Marketing Communications of Starbucks - Assignment Example

This report features on the growth of Starbucks Coffee Corporation over the years through its background analysis that has enabled it to be one of twenty most admired American companies. There is no doubt that amongst its competitors like Caribou Coffee, 7-Eleven, BIGGBY Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, Panera Bread, McDonald's, and Einstein Bagels in the coffee industry, Starbucks strives to come up with a unique strategy that will oversee its expansion in the coffee café market. It is evident that Starbucks Coffee Corporation growth over the years has been due to its continuous aggressive unique expansion strategy that has overseen the company’s outlets grows globally. This unique expansion strategy has been achievable through Starbucks extensive operating and marketing experience in chain-store retailing (Forbes, 33, 2005). Unlike other business corporation that uses conventional market strategy, Starbucks Coffee Corporation opts to stand out uniquely as it employs unconventional marketing strategies. These strategies that range from offering quality products, a relaxing atmosphere, creation of its own community, customer satisfaction, innovation, partnership and brand marketing has overseen Starbucks Coffee Corporation grow into one of the most outstanding coffee outlets globally. As an approach of offering, an interactive base between the Corporation and the customers, Starbucks has implemented an integrated communication approach as its communication strategy that most of its competitors are reluctant to adopt. Nonetheless, through an analysis of Starbucks Coffee Corporation effective use of the current marketing communications mix has led to its growth in the industry globally. Especially with the current expansion, strategy of Starbucks Coffee Corporation as it seeks to acquire an expanded market share the report gives recommendations that will ensure the growth of Starbucks in the highly competitive industry. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Unique expansion strategy 4 3.0 Product diversification 6 4.0 Ensuring a relaxing atmosphere 7 5.0 Brand Image 8 6.0 Advertising 8 7.0 Brand Share 9 8.0 Market size 10 9.0 Recommendations 12 1.0 Introduction Starbucks Coffee Corporation is one successful company that stands out as a well-recognised distributor of coffee brands worldwide. This is highly attributable to Starbucks ability to make people feel better and enhance their lives as they offer high quality service in the coffee industry as compared to its competitors (Forbes, 33, 2005). A closer watch at the growth of Starbucks Coffee Corporation from its inauguration in the 1980s signifies a high level of growth beyond boundaries from within America as it outshines as a global entity. As a result, Starbucks Coffee Corporation has grown from only one coffee store more than 30 years ago in Seattle as it still grows its empire globally today with thousands of outlets within United States and other foreign countries as it serves its esteemed customers. This is through Starbucks proper implementation and execution of its strategic market plan intently in the market that has over time seen the growth of Starbucks coffee corporation into great heights in the coffee market. Unlike its competitors in the coffee market, Starbucks Corporation has continuously increased its array of products in order to ensure that it provides customers with a higher sense of self thus, leading to consumer satisfaction in the coffee industry. 2.0 Unique expansion strategy According to Starbucks Coffee Corporation, ensuring that their consumers have the conviction of its assurance as an outstanding provider of the best coffee brands is one of its pride as one of the unique service providers. There is no doubt that Starbucks has been able to market its products and stand out as one of the highly profitable business (Forbes, 33, 2005). The main success of Starbucks lies upon its esteemed provision of high standards of the best coffee quality as it adheres to responsible growing practices and ethical trading as it continues to establish itself in the global market. Its unique expansion strategy has overseen its establishment of cafes in a different place with more emphasis to capture key locations as it opens up stalls in a synchronised planned strategy (Forbes, 33, 2005). This has overseen Starbucks Coffee Corporation open up stores in close proximity to each other that eventually leads to closed down of its competitors who do not meet their standards. As a result, Starbucks Coffee Corporation has been able to retain most of its customers within these localities thus, maintaining a high level of sales. In addition, Starbuck’s ability to add up hundreds of outlets each year globally as it implements its expansion strategy indicates that it has a strong brand share that expands each year to build a higher customer base through the chain outlets available worldwide. It is even autonomous that despite Starbucks continuous growth as it enhances its drastic expansion it is still able to maintain the high level of quality and service (Forbes, 33, 2005). Starbucks Coffee Corporation as one of the best providers of coffee services in the market sector has ensured that the company is a well-acknowledged product by most of its customers globally. This has been achievable through its creation of a unique and relaxing experience and atmosphere as it offers comfortable replenished services to its customers as they train their workers to offer high quality services at all times. This is because Starbucks Coffee Corporation management focuses on offering a third place to its consumers where they can relax and refresh themselves apart from home place and the workplace. Unlike its main competitors in the coffee industry, Starbucks Coffee Corporation has been able to utilise it strong concepts of creating a third place in order to offer high quality standards in the marketing industry. As a result, Starbucks Coffee Corporation has been able to attract customers into its own coffee retail chain outlets. 3.0 Product diversification In order to serve its clients, with an array of vast products that oversees consumer satisfaction Starbucks Coffee Corporation management has continuously encouraged innovative skills over the years. Without a doubt, the variety of products offered attributes to the dominance of the coffee market leader Starbucks Corp. over other coffee market players in the industry. One of its competitors Dunkin' Donuts that actively competes for the Starbucks market leading to one of the main reasons for Starbucks re-energized success to gain its market dominance as it diversifies its products. Unlike Starbuck, Dunkin' Donuts offers a vast amount of products ranging from delicious fast-food breakfasts, such as cheese, egg and sausage on a croissant throughout the day. As a result, of the global competition, which Starbucks Coffee Corporation faces within United States and beyond boundaries with its intent to offer the best services that surpasses its competitor’s versions it has overseen its continuous quest for innovativeness in the industry. Through innovation, Starbucks Coffee Corporation has been able to add up its product line from the initial decaffeinated coffee beverages to a broad selection of Italian-style espresso drinks (Boyle , 2008,p. 112). On the other hand, customers who visit Starbucks Coffee Corporation outlets that are widely distributed get a variety of products to choose from apart from coffee as its menu go beyond to other options including fresh-roasted whole-bean coffees and fresh pastries. While they can also opt for other food items from cold to hot drinks including sodas, juices, teas, besides coffee-related hardware and equipment. 4.0 Ensuring a relaxing atmosphere Unlike most of its competitors that focus on offering food and beverage services only. Starbucks Coffee Corporation innovativeness in giving its customers a relaxed environment where they can feel comfortable is evident by the slow music that is echoed from a distant in its outlet to give a sense of a cool store to relax in far away from home and work. With a positive response from the clients, the senior executives of Starbucks Coffee Corporation gave a go ahead for the production and sale of the special jazz and blues CDs since there was a ready market from their demanding customers who liked the music. As a result, Starbucks Coffee Corporation increased its product line as it created from the Capitol Records library that gave CDs promotions of Starbucks collection of relaxing music. As portrayed in the picture below the customers at one of Starbucks Coffee Corporation are having a relaxed time inside the café. An inside view of Starbucks Coffee Corporation cafe 5.0 Brand Image As one of the outstanding providers of the best coffee brand, Starbucks Coffee Corporation management has adversely ensured that it gives itself brand recognition in the market. This is achievable through the use of each store as a bill board as a means of building the company's brand and image amongst its major competitors in the competitive coffee industry whereby huge billboards at a different site location are used to publicise the companies ( Boyle , 2008,p. 112). Indeed, as a unique outstanding corporation, Starbucks Coffee Corporation has stirred up consumer interest through its speciality and uniqueness that has brought about its preservation of brand dominance in the coffee café industry that is highly competitive. 6.0 Advertising This unconventional marketing strategy of advertising itself seem distinct as unlike its main competitors it utilises its money in creating ads in billboards, newspaper, ad space, or poster as compared to, McDonald's and other coffee outlets. Nonetheless, the outstanding looks on the coffee shops and chain outlets owned by Starbucks Coffee Corporation signify the use of a unique and seldom tried advertising strategy that has made Starbucks a leading brand in the coffee industry (Boyle, 2008, p. 112). In the figure below the customers are more enticed to enter into Starbucks Coffee Corporation coffee outlets because of the captivating advertisement that portrays it as one of the classic relaxing cafeteria where the best coffee is brewed. An Outside view of one of Starbucks coffee outlet used as advertisement 7.0 Brand Share Through its diverse aggressiveness in the market, Starbucks boasts of having its outlets in more than 15,000 venues within United States and globally in its market. With its established markets worldwide Starbucks brand share in the highly competitive region that has many competitors that it needs to outsmart. There is no doubt that Starbucks Coffee Corporation continuous build-up of its brand in the market as one of twenty most admired American companies in 2008 (Boyle, 2008, p.112). As a result, of its continuous diversified market growth Starbucks Coffee Corporation stood out to give an annual turnover of $6.4 billion in the year 2008 indicating that it is a strongly recognised coffee brand outlet globally. It is therefore, definite that Starbucks success in the industry limelight still stands out highly even as it faces major threats from its main competitors like McDonalds and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Corporation as they look out to offer the best services to their esteemed clients. On the other hand, Starbucks also stands as a highly recognised brand even though it competes with Caribou Coffee that offers almost a similar quality of product as the one it offers in the market. 8.0 Market size Without a doubt, Starbucks market size has continuously grown as it sells an infinite variety of coffee in 11000 café outlets globally. Nevertheless, Starbucks Coffee Corporation as one unique coffee shop amongst its competitors is keen to see that it maintains the welcoming and relaxing atmosphere at all times, which gives the company an opportunity sell pastries and CDs as a unique product. Thus, its uniqueness through implementation of the unconventional marketing strategy attributes to its ability to provide customers with an enhanced sense of self as they value their customers (Forbes, 33, 2005). On the other hand, unlike its competitors Starbucks Coffee Corporation ability to make people feel better as it offers a relaxing place away from home and works allows it to enhance its customer’s lives. Even as, Starbucks Coffee Corporation strives to attain a wider market base as compared to its competitors, it has overseen the use of an expansion strategy that focuses on growth and expansion of the corporation globally. As a result, Starbucks Coffee Corporation management has based more emphasis on the expansion of its retail outlets as it oversees high profitability with a high target market for its products. It therefore, focuses on increasing its cafes from the current 15,000 that are around United States and around the world. As Starbucks Coffee Corporation, has currently gained international acceptance as a well-reknown coffee brand in the market it seeks to find a further global market as it venture more into China ( Boyle , 2008,p. 112). As a way of establishing itself as a successful corporation among its competitors, Starbucks Coffee Corporation seeks to improve their positioning to be the topmost coffee brand internationally. As a result, Starbucks Coffee Corporation management are focused to oversee major growth and expansion in the market in order to come out as one of the best coffee outlet as opposed to its competitors in the industry. Starbucks Coffee Corporation therefore, oversee the opening of more outlets locally, and internationally in order to position itself, strategically among its competitors and stand out as one of the favourite coffee spot among its consumers. Without a doubt, Starbucks Coffee Corporation as any other big corporate company that focuses on its growth and success maintains a high level of communication strategy. Through its service provision, the employees of Starbucks Coffee Corporation ensure that, they maintain a strong relationship with their customers as they focus to bring out a relaxing atmosphere within its coffee outlets. As a means of communicating with its customers, the management ensures that, they interact with their clients through the internet where they can freely post their comments. Starbucks Coffee Corporation therefore, offers its clients a chance to share as stakeholders in the corporation as they give comments on areas that especially need improvement thus, they work out plans based on customers’ feedback. 9.0 Recommendations Even though Starbucks Coffee Corporation is currently performing well in the industry, there are some recommendations that will oversee the company expanding its market at a faster rate. In terms of advertisement Starbucks Coffee Corporation should not avoid the use of media as a means of publicising itself since most of the consumers get impressed by these outstanding ads. As a means, of persuading its consumers and giving them a feel of how the services at Starbucks outsmarts that of its competitors, Starbucks Coffee Corporation management should consider using creative television and internet advertisements that will bring in new consumers in to its global market. In order to improve the current internet use, I would focus on increasing the budget allocated to advertisements in order to improve the website outlook. This is because the outlook will aid in giving rational information about Starbucks Coffee Corporation. On the other hand, an improvement of the strong relationship between the client and the corporation would be necessary through employee motivation and valuation in order to boost their esteem and give them a sense of belonging as stakeholders to the company. There is therefore, need to increase the budgetary money allocated to hiring and training of employees that will foresee team work and collaboration as they provide services within Starbucks coffee outlets. This is because as a café industry Starbucks Coffee Corporation is more so dependent on the front staff ability to make customers come back due to their attitude as exceptional services attract customers. In my opinion, I would advertise using more of sales promotion in order to attract new customers while offering the variety of products to consumers. On the other hand, ensuring that Starbucks Coffee Corporation brand image is highly maintained all through the globe as the advertisements would seek to emphasis more on the array of products it offers to the consumers. Bibliography Boyle, M 2008, 'Starbucks. (cover story)', Fortune, 157, 5, p. 112, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 January 2012. Forbes, S 2005, 'Who'da Thunk It? Coffee Is Hot', Forbes, 12 December, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 6 January 2012. Read More