Starbucks Launching Social Network
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My Starbucks Idea isn’t up yet is up! Putting up a social network to solicit feedback from customers directly to the stores that they patronize may not be a bad idea. If there’s a retail brand that might actually succeed with social networking, Starbucks may very well be it. It’s a huge brand, it’s everywhere, people are addicted (literally) to their product, and customers love it.
Starbucks is really up against a wall. They’ve lost their luster with followers, operating costs are up, great baristas are getting harder to find, consumer spending is lagging, and competitors like McDonalds are starting to growl about losing breakfast patrons. McDonalds even topped Starbucks on a head to head taste test.
Why I’m not at Starbucks as often
Personally, I visit Starbucks half as much as I used to. I enjoy the premium roast that I get from my local coffee house and appreciate the fact that my money is going back into the local economy. Starbucks lost its luster when I started to see them a few blocks apart from one another and the wireless was costing me $30 per month. I’m only at Starbucks when my Greenwood Coffee House, The Bean Cup is out of reach.
With Howard Schultz back in the driver’s seat, perhaps Starbucks could stand a chance. We’ll see. My guess is that the Social Network will have a trickle of traffic, I would have opted for a blog and solicited feedback through content I could target a little better.
What will my idea be for Starbucks? Comfortable seats.
In their defense, I’m not sure how you’re supposed to maintain profit margins on a grand scale in a market as competitive as coffee is these days. I suppose that with the blanketing of the world with Starbucks stores there was going to be a loss in the overall quality of the experience you get when you visit, but it’s unfortunate. I’d like to see them improve things, but I think they have a heck of a challenge on their hands.
Both of those keep patrons around longer… something that a mass production coffee house might not appreciate. You don’t sell more when there’s no place to sit!
I’m still stopping by my Starbucks everyday but its lost a lot of its appeal along the way. I like that Shultz is back at the helm … reminds of Jobs coming back into Apple … it should bring them back closer to offering a cool experience. Social media connections are at least opening the doors in a new way.
My idea for them would be to listen carefully for the reasons why existing customers are no longer coming, others are going to McDonalds and why folks find it too much of a hassle to even consider. One thing I’d put right out there is they’ve got to stop nickle and diming the experience. I agree about the wireless hookup. Anyway, the answers are out there. Far too powerful a brand for them not to find a way to fix it.
Phil
Being trendy is a very brittle foundation to build your business on and it tends to cloud a company’s vision of itself and its importance. I think much of Starbuck’s success was the trendiness of a cool drink with lots of words at an expensive price.
You’ve probably hit the core issue for them … fad or a great launch at owning the ‘morning out experience’ that lost its way. Time will tell.
I’m still in favor of what Starbucks has done, but if I was a small-timer I’d also be perousing the suggestion boards every day!
More on this specific topic from a business excellence perspective at:
http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2008/04/morro-bay-coffe.html
Best,
Kevin