Turning a Commodity into an Experience to Savour: Starbucks Coffee
Case study: Starbucks coffee
Starbucks, generally considered to be the most famous specialty coffee shop chain in the world, today has over 15.000 stores worldwide. Many analysts have credited Starbucks with having turned coffee from a commodity into an experience to savour. Starbucks has always felt that the key to its growth and its business success would li in a rounded corporate brand identity, a better understanding of its customers and a store experience that would generate a pull effect through word-of-mouth. Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ founder and chairman, had early on in the company’s history, envisioned a retail experience that revolved around high-quality coffee, personalised knowledgeable services and sociability. So Starbucks put in place various measures to make this experience appealing to millions of people and to create a unique identity for Starbuck’s products and stores.
Shultz felt that the equity of the Starbucks brand depended less on advertising and promotion and more on personal communications, on strong ties with customers and with members of the local community and on word-of-mouth. As Schultz put it:
“If we want to exceed the trust of our customers, then we first have to build trust with our people. A brand has to start with the (internal) culture and naturally extend to our customers …. Our brand is based on the experience that we control in our stores. When a company can create a relevant, emotional and intimate experience, it builds trust with the customer, … We have benefited by the fact that our stores are reliable, sage and consistent, where people can take a break.
Shultz regarded the baristas, the coffee makers in the stores as his brand ambassadors and considered the company’s employees as long-term “partners” in making the company’s strategic vision a reality. This commitment to employees is also anchored in Starbuck’ mission statement, which, “among other things state that the company aims to provide a great work
Starbucks, generally considered to be the most famous specialty coffee shop chain in the world, today has over 15.000 stores worldwide. Many analysts have credited Starbucks with having turned coffee from a commodity into an experience to savour. Starbucks has always felt that the key to its growth and its business success would li in a rounded corporate brand identity, a better understanding of its customers and a store experience that would generate a pull effect through word-of-mouth. Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ founder and chairman, had early on in the company’s history, envisioned a retail experience that revolved around high-quality coffee, personalised knowledgeable services and sociability. So Starbucks put in place various measures to make this experience appealing to millions of people and to create a unique identity for Starbuck’s products and stores.
Shultz felt that the equity of the Starbucks brand depended less on advertising and promotion and more on personal communications, on strong ties with customers and with members of the local community and on word-of-mouth. As Schultz put it:
“If we want to exceed the trust of our customers, then we first have to build trust with our people. A brand has to start with the (internal) culture and naturally extend to our customers …. Our brand is based on the experience that we control in our stores. When a company can create a relevant, emotional and intimate experience, it builds trust with the customer, … We have benefited by the fact that our stores are reliable, sage and consistent, where people can take a break.
Shultz regarded the baristas, the coffee makers in the stores as his brand ambassadors and considered the company’s employees as long-term “partners” in making the company’s strategic vision a reality. This commitment to employees is also anchored in Starbuck’ mission statement, which, “among other things state that the company aims to provide a great work