Starbucks is an American coffeehouse that started in 1971 as a single store in Seattle and is now serving worldwide in thousands of locations. It is also known as the third largest fast food chain in the world, according to the locations it serves in. Since its establishment, many other coffeehouses have entered the industry and tried to compete with Starbucks. Many of them achieved a good number of market share but no one has been able to replace Starbucks. Starbucks is just not a place that serves coffee; it has now become a worldwide phenomenon and a brand that is identified by majority of people in the world. What makes it so special to stand out as compared to its competitors?
“It is just a moment in time – just one hand reaching over the counter to present a cup to another outstretched hand. But it’s a connection. We make sure everything we do honors that connection – from our commitment to the highest quality coffee in the world, to the way we engage with our customers and communities to do business responsibly.” This is how Starbucks explain their relationship with their consumers and this makes them different from other competitors. It is due to this Starbucks experience that the consumers feel connected and at home when in Starbucks that they want to return. Also, the ambience and location of Starbucks house also plays a vital role in the consumers being able to feel connected with the brand.
Another factor is their product innovation, they have been able to introduce new products almost every season and these products or flavors have always been very peculiar with respect to other competitors. A very famous example is the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which was introduced by Starbucks has become a loved drink in the holiday season and although few of the competitors tried replicating the flavor, they could not achieve the recognition from the consumers. Similarly, these are other flavors that the consumers only associate with Starbucks. This is also facilitated by the amount of adaptability that Starbucks displays and adapts and delivers according to the taste needs of the consumers.
Moreover, while other fast food chains have mainly focused on increasing their franchises around the world, Starbucks does not believe in franchising and only operated through company operated stores. This helps them in maintaining their quality in all stores. They believe that franchises mean that there will be a middleman in between them and their consumers and they do not want that. They want to directly communicate with their consumers and make long term relationships.
All these strategies show that Starbucks mainly focuses on following a consumer-based strategy, delivering consumer needs and having direct contact with consumers, and gaining direct feedback for further development. All these factors count as their competitive advantage and speak volume about why Starbucks is valued by consumers around the world.
References
About Us. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.starbucks.com/about-us
Company Information. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information
Team, T. (2016, October 13). Starbucks Is Maintaining Its Competitive Edge. Retrieved December 20, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/10/13/how-is-starbucks-maintaining-its-competitive-edge/#5ac18f5b759c