Starbucks: Marketing Plan

Marketing plan entails a comprehensive outline of how a company would market their products to ensure they meet new clients and also retain current customers. Marketing plan offers a premeditated roadmap that can be used by the business to organize, execute and also track their marketing policies over an extended period. There can be different marketing plans for different products, which are all focused in achieving the same objectives in the company. The marketing mix identifies different players of the marketing mix, which are promotion, price, product, place. The plan also incorporated different elements of print media, which include sales promotion, advertising, experiences, and events, among other elements. The essay will be reviewing a comprehensive analysis of how Starbucks Corporation has integrated different elements of marketing and how the company also ensures they retain their customers through brand loyalty.  

Situational Analysis

            Situational analysis is used to define potential customers, assess the competitors, evaluate the growth of the project, and make a realistic evaluation of the business. The section will review the strengths and weaknesses of Starbucks, competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, and market segments of the company.

Strengths and Weaknesses

            Starbucks has evolved to become one of the most profitable food business in the world. The company’s strengths include:

• The company has a sharp brand image around the world, ahead of many of its potential competitors
• It has also ensured an extensive global supply chain with numerous outlets around the world
• The company also ensures moderate diversification through the use of numerous subsidiaries

The company enjoys a robust loyalty from its customers, and the numbers are rising exponentially, adding to the stability of the coffee company.

Some of the weaknesses that are experienced within the company include:

• As an international company, the company has high price points which have continued to make its product a bit expensive although it maximizes profits
• The company has also ensured that it generalizes most of its products
• There has been a continued imitability of products by the company. Many small developers are capable of developing beverage products that are not similar but look the same as the company’s products.

Competitor’s Strengths and Weaknesses

            Some of the company’s strong competitors include Coffee Republic, Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee, and Dunkin Donuts, among others. Some of the competitor’s strengths include:

• Most of the competitors have also ensured that they are impressively present both locally and globally
• Most have ensured that they have innovated menu that offers high profitable margins
• They have continued to focus on diverse markets and offer impressive customers experiences

Some of the weaknesses that can be witnessed with the competitors include:

• Some, like the Dunkin Donuts, have a poor franchisee relationship and have numerous lawsuits against the franchisee.
• Many have continued to have slow expansion in many developing countries and also in developed countries outside the USA.

Market Segments

            Starbucks has ensured a diverse and robust diversification of its outlets across the globe. Some of the geographic segments of the company include the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa or the EMEA region, and China and the Asia Pacific. Among the China Pacific area, Starbucks focuses heavily on China, where is has more than 1400 stores.  In the EMEA region, the company has a robust customer loyalty in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

Product, Place/Distribution, Promotion, and Price Strategies

            The section will be focusing on the 4Ps and the importance they have in the corporate world in terms of influencing sales and the market of Starbucks. The 4Ps play an immediate action in building and maintaining the image of a company, media strategies, and creating a robust public relation/ and strategy in business.

Building and Maintaining the Image

            Starbucks uses a robust strategy to maintain its name in a competitive environment. The company has ensured that they lead in terms of product innovation. For example, in the recent past, the company has relaunched Pumpkin spice latte, one of the seasonal favourites by Starbucks lovers (Trevis Team, 2016). The company has also ensured that it capitalizes on the ever-changing customer preferences through being very flexible. The company has been open to different changes in consumers. Because of the flexibility, the company was able to penetrate through the China market that is primarily the tea-drinking market (Trevis Team, 2016).

Media Strategies

            Starbucks is relatable. This is the first thing when a person opens any social media platform. The company has ensured that the social media strategy used by the company is focused on relatable content. The company uses strategies like sharing GIFs and memes and supporting its numerous customers. The company has numerous accounts in different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest (Ketels, 2017). The company has also ensured that it uses social media platforms as a customer service tool. Through social media, the company has ensured that its customers are always satisfied. They communicate with customers, solve different problems, and ensure that their customers are engaged and happy (Ketels, 2017).

Public Relations/Strategies

            Starbucks has continued to ensure it increases public relations with individuals, companies, corporations, the government, and other groups. The company has also ensured that there are increased community relations by engaging in different community projects. In 2010, the company engaged in shrub and flower planting, which brought together the company’s workers and other community members. The company also uses secure social networks like when they collaborated with Foursquare to capture the throb of stores, allowing them to interact with customers in a unique way (Bilowol, 2015).

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Customer Loyalty and Retention

            Starbucks has ensured customers’ loyalty by using diverse methods. The company has been offering Rewards Stars when a customer makes purchases at any outlet, which makes customers feel as if they have been given an extra service after service. The Customer Loyalty Program enables members to have early access to the new menu at the stores, can make payments using the Starbucks mobile app, get birthday coupons for a discount, and customize special offers (Farfan, 2018).

Conclusion

            Starbucks’ marketing plan is one of the most dynamic and robust in the market. The company has continued to enjoy customer’s loyalty in the globe, enjoying a strong market in Asia, Europe, Australia and the Americas. The company has also had an impact in the developing markets of Africa and other parts of Asia. Through the use of different social media platforms, Starbucks enjoys a strong following in these platforms. It often uses them to address different issues that might be of importance to their customers, as well as ensuring customers’ loyalty. As such, Starbucks has continued to impact the market and remains one of the most significant coffeehouse chains.

References

Bilowol, J. &. (2015). Multinational corporations’ role in developing Vietnam’s public relations industry through corporate social responsibility. Public Relations Review, 41(5), 825-832.

Farfan, B. (2018, November 29). Starbucks Customer Loyalty Rewards Program. Retrieved April 13, 2020, from the spruce eats: https://www.thespruceeats.com/starbucks-customer-loyalty-program-2892381

Ketels, E. (2017, February 13). 5 ways Starbucks can inspire your social media strategy. Retrieved April 13, 2020, from welikeyou: http://welikeyou.social/2017/02/13/5-ways-starbucks-can-inspire-your-social-media-strategy/

Trevis Team. (2016, October 13). Starbucks Is Maintaining Its Competitive Edge. Retrieved April 13, 2020, from Forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/10/13/how-is-starbucks-maintaining-its-competitive-edge/#4d6bf915759c