Unit II Research Project (Starbucks) Angelo R. Jones BBA 3201-Priciples of Marketing Columbia Southern University Target Market for Starbucks Starbucks, a coffee bean sales company did not have much of a marketing plan in place at its inception. Based in Seattle Washington the company began to sell coffee beans to espresso bars and upscale restaurants back in 1982. It took 11 years to progress to that level of production, they originally were a local store vendor at Pike Place Market. The director of marketing brought back the espresso bar idea from his travels in Milan. (Company Profile, 2015) The Pacific Northwest was filled with working class men and women that were drawn to the coffeehouse tradition brought in from Italy. …show more content…
Starbucks primary business is that of selling high premium coffee. They have been able to cater a specific product to a specific demographic. Specialization allows for the Starbucks company to deliver great quality and continue to maintain their customer base. Although there is a great amount of coffee flavors the coffee bean is still the constant ingredient in the great tasting coffee. Involving technology with their market structure. Starbucks provide their dine-in customers with unlimited Wi-Fi connectivity. Customers feel comfortable in their environment and perhaps stick around a bit more to enjoy other comfort items and merchandize offered by the store. Starbucks Company have entered into business with technology gurus like Yahoo, Google and Apple. These three technological companies serve as a media outlet for the Starbucks brand. Apple has incorporated an application in their software where consumers may purchase coffee orders from their phones and pick up the product at the closest retail Starbucks store. Weakness …show more content…
The improvements to coffee brewers and the innovation of Keurig has allowed for Starbucks to repackage their products and distribute it as a home product. Many of the flavors consumers could only get from the Starbucks espresso machine in the store can now be duplicated in the home. The opportunity for continued expansion is present. Coffee is quickly being consumed in almost every country in the world, Starbucks has a legitimate opportunity to influence those countries without the Starbucks brand to open their doors. Threats – Foreign policy with foreign nations that host the Starbucks brand. Import and export tax is an expenditure that may and can become costly and profits can be lost. Other companies like McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and the Coffee Beanery provide consumers with an ambient environment and some specialty coffee flavors. Proximity may be the only thing required for the consumer to select the services of the rival coffee dispensing businesses. These are but a few of the many strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that the Starbucks company may face. This is why a marketing team along with data and analytics is essential to comprising a new product. It requires research, innovation, hard work, and a little luck, the Starbucks Brand is more than just coffee. It’s a simple yet detailed product tailored to meet the consumers need at home, at work, and in between. (Starbucks Corporation,
Starbucks Financial Analysis Company Overview Starbucks is the world’s largest specialty coffee retailer, with more than 16,000 retail outlets in more than 35 countries. Starbucks owns more than 8,500 of its outlets, while licensees and franchisees operate more than 6,500 units worldwide, primarily in shopping centers and airports. The outlets offer coffee drinks and food items such as pastries and confections, as well as roasted beans, coffee accessories, teas and a line of compact discs. The company also owns the Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia coffee brands. In addition, Starbucks markets its coffee through grocery stores and licenses its brand for other food and beverage products.
Shahi, T., Omar, J., Aufscla ̈ger, M., Schmerling, T. & Gassner, S. (2007). Case Study Report: How Starbucks Corp. should improve its business. Sydney: Macquarie University.
In 2002, unexpected findings of a market research showed problems regarding customer satisfaction and brand meaning for Starbucks customers. The situation was unacceptable for a company whose overall objective is to build the most recognized and respected brand in the world. Starbucks was supposed to represent a new and different place where any man would relax and enjoy quality time, alone or with others. But the market research showed that in the mind of the consumers, Starbucks brand is viewed as corporative, trying to expand endlessly and looking to make lots of money. This huge gap between customers' perception and Starbucks' values and goals called for immediate action.
The firm has the first mover advantage on ready to drink coffee beverages. Starbucks was the innovator and was the only offering until recently. Other competitors are beginning to enter the market and will have to provide a reason for the consumer to switch from what they know and enjoy already. This may be the biggest advantage for Starbucks as humans are creatures of habit and tend to stick to what they know and enjoy. Customer loyalty induces the purchaser to stick with the Starbucks brand. Many loyal consumers pick up the RTD coffee at the grocery store in the multi-pack offering. They then keep this purchase in their fridge for when they are running late to work and don’t have time to stop by a store. They can still have their coffee fix without stopping on the way or waiting for the coffee to brew at their home. Lastly, Starbucks has variety of ready to drink options compared to its competitors. The Starbucks website lists fifty five options to choose from. This wide selection has something for all consumers. While all options may not be available at grocery stores there is likely to be a more numerous selection than other brands which will draw in the consumer to find a beverage
There are plenty of options for consumers and allows them to pick whatever they want to drink. With coffee shops all over the world and almost every corner, in addition to growing number of Starbucks stores, it may not be as special to consumers as it once was. Buyers have the power to choice between low cost or high quality, which forces companies to choose a strong and consistent strategy.
In addition to being best-known supplier of the finest coffee and promising only the highest quality products, Starbucks emphasizes firm values, provides guidelines to enhance employee self-esteem. This is to ensure continued customer satisfaction. Moreover, diversity has become a priority to providing an inviting environment to all consumers. Starbucks continues to abide by a strict, slow growth policy in which they set out to dominate a market before moving on to expand, thus history has shown this strategy to be successful for Starbucks, making them one the fastest growing companies nationwide.
This strategic capitalises on weaknesses since will decrease the cost of coffee beans/beverages but also Starbucks operating cost which they regularly ship across the world to various stores. Starbucks can capitalise on this weakness to improve their brand options. It adds value in the inbound logistics activities, operations and procurements. Starbucks should consider this option since it will decrease their operating cost and therefore will reduce the prices on their menu. The attractiveness is the exact same as mentioned in option 1.
Since 1971, when the coffee industry had started to grow and the range of products and rivalry from other businesses were small; Starbucks was only then competing with brands that hadn’t really made much money over a few years, and Starbucks was topping them all with the amount of profit and revenue the business was gaining however due to the industry growing as days go on, Starbucks now has significant competitors that have stores all over the world that is affecting their exposure and how they sell their products indefinitely. One of these significant competitors is McDonald's, with over 36,899 restaurants, employing 375,000 people and serving 68 million customers a day.(En.wikipedia.org, 2016) They once originated
The ad never mentions the price of the products, the place where Starbucks stores are usually located or the promotions to attract consumers. The existence of competition pushs marketers to make changes and be more creative (Jobber, 2013, p742). It is necessary for a business to survive with competitive advantage (Dibb& Simkin& Pride& Ferrell, 2012, p57). Michael Porter (quoted in Kotler& Wong& Saunders& Armstrong, 2005, p504) came up with three competitive strategies. Maybe Starbucks just applies two of the three strategies. One of the competitive strategies that Starbucks coffee applies is differentiation. Differentiation is the approach that the business uses to make its own products or services attractive, distinctive and different from its rivals (Dibb& Simkin& Pride& Ferrell, 2012, p57). Starbucks is a very creative company, because as the advertisement shows, an artisan roast is roasting coffee beans very carefully. The speaker says consumers’ favourite beverage signature espresso roast is developed uniquely by Starbucks. In fact Starbucks also creatively develops some other popular coffee like Frappuccino and Cappuccino. The other competitive strategy is focus. Focus means that a business targets at a certain group of market segments instead of facing the whole market (Kotler& Wong& Saunders& Armstrong, 2005,
The structure of Starbucks business communication is exceptional. Rather you are in their store buying a Caramel Frappuccino®, visiting their website or watching one of their advertisements on television; as the consumer, the message is loud and clear. Pick up any newspaper and you are likely to find an article about the coffee giant. Starbucks pledges a commitment to their over 172,000 partners (employees) and the community. “We realize our people are the cornerstone of our success, and we know that their ideas, commitment and connection to our customers are truly the essential elements in the Starbucks Experience” (Starbucks, 2008).
Starbucks is an international coffee house and it was created in 1971 when they opened the first store in Seattle, Newcastle. Currently, they own 21,000 stores in 65 different countries of the world, and their passion for the great coffee, excellent service and community interaction exceeds cultures and languages (Starbucks, 2014). This company is the number 1 brand coffeehouse chain in the world due to the best roaster, marketer and seller of speciality coffee. Its main slogan: “Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time” (Jurevicius, 2013).
Starbucks has done a great job evaluating and responded targeted consumers and fulfilling their need. The company has developed distinctive competencies in an effort to address such needs. On the road to success the company had to determine what the consumer desired and how to satisfy it. If we just look at specialty coffees and teas Starbucks has satisfied that need by providing a high quality snack and beverage service while offering some perceived value. These products provide an edge over their
The Starbucks Story Our story started in 1971. In those days we were a roaster and retailer of entire bean and ground espresso, tea and flavours with a solitary store in Seattle's Pike Place Market. Today, we are favoured to welcome a large number of clients through our entryways consistently, in more than 17,000 areas in more than 50 nations.
Starbucks is mostly commonly found stores to get coffee. Starbucks has a market share of 62 percent in the coffee industry (Chart. 1) and has the best loyalty from its customers over other major brands like McDonalds or Dunkin’ Donuts. (Table. 1)
When I saw this discussion, I couldn’t help but think of Starbucks and the impact they’ve made throughout their 45 years of establishment. I worked with them for about 7 years and saw how unique they were from your everyday coffee and latte spots. A retail company with thousands of coffee shops in the US as well as in other countries, this particular retailer has been able to catch the eyes of all ages as well as locations throughout the world. For example, today college students utilize Starbucks locations to study rather than go to a nearby library. Starbucks is also known for its best coffee and espresso drinks (Latte or Frappuccino) and with one of its delicious espresso 's any student or just a person stopping in to enjoy its lounge area where there is free Wi-Fi is awesome! Starbucks lifecycle has made a 360 turn around and been revamped twice to accommodated the growing market. Customizing their brand to fit more in with everything and not just one thing. By doing this they’ve created multiple product lifecycles within their own lifecycle as a corporate company.