Website Teardown: TOVA Coffeehouse Fights Tiredness And Poverty In Lubbock, Texas

TOVA Coffeehouse has a powerful mission, but does their website communicate it well? Find out in this website teardown.

I spend a lot of time looking at coffee websites for my work, and there’s one thing 9/10 don’t do that everyone should: captivate my emotional interest.

Instead, tell a passionate story. Get amped about a cause. Amplify an important message. Anything! Without this emotional element, your website will feel and sound the same as everyone else’s. That’s boring.

And bad for sales.

That’s why I’m doing free website teardowns, to help coffee businesses tell a unique story, stand out, and attract emotionally-captivated customers.

Up first, TOVA Coffeehouse, a unique coffee shop in Lubbock, Texas (shoutout to my hometown).

While the shop does have that emotional element – and communicates it well – there are a couple of things missing from the website that make it harder for me, a potential customer, to engage.

Let’s start with the header.

TOVA Has A Clear Mission

Overall, the header is strong.

Big win: no coffee cliches. There’s no “we travel the world to find the best beans” or “we only serve the freshest coffee possible”.

The focus and mission of the shop are strong, and as a potential customer, I see a reason other than coffee quality to visit.

I also love how easy it is to find the coffee shop menu. Are there non-dairy options? Full lunch menu or just pastries? All menu-related questions can be answered quickly.

Unanswered questions become points of contention for potential customers. For example, if they’re hungry, they’ll probably skip a coffee shop if they can’t tell whether there’s food or not. TOVA, however, clears up those concerns.

But there are other concerns they don’t address. More on this in a minute.

Connecting Coffee And Poverty

Every coffee company needs a brief “about us” section like this that quickly expands on the core values and goals of the business.

I love the line… “What if your cup of coffee created a long-term solution for our neighbors experiencing poverty?”

Once again, TOVA successfully makes me think beyond the basic coffee-for-dollars transaction: I get more than a cup of coffee at TOVA. I get to play a small part in something that’s meaningful.

For many, this triggers a skepticism. Is TOVA really making an impact, or is it just marketing-speak? Can my cup of coffee really make a difference?

Watch how TOVA answers these hesitations.

Eliminating “Cause Skepticism”

You’ve been to a website, seen that the business supports a cause, and wondered to yourself if they really support that cause in any meaningful way, or if it’s just a gimmick. 

I know I have a lot of skepticism about “cause marketing”. And I’ve definitely seen  conversations on Reddit where people suggest “just donate $50 to a charity every month so you can say you donate a portion of your profits”.

Skeevy. It’s that kind of attitude that created cause skepticism in the first.

TOVA, however, answers that skepticism beautifully with this section that offers specific proof that they really do act on what they stand for.

Saying $1 is donated for every cause drink purchased puts a defined number, a specific process in peoples’ minds. And identifying the free clinic with Lubbock Impact, Inc demonstrates that TOVA has real, on-the-ground partners. 

Now I know that supporting a cause isn’t a cryptic gimmick – there’s a tangible result.

And it’s directly related to TOVA’s mission for alleviating local poverty (compared to some companies who donate to seemingly unrelated causes). 

Altogether, TOVA’s cause marketing is very well communicated, with clear, tangible results that help me know that, as a customer, I will support not just a local coffee shop, but an important local effort.

Here’s What’s Missing From TOVA’s Website

There are a few important pieces of information that leave me, a potential customer, with some questions. And unanswered questions can quickly kill interest.

• How is TOVA responding to COVID-19? Are they open? Do they offer curbside or online ordering? Are they taking extra safety precautions? These aren’t normal questions. These are personal safety questions, and if I’m not confident I can visit safely, I’ll probably go somewhere else.
• Hours and location? TOVA does clearly say they’re located in Lubbock, Texas, but for any physical retail business, an embedded Google Maps display offers the best way to see how close the shop is, add to favorites, and read reviews. Hours (and COVID-19 hours) are missing.
• Online ordering is hard to find. TOVA does offer online ordering, but it’s hidden away in the menu (which is opened with a tiny button in the top right corner). You’re not likely to find it easily, and if TOVA wants to encourage ordering online, they may want to add a link in the header.

Overall, TOVA Coffeehouse has a beautiful, captivating homepage. With a few tweaks that answer these final questions and improve the customer experience, it will easily be one of the better sites I’ve seen for a one-location coffee shop.

Bravo, TOVA!

Now It’s Your Turn

What are your biggest takeaways from TOVA’s site? How can you apply those lessons to your own business? I’d love to hear!

Let me know at: hello(at)coffeemarketingschool(dot)com

 ☝️ Weird email styling to keep the bots out of my inbox.

Want your website homepage reviewed? Share this article with a friend in the coffee industry, screenshot it, and send it to me. I’ll put you in line!