Question

How has Starbucks structured its organization to have a social and environmental focus? Go to a Starbucks and sit and observe for at least an hour. Take notes about what you notice about: This needs to be 600 words or more. How the customers are treated? How the employees dress, act, interact? How the facilities are laid out? Analyze the organizational culture of Starbucks from your observations and case study analysis. Why did Starbucks choose the organizational culture? What facets of the culture make for effective employee engagement? What facets affect sales? What leadership qualities make the Starbucks model effective?

Answer 1

Starbucks is one of the few businesses in the world which has an outside in approach to business which has consumer at the beginning. This means that everything about the business from store ambience to the behaviour of the employees is consumer centric.

In today's hypercompetitive world, the survival of businesses is majorly a function of the consumer satisfaction. Right marketing is about creating, communicating and delivering value to the customer. This is exactly what Starbucks is doing and delighting customers.

The key factor beind Starbuck’s success is personalization. As it is said, a (wo)man’s name is the most beautiful sound that (s)he hears. Starbucks capitalized on this insight and won over consumer’s hearts by the simple act of writing the names of the consumers at the bottom of their coffee cups. This has been the most distinguishing feature of starbucks from other coffee and food chains.

Starbucks aimed at selling the ‘Coffee Experience’ rather than coffee itself. This experience enables the chain to charge a premium from consumers which they are happy to pay. The staff at Starbucks is trained to greet the customers warmly as they walk in and this paves way for a delightful customer experience. The regulars might even be asked about their family or some friendly questions about work or personals lives. This helps to connect with the consumers on a personal level.

One other aspect about Starbucks is the consistency in quality across the globe. Today’s consumer is global in outlook and well-travelled. This consistency in quality and experience makes her feel like being associated with a Global Brand.

Starbucks, by generating delightful customer experiences, turn the customers into the brand advocates and ambassadors. This leads to the flywheel effect, wherein, these highly satisfied customers help bring new customers, who in turn, bring others and thus result in incremental sales and volume growth as customers grow in geometric progression.

Starbucks also focuses on being environmentally sensitive by sourcing green coffee beans grown with best ecological practices. With the growing sensitivities and awareness about global ecological issues, Starbucks boldly highlights it being a environmentally responsible business. This helps in cultivating the image of the brand as one which is environmentally sensitive.

Starbucks calls its employees as partners/ Baristas, which makes them feel more personally attached to the brand and feel more connected with it. Coupled with benefits like health insurance, stock options and focus on general well-being, the attrition rates are low for Starbucks.

Starbucks appeals to all 5 senses of the customer when she walks in the store: The aroma of coffee appeals to the sense of smell from outside the store itself. The comfortable and elegant ambience appeals to the sense of eyes, the taste of coffee and the soothing music coupled with the touch of the coffee cup is a sensory delight in itself. Everything is tailored to delight the customer.