peppermint Coffee – Since multiple people dislike it, either reformulate the recipe or remove it from promotions.
✔ Introduce a Loyalty Program – Offer a rewards program to help loyal customers save money and make prices feel more competitive.
✔ Expand Online Ordering & Delivery Options – Invest in better digital ordering (website, app, or third-party delivery partnerships) to cater to busy customers.

3. Filtering for Java House Mentions (Competitor Analysis)

Key Insights from Java House Mentions:

• Java House is considered too expensive.

• Customers dislike Java House’s cold brew.

• Java House employees prefer Great Grounds over their own brand.

• Java House’s Maple Bacon Coffee is very popular.

Recommended Actions:
✔ Emphasize Great Grounds’ Competitive Pricing – Since Java House is seen as expensive, promote Great Grounds as the better-value alternative.
✔ Experiment with New Cold Brew Options – Since Java House’s cold brew is unpopular, this presents an opportunity to introduce a better cold brew at Great Grounds.
✔ Leverage Employee Testimonials – Highlight Java House employees choosing Great Grounds to boost brand credibility.
✔ Test a Maple Bacon Coffee Flavor – Since Java House’s Maple Bacon Coffee is a hit, consider creating a similar drink to attract that audience.

Challenges & Lessons Learned

• Understanding Customer Preferences:

  • Positive sentiment around specific flavors means those drinks should be highlighted in marketing.

  • Negative sentiment around peppermint coffee suggests it needs to be reworked or removed.

• Lesson Learned: Social listening helps brands refine their product offerings based on real customer feedback.

• Balancing Pricing & Perception:

  • Customers feel pricing is too high, but they prefer Great Grounds over Java House in value.

  • A loyalty program or discount strategy can make Great Grounds feel more affordable without lowering product quality.

• Lesson Learned: A well-structured loyalty program can counteract pricing concerns while keeping profit margins intact.

• Using Competitor Insights for Growth:

  • Since Java House’s cold brew is unpopular, Great Grounds can take advantage of this by developing a superior cold brew product.

  • Java House’s Maple Bacon Coffee is trending—testing a similar drink could help capture market interest.

• Lesson Learned: Analyzing competitors’ weaknesses and strengths provides opportunities for market positioning.

Outcome & Reflection

This social listening analysis for Great Grounds revealed valuable customer preferences, pain points, and competitive insights. By addressing pricing concerns, product improvements, and online ordering options, Great Grounds can strengthen its market position and drive higher engagement and sales.