Case Study : Starbucks And Brand Image

Starbucks has been a brand that consumers have been able to identify with for quiet some time. By doing so, Starbucks would be able to ensure that their clientele is satisfied and forget about the barriers in which the company has had to face but still manage to continuously expand in the marketplace. With that being said, all customers are valuable, but those customers that meet specific criteria within an organization; such as, placing large orders and or buying products that are at a high profit margin, these are the customers that are not only profitable but are also the ones that are the highly satisfied with the product and its brand recognition. If

Additionally with its growth strategy Starbucks seemed to have lost the ability to communicate its values to its customers. Note that Starbucks research team discovered that between 2000 and 2001 there was an increase in customers who felt that Starbucks primarily cared about making money and building more stores. This is an indication that the company lost sight of the components making up its value proposition. Customer service was a major component of Starbucks value proposition but according to the research team by 2002 it discovered that Starbucks was not meeting expectations in terms of customer satisfaction. In fact the data collected by the research team indicated that 10% of customers would like to see improvements in service especially speed of service and 19% would like to have friendlier more attentive staff.

Similarly, companies such as Starbucks was affected by changes in leadership and competing with other companies that also saturated the market. Starbuck was a very successful company because they was able to provide a relaxed atmosphere that allowed people to converse with family and friends, have meeting, read, and use internet access all while drinking a cup of coffee. Starbucks customer flow was beginning to decline because the customer were growing tired of spending $4 for a cup of coffee when they can get similar coffee at the competitor i.e. McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, or Seattle’s Best. In 2008, Starbucks listened to the customer and began revitalizing and going back to the basics. They removed distracting items from countertops such as books, CDs, breakfast sandwiches and began to focus on the product itself which was coffee. In making these changes, Starbucks was able to slowly start growing again and was able to continue to make strive to internationalize.

Starbucks has developed a brand image that has revolutionized coffee drinking experience. It has created an ambiance that is designed to attract customers and keep them coming back to Starbucks stores. It offers wide varieties of services such as comfortable seating areas with unique music and free wireless Internet for their customers while sipping their favorite coffee. This distinctiveness sets Starbucks apart from most of its competitors and has allowed the company to successfully grow and profit while charging premium prices for their products.

Starbucks has put heavy concentration on product innovation, new product launches and branding strategies and as a result, the company has lost sight of the customer’s wants and needs. Ultimately, Starbucks is not properly or correctly measuring customer satisfaction. They are basing these scores on characteristics affecting the product, and not precisely measuring the quality of their services. As Exhibit 10 from the case study shows, Starbucks’ customers ranked a clean and convenient store as the most important attributes of creating customer satisfaction. As marketing research is beginning to reveal, this should not be the only focus. Starbucks needs to shift their priorities and rank fast service, customer experience, and atmosphere as most important, as new studies suggest.

In general the coffeehouse industry in the United States was experiencing an increase in coffee consumption per capita due to the “Starbucks effect”. At this time Starbucks was operating approximately 20,000 stores in the United States and was living a fast expansion strategy worldwide.

Their marketing research shed light on the fact that their focus had shifted from the consumer towards store growth and product expansion. The research also highlighted the fact that they were lacking in customer service. Through these studies, Starbucks was able to identify what their customers wanted in terms of satisfaction. Consumers wanted Starbucks to make improvements to their service and also start offering better prices and incentive programs.

Starbucks sells a lifestyle, to customers and employees alike (Appendix E). It has learned from the experience of Pepsi and others to link its brand to new trends. Therefore Starbucks ' success could be attributed to objective to meet their customers needs and

Starbucks takes great pride and recognition in their diverse organization that aligns with their core values.

Starbucks will be the first come in your mind when you want to have a cup of coffee. Don’t you feel curious about why is Starbucks so successful? This report explains how Starbucks take advantage in consumer purchase decision making process, how does Starbucks attract customer, how does Starbucks segment its market and new trends in society affect purchasing process.

Starbucks has discovered that they are not always meeting their customers’ expectations in the area of customer satisfaction. Starbucks has to come up with an action plan to address this issue, considering its significant correlation and impact to sales and profitability.

Consumer behavior: Starbucks hold approximately 33 percentage of market share in U.S. however, half of this huge number accounted by guys who aged at 25- 40(Chorn, 2013). Obviously, primary target audience of Starbucks is this grouped people. The characteristic of them is relatively high income, professional careers and a focus on social welfare. Motivation of consuming of these guys to Starbucks certainly for entertainment, enjoy life and pursuit of fashion and communication. The sub target customers is young adults who aged at 18-24, Starbucks position itself as a place college student can hang out, studying, writing paper and meeting. The rest customers of Starbucks are kids and teens who get there by their parents.

If the service is excellent and the customer has a memorable experience, there will be an emotional aspect that connects the customer to Starbucks. Excelling in service also benefits existing customers and deepens customer loyalty.

A company that I frequently visit on a semi-regular basis is Starbucks. Starbucks is a popular company that is recognized internationally and specializes in premium roast coffee, as well as other beverages. Starbucks, according to The Richest, is currently the power house of the coffee world. They are not only known for selling high quality coffee, but also providing an inviting atmosphere with good music and comfortable seats. Starbucks’ mission is, “to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time”. The company’s success can be credited to this distinctive mission.

Starbucks primarily targets coffee drinkers. These segments comprise of adults, young adults and Kids and Teens. Starbucks offers its customers a total brand experience which stretches beyond the consumption of the bevergae. The experience includes excellent customer service, gold card loyalty program, specialty coffee drinks, unique drink names, its dedication towards social responsibility, elegant looking coffee shops.