Comments on: Re-Experience Starbucks, Update 9: Customer Loyalty

By: ascanlar

ascanlar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:05:53 +0000

Esteban, thanks for your observations on Starbucks and their loss of innovation

By: Becky Carroll

Becky Carroll — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:37:28 +0000

Esteban, thanks for your observations on Starbucks and their loss of innovation. I agree that is a key factor in their current race against competitors (who have copied Starbucks in many ways). I think if Starbucks can get back to great coffee in a great atmosphere with a fabulous customer experience, they can keep their customers and gain some new ones, too!

Eric, good to see you! You are right; once someone gets to the top of their game, it can be a challenge to see where to go next. Starbucks is trying so many different things. I am hoping they truly focus on the customer, just as Howard Schultz laid out in his corporate memos. This will not be a quick fix, as you point out, so let’s hope they can hold out through these low stock prices and play for the long-term.

By: Eric Brown

Eric Brown — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:17:19 +0000

Becky, Great Post
Esteban makes some great points; Starbucks need to Reinvent Themselves, which is no small undertaking. This seems to be a case in point that there are no “easy or quick fixes”, based on history of other greats, there never is. And it must be such a challenge, and perhaps a pretty humbling moment to be so on top of your game, only to realize that the only real answer is to start over and do it all again. And, it seems that lots of once great brands trick themselves into thinking is doesn’t or hasn’t happened to them as the drift off into mediocrity

By: Esteban Kolsky

Esteban Kolsky — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:55:58 +0000

Becky,

I think there are several reasons for Starbucks to be where they are now, but probably the most important in mind mind is that the brand feels tired and old. Some time back, right before breakfast sandwiches, they stopped innovating. It seemed as if they said, yeah – we are done… SBUX is built and it works, now let’s focus on keeping it this way. That is one of the classic mistakes made by just about every single mass comsumer brand in recent years (think McDonalds, Burger King, Jamba Juice). They were all faced with the same: stagnant revenues due to mostly saturated markets. The vivanno, just as it was with the tiny hot chocolate which name i cannot recall, or brekfast sandwiches, or other products since were no more than tries to introduce new revenue streams. Alas, in the process, SBUX managed to destroy their key legacy (coffee and coffee drinks in a hip atmosphere). Pike Roast was a feeble attempt at re-introducing that, but it has not really paid off (not to mention that the experience is mixed, somedays is good – others bad… not the same — the intended result with it).

For SBUX to fix itself they need to figure that they are commanding a saturated, highly competitive market and go back to the drawing table and make themselves the leader (again) in that market. That means becoming the best at selling coffee and coffee drinks, ignore the distractions of other things like smoothies and sandwiches, and just be the best they can be.

As I was writing these final words, I sorta remember reading something similar to what I am writing here before. So, I won’t take all the credit – will give some back to Seth Godin and his book the Dip.

Great entry, nice project… keep going!

By: Becky Carroll

Becky Carroll — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:26:30 +0000

Please try it again, Katie, and make sure you are clicking on the link and not on the Snap shot of the site that comes up. A little tricky! It worked when I tested it just now.

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:16:32 +0000

the survey link does not work for me.