Starbucks Case

Uyen Tran

                                                Starbucks case

Situation analysis:

In recent market research, Starbucks failed to meet customer expectations in terms of service and deliver satisfaction by losing customer loyalty. To increase customer satisfaction, the company is debating a plan to invest 40 million for customer service.

Recommendations:

Target customer:

I believe Starbucks should expand its customer base to masses. According to the case, Starbucks target customers were affluent, white, educated female between the age of 25 and 44, however, the customer base is changing to younger, less educated, and lower income. The customer base is changing because Starbucks' drink is not a luxury drink anymore since more people have money and able to afford it and the store located everywhere. Starbucks can adapt to this changing by targeting a new customer segment which is the younger people. Teenagers nowadays come to Starbucks to study and socialize with friends. College students get coffee to stay awake before going to class. More importantly, Starbucks’s Frappuccino drink is a popular drink among young adults. Lastly, the younger adults are more familiar with using technology, for example, the Starbucks app.  

Customer service:

I recommend Starbucks to adopt one automated expresso machine for every store. According to the case, the machine will decrease the steps to make the espresso beverages. This will lead to speed up the time of the barista to make the drink and shorten the customer waiting time with the goal of serving a customer within three minutes.  Additionally, the employee will have more time to talk to the customers. I also think that Starbucks should adopt the old style which the employees try to talk and have some conversation with the customers to make them feel comfortable and welcome. Connected to the targeted customer recommendation, Starbucks should extend their open hours, there is high demand for college students since they usually come to the store to do homework until late if they can open long they can capture the sales from those students.