Todd Sylvester Case

Introduction

In 2006, Todd Sylvester started his coffee shop Expresso Expresso. Early on he was already making plans to expand into the mid-town area of the city. He thought the business model would be successful anywhere, and to achieve his long-term goals, he felt growth was imperative. He made it a point to get customers to smile before they would leave the shop. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs will be incorporated into how Expresso Expresso values its customers, employees, and the logic behind the company. This paper will discuss Todd’s strategies to run his coffee shop as well as recommendations to grow his business to become more profitable. It will include the steps that need to be taken to be a successful coffee shop with so much competition all around. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Expresso Expresso to determine ways to be profitable in a competitive market.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The needs of Expresso Expresso’s customers always come first to business owner Todd Sylvester. The company must understand what needs the customer has before he can decide on what products to offer. Maslow’s view is that lower-level needs, starting with physiological and safety needs, must be attended to before higher needs can be satisfied (Peter, 53). In Maslow’s theory there are 5 criterions that must be met. The first criteria are physiological needs. This category consists of the primary needs of every human for example, food and water. These needs will dominate when they are left unsatisfied. These needs above all else serve as a basis for motivation (Peter, 53). The products that Todd chose to serve were traditional European style coffee drinks, with a few light snacks. He listened to the customer’s wishes and also began serving iced tea and smoothies. The next category is safety needs. The next level of satisfaction consists of people want to be protected from physical harm, ill health, economic disaster, and avoidance of the unexpected. Todd is always researching to keep up with the other competition in town. He is trying to avoid unexpected changes that could affect his coffee shop. Staying on top of competition will prevent him from economic disaster. Setting his prices 10% lower than his competition will also maintain loyal customers. In addition to Safety needs, belongingness and love needs must be met. These needs are the social aspect of humans needing companionship (Peter, 53). The previous levels of satisfaction just discussed where physical, whereas the next levels discussed pertain to the mental health of individuals. Maslow’s esteem needs consist of both the need for awareness of importance to others (self-esteem) and actual esteem from others. If this need is met, a person will have high feelings of self-confidence and prestige (Peter, 54). The coffee shop employees are valuable assets to the company. He ensures that all feel