Strategy of Starbucks

 

Starbucks is a Company that Succeeded in a very well Established Market.

• The Coffee Shop (or / and Cafeteria) Market.

 

This is very difficult.

• Few companies have been able to do a similar thing.

 

Also, Cafeterias vary from country to country.

• What makes it even more difficult to satisfy Customer needs.

 

How could Starbucks be so Successful all around the world?

1. Create a Comfortable Place: A Place you don’t want to leave.

• Your third place to be, after your Home and your Job.

 

2. Offer Food items for Everybody: Food that satisfies all Preferences.

• Healthy Food, Junk Food, Cookies, Lunch, Breakfast, etc.

 

3. Don’t Push Customers out: Not Urging them to leave.

• Starbucks doesn’t care if its Customers spend hours in its Cafeterias.

 

In Traditional Cafeterias, people:

• Have a Coffee.
• Have a small Chat.
• Eat a Quick Lunch (not always, of course)…

And leave as fast as the waiter sees them finish the order.

 

Let’s see What Starbucks did in detail:

 

Starbucks designed Cafeterias that looked like Social Clubs:

• Places where People meet, Work… and spend the entire afternoon.

 

Also, inside a same Starbucks, there are different Spaces for you to choose depending on the Experience you are looking for.

• If you want to stay the entire afternoon working, you have Sofas.
• If you just want to have a quick coffee while you talk on your Cell phone, you have Chairs.

 

In Traditional Cafeterias, there were only Chairs for just having a coffee and some Food.

 

A Classic Not-so-Comfortable Cafeteria.

 

In addition, Starbucks was the first Large Company to offer Free Wifi.

• In the past, this was shocking: Internet for free.
  • Nowadays is very common.

 

 

This was a game changer at that time.

• They attracted lots of Students with this Strategy.

 

If you put together:

• Sofas.
• Good Coffee.
• Free Wifi.

The Place was Heaven for many Customers.

 

The Augmented Product, was unbeatable.

• If you don’t know what the Augmented Product is, we suggest you to visit our Page:
  • Augmented Product.

 

Starbucks was one of the First Cafeterias that broke with the Traditional Food Options.

• An average Cafeteria, Bar or Pub offered:
  • Burgers.
  • Croissants.
  • Doughnuts.
  • Steak / Fish and Chips.

 

Typical Food of a Classic Cafeteria / Pub.

 

Then, Starbucks thought:

• What about People that want to eat something Healthier?
• What about People that just want a little snack?
• What about People that love Pies?

 

Starbucks Offered different Types of Snacks that Satisfied the Desires of all type of Customers.

• Especially, the Desires of:
  • People who take care of themselves and prefer Healthy options.
  • Those with a Sweet Tooth.

 

In addition, and very important, these Snacks that don’t need a Kitchen to be prepared.

• This is a great saving point for the Company.
  • In Money, Time, People and Resources.

 

The first thing that shocks you, the first time you enter a Starbucks is this:

• People stay there, forever.

 

With:

• Comfortable Sofas.
• Free Wifi.
• Giant Coffees.

 

People spend hours with a single Coffee, and Nobody cares about it.

• How is that Possible?
• How can Starbucks be Profitable?

 

In Traditional Cafeterias, as soon as you finish your Coffee:

• A waiter comes and cleans up your Table.
• The same waiter asks you if you want something else.
• You can see people staring at you, waiting for you to leave and sit at your table.

 

You feel pushed to leave.

• At least, here in Europe.

 

Crowded Cafeteria.

 

What Starbucks did, was to charge much more for its Coffees.

• Its Coffee is Bigger, yes, but… It is just water and sugar.

The Margins more than compensate the difference in Price.

 

Also, they make lot of money with their Take away Coffees.

• Few traditional Coffee Shops had (and still have) Attractive Options for Taking Away.

 

Both things, made possible for Starbucks, to allow you to stay there Forever.

These Pillars, allowed Starbucks to offer a Very Successful Product.

• Especially, the Augmented Product.

 

But, Have you noticed that there are virtually no Starbucks Ads?

• How could Starbucks be so Successful with practically no Ads?
• How could it be successful in such a mature market?

 

Let’s analyze Starbucks’ Marketing Strategy:

 

Starbucks became Worldwide Popular thanks to Internet and Social Networks.

• Despite being founded in the 1970s

 

Let’s see How they Managed to do it:

 

Hollywood

 

Many of Starbucks Customers got Curious for its Coffees, after seeing them in:

• Their favorite Series.
• Movies where People consumed its Coffees.
• etc.

 

Usually, the Characters that consumed Starbucks Coffees, were Cool and Successful people.

• We don’t know if Starbucks Sponsored all of those Productions.
  • Probably not.

 

This made Starbucks famous, at least outside of the US.

• Hollywood Productions Promoted it in a very effective way.

 

Celebrities

 

The same Celebrities that appear in a Movie having a Starbucks Coffee…

• Consume Starbucks Products in Real Life.

 

We don’t think this Strategy has been 100% Sponsored by Starbucks.

• 99% of the time, it is an spontaneous act (we can’t know the percentage).

 

Starbucks Coffees have become a “Fashion Item” for many Celebrities.

 

This causes that lots of Influencers (and Average People) to Post Pictures on Social Networks, while consuming a Starbucks Product.

• Imitating their Idols.

 

Viral Products

 

Starbucks Boosts its Presence on Social Networks by Creating Viral and Limited Products.

• The Unicorn Shake (a colorful sugar bomb, basically).
• Drinks for Christmas.
• Halloween special Shakes.
• etc.

 

Its Purpose is to attract People to its Shops to try these Viral Products and… Who knows, maybe gain new Loyal Customers.

All these Factors, together with:

• A Successful Expansion Strategy.
• A Good Location Policy.
• A Impeccable management.
• etc.

 

… Made Possible to Starbucks to Succeed, and become the Large Profitable Company that it is.