AN OVERVIEW OF STARBUCKS MARKETING MIX

The success of a marketing strategy strongly relies on the implementation of the marketing mix. The marketing mix is associated to the theory of the 4P's, introduced by Jerome McCarthy in 1960. Since then, the theory of the 4P's has been extended and currently includes 7P's: product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence.  It is important for companies to review the functioning of each one of the P's every year, to individualize the strengths, the weaknesses and the room for improvement.

We will now go through a quick overview of Starbucks successful marketing mix, to have an idea on how companies develop and put that in place in real life. 

PRODUCTS

Starbucks started off by only selling roasted coffee beans for domestic use. In 1983, coming back from a trip in Italy, Howard Shultz imported a different coffee culture to the US. It was not only the quality of the products, but the brand design, the packaging, the experience that Starbucks provided: the mix of all these elements led them to a superior position in  comparison to other coffee chain.

PRICE

Starbucks is a premium brand, therefore their price is higher compared to other coffee chains. Their pricing strategy is value based, meaning that the prices are higher and increase every year, with the awareness that the customers are going to keep choosing Starbucks thanks to the premium experience they'll receive in return. 

                                        CBS mornings (2015) "What's behind Starbucks price increase?"

PLACE 

Starbucks has over 30k store  spread all over the world. The store location is studied and perfectly designed by analysing the target audience most frequented areas. To backup the sales in stores, we can also find their products in grocery stores, or we can now order our favourite drinks via third part companies such as UberEats or Deliveroo. 

PROMOTION

We will linger on Starbucks specific promotional campaigns a bit more later on this article, for now it is useful to keep in mind how Starbucks is capable to utilise both of the inbound and outbound marketing tools, to create a steady customer-base loyalty.

PEOPLE 

Starbucks refers to all their employees as partners. The company focuses on inclusivity and has one of the higher percentages of minority in their work force. The brand also invests on their partners development, to motivate and train great brand advocates.

PROCESS 

The launch of the Starbucks app has made a step further to make their customer experience easier. Customers can look at the menu online, they can find the closest shops, and pre-pay for their drinks to avoid long queues in store.

                       Starbucks Coffee (2020)- "a guide on how to order and pay for Starbucks drinks online". 

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

The Starbucks logo is a physical evidence of the brand, such as their websites, the assortment in store, the uniforms of the baristas behind the counter. In the next video, FastCompany run through the interesting story and evolution of the Starbucks logo. 

                                     Fast company (2018). "The secret story behind the Starbucks logo". 

STARBUCKS PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

Following on an overview of Starbucks 7P's,  we can focus on their promotional strategy, as an important factor to implement the sales and gain customers loyalty. 

Starbucks promotional campaigns arose from their motto “From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection. Our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time” (Starbucks, n.d.). 

Starbucks is not only promoting coffee, but also a unique experience by which their customers can really feel a connection with the brand, the barista, the place. If we consider the research of this feeling of connection as the root of their marketing strategy, we can understand how Starbucks promotional campaigns have developed through the years, and how the company tends to appeal to an emotive message to create a relationship with the customers and get their loyalty to the brand.

Starbucks promotional strategy involves the use of multiple channels, including tv advertisements, printed ads, and social media

STARBUCKS GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS

In 2014, the brand launched their first global campaign: "Meet me at Starbucks". The advert is "an interactive YouTube mini-documentary, shot in 59 different stores across 28 countries during the same 24-hour period, documents a day in the life at Starbucks" (Marketing Week, 2014). The campaign follows the Howard Shultz guideline, to portray Starbucks as the "third place" between home and work. The advert hit straight to the customers emotive level, showing  how strong connections can really be formed and take place within the warmth and welcoming atmosphere of Starbucks.

               Starbucks (2014), "Meet me at Starbucks". 

Another significant campaign "What's your name?", was launched by Starbucks in 2019. The campaign has had a massive impact on the LGBTQ+ community, just few months lather the launch of it, the brand was awarded as the "winner of diversity in advertising" by Channel4. The campaign tells the story of a transgender, and it shows how even the small gesture of the Starbucks barista asking "what's your name"  can turn into a significant experience. The campaign has demonstrated where the brand stands in terms of inclusivity and reiterated the idea of Starbucks as a place where you should not be afraid of showing who you are. "Recognition and acceptance, whoever you are, or want to be. We welcome everyone". (Starbucks, 2019) 

                                                          Starbucks (2019), "What's your name?". 

OUTBOUND MARKETING

In terms of outbound marketing and printed ads, Starbucks tends to remain brief and minimal. The colours and funky images need to capture the attention of the customers while they're walking by the streets. The ads are often located near the entrance of the shops, creating an interaction with the customers, to give them one more reason to choose Starbucks instead of heading to their competitors. 

 

   

INBOUND MARKETING 

The brand uses almost all the inbound marketing tools; however, in terms of promotion, their flagship is Instagram. "In 2017, Starbucks enjoyed a 26% growth in followers and gained nearly 3.3M new followers. They posted 240 posts of which more than 77% were photos" (Ravi, K, 2018).

 By analysing their competitor's data, Starbucks has the highest engagement rate on social media. The brand obtained this by promoting a consistent strategy. On Instagram, Starbucks publishes new contents every day in the late morning, posting aesthetical and trendy images of their products. The hashtags link these to emotional messages or international festivities, to attract more users to their page.

STARBUCKS REWARDS PROGRAM

A huge part of Starbucks customers loyalty has been earned thanks to their Rewards Program. The program was launched in 2008, and it was in line with idea of Starbucks to create a unique experience for each one of their customers. With over 19 million members, Starbucks Rewards is going through the effort of delivering personalised offers to customer. "They turned to Formation's Offer Optimization Platform, which automates the creation, optimization and measurements of offers down to the individual customer. The Offer Optimization Platform enables the real-time creation of each customer's offer at scale, which means the actions and rewards are unique to each customer" (Formation, 2017).

Starbucks (2021), MyStarbucksRewards- Customer loyalty program.

In conclusion, Starbucks has surely managed to develop an effective promotional strategy, gaining one of the steadiest customer-base loyalty. In 1983, Shultz set up a guideline that Starbucks has never failed to follow. Starting off by identifying their target audience, Starbucks has found a unique language and unique stories to tell: the mix of these elements does not fail.