7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: Starbucks in the United States have the opportunity to enhance their social media marketing tactics for advertisements they deliver because the company does not follow traditional methods of advertising. 

The Who: Starbucks in the United States  

The What: They have the opportunity to enhance their social media marketing tactics for advertisements they deliver to the audience

The Why: The company does not follow traditional methods of advertising

Testing the Who: The others who share this need are direct and indirect competitors of Starbucks such as Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds McCafé, Costa Coffee, McDonalds, Tazo, and The Republic of Tea. Starbucks competes directly with other companies and corporations mainly through the selling of beverages, such as coffee, tea, and Frappuccino variations, such as the McCafé frappe. However, it also competes indirectly with McDonalds through the selling of fast food, if the beverages were subtracted from the Starbucks menu, it would be considered a fast food place as well. What sets Starbucks products aside from its competitors is the fact that the corporation offers limited edition drinks, along with Instagrammable menu items. Against competitors, Starbucks does not follow the traditional rules of advertising as opposed to Dunkin Donuts, which emphasizes its products through ad campaigns and traditional media, such as magazines and flyers. Starbucks competitors also share the need of expanding their social media marketing. 

Testing the What: The boundaries of the need are the fact that all of Starbucks social channels have the same look, feel, and tone towards them as the stores do. The company’s mission, message, and goals are consistent across platforms, and their social media success is unrivaled in comparison with other coffeehouses. The main points that Starbucks focuses on when advertising include quality-based differentiation, excellent customer service, and a high focus on customer orientation. In order to promote their seasonal products, the brand posts and promotes the new product through social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to receive high engagement. Despite the fact that Starbucks uses all forms of traditional media, social media is one of their top used ones. Social media is a tool that is utilized by corporations and has become a predominantly driving force for Starbucks proficient public relations on social media. Traditional methods of advertising can be utilized by Starbucks, but they do not require it to promote the brand in advertising.

Testing the Why: The range of what each Starbucks in the United States varies slightly, but the brand has utilized consistent branding in all of its locations. Both the Starbucks experience and the physical stores provide more advertising in comparison to those that are posted through radio, mobile, and television. Some of the problems various locations may face include their reliance on suppliers which have volatile prices, the lofty prices, and the fact that every store is consistent around the world, which may impact the customer or consumer’s experience there. By consistently introducing new and engaging customer platforms and keeping up with trends over time, the company has maintained a firm brand strategy along with engaging with customers to hear their ideas for the company to expand and improve its products and customer service. A problem some stores face include reaching a saturation point in the market and the struggle of not attracting new customers.

Interview 1:

Is there anything that would motivate you to visit or shop at a Starbucks store now rather than in the future?

Interviewee: I think the only that would encourage me to go to a Starbucks now would be a surprise assignment. As mentioned before, I usually only go to Starbucks for coffee, so really, I would only go if I needed to get caffeine.

What words do you associate with the brand when you hear “Starbucks?”

Interviewee: It’s like, hip, trendy, same thing. Decent, I guess?

Do you think Starbucks has an advantage in the market compared to their competitors?

Interviewee: At least on campus, I think Starbucks has the advantage because it is effectively the only place that has coffee. While there are a couple of smaller places around campus that also have coffee, for example, let’s say in the POD Market and in the New Engineering Building, there is a coffee place called Java City, the majority of places that I normally hang around tend to have Starbucks.

What methods or reasons might motivate brands today to maintain loyal consumers?

Interviewee: The rewards program, such as the Starbucks app definitely help retain loyal customers. Also, retaining relevance in social media would definitely help maintain popularity.

Interview 2:

Is there anything that would motivate you to visit a Starbucks store now

rather than in the future?

Interviewee: I don’t think that there is anything now compared to the future that would affect my choice to go to Starbucks.

What words do you associate with the brand when you hear “Starbucks?”

Interviewee: Capitalism and coffee.

Do you think Starbucks has an advantage in the market compared to their competitors?

Interviewee: Yes, I feel that they have an advantage because they have a larger market share. I think that this happened in part because they are everywhere. It is the only store where if you go to a city like New York that you can see two on the same block.

What methods or reasons might help brands today to maintain loyal customers?

Interviewee: Brands can retain customers by using things such as membership rewards, punch cards, and incentives to come back. Another way is to have great customer service and be unique.

Interview 3:

What words do you associate with the brand when you hear “Starbucks?”

Interviewee: Coffee.

Do you think Starbucks has an advantage in the market compared to their competitors?

Interviewee: Yes, I do because Starbucks is much more popular on social media and just in American culture. So many people prefer that much more than other smaller coffee chains.

What methods or reasons might motivate brands today to maintain loyal consumers?

Interviewee: Because it’s good quality coffee and people like to do what other people do- the bandwagon theory- when they see someone else doing something, they also follow.

What is your opinion on certain products being marketed towards a particular audience or specific region? This can include mooncakes towards an Asian market, etc.

Interviewee: It would get more people to buy that product because they know about it.

Interview 4:

What words do you associate with the brand when you hear “Starbucks?”

Interviewee: Coffee.

Do you think Starbucks has an advantage in the market compared to their competitors?

Interviewee: No, because Dunkin Donuts got that Happy Hour though.

What methods or reasons might motivate brands today to maintain loyal consumers?

Interviewee: Creating more enticing reward programs, and better value events or occasions like Dunkin Donuts Happy Hour.

What is your opinion on certain products being marketed towards a particular audience or specific region? This can include mooncakes towards an Asian market, etc.

Interviewee: It can be effective due to the fact that those certain products are more well-known by those particular audience.

Interview 5:

What words do you associate with the brand when you hear “Starbucks?”

Interviewee: Quality coffee, chill vibes, nice people.

Do you think Starbucks has an advantage in the market compared to their competitors?

Interviewee: Yes, the experience they provide along with the drinks is how they have managed to stay on top of the competition and the industry.

What methods or reasons might motivate brands today to maintain loyal consumers?

Interviewee: They get loyal customers by serving drinks of the best quality all the time every time. It’s never a bad tasting coffee that I get from Starbucks.

What is your opinion on certain products being marketed towards a particular audience or specific region? This can include mooncakes towards an Asian market, etc.

Interviewee: It makes sense, because the U.S. population is growing and becoming more diverse, and they need to serve drinks that people want to buy.

Summary: Overall, what I found out about the opportunity that I didn’t know before was that many consumers believe that Starbucks has an advantage in the market compared to their competitors due to having a larger market share and being more popular on social media and in American culture. From the interviews, I learned that Starbucks frequently advertises its beverages, focusing predominantly on coffee. Starbucks advertises and sells its products with a sole purpose in mind and does not want to be portrayed as the giant global corporation that it is. The way Starbucks drives its business is through word of mouth, with a majority of the advertisements featuring the prominent coffee chain being done by partners such as Kraft and Pepsi. The target market is involved heavily on arts and charity and making great efforts to be environmentally and socially responsible. To appeal to the target audience and encourage them to purchase merchandise, the products should be highlighted through social media posts or marketing campaigns that go viral online.