How Does Starbucks Take Advantage Of Each Stage In The Consumer Purchase Decision Making Process

Starbucks customers are often extremely loyal and return to Starbucks in a regular pattern. They attempt to maintain the latest trends and choose Starbucks, although it is more expensive than generic coffee brands, because the quality is assured.

Starbucks is dominant coffee brand in North America, which also is well-known worldwide. Established in 1971 as coffee shop oriented to a niche of coffee purists, in late 1980’s it turned to be a constantly growing chain of stores that sold whole-beans and premium-priced coffee to mostly affluent, well-educated customers. In years 1992-2002 company was showing at least 5% annual growth. And by 2002 Starbucks was serving already 20M customers in 5886 stores (both operated and licensed) around the globe, had $3.3 billion net revenues and was opening 3 new stores a day in average.

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 is rated as the number one World’s leading coffee distributor. Customers satisfactions are always be in the center of their business and the company works consistently to maintain it as customer look forward to a unique experience when visiting one of Starbuck stores. With over 12,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks has always aimed at achieving and maintaining competition in the industry.  Starbucks success reside in many factors :  the company is admire and respected worldwide,employees are recognized and respected for what they contribute to the success of the company. Open communication

Starbucks has created a competitive advantage with their product quality by setting themselves apart from their competitors. “The Company has stayed with the upper-scale of the coffee market, competing on comfort rather than convenience, which is the case with its closest competitors, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts” (Mourdoukoutas, Panos). Consumers believe they are receiving a better product and experience when they purchase from a Starbucks as opposed to another large food service company that may sell coffee.

starbucks Corp., an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, has expanded rapidly since its opening in 1971. These outrageous success was due to its well-developed strategy vision which lay out the company's strategic course in developing and strengthening its business. Starbucks is a global corporation that sells authentic coffee in 30 countries, reporting revenues of nearly $5.1 billion in 2006. The main goal of Starbucks is to embrace diversity by applying the highest standards of excellence. Starbucks strives to perfect the relationship with the working class by making the service as fast as possible because they believe that every customer has their own personal rate. One

There isn’t a very large market for regular coffee anymore; consumers want to see different products and experience different flavors. The point of this is that Starbucks adapt to this trend by constantly trying to innovate their brand with new products, but at the same time they stay true to their brand and they don’t compromise on quality; that is what made their success.

Considering that buyers are final consumers of the products Starbucks provides, the consideration of buyer power lies with the average coffee drinker. The broad array of customers from different social and economic segments decrease individual purchasing power, especially given the hot commodity that caffeine has become within corporate culture. Buyer power is slightly improved by the aforementioned discussion about the low switching costs for individuals, as it would vastly undercut Starbucks if its customers switched providers in droves.

Starbucks is the most popular coffee chain in America, but how good is it really? There are four things that a good coffee shop requires – variety of coffee, good customer service, reasonable prices, and most importantly, good coffee. While Starbucks has a lot of variety and excellent customer service, its prices are rather high and it is somewhat lacking in the most important category – the quality of its coffee.

Exhibit 8 shows customer retention information. We can find from this data, that established customers and new customers are quite different in respect of education, income and attitudes toward Starbucks. According to the exhibit, customers who first visited Starbucks five years ago have higher degree of education and higher income level. Beside that, new Starbucks customers do not see it as a brand of high value, while established customers believe Starbucks to be brand they trust (50%), offering high quality product (51%). Next exhibit suggests, who customers visiting Starbucks stores often, are more satisfied, than customers who buy coffee from the company average four visits per month.

Starbucks provide a large in store seating with free wi fi and a take-out service which only a few retail shops offer. The main target customers for Starbucks are office workers, with enough income, whom are able to afford the high prices of their products (Gaudio, 2003). The company has worked hard to establish itself as the brand leader with its branding as the most frequently drank coffee and noticeable brand logo. Introduction of promotions like the Starbucks Card, allows a more convenient way for a person to
pay for
your
drinks
and
earn
rewards
for
your purchase (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2011).
Furthermore, in‐store
promotions
accompanied
by
new
products and
amenities like free internet use are all strategies that Starbucks use to maintain their position in the market (Vasudha, 2011).

Starbucks first opened its doors in Seattle’s Pike Place Market with the name being coined from that of Moby Dick’s first mate (Schultz & Yang 1999). It has spread its shops across North America, all over Europe, the Middle East, Latin America as well as the Pacific Rim with an estimated 35 million customer weekly (Michelli, 2008). With tremendous growth from a small time coffee shop, the company has matured to an international icon that today it is one of the world’s leading retailer, roaster and brand specialty coffee (Story, 1971). The company offers whole bean coffees, espresso beverages, and confectionery and bakery items.

Starbucks control the supply chain so that they can make sure the coffee is the highest quality. And the starbucks locations are always in downtown area or high-population area which brings customers more convenience. The decoration style is trying to make customers feel as comfortable as they can. Although starbucks is not unique enough as other private coffee shop, starbucks is the highest coverage coffee shop with high quality coffee and comfortable areas. It is a coffee shop brand that people can easily find and walk in.

Starbucks is not only a high-priced coffee shop but it offers a combination of quality, authority, and relative value. Starbucks sets its prices on the basis of a simple idea: high value at moderate cost. When people feel that they are getting a good deal for their money, they are more likely to pay a higher cost. Quality is key.

Starbucks has a very strong brand presence globally and has positioned itself as a highly respected brand. This advantage can be exploited during their market research approaches when venturing into new international markets. Starbucks has finally entered the South African market opening its first store in Johannesburg in April 2016 (Starbucks Corporation, 2016). Considering the high consumer demand for US brands within the country this has been long awaited. South Africans love international brands and others such as Burger King, McDonalds, Dominos and Krispy Kreme are some of the other US companies and brands that seized the opportunity in the South African market.