The most difficult part of running the People’s Choice Coffee Awards isn’t getting customers to vote. It’s convincing coffee shops to ask them.
I understand the hesitation. Asking for votes feels uncomfortable. Desperate even. Nobody wants to look like they’re begging for praise.
But after reading every vote from the first 2 seasons, I think coffee shops don’t need to worry.
Customers want to be asked.
The comment box on the voting form is optional. You can vote without explaining your decision. So far, 100% of voters have left a comment.
Every single person took the extra time to tell me why their coffee shop deserves recognition.
They always comment on the coffee. I expected that. But they also write about baristas who remember them, owners who make them feel welcome and places that have become like a second home.
People clearly have something to say. And want the opportunity to say it.
What makes the PCCA different
That is what makes the People’s Choice Coffee Awards (PCCA) different.
Coffee already has respected competitions judged by experts. Judges understand extraction, technique, flavour and presentation. Those competitions recognise technical excellence and have helped move the industry forward.
The PCCA recognises something else.
Customer loyalty.
There are no judges, industry panels or technical scorecards. The people who visit the coffee shop are the ones who decide.
A global coffee award
The People’s Choice Coffee Awards has travelled much further than I expected.
Season 2 received votes from six continents. Season 3 already includes coffee shops from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania.
What I personally love about the PCCA, a neighbourhood café in Baghdad appears on the same list as one in London. Coffee shops in Chennai, Athens, Dubai, Johannesburg and Buenos Aires all recognised by the people who actually go there.
The easiest marketing you can do
For coffee shops, taking part might be the easiest marketing you do all month.
You don’t need to invent a campaign. You don’t need a photoshoot or an influencer. You only need to tell your customers that voting is open.
And in that moment, that customer who votes stops being somebody buying a coffee and becomes somebody who’s backing a business.
What previous winners did
The shops that performed well in previous seasons didn’t wait for customers to discover the voting page. They told them about it.
Flat White Specialty Coffee & Kitchen had table toppers printed for Season 2 and placed them inside its shops. It worked. Flat White won.
Roasti Coffee Co. in Canada won the first season after its community rallied behind it. Azura finished second and the result became a national news story in Oman.
Ask your community
There is a free promotional toolkit on the PCCA website. It contains material you can use on social media, in your newsletter and inside your coffee shop.
Download it. Put something near the till. Add it to the tables. Share the voting link. Ask your team to mention it to regulars.
One People’s Choice winner is named each month, together with a ranked list of other recognised coffee shops.
If you believe your coffee shop belongs on that list, ask the people who know it best.