Drew Furtado

For this post, I wanted to simulate what it might be like to be a social media manager for a coffee company looking to expand its business in Massachusetts. The fictional coffee company, “To Bean or Not to Bean,” seeks to expand its locations to two to three bordering states. In this scenario, I’ll look at data from Google Trends to pinpoint favorable areas in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

My first order of operation is to use Google Trends and search for the keyword ‘coffee’ and limit the search to Massachusetts. In my search, coffee is a reasonably popular searched term in New England, with an average search score of 80. The higher the score, the more popular the search word.

The data revealed that Massachusetts residents love coffee. It surprised me to see where the most concentrated searches of the keyword “coffee” originate. I assumed Boston, MA would be the top location, and I couldn’t help but ask myself, “who in Massachusetts searches Google for “Coffee?”

It turns out Google Trends gives some insight. Many users are searching for “Coffee Near Me.”

the Coffee King, Dunkin’.

You see, Massachusetts is a Dunkin’ state. In this state, you literally can find a Dunkin’ across the street from another Dunkin’. For example, on my three-mile commute, I can choose one of five Dunkin’ locations. I should add my commute is eight minutes.

Massachusetts residents do not turn to Google for Dunkin’ locations. We have mapped miles of Route six and can pinpoint the location of any Dunkin’. We can smell and feel the sites of Dunkin’, and if we can’t find one, we can drive down the road for a mile until we find one. My only guess is that tourists are searching for coffee locations.

Mashpee, Massachusetts

Data from Google Trends demonstrates that Mashpee, Massachusetts has the highest search for coffee in Google. Mashpee, MA, might be an ideal location for “To Bean or Not to Bean.” It’s a gateway community to the rest of the cape, home to many restaurants, attractions, and beaches, and attracts many tourists. My curiously couldn’t contain itself, and when searching Google Trends for “Cape Cod,” Mashpee was the third location with the highest searches.

Tourists might not appreciate our beloved Dunkin’ and could be seeking a different coffee to quench their palette. However, Mashpee is home to many other coffee shops and home to four Dunkin’ coffee shops. If our product could compete with the other shops in the area, Mashpee could serve our company well.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire loves coffee too! According to Google Trends Data, Manchester, New Hampshire, has the most significant concentrated searches for coffee. However, it does appear the market is overly saturated, as users are also searching for competitors at an increased rate. Our coffee could compete well in the Manchester market but would require some time to build an audience.

Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island, holds the record for coffee searches in The Ocean State. The city is already home to hundreds of coffee shops located across the city. Our business would see much success in Providence. However, we will need to offer something different for Rhode Islanders as the market is highly competitive. The city is home to many coffee juggernauts, such as The Coffee Connection, Blue State Coffee, and The Small Point Café. Starbucks and Dunkin’ are also prominently featured throughout the city.

There might be opportunities for our brand to flourish in the West End, or South Providence, as these places are not as saturated with Coffee Shops. It might be better for our brands to relocate to neighboring Pawtucket, Cranston, or Warwick, Rhode Island.

Google Trends, a Vital tool

Knowing this search data, we can quickly and accurately understand what our target audience is already searching for. This information can help us make better decisions, significantly determine business investments and core demographics.