Starbucks you don't know that side

Starbucks has been a leader in the coffee industry and has become an object of learning for every coffee shop. Yet Starbucks does not necessarily portray itself as true. The following from the crowd positioning, service positioning and so on to unlock the true face of Starbucks.
Starbucks crowd positioning: say a set of

Starbucks circled the consumer group in the white-collar community.

Note that in China Starbucks positioning, white-collar is a state, not identity. There are quite a group of urban white-collar workers are literary youth, but also the coffee shop heavy consumers, but Starbucks will never put their position on the "literary youth" this state, although they have a great probability of the same person. Why do you say that, please be patient to see below.

Speaking of cafes, the Chinese mind is a sunny afternoon, backed by a comfortable chair, a cup of coffee, you in the smell of fresh coffee beans in the room to spend time.

Therefore, the average café tends to choose a quiet place, even in the hot spots will choose the corner position. Starbucks has a preference for business circles, office buildings, shopping malls, usually in conspicuous lively places, not even taboo street. Popular landmarks are typical of white-collar territory, and a conspicuous location allows them to get to the store without spending much time.

Starbucks ' bright white façade is also one of the reasons for making it easier to spot. The use of white and green brand color, appear concise, natural, abandon the idea of complex decoration is actually in the catering to the taste of urban white-collar, appear in the neat and efficient office without Shong. This makes Starbucks less of a "café" feel, more like a convenient, fast coffee takeaway, but also it and other coffee shop is a little important difference.

Why do we have to position this way?

There are two kinds of demand for cafes in the market. One is the leisure, the relaxation in the life scene, the other is the work scene demand. White-collar workers need a coffee shop at work, the distance can be reached at any time, to provide good quality coffee, can be in the busy work gap in a short rest can be.

The Starbucks we see in China is clearly meeting the needs of the job scene, but it's not really the first Starbucks location.

In the late 1980s, Schultz a group of investors to buy Starbucks, and borrowed the words of American sociologist Rey Oderberg to position Starbucks as "the third space"--except for office and home, you can go to Starbucks to kill time. The Italian-style concept quickly conquered most American consumers, who were getting used to Starbucks for coffee rather than making it at home. This allows Starbucks to expand rapidly, not only in the United States, but also gradually in the global layout. 1992, Starbucks successfully listed.

But the problem is that if Starbucks insists on the positioning of the third space to kill time, it will never grow to be the Big Mac today.

Starbucks certainly recognizes this. 1994, Schultz hired a famous designer Lette Messi to help Starbucks new chain expansion plan, which includes the design of the store, tables and chairs, counter unification, the most important thing is this one plan will Starbucks shop most of the products of the ceramic coffee cups, all replaced by more labor-saving paper cups, This is actually more like a Starbucks signal: we need to be faster and more convenient.

If the Schultz mouth of the "third space" to give people a sense of relaxation is 100 points, that actually visit Starbucks will only make you feel about 60 points, but comfortable, and slightly slack.

The result is that, in the minds of its core consumer white-collar workers, Starbucks is no longer a place to be "cool" like the ubiquitous McDonald's and Burger King. Starbucks is no longer the dream-filled "third space" in the American Mind. How can a store that allows customers to "have a cup of coffee an afternoon" pay rent, and how could it bloom around the world?

It is fast food, only Starbucks today. But Schultz's return to Starbucks has been a high-profile reflection of "rapid expansion to make Starbucks more commercial", and the same way that customers ' enthusiasm for coffee is disappearing. And we see the Chinese Starbucks still moving along the old way.

Why does Schultz shout these slogans that don't match the reality?

Because Starbucks is still expanding! Because the 80 's U.S. expansion in the use of the tricks in today's China still works Ah!

In today's United States, Starbucks has nothing to do with the "third space", but it is still one of the best marketing tipping points when it comes to other countries ' markets. The location of Starbucks in China is generally in office or business district, consumers in the work day lunch break, shopping, 35 friends and so on at the moment is very easy to be "Bewitched" Starbucks, go in to buy a cup, but Starbucks in the store settings, will not encourage you to sit on the afternoon.

As The Economist put it, "Schultz's desire to return to Starbucks ' roots appears to be in conflict with the firm's stated goal of increasing the company's global reach to 40,000." "This sharply commented, will be Schultz this reflection foil is very sentimental, full of cheap also Maiguai."

And the idea of the third space, but the other Chinese Starbucks enlightened by the coffee shopkeeper to the ditch. They try to "slow down" their stores and are committed to making their stores "the Third space". But in accordance with the idea of killing time to build those who have strong literary and artistic atmosphere has also succeeded in attracting the literary youth of the coffee shop, all the low rate of the turnover can not support the cost of rent, such as price pressure, to raise prices, the consumer's psychological price is anchored in the Starbucks 30 yuan, In the business district coffee shop even to rely on the midday meal can barely support, and finally all hastily ended.

Countless women with a literary and artistic youth Heart (also is the typical customer of Starbucks), will "sit in their own café with 32 girlfriends to drink tea with the afternoon" as the ideal of life, we would like to solemnly tell you: you open will be a burning money machine.

So, Starbucks seems to compete with the entire coffee shop industry, is actually in a market segment of the blue Sea, firmly grasp the demand, and successfully put this demand to the global, become a representative brand of white-collar consumption.

Service positioning: Do you know Starbucks is driving you away?

Despite the relentless disregard of white-collar workers in the coffee industry, and a steady stream of money for Starbucks, Starbucks did not relent on them, but for profit-driven, customized a special set of service standards, to the white-collar workers from the shop "away."

This is for catering business profit key point-raise the turnover rate. From the door, Starbucks set up a variety of links to shorten the customer's stay in the store time.

In the buying phase, the store needs to pay for the time the customer chooses the goods. Fortunately for coffee drinks, white-collar workers will not spend a lot of time to choose. And Starbucks coffee drinks are set to be as concise as possible, will be different from the same category of coffee after the weight, drink not more than 30 kinds of food, only about 10 kinds, there is no combination, package and other complex collocation, the customer to make a choice is very easy.

Come to the use stage. General Coffee Shop practice is to meet the customer "comfortable, warm" requirements, so many customers a cup of coffee into the store, sat to the everlasting, not only did not improve the rate of turnover, but also crowding out other sales opportunities. To this end, a lot of coffee shops choose to upgrade the idea of the unit price, tying around the goods and other means curve to save the nation, the effect is due to shop, due to different.

Starbucks's approach is to make customers uncomfortable. Shop decoration of a change in the café deep warm tones, but simple refreshing, tough lines, will not let people feel comfortable leisure scenes. The seat arrangement has ulterior motives, specially uses some wooden chair, high stool, the wall table and so on not very comfortable furniture, lets the person not sit for a long time. If you are careful, you can also feel that Starbucks is usually cooler than the temperature in the vicinity of the shop, thinking that this is a welfare? It's a big mistake, it's really uncomfortable, and it's a rush to get you out of the coffee. Starbucks in the United States even for the car family to add a new window, you simply do not enter the shop, completely McDonald's.

General cafes in the restaurant will provide customers with porcelain cups, do not drink to take away, customers in the shop time naturally become longer. Regardless of whether ready or not, Starbucks is used in paper cups packaging, customers can always take coffee away.

So instead of defining Starbucks as a café, it's a café convenience store, and customers who choose to go are far more than they do in the store. In contrast, the same as the large chain brand of Costa, the Pacific, in the store leisurely online, reading more people.

Promotion positioning: Only push the brand, do not sell coffee

Of course it is selling coffee, but in marketing, but with the market to see the coffee brand marketing is very different. This difference is manifested at two levels.

First of all, Starbucks in the people's view of the mirror rate is actually quite high, in movies, television, marketing activities, social networks are often shown. In addition to the full platform of media publicity and interaction, in the volume of publicity, Starbucks is higher than other brands of many grades.

On the deeper level, Starbucks in the hospitality industry is not as much a marketer as McDonald's, KFC so to product as the protagonist, marketing focus is not the taste, raw materials, but on the brand image, through product situation education, and to specific groups of strong association, so that the brand and trend, avantgarde, high-end, grade and other perceptual concepts have contact, Increase the brand premium.

For example, the product was implanted in the fashion film "The Devil In Prada", and the editor of the high-end fashion magazine named a cup of Starbucks coffee on the table in the morning when he arrived at the office. The brand image is immediately labeled "stylish" and "high-end", although the real-world fashion editor may feel that Starbucks is the representative of cheap coffee, but who knows what they really drink. For consumers, seeing the more similar brands associated, Starbucks's "trend" attribute is strengthened, which is one of the reasons why white-collar workers are flocking to Starbucks.

Of course it's not a day's work. The origins of Starbucks in the United States has always been welcomed by young people, this style to create fashion characteristics of the brand-building activities for a long history, so appear in the fashion film only natural do not jump play, play a positive role.

For example, in 2013, Starbucks made a "micro-letter Starbucks Natural Awakening Music Radio" interactive activities in the micro-trust platform, participants to the Starbucks public account to send a mood symbol, that will get a mood exclusive music, very Wenqing petty bourgeoisie activities effectively enhance the brand's "force lattice."

It seems to have nothing to do with coffee products, yes, indeed. But the activity of the intention, form but with the brand of the main consumer group emotional connection, white-collar consumption characteristics is very pay attention to the brand, with a good brand positioning and image, prices and even products ranked back.

Starbucks identified a number of atypical positioning, back, but take it as a matter of course, is certainly the specific market of the pulse. In the face of the growing coffee market and stores are difficult to maintain the embarrassing situation, coffee brands may have to calm down first, think about their own in the end is "who."