It's been almost a year since Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, returned at the helm of his empire and promised great things. With that announcement he admitted that for Starbucks to continue it's success, a shift in strategy was needed. Some hints were outlined in the press release which can be read here, but to paraphrase, Howard called for re-igniting emotional attachment with Starbucks customers. A grande order for any company.
Where do you start?
For starters, it helps if you're a progressive company like Starbucks. The rest is a matter of creativity and innovation. An example of one is to take the traditional focus group approach and flip it on it's head. Instead of gathering select groups of people and going through surveys, you create a space for conversation and the dialog will bring with it emotion. If you are doing your part by focusing on creating great product and great experience, people will notice and those who notice will care. They will care enough to approach you and make suggestions to be part of a solution rather than complain and continue with their day. Above all you're not interrupting people.
MyStarbucksIdea.com is one of Howard's re-invigorating initiatives and it lets customers do exactly that. It's also one of the latest cases where technology has played a key role in helping empower consumers or brand loyalist to engage in conversation with the product, and essentially with each other. They way MSI works is Starbucks goers sign up and suggest ideas on how to make their own Starbucks experience perfect (there is individuality that cannot be produced by focus groups). other people who share the same sentiment vote and engage in the discussion, and there by giving the suggestion weight.
Coffee cubes is a byproduct of the site. A user suggests making ice cubes out of coffee (or the respective flavour) so it doesn't dilute the beverage when melted. The idea has received 29,520 votes and 270 comments so far and soon you will probably notice a change of colour in your ice cubes. Another, my favourite, is one you probably heard about this past November, Free Cup of Starbucks Coffee For Voters. Great idea and great timing, which lead to a smart decision by company officials to put it in practice just in time for the historic US elections. The news was picked up by media outlets and word spread like wild fire. Starbucks even took the opportunity to advocate great citizenship with a short youtube clip (see below) which also ran during the during Saturday Night Live broadcast. Quite the reach in such a short time.
Consumer democracy at play! Starbucks observed and listened, and doing so, won itself lifetime loyal customers and attracted millions more. How do you think BillMac, the user who came up with the idea feels? Important I bet.
It sounds simple enough yet so many companies are struggling with ways to engage customers.
Starbucks has now become a utility. A Branded Utility being genuinely useful to their customers, employees, suppliers and the people they touch. US auto industry should take note!
Youtube spot: If you vote, Starbucks buys your coffee