Enhancing a Competitive Marketing Strategy in Starbucks
Background
Starbucks is a company that came into operation in the year 1971. Initially, the entrepreneur’s main agenda was to sell equipment and coffee of high standards. Later they got into the business of selling coffee drinks that are both cold and hot and seeds of the coffee plant. The company also takes part in the promotion of films, books, and music in their entertainment department. Ice cream is also on the list of the business’s income generating product. Operating in the business of buying and selling, the need for high marketing strategies becomes one of the fundamental backbones of the success of the company.
This is because challenges like competition, depreciation of product quality and poor branding of the products among other factors can be of detrimental effect in the performance of the company. Today Starbucks has brought into operation about 20000 branches internationally. This is number can be estimated to be about two branches being opened daily. This is a success; especially bearing in mind all the risks associated with a business activity.
The area of study on strategies Starbucks used and has continued to use even today is of great importance. This is because today we have many entrepreneurs ready with business ideas and others have already gotten into the business field. For them to be fruitful and to reap the core reason for starting up a business which is profit making, this area of study can be of great importance. These entrepreneurs to boost their success largely can emulate the implemented plans and strategies by Starbucks Company. Having opened so many outlets all over the continents can draw the attention of both already established and small businesses so that they can be fruitful and able to face most of the challenges associated with starting and operating a business.
Preliminary Review of the Literature
For the success of any business, planning is of great importance. Planning of business entails coming up with a good plan before you commence the type of activity in mind. In formulating a plan for the business, one can involve an expert to ensure that all the issues are catered. A program of activities can include issues like how the company is and its financial needs, the best location of the firm to ensure a broad grasp of customers. Again, issues like minimizing costs, cash management, and approaches to curb business risks and challenges should be evaluated.
Chris Joseph of Demand Media in his article tries to impose the culture of negotiation in business. He argues out that for a business that is in its early stages of development it cannot afford luxurious items like catering for advertising costs. The technique of improving your business skills can also be of great importance. This can be achieved by continuing with studies that are business related and attending activities like business seminars (Weinzimmer, 2016).
These seminars are very advantageous because it is through them where upcoming entrepreneurs can get to interact with well-known and successful business owners who can share their secrets of success and how they have been able to reduce business risks. Improved knowledge and skills of business studies enable one to gain skills that can help in controlling and critically analyzing business decisions eve before undertaking them. Additionally, one gets a chance of nourishing their knowledge on how to give appropriate direction to their staffs.
Chris Joseph continues to argue out that debt is another challenge that faces business. Use of means that can wholly or to a bigger extent reduce the issue of debts between the firm and customers should be encouraged which can include the use of credit cards. Another way is to request for deposit payment before any service is offered (Taecharungroj, 2016).
Leigh Anthon encourages the habit of record keeping in any business. Any transaction that takes place should be well recorded. Moreover, any money set for business expenses should be fully accounted for. Proper books of account, which include statements of financial position, income statements, and cash flows, should be accurately kept (Qian, 2016).
Advertising reduces the competition gap between companies. Competition is one of the key challenges that face most of the businesses regardless of their stage of development. Adding value to a company’s product can be used to reduce the effect of competition in the market. This is because more customers will be willing to purchase the already improved product, which will be perceived better compared to already existing one (Schlegelmilch, 2016). Giving off a great offer to customers will make them get interested in a particular product. Providing clients with other services that are not related to the product being offered can be of great value. Providing services like the internet will assist in increasing the number of customers. A company can also decide to lower the prices of its product without compromising the issue of quality.
If a company is operating many branches, it is encouraged to set the outlets not far from each other. This will boost customers trust with the enterprise. Companies should also instill ways of making expenditures as small as possible (Smith, 2015) makes. For tasks temporary like maintenance of firm’s machines, the management should encourage such services rather than employing staffs permanently.
One of the techniques that have assisted in the success of Starbucks is the way they associate with their customers. They are hospitable, and this has drawn the attention of its clients. Most of the small enterprises lack the luxury of having luxury items in their operations through a well-planned strategic approach would lead them to productive business running with significant profit incurred (Jones, 2015). For many entrepreneurs, it is advisable to purchase bigger blocks of ads for advertising time for a considerably reduced time.
Negotiations for prolonged supplies on credits measures are encouraged to allow continuous running of the business. Every business should strive to achieve new and prosperous territory. The Starbucks have put in place improved measures of running their businesses where they have open a variety of shops close to ensure that they clients are served well. The producer consumer relationship has shown improvements in markets as the customer’s needs are taken care of after the producers get their feedback on the products services. It also evaluates how they feel about the quality (Smith, 2016).
Such approaches create a clear impression in the clients of the accessibility of their product whenever they want. Word of mouth recommendations are useful strategies for newly opened stores during their launching (Lovelock, 2014). Accurate budgets of the money spent on the advertising should be put into records to allow actual evaluation of the marketing costs. Joined up strategies helps build up a client base of loyal fans.
Research questions
Any company’s’ agenda is to make a profit thus they should employ research questions that will guide them, to evaluate the achievements of my research to raise the society’s’ standards by providing genuine products. The research guides in the accomplishing the objectives set.
- What are the crucial marketing strategies that have been used for the success of the Starbucks?
- What are the achievements of the imposed management strategies to the operation of the market?
- Are there researches that show the trends of the business strategies within the Starbucks?
- What are the plans for the continuity of the successful Starbucks?
Objectives
- To critically evaluate the best ways to maintain successful marketing strategies
- To analyze the various strategies that has been employed to allow a competitive market for the Starbucks
- To recommend on the future approaches to deal with the competition from the rivals companies that are emerging.
- To identify the outcomes of the corporation marketing approaches
Methodology and Research Methods
Evaluation of the marketing performance to enhance a competitive market would entail various methods that include:
Measure outcome – It should be from the client’s point of view with the inclusion of many marketing activities. It helps determine the action across a continuous period, use statistical and technical approaches of every measurement systems (Pride, 2016). The marketing key performance indicators should be determined and incorporated in the entrepreneurship for accuracy.
I would also evaluate the operations using a standard scale from various companies to get the comparisons, then measure the errors, and quantify to allow the managers to react to the shift in the emerging conditions (Hsu, 2014). The evaluation will also be based on the individual business organization structure to evaluate the success and the progress of the firm. I would also use the return on investment records to relate the profits incurred to the total amount of capital invested.
I would also the use Advertising Research Foundation with various practitioners from all avenues of advertising and marketer and other business researchers. These marketing strategies will inform and give the entire details on the commodities and services attractively and affect the sale behavior for consistency. These approaches range from simple calculations to tallying the number of visit to a marketing website (Ferrell, 2013). I would research on the marketing campaigns that they had done and seen how they are integrated into many channels. I would do comparisons within various operations, brands and the type of markets the organization use. I would use distinct communication activities and approach the competitors.
Data collection will be done using the continually gathered and monitored data that will allow understanding and identify where there is need to improve the operations. I will also use long-term observation to determine the unanticipated changes in the Starbuck Company. I will also employ research questionnaires to the clients to obtain the information on the quality of products the Starbucks offer and whether they are satisfied with the service, they receive. Additionally, focus group and interview approaches will be employed to gather primary data for the study.
I will consider the accuracy, repeatability, reproducibility, bias, data shifts and drifts are quantifying the errors that have occurred which will lead to the suggestion of the remedies by the managers. This methodology is justified, as it will yield to a comprehensive report on the best marketing strategies that have been used and are to be utilized by the Starbucks. This research strategy is based on the accuracy of the incorporation of many activities to determine the way forward regarding the business.
The data collection will allow the determination of the sales numbers to determine whether the strategies used are efficient or show an adverse effect. The customer response will also be verified that will help me identify the reactions types of the marketing strategy (Boone, 2013). I will also employ online surveys and individual and general client’s services feedback that show how customers think of the marketing and the kind of campaign with the greatest impact.
The competitors should give their response, which will lead to the success or the failure of the marketing strategy. I will be able to identify the areas that other companies have copied and try to do their best to reach their initiatives. It would lead to a great campaign to affect the marketing strategy used and answer the questions. Marketing plan developed will help articulate the strategic direction to achieve outcomes. It allows one to determine the resources one need to deliver the results required with the available skills and knowledge. The period will allow the implementation of the whole schedule and should be accurate to enhance accuracy. An approved budget is necessary to reinforce the strategy, and all the tasks should be complementing each other.
Some of the limitations of the study would be the unwillingness of the managers at the Starbucks to provide accurate details of the information enquired. Time limitations would also be a significant issue to allow comparison of the various marketing strategies employed by the company. Some factors that are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the research design include:
Validity: Some of the qualitative methodologies are very appropriate using the processes described above and the data collected. The research questions that I have used are valid for the outcomes as the chosen method answers the research questions. The design used is valid for the methods used with the appropriate data analysis and sampling. The results and conclusion should be valid for the research. The chosen methodology will detect the findings in the context of the marketing strategies. The sample will be the brands and the people that will be a questionnaire. These methods need to be adopted to allow the validity of my outcomes.
Reliability: It describes replicability of the approaches that will be used and the usefulness of the results. In most research, the variability of the results has a margin for logistics. The data will be extracted from the initial source. Thus, I will verify the accuracy from the comparisons made. The scope and interpretation of the collected data will provide a comprehensive and inclusive using the quantitative approaches.
Generalizability: It is mostly not an expected attribute in qualitative research. In this research, I will apply same criteria to determine the validity of the outcome. There will be systematic sampling and consistent comparison and transparent auditing. It would allow us to achieve goals.
Ethical consideration in marketing
It involves the behavior of companies when marketing their product. When trading, firms should ensure that their relationship with other businesses and their customers are not harmed. For good marketing strategy that is morally right and socially acceptable, planning is essential. Good ethics should not be forgotten in marketing. Socially, a firm should put in mind its society, other businesses, and its environment. The individuals who have been given the responsibility of making sure that the company is well known and products are purchased in high batches should ensure that no conflict in a business environment.
The customers primarily determine the success of business. While doing marketing, marketers should make sure that they give correct information about the quality of their product. They should not create a bad picture of their competitors by trying to criticize their product rather they should provide a clear distinction between their products and those of their competitors. The marketers should ensure that the information they give is symmetric and fair. The marketers should put in consideration rules and regulations to monitor the entire process. Additionally, their respective governments should have implemented this. In case, there are mechanisms that the management has put in place that is antisocial, marketers should raise an alarm about it and try to find a solution to it. I would thus consider these ethical issues in my research.
| Activities to gather data | Sample details | Data analysis methods | Research objective to be fulfilled by the data |
| Questionnaires | 20 questions per individual | Sample questions
Qualitative analysis
|
Strategies that have been employed to achieve success |
| Secondary data that has been recorded | Number of sales, partner response, number of stakeholders
|
Quantitative data analysis long term observation
|
Competitive rival markets information, |
Planning and any particular resources required
The time required to gain full resources would be limited. Holistic, social and economic approach will be used to ensure the accuracy of the outcome of my research.
| Special Resource Required |
| Literature review |
| Transport |
| Permit from local authority |
| Structured questionnaires |
| Approved budget |
| Time frame |
| Personnel and skills |
Bibliography
Boone, L. and Kurtz, D., 2013. Contemporary marketing. Cengage Learning.
Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M., 2012. Marketing strategy, text and cases. Nelson Education.
Hsu, I.L., 2014. The Impacts of Social Commerce Design Model on Purchase Intention-A Case of Facebook President Starbucks Fan Page.
Jones, I.M., Forsythe, L.M. and Kemp, D.J., 2015. Dumb Starbucks: Parody or Clever Marketing Ploy? a Teaching Case. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 21(6), p.337.
Lovelock, C., Patterson, P.G. and Wirtz, J., 2014. Services marketing. Pearson Australia.
Pride, W. and Ferrell, O.C., 2016. Foundations of marketing. Cengage Learning.
Qian, Y.A.N.G. and Xing, T.U., 2016. Starbucks VS Chinese Tea—Starbucks Brand Management Strategy Analysis in China. International Business and Management, 12(1), pp.29-32.
Schlegelmilch, B.B., 2016. The Future of Global Marketing Strategy. In Global Marketing Strategy (pp. 221-249). Springer International Publishing.
Smith, B., 2016. The Five Creatures Lesson: How Students Learn to Relate Animals to Industry. In Marketing Challenges in a Turbulent Business Environment (pp. 457-459). Springer International Publishing.
Smith, N.C., Palazzo, G. and Bhattacharya, C.B., 2015. 11. Upstream, downstream: toward a new morality of marketing in global supply chains. Handbook on Ethics and Marketing, p.220.
Taecharungroj, V., 2016. Starbucks’ marketing communications strategy on Twitter. Journal of Marketing Communications, pp.1-19.
Weinzimmer, L.G. and Esken, C.A., 2016. Risky business: Taking a stand on social issues. Business Horizons.
Innovative Writers 