4 Marketing Lessons From the Success of Starbucks
Posted on: 2013-02-10 12:00 AM Starbucks Corporation has over 20,000 stores in more than 60 countries around the world, and the company is still going strong.
A common sighting in any Starbucks branch is a bevy of loyal customers lining up for their coffee fixes. So, what’s the secret behind one of the world’s most successful coffee chains? Read on and learn four precious marketing lessons from one of the biggest coffeehouse company in the world.
Consistent and Powerful Branding
The green Starbucks logo is all-pervading and unmistakable even when seen from afar. A distinctive logo made omnipresent on cups, napkins, and the like constantly reinforces the brand, which is a great way to reach out to costumers.
Starbucks’ consistent branding has led to the development of emotional connection with customers. Each time customers see the logo beckoning out to them, they almost instantly associate it with the Starbucks ambience.
Inviting Atmosphere
Walk into a Starbucks branch and you will instantly recognize the inviting atmosphere, the cleanliness, and the strategic lighting. Starbucks understands exactly how to enforce the quality of experience founded on the simple act of drinking coffee. That is effective marketing that works on a subliminal level.
It is not just the coffee and the food offerings. The company effectively focuses its marketing drive toward heightening the experience of partaking with various Starbucks offerings. It cultivates a culture that only happens to generally revolve around the act of drinking coffee. That carefully contrived culture is what customers essentially pay for when they walk inside a Starbucks branch. And because that culture welcomes them warmly, most of them come back.
Taking Risks
The dominance of Starbucks has been helped greatly by its bold strategies of saturating the market and taking risks. If you notice, some branches of the coffee chain are clustered in small geographical areas. Starbucks also buys out the leases of their competitors, forcing the company to sometimes operate at a loss.
For instance, during Starbucks’ first forays into the UK market, it initiated a buyout of the competing Seattle Coffee Company. It also used its influence and capital to establish branches in premium locations where some of those branches ended up operating at a loss.
Excellent Marketing across All Channels
Even when you leave a Starbucks store, it has a way of reaching out to you and inviting you back. The voice and the branding are consistent throughout. Take a look at the company’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. There’s even a well-designed mobile app.
The most striking aspect of Starbuck’s marketing strategy is the one the company exhibits when it communicates via its newsletter. Starbucks deeply understands email marketing to a tee. The company’s newsletter is something many people would welcome in their inboxes. The visual orientation is classy, interesting, and well thought out. You know that someone made an effort to design it and obsessed with the details. The duration of the emails are also suitably paced. And the content is mostly educational and helpful—the promotion is not glaring. There are many newsletters where Starbucks does not sell anything and just offers free, informative content.
To improve your sales campaign, you may want to take a cue from the many ways Starbucks expertly builds customer loyalty. That can certainly help you gain traction on sales and earn repeat customers.
