Starbucks doesn't sell coffee

INTRODUCTION

There are million cafés worldwide that boast a variety of high-quality coffee drinks but

their popularity cannot be even compared to the one that a chain of Starbucks coffee shops

has. So what is a secret? What is so special about this brand? Why do people come back to

Starbucks’ cafes over and over again while there are a lot of other places for them to choose

from? The trick is that Starbucks actually does not sell coffee. It provides its customers with a

unique unforgettable experience that touches the right chords of their souls instead. In his

book Brand Success: How the World’s Top 100 Brands Thrive and Survive (2011) Haig

mentions that Starbucks success is based on three main factors.

One of them is ‘building of emotional ties’  (Haig, 2011). In other words, dealing with

people’s emotions, Starbucks forms a type of customers’  response. Thus, a smile on worker’s

face and friendly greeting make a difference; it changes consumer mood, giving him a feeling

of warmth and favour, which in return will bring him back in future as such things are more

memorable than just a cup of a good coffee.

Another thing is following ‘a similar formula’  (Haig, 2011) that reflects humans

dependence on familiar things being in an unusual environment.

The last factor is a ‘signification of community’  (Haig, 2011). As we live in the era of

computer technologies, many people spend most of the time in the Internet losing

connections with a real world and people. Starbucks became a place where consumers can feel

their unity with a society that shares the same ideas and desires.

ESTABLISHING EMOTIONAL TIES

People’s Interactions

In contrast to many other companies that didn’t score big successes, Starbucks was able

to realize that we all are the people who have feelings and emotions and that these are the

main factors to be considered to rise to the occasion. If people know how much you care

about them, they will be eager to come back (Behar, 2007). Hence, Starbucks pays much

attention to the connection of cafés workers with their customers that reduce emotional

distance between two parties. Asking client’s name a barista interacts with him in a personal

way thereby creating a natural atmosphere and a feeling of ease and comfort that can be

considered as an emotional branding strategy’s core (Gobé, 2001).

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Peter Fisk (2006) also put emphasis on importance of interaction between people that

changes the whole meaning of customer service. ‘People create personal, emotional,

memorable experiences – through the attitudes and behavior of both employees and

customers – that turn products into experiences, a transaction into a relationship, and person

into a friend.’ (Fisk, 2006: 268)

It is not only about people’s communication but also it touches some kind of selfdetermination.

In his book Why We Shop: Emotional Rewards and Retail Strategies (2003)

Pooler notices: ‘Today’s shopper buys for the mind. The shopper who … buys at Starbucks is

buying self-confidence, self-esteem, and a boost for his ego. He is buying an emotional lift, he

is making himself feel good, and he is probably rewarding himself for the good job he does at

work.’ So, something that previously was just a decent cup of coffee rose to a spiritual level

giving people a moral satisfaction.

Sensory Aspects

Scott Bedbury (Klein, 2002), Starbucks' head of marketing, in his article in the New

York Times stated that ‘consumers don't truly believe there's a huge difference between

products,’ that is why the main purpose of Starbucks is to ‘establish emotional ties’ with their

clients through ‘the Starbucks Experience’. This experience consists of many details including

the sensory impressions. For this reason, another way in which Starbucks expresses an

emotional impact is presented by a smell of freshly brewed coffee in their shops. Gobé (2001)

mentions that ‘scents make sense’ and that they are a very powerful tool, which can work as a

nexus of people and a brand. Moreover, Starbucks is a place, where nobody whips you on so

you should not leave the café right after you had your cup of coffee. You can linger there as

long as you want and enjoy the atmosphere, listening to a pleasant music while sitting in a

cozy soft armchair. All the environmental peculiarities of stores (textures, colours, materials,

music, aromas) are thoroughly thought out to involve you into a magic world of lightheartedness

and comfort.

PROVIDING CONSISTENCY

As people always depend on something it is natural for them to seek to some balance

and consistency in their lives. Therefore, stability is a foundation to a lasting relationships and

success in business. Taylor Clarks (2007) states that if a customer goes to another country, he

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wants to be confident that his favorite drink will be absolutely the same. Starbucks provides

such reliability. ‘To the coffee drinker in unfamiliar territory, Starbucks looms like an oasis on

the horizon; it means you’re assured of getting a consistent, passable cup.’ (Clarks, 2007: 215).

Moreover, ‘this not only helps customers to know what to expect, but it also helps to

strengthen and tighten the brand’s identity in the public’s mind’ (Haig, 2011).

SYMBOLIZING COMMUNITY

Equal Members of Society

The inspiration for Starbucks creation came from the Italian espresso bars where

coffee was just a ‘rallying point to social life’  (Nielsen & Mortensen, 2008). Thus, from the

very beginning Starbucks tended to be more than just an ordinary café proposing a way of life

to their clients. In America people were at risk of losing the informal communication that was

an integral part of Europeans everyday life. Starbucks became the incarnation of a neutral

place where you can meet other people, converse with them in a free and easy atmosphere,

where you can get away from everyday fuss, slow down the tempo of your life and collect your

thoughts, feeling yourself safe and comfortable (Schultz, 1997). Howard Schultz (1997)

identified it as ‘the third place’ where ‘customers come for refuge’, a place at your

neighborhood apart from home and work. The author (1997) mentions a sociological

research, which showed that less than 10% of customers had dialogs with somebody at

Starbucks while the majority just stayed in a queue in silence and talked only to barista to

make an order. Nevertheless, these people felt themselves in safety among others. Therefore,

even if you came to a café by yourself and you do not speak to anyone, you will not sense

loneliness as ‘Starbucks makes people feel part of a community or culture with an in-store

experience providing individualized attention, service, options, and recognition.’ (Blackwell &

Stephan, 2004).

Starbucks is positioned as a democratic place for everyone without exceptions.

Howard Schultz (1997) states that it unites people of various classes who have different

incomes and diverse values giving all of them equal opportunities. ‘The blue-collar man may

not afford the Mercedes the surgeon just drove up in but he can order the same $2 latte.’

(Schultz, 1997: 119). Such policy does not make distinctions between people, treating all of

them with the same respect and understanding, being sensitive to their mood and wishes so

people could feel their own significance.

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Meeting customers’ needs

Remaining passionate about Italian traditions, Starbucks however changed the initial

concept of their coffee shops considering special characteristics of American society.

According to a fast tempo of life in the USA the takeaway coffee appeared. Despite the fact

that such innovation was at variance with Italian vision of a coffee culture, in such way

Starbucks responded to their customers’ wishes.

Another example of Starbucks intent to please their clients is represented by

emergence of chairs in cafés thought the original espresso bars did not have places for seating

only the standing room (Schultz, 1997).

In Starbucks the customer always can choose how his coffee will taste as well as a size

of a cup. Howard Behar (2007) mentions that there are not many places in people’s lives

where they can choose what they want. Therefore, Starbucks gives their customers a chance to

get, or even invent, exactly what they need. Even though it is just a small thing, it can change

the whole day (Behar, 2007). This is one of the ways to make people feel themselves as

valuable members of community able to make their own decisions that will be taken into

account without fail.

CONCLUSION

All the above clearly demonstrates that even though Starbucks provide its consumers

with high-quality coffee, a drink itself is not a reason why people are so attracted by these

coffee shops. First of all, Starbucks plays on people’s emotions creating a special atmosphere

in their stores and breaking bounds between consumers and employees to share a feeling of

warmth and friendliness. Secondly, company’s consistency ensure the same atmosphere,

service, quality and taste of your favorite drink in any Starbucks store all over the world. Such

consistency plays important role in people’s lives as everybody wants to have something they

can rely on. Finally, Starbucks propose a unique experience of being in a ‘third place’ that

differs from home and work, a place where nothing will bother you, where you can socialize

with other people united by the same idea; where even being alone you feel yourself as a

member of community.

LIST OF REFERENCES

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Behar, H. (2007) It’s not about the coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks.

New York: Penguin Group.

Blackwell, R. & Stephan, T. (2004) Brands That Rock. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Clark, T. (2007) Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture.

New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Fisk, P. (2006) Marketing Genius. Chichester: Capstone Publishing Limited.

Gobé, M. (2001) Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People.

New York: Allworth Press.

Haig, M. (2011) Brand Success: How the World’s Top 100 Brands Thrive and Survive.

London: Kogan Page.

Klein, N. (2002) No Logo. New York: Picador.

Nielsen, E. & Mortensen, T. (2008) The Story of Sturbucks. Available at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/71779986/74/Is-Starbucks-Still-a-Third-Place

[Accessed 19 December 2011]

Pooler, J. (2003) Why We Shop: Emotional Rewards and Retail Strategies.

Westport, CT: Praeger.

Schultz, H. (1997) Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks build a Company one Cup at a

Time. New York: Hyperion.