Preliminary Starbucks – one of the fastest growing companies in the US and in the world - had built its position on the market by connect with its customers, and create “third place” beside home and work, where people could relax and enjoy others or themselves. It was the motto of Starbucks’ owner Howard Schultz and mostly thanks to his philosophy; company has became the biggest coffee drink retailer in the world. However, within the new customer satisfaction report, there is shown some concerns, that company has lost the connection with customers and it must been taken some steps to help Starbucks to go back on the right path regarding customer satisfaction. I will briefly summarize and examine issues facing Starbucks. Starting from there I will pick the most important issue and study it from different positions. In the end of my I will try to suggest what steps should be made to keep the company in continuing its quest to become one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world. Introduction With clear core values towards providing quality coffee, the best service, and atmosphere, Starbucks has enjoyed great success since it was founded 30 years ago. The company has being doing very well for last 11 years with 5% or more store sales increase, even with the rest economy still reeling from the post-9/11 recession. However recent research, conducted to Starbucks, have showed some concerns regarding company’s problem meeting customers’ expectations.
The company’s founder and CEO, Howard Schultz, has been successful in creating Starbucks into something that we didn’t really know we needed until we had it. He has meticulously crafted a brand for the company that adds a psychological value to its offerings. Thereby, when you buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks, you buy an experience. The somewhat quiet, not-so-rushed atmosphere along with dimmed ambience and friendly staff found at Starbucks’ stores add a feel-good factor to your purchase. As a result, people are willing to pay a premium for coffee at Starbucks even if McDonald’s were running a promotion offering free coffee. The premium prices translate to superior margins for its investors.
Starbucks in today’s date is the world’s largest coffee chain. The brand which was founded in 1971 has established itself as the world’s leading specialty coffee brand with its more than 13000 outlets in 39 countries. The company has had an impressive record of sales and growth also. Something that differentiates Starbucks from others is its coffee as well as the special Starbucks experience. Starbucks serves more than just coffee. It is also known for the relaxing ambience where the customers can relax and sip with their friends. Starbucks is famous for its genuine service, inviting atmosphere and of course superb coffee. The company is committed to quality and it is due to its commitment to quality that its product pricing is also premium. However, despite the premium prices of its products the brand is loved around the world by the customers for the quality of products that it serves.
In order to bring Starbucks back to the glory which it was when it initially started, the company needs to halt expansion, increase marketing efforts, and work towards a better “Starbucks experience”. During the years before 2008, Starbucks was rapidly expanding at a rate which no one expected. Due to this, the company was hit hard during the 2008 recession. One of the best ways which Starbucks can help its image is by working to get back to the original “Starbucks experience”.
Starbucks portray a number of issues that may affect the company’s’ growth in the near future. To clearly understand these issues, they will be analysed in order to understand and create recommendations to assist in the growth of a successfully company.
People felt Starbucks was bitter and tasted burnt (The Seattle Times, February 2007). But still Starbucks sells more coffee than McDonald’s. Starbucks means best cup of coffee for many. Question here arises is, why is that so? If McDonald’s coffee tastes better why customers buy Starbucks coffee? The answer to this question is the message we got from the article. Starbucks is customer oriented. It provides personalized services buy writing you name on your cup of coffee. If you a regular customer and drinks same type of coffee, the staff at the outlet you most remembers it. They are friendly. They make you feel
Starbucks, the world premier roaster and retailer of coffee since its inception in 1987, operates a global chain of coffee stores today. Though hit hard during the 2008-2009 recession, with the help of the company’s powerful CEO, Howard Schultz, Starbucks endured great changes in their operations and overcome the hardship. The company’s sales accumulated to roughly $12 million dollars in fiscal year 2015 proving that the Starbucks brand and image a sustainable one. With great focus on values, customer service, and social and economic responsibility, Starbucks is excelling as the number 1 coffee retailer today.
The cause of this case study is to evaluate and recognize Starbucks growth in the past decades. Starbucks was established in 1971. The industry for coffee at the time was in decline for almost a decade. The consumption of coffee back then was mostly at home or “Away from home” either with a meal at dinner or restaurant. In larger cities like New York or San Francisco they have specialty coffee roasters for example Peet’s. The main goal of Schultz was aiming with that mentality to roast and vend great coffee (CRAIG, BUSSE, BROWN, “Aplia” Kellogg 1). By 1982 they had five retail outlets that served coffee beans and supplies for home but at the time they weren’t served prepared. As the growth of Starbucks is increasing it attracts the vice president, Howard Schultz, of a company called Hammerplast. They specialized in plastic cone coffee filters for home brewing purposes. Schultz travels to Seattle to discover why a small business called Starbucks orders an excessive amount than its other customers. Liked what he saw and joined Starbucks later that year and became the director of operations. He makes another travel to Milan, Italy and was in awe with the amount of abundant espresso bars. Returns to America with the mentality of making it “the third place” (CRAIG, BUSSE, BROWN, “Aplia” Kellogg 2) beyond home and work. Starbucks management turned down the idea to much because they don’t want to get into the “restaurant business” distracting its company from their core assets and activities. In 1986 Schultz made II Giornale based on selling espresso, cappuccino, and food items. While II Giornale was in operation the single year by itself its ambiance was a reproduction of a Milanese espresso bar (bow-tie...
Koehn, N.F., Besharov, M.A., & Miller, K. (2008). Starbucks Coffee Company in the 21st Century. [Case study]. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
Caf? Expresso, as the first mover in the coffeehouse marketplace, which has expanded quickly and become one of the ?big three? players in the global coffee shops chain. However, recently this company is continuously facing a lot of problems in terms of its staff, easy-copied business model and product range, resulting this company lost its leading position to the number three. Therefore, its adjusted visionary goal is ?return Caf? Expresso to the number one position in the marketplace? (Beardwell, 2010). To achieve this goal, Caf? Expresso identifies ?the coffee drinking experience? is significant to achieve competitive advantage and customer value-added, which was delivered through three key elements (graph 1),
One of the main problems that Starbucks is facing at the present time is the ability to maintain national competitive advantage (Monash South Africa, 2014). Due to their local demand conditions, Starbucks tries to satisfy all customers by trying “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks Corporation, 2014). Local demand conditons consist of a company trying satisfy needs of their closest customers and expanding their competitive advantage by upgrading their strategic management policies (Monash South Africa, 2014).
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 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).
Everything centers on the organizational culture within Starbucks. While being a customer service-based company and understanding that the customer satisfaction and loyalty are what will make the company profitable, Starbucks takes a different approach to customer service than other companies. By hiring employees that fit in the organizational culture (ICFAI, 2005) and treating their employees well (Lefevere, n.d.), Starbucks brings in and retains customers through their happy employees. The qualities that Starbucks hires for are "adaptability, dependability and the ability to work in a team" (ICFAI, 2005). The culture is supportive and laid back (Montana, 2005). Howard Shultz, Starbucks president and CEO, has the theory "that if you treat your employees well, they will treat your customers well" (Starbucks, 1997).
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.
The strategic vision that Howard Schultz had for Starbucks was "Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow". This s...