Adagio - What A Great Business Model

I recently got heavy into drinking tea before bed so I was in the market for some good loose leaf chamomile. I remember Kevin from Diggnation mentioning a web site he gets his from, so I did a quick Google search and came up with Adagio.com.

I do quite a bit of my purchasing online, in fact I’d say about 80% of everything I buy is purchased via mouse clicks. Every once in a while I’m blown away with how great of an experience I have making said purchases. Some companies really have a solid grasp on what it takes to make a customer feel satisfied.

This is one such company.

Site Navigation

When you first land on the site it becomes very clear what it is they offer.

• There are graphical links across the top of the page which link to the different types of teas, tea-ware, and extras they offer.
• Above that is customer login and a search bar.
• Along the right sidebar there are different sections for contacting and questions, your shopping cart, and community sites (which they operate).
• The center offers great photo ads of some of their popular and featured products.

Products

Selection

Ridiculous. They have so many different teas it’s almost impossible to pick just one (and they offer sampler sizes just for that reason).

Each product has a dedicated page and a beautiful photo showing you exactly what it is you’ll be purchasing as well as a detailed description. This is crucial, customers want to be able to see and feel the product as much as possible before buying it. Remember, the closer you can bring the online purchasing experience to that of a brick and mortar experience, the better.

Reviews, Videos & Recommendations

Along with the description comes a tab labeled reviews. And they’ve done a terrific job of persuading their customers to offer reviews on the products they’ve purchased by giving $0.50 discounts for every successful post.

On some of the products, namely the tea-ware, they offer video demonstrations of how they work.You can click the image to the right to check one of them out.

There are recommendations as well, for those of us that don’t know what works well together.

Purchasing

Easy cart navigation. Adding and removing items is a click away.

Shipping & Receiving

Shipping is free for orders of $50 or more.

“Our shipping rates are very reasonable. Ground is a flat $3.75. Second Day is always $9.75. Next Day rates are calculated based on weight and distance. Orders placed by 3pm EST are shipped the same business day, ensuring a prompt and timely delivery of all your packages. We will always attempt to ship from the location closest to you, but on rare occasions will be required to process your order through the more distant warehouse.”

They email you tracking information as soon as it ships and you can follow the progress on your customer tracking page. It’s one of the nicest looking tracking systems I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t need to be, after all it’s just shipping, but why not make things look good if you can. When the shipment is delivered you get a nice little email telling you the package has arrived and thanking you for your business.

On the reverse of your reciept there are “tea tips” for making your tea, links to their other sites, and a list of incentives for visiting again soon.

Social

Communities

This is where they shine. By taking advantage of the social networking craze, they expand their reach and strengthen their branding.

Aside from adagio.com, they own and operate:

1. TeaMuse - A monthly newsletter with entertaining and interesting insights into the history and enjoyment of tea.
2. TeaChat - Bulletin boards for meeting fellow tea-lovers and finding answers to all your tea questions.
3. TeaMap - Directory and maps for finding tearooms across the nation and in your neighborhood.
4. TeaChef - Dishes created by people with a passion for cooking and tea.

Gift Certificates & Friends

When you make a purchase you have to sign up by giving your email, like any other online retail store. This creates a profile for you and gives you the option to send a $5 gift certificate to as many people as you’d like. Once they receive and use it, they automatically get added to your friends list and you can then follow all of their activities. Whether that be purchases on adagio.com, TeaMap reviews, TeaChef recipes, or TeaChat bulletin threads. Integrating all of their sites together like this is a wonderful and useful feature.

Incentives for Repeat Purchasing

They offer many ways to save money on return purchases.

1. Gift Certificates - Once your friends accept the gift certificates you sent them, you earn 10 “frequent cups” points for every one redeemed. Once you reach 100, you get your own $10 gift certificate.
2. Refills - Your previous orders are listed on a separate page and if you refill you can save $0.50 per item.
3. Reviews - For every successful review post you can deduct $0.50 from your order.

Wrap-up

With so many online product spaces out there it becomes prudent and just about imperative that you find a way to mark yourself above the rest.

Adagio is one company that has taken hold of its market and given its competitors hardly a second glance as they rocketed past and left them drifting in a pool of competition that can barely swim…while they explore the wide open market in their exotic cruise liner.

This should be your goals. Learn from those who do it best and mimic it as best you can in your own market. You’re bound to succeed.

[Note: This post contains affiliate links.]