Starbucks Marketing Objective

...

Advertising has also worked to grow their business. This refers to the way that the company has communicated their brand to their customers. Their approach to advertising has created a coffeehouse culture which goes far beyond just selling coffee. The company has marketed a culture that is planned in every way, from the name of the beverages to the type of music that is playing in the stores. This communication that has taken place with external players (their customers) has been a key factor in the company’s success.

As the company continues to grow, they will need to use communication strategies to counter the competition that is developing from fast-food services. Companies like McDonalds are increasingly trying to make gains in the coffee market, and this will pose as a direct threat to Starbucks’ profits. The company needs to continually communicate to their customers that they are paying for an experience when they go to Starbucks, and this is what justifies their price-point within the expanding market.

Internal communications

Starbucks’ success has come largely from communication, but more specifically its corporate culture. The company is proud of its empowering corporate culture, and this is reflected in one of their six mission statement principles: To provide “a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity”. They use communication as a means of ensuring that the company is thriving from the inside, and that a purposeful and efficient work environment is created as a result. This commitment to having a satisfied workforce has translated into increased profits because their employees are working more effectively to achieve that goal. Communication is an important part of this corporate culture and the company’s success, as employees are given the ability to make decisions on their own, without needing clearance from management. This open-system of communication allows for a more relaxed and supportive corporate culture that serves the bottom line. Each and every person that works at the company is not referred to as an employee, but rather as a ‘partner’, and this is true for both full and part-time workers. All of these workers are entitled to comprehensive benefits which creates culture within the company that is positive, and the ‘partners’ communicate this to each other regularly. This is reflected in the fact that Starbucks spends more money on their workers’ health care costs than they do on coffee beans. This has led to low levels of employee turnover (employee turnover at Starbucks is 50%, while it is 400% in other companies in the same industry).

The company communicates to its partners that they are the most important resource to be managed within the company, and this has worked to create adaptable and dependable workers that are passionate about doing what is needed to succeed in the changing economy. Their matrix organizational structure has allowed for effective communication within the organization. It is now a flatter and less-hierarchical organization, and this works to facilitate faster change within the various departments that are essential for the company’s success.

Increase profit

Starbucks can increase their profit by develop new product, increase product and service quality, decrease unnecessary costs, and increase the price of the products. Starbucks can develop new product such as Starbucks Candy® to gain new customers. Starbucks also can increase the quality of product and service to remain customers’ loyalty. Decreasing on unnecessary costs is also needed to save costs for the company. In 2016, Starbucks already raise the price of the selected cold drinks by 10 cents to 20 cents. Starbucks can raise the price of the certain products to cover higher coffee costs and gain more profit.

...