Specifically for Starbucks, they have built success of the franchise by developing a name brand and image that connects with the world. As Starbucks began to enter different markets, coffee remained the core product. Variations of the types of coffee offered in different parts of the world is what the management controls. This is based on research of the culture or region and the promotion of new products to engage consumers. For example, in Tokyo, a consumer stated that they wanted the coffee to taste sweet.
This was important for top managers at Starbucks because instead of just having customers come in and out for a cup of coffee they can also think of Starbucks as a place to relax and meet with friends. In my opinion Starbucks was on the right track by creating this atmosphere as they have gained and retained many customers in this manner and at this time there are not many other cafes that can compare. The image that Starbucks created was employees are treated as partners and customer service is a very important factor. In addition to employee partnership Starbucks created an image of dominating the specialty coffee market. Why have Starbucks’ customer satisfaction scores declined?
Over the years Starbucks has grown to understand the importance of working together and taking care of one’s investments. One way of ensuring that Starbucks always gets the best products (materials) is through ethical sourcing programs. Starbucks is committed to always buying and making available the best high quality, responsibly grown, and ethically traded coffee that will help create a better future for farmers. Examine the importance of demographics and physical infrastructure. Analyze the influence of
Some customers don’t like change and they like to feel comfortable with their products and services, this is where product development is useful as they are used to their usual product or service but it has been improved or changed in some way, for example Starbucks changing their coffees and using different types of beans shows they are interested in keeping the customer and the customer feels important to the business. Santander do this by changing their services for example offering better interest rates on loans to customers that have banked with them for over a certain time period, this could persuade non existing customers to start banking with them as they see the benefits
This business strategy worked very well for these companies, however that’s not always the case for all businesses. Therefore, companies turn to be unethical in order to make a profit or just because it the easier way to go. In this case for Ben and Jerry’s everything seemed to work out fine for them, and they were still profitable even when be ethical. Instead of getting brownies from Greyston Bakery they could’ve just produced their own brownies and that would make them a lot more money. However, they decided to partner up with Greyston Bakery because it was the right thing to do and it created more jobs people who otherwise wouldn’t have one.
Employees have heard a rumor that Starbucks might be opening a store in the area. Right now we have competitive advantage, because we are only café which is specialized in coffee products. The situation will change when Starbuck will open a new shop. As Baltzan & Phillips (2009) have stated in their book that, “competitive advantages are typically temporary because competitors often seek ways to duplicate the competitive advantage” (p. 22). The café have first mover advantage to be first in business but Starbucks are technologically advanced and have wholesale coffee business in the market.
At the start, was having created a successful brand strategy coupled with their rapid growth of new store openings in “high-traffic, high visibility settings”. As well, selling premium priced coffee in addition to whole beans. They were particularly skilled at choosing and catering to their target market of “primarily affluent, well-educated, white-collar patrons”. Their competitive differentiation came in creating an “experience” for their customers and specializing in ambience at their locations to encourage a place where the customers would want to stay and hang out. Schultz vision was to create a “third place” (other than home and work) for its patrons to want to be.
However, there are still complications that could come with this strategy. The existing companies could easily create an agreement to temporarily cross each others “territories” with lower prices, to remove the new company from the market. They can offer lower prices as they are much larger and are unlikely to have extra start up costs which the new company will have, restricting their profit margins. Therefore this strategy is
Thirdly, to resolve the issues of a widening customer demographic and unclear brand perception, Starbucks could engage in a promotion to encourage their most loyal customers as well as new business through promotions such as a free cup after “X” visits or a “club card” that encourages repeat business. For all three of these solutions, Starbucks would want to enact these solutions as quickly as possible due to the threat of eroding their brand perception. See Appendix C for rejected alternatives. Rationale for the Recommendation Adding labor hours is our first recommendation. Interestingly, Starbucks faces a unique problem since they are actually improving their service yet the customers are still not necessarily recognizing the progress.
According to our textbook, “continuity program can establish brand loyalty among customers and help companies to build databases to learn which individuals are their best customers”. Through the One-to-One program, customer retention and loyalty are likely to increase by providing reminder cards to customer. It reminds them to change the motor oil, check engine condition or even do further purchasing afterwards. While the One-to-One program also gives rebate coupons to vehicle owners, it might be very effective to switchers due to their purchasing characteristics. In the text book, it mentioned “switchers are