Starbucks Case Study

Starbucks started its growth in the early 1990s, with a game plan for Atmosphere, Quality Coffee, Customer Service, and Partner (employee) Satisfaction. Customers find the stores Welcoming and friendly for a great place to meet friends for a great cup of coffee or a local place for a great cup of coffee and a good book. Starbucks worked with coffee growers to offer a consistent brew and enforcing standards that have become the industry’s norms. Starbucks have put a lot into their training program to ensure properly trained employees to provide that consistent cup of coffee as well as improve employee retention. Starbucks believed in happy employees would promote a better experience for the customer. Since the 90s Starbucks have followed their 3 step plan. 1. Atmosphere: Every time you walk into a Starbucks, you know you will be greeted with a smile and a friendly attitude. 2. Continuity of Brand and Product: Every Starbucks has a similar feel, and your drink order will taste the same whether you are in New York or Spain. 3. Employee Satisfaction and Training: The training of the staff, in both how to be personable with customers and knowledge of the product offering

Starbucks with its inspired high selling coffee bean has been very popular in the American Culture over the years. I decided to observe Starbucks due to its popularity all over campus, although it has not been a fan of mine. I found it very pleasant and relaxing during my time there. I noticed more intimate interactions between workers when there were little or no customers and fewer interactions between workers when the place was crowded.

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

1. In the beginning, how was Starbucks different from other coffee options for coffee drinkers in the United States? What activities and assets did Starbucks leverage to differentiate itself from competitors?

Starbucks customers are diverse, well educated, young business people looking for a quick and easy way to grab coffee on their way to work. Starbucks values a strong relationship with their customers so they are

I've chosen the Starbucks Corporation on which to do my case assignment for the session. I first became interested in Starbucks while working on a paper for a previous marketing class. I became intrigued at the entrepreneurial spirit that such a large corporation had managed to maintain throughout its massive expansion. Starbucks corporation, unlike many of its now-defunct rivals, has done an outstanding job since its meager beginnings in 1970 with the execution of its strategic process; resulting in it currently owning 40% of the specialty coffee market and boosting annual sales exceeding $7 billion according to Burt Helm. Historic successes and recent turmoil within the company, including a near 40% decline in 2007 in profits (Sullivan

Starbucks has always taken exceptional care in keeping its brand value.  In fact, Starbucks prides itself in its brand, particularly the power it has to keep its customer base strong. Before analyzing this loyal customer base it is best to consider the particular characteristics of the brand that has led to Starbucks having such devoted patrons.

The context change in form that Starbucks found itself competing with smaller chains that resembled its former pre-expansion model with competitors focusing in creating symbolic-expressive value and fast food restaurants that had started to offer specialty coffee with more aggressive advertisement at a lower cost. The competitive context changed for Starbucks because it’s focus in mass distribution channels and its retail footprint strategy stated its product within a standard performance product value; this affected the value perception of the product.

The success of Starbucks in the early days of the company’s existence can be attributed to the goals, which Howard Schultz was able to achieve. His goal was to create a place, which people could gather as a “third place.” This place was to be in line with consumer schedules as the place of gathering and community. Home, Work, Starbucks was his idea. Everything he did was to be in line with this mantra. In addition to the atmosphere, which sets the brand apart, they produce a quality product. The brand started as a coffee bean distributer and it is this distinction, which allows

Starbucks dates back from 1971 and is based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl and it

Our coffee has always been, and will always be, about quality. Our employees are called partners, because it is not just a job, it is our passion. We treat each other with dignity, and respect, and hold each other to the same high standards. We connect with our customers; we laugh with, and bring a smile to their life. Making the perfect cup of coffee is one part of our role, connecting with them on a personal level is the other part. In each community we serve, Starbucks takes pride in being a part of the

Starbuck’s strategy focused on three components; high-quality coffee, intimate service, and ambient atmosphere. Starbucks worked closely with growers in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia-Pacific regions to insure the quality of its product. Starbucks called all employees' "partners" and worked hard to train them with the skills necessary to best serve the customer. The atmosphere at Starbucks was crafted after the European-style espresso bar. The company goal was to create ambience through the Starbucks "experience" and by making the area comfortable, yet upscale.

Besides that, Starbuck realize that the element of human is a very important chain in success in the industry. But they are not start with the top of the human resource but from the bottom one. That is why they have a lot of places to educate for the new employees. According to many survey and research, Starbucks is one of business place have the best customer service. Every time I come to Starbucks, the employees there behave very friendly and helpful. They tried to serve customers with the best behaviors which they studied from Starbucks. Even if any customers complained anything about the drinks or food, they also be friendly and smile, after that, that employees tried to fix the problems. That makes people are willing to spend money in this brand name than the others like Dunkin’s Donut or Mc Donald even though they are also have some similar products. The products that Starbucks sell in their store is not only the coffee but also the value of brand name and the feeling of respect when people come there. Starbucks can become a place for students who want to go for group work, it is also become a place for people who can come for do business and discussion or the basic idea is a place to enjoy a cup of coffee. In any purpose, Starbucks can perfectly become a good place for that. The atmosphere which Howard tried to create for Starbucks is suitable for many kinds of people.

When the announcement was made in mid 2008 that Starbucks would be closing nearly three-quarters of its 84 Australian stores there was mixed reaction. Some people were shocked, others were triumphant. Journalists used every pun in the book to create a sensational headline, and it seemed everyone had a theory as to what went wrong. This case outlines the astounding growth and expansion of the Starbucks brand worldwide, including to Australia. It then shifts focus to describe the extent of the store closures in Australia, before offering several reasons for the failure and lessons that others might learn from the case.

Intention to buy may be referred as a reflection of real purchase behavior [41]. The greater the purchase intention is, the greater a consumer’s desire to buy a product or service, it occurs when the consumers perceive product preference in the stage between making purchase evaluation and the actual purchase behavior [41]. Purchase intention is stimulated by external factors of decision-making, personal characteristics, consumer previous experience and customers’ preferences by experience [41].