The word “Starbucks” flashes across
anyone’s mind, even for a moment when we think of coffee. Though there are many
coffee chains, Starbucks is the only one that has transformed the way we
experience coffee. It is an American company that started in 1971. But in 1987,
it was acquired by Howard Schultz, and it was under his tutelage that it was
raised to become a colossal coffee chain. Starting with a single coffee shop,
the company has a fleet of 32,000 stores today. It has become a premium coffee
brand giving the enriching experience of coffee. But how was Starbucks able to
achieve this feat? There are many successful coffee chains, but what keeps Starbucks
outperforming all of them. It employed some tactics that we will see one by
one.
First and foremost, the
baristas (the person serving in the coffee bar) were provided with extensive
training in hospitality. The baristas developed such a level of connection with
the customers that they used to remember the customers’ names and their coffee
preferences. And in some instances, this connection became so wonderful that
Starbucks Baristas used to get invited to their customer’s weddings. This was
the deep-rooted connection that Starbucks was built upon. And this was the
reason why people love to visit the store, not with the intent to visit a
coffee shop, but to a place next to home.
Secondly, they focused on mass
customization wherein they provided personalized food experiences to their
customers. The barista takes special instructions given by the customer to
ensure the order is specially made according to the customer’s liking. In case the
customer is dissatisfied with the order, Starbucks remakes it to give customers
a pleasurable experience.
Third, they focused intensely
on Sensory Marketing to attract customers to its stores. For instance- they
make sure that the aroma of the coffee is strong enough to elicit a sensory
reaction from its customers. For that purpose, they even stopped serving
breakfast with eggs because it would interfere with the fresh smell of coffee.
Also, the music they play in the store is very carefully selected to create the
“Starbucks experience.” The songs played in the store are sent directly
to each location from the company central location. And the layout of the café
is structured in such a way that the customer can see the entire process of brewing
the coffee, giving an aesthetically appealing experience.
Also, they are following a
little weird marketing tactic in which they deliberately write the wrong
spelling of your name on the coffee mug. The customer, upon seeing this, will
post it on social media and will indirectly expose the brand among its
followers. There is a hashtag trending #StarbucksNameFail having more than
30,000 posts on Instagram. Even if we assume that each of these people has
around 100 followers, we can say that about 3 million people were exposed to
the brand for free.
Though these are some of the
measures they followed to attract customers to their stores, the most important
of them is “HUMAN TOUCH.” It is their core philosophy. They have
created their brand image not as a coffee-company serving people but as a people
company serving coffee. And herein lies the significant difference, because in
coffee-company serving people, your priority is coffee but in people-company
serving coffee, your priority is people, and coffee becomes a mere instrument
of your service. They have also taken many community initiatives like hiring
military veterans and widows. Using reusable cups made of recyclable materials.
During the recession, when companies were saving every penny, Starbucks spent around
30 $ to help the people of New Orleans who were devasted by the flood. About
10,000 Starbucks employees spend 50,000 hours to revive the flood-ravaged city.
While most corporations find loopholes to escape government regulation, Starbucks
was spending millions of dollars to go beyond government regulation both for
the environment and the people it serves.
It is easy to be a huge brand
but very difficult to be a memorable brand. In this world of digital
communication, where the power of human touch and compassion are often
undervalued, Starbucks has practiced and embraced it in the right way and has
become a memorable experience for its customers.
About the Author
Praveen Kumar
Pursuing PGDM (Finance) at IMT Hyderabad
Interests in Automobiles, Politics
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