Starbucks Marketing Analysis

Running Head: MARKETING ANALYSIS OF STARBUCKS CORPORATION

Marketing Analysis of Starbucks Corporation

CRL Consulting Communication Department

Victorian Strobel, Amanda Markessinis, Joshua Smith, Jennifer Herrick, and Alexis Lake

Andrea Ogunwumi February 6, 2017

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The Starbucks brand has become a major player in the coffee industry in its 45-year existence. This success is achieved through a sound mission and by employing one of the most successful marketing strategies in the food-service industry. Starbucks is always expanding and is not afraid of innovation or growth. One way to understand the specific strategies Starbucks has employed and the advantage they provide over competitors is by executing a marketing audit.

This audit provides insight into Starbucks’ marketing strategies, market position, marketing leadership and how the company adjusts its strategies to ensure a continued strong presence in the market. This audit demonstrates how a solid mission, customer focus, environmental focus, and other marketing strategies come together to position Starbucks as an industry leader.

Starbucks’ company objectives, mission, and policies drive all of the marketing efforts including products, stores, employees, and the overall customer experience. The company is “committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality Arabica coffee…through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles” (Starbucks Investor Relations, 2016). These guiding principles and company values include: providing a great work environment with respect and dignity, embracing diversity, applying high standards of coffee excellence, and positively contributing to store communities and the environment (Starbucks Annual Report, 2003) (Appendix A). These community values are demonstrated through all of Starbucks’ marketing initiatives. One example is the recently announced coffee sold exclusively in China which features coffee beans completely sourced from local farmers in China’s Pu’er, Yunnan Province (Starbucks Newrooms [C], 2017). Community and respect messages are part of all Starbucks stores which promote local community events, support employee volunteer programs and recycling initiatives to reuse coffee grounds for local gardens or animal farms (Starbucks 1912Pike.com Blog, 2016). In addition, Starbucks markets its employees differently

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by calling them “partners” in all of its messaging and marketing content. This simple word solidifies how employees are not a component, but a partner in the company’s overall success.

All of these marketing efforts support Starbucks’ mission, “[to] inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks Our Company [B], 2017) (Appendix B).

Starbucks is a large corporation that successfully operates in many different industries.

The company leads the coffee and snacks industry along with the coffeehouse industry. The coffee industry in the United States was forecasted to generate more than $32 billion in revenue in 2016 (National Restaurant Association, n.d.). The coffee and snacks industry is worth around $782.67 billion in the U.S. (National Restaurant Association, n.d.) (Appendix D).

Starbucks claims 42.2% of the U.S. market share while its main competitor in the retail coffee and snacks industry, Dunkin' Donuts, holds 25.5% of the market share. The rest of the domestic market is claimed by smaller companies trying to infiltrate the market. Starbucks maintains this constant market growth in the U.S. market and the global market (Appendix C).

Internationally, “the company posted strong positive comparable sales growth in every geographical segment with a global comparable sales growth of 8%” (Speculations, 2016).

Starbucks has been expanding into China and India to gain more market shares and by the end of the 2016 fiscal year, had opened 500 new stores in China (Speculations, 2016). One country accepting Starbucks very slowly is Britain. Britain has its own coffee chains such as Costa Coffee and Caffé Nero, along with very high taxes. Starbucks has been in Britain since 1998 and finally made its first profit in 2015 (Economist, 2015).

Starbucks not only depends on its daily customers for its sales, but large business partnerships. Starbucks has several distributor partnerships and business agreements that are very

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crucial to revenue (Willis, 2016). For example, PepsiCo markets, sells, and distributes Starbucks’ ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee and energy products in the Latin America region. Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding Corporation markets Starbucks’ RTD products in the People’s Republic of China, one of Starbucks’ fastest growing market segments. U.S. Foods Holding Corporation serves Starbucks coffee through its client companies and Keurig Green Mountain markets Starbucks’ Keurig K-cup package offerings (Willis, 2016). Without these key suppliers, Starbucks would not be able to expand as fast nor have as much global influence on the industry.

Starbucks is positioned as a high-end chain company, whereas most of its competitors sit in the low-end bracket (Appendix D). Product brands are positioned differently within Starbucks because they are in different stages of their life cycle (Appendix E). Alcoholic beverage products to be sold in Starbucks’ stores are currently in the introductory phase because the company is experimenting with wine and other beverages (Haskova, 2015). However, tea is in the growth stage and is used to enter countries like China and India (Rajasekaran, 2015). Coffee would be considered in the mature stage because it is what the company is primarily branded on and continues to be Starbucks’ most popular product.

Starbucks has very loyal followers and customers, giving the company more leeway than other companies to enter new products into the market. As long as the company maintains its base coffee brand, the quality customers will be accepting of Starbucks new ideas. These marketing and branding tactics give Starbucks an edge over its competitors and the ability to keep the products priced slightly higher. The idea of adding wine or other alcoholic beverages into the product mix supports Starbucks’ past and future trends because they will be one of the first coffee houses to do so supporting there innovative and market leading strategies.

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When it comes to competitors, Starbucks is leading the pack of retail coffee chains. This success is defined by multiple factors including, market saturation, consumer engagement, and sales. In terms of market saturation, Starbucks has superior national and international reach with more than “25,000 stores in 75 countries” (Starbucks Newsroom [A], 2016). Through the years the company has been expanding domestically, but even more dramatically internationally. In just the fourth quarter of 2016, the company opened “690 net new stores” (Starbucks Investor Relations, 2016). These numbers are monstrous in comparison to competitors like Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons, and Peet’s Coffee (Appendix G). Starbucks’ expansive national and international market reach translates into more consumers engaging with the Seattle-based brand.

Another way to measure consumer engagement is through social media. For example, the Starbucks Facebook account has more than 34 million Facebook followers (Starbucks Facebook, 2017), compared to competitors like Dunkin’ Donuts (14 million followers) (Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook, 2017), or Tim Hortons three million followers (Tim Hortons Facebook, 2017) (Appendix H). At-home coffee brands are unable to compete with Starbucks follower base, Folgers and Keurig Coffee both have fewer than three million Facebook followers (Folgers Facebook, 2017) (Keurig Coffee Facebook, 2017). However, when it comes to the retail sales of at-home brew coffee, Starbucks is a bit behind. According to recent data, “Keurig Green Mountain controls about 20% of the U.S. coffee retail market,” followed by Folgers and Starbucks (Groden, 2015) (Appendix I). However, being third in the U.S. coffee market still translates to an impressive $21.3 billion in global net revenues for the 2016 fiscal year (Starbucks Investor Relations, 2016).

While its competitors cannot keep pace, Starbucks knows that industry success means retaining current customers and gaining new ones. Knowing this, the company follows a

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customer-oriented marketing strategy prioritizing customer satisfaction. Howard Schultz, the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks once said, “We aren’t in the coffee company business, serving people. We are in the people business serving coffee” (Tălpău and Boşcor, 2011). This marketing strategy influences decisions on market segments, product life cycles, product portfolios, and market reach. In regards to market segments, Starbucks tailors its strategy to fit the customers’ daily lifestyle and look beyond age and geographic demographics.

Additionally, the company is positioned as the customers’ “third place,” between work and home.

While Starbucks prioritizes customers’ needs, it is the Starbucks’ marketing management team that controls the release of each product, not the consumer demand. This team determines when a product will be released and pulled. Each season brings a specialty drink, for example, the holiday drinks include: Peppermint Mocha, Gingerbread Latte, Eggnog Latte, and Pumpkin Spice Latte (Starbucks Newsroom [B], 2016). This controlling life cycle of products acts as a driving force for customers to purchase seasonal drinks for a limited time. This marketing concept is successful in creating a need.

Market reach for this company has expanded beyond the U.S. into 75 countries since 2016, most recently expanding its markets into China and India (Rajasekaran, 2015). In 1999, Starbucks entered the Chinese market and succeeded in the primarily tea-drinking nation. China is the fastest growing market for Starbucks today, with 25,000 partners working in 1,400 stores in 84 cities. Last year, Starbucks China on average opened one store per day. The Starbucks China products like the Beijing roast duck wrap, peach blossom and green tea lattes (Starbucks This Season, 2017) are tailored to the nation’s culture and culinary diet.

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Entering the Indian market was more challenging for Starbucks. Following a similar strategy as in China, Starbucks partnered with Tata Global Beverages to co-brand the stores, offering Indian style products such as tandoori paneer rool, elaichi mawa croissants, and murg tikka paninis to suit Indian customers (Rajasekaran, 2015). Starbucks India has recently celebrated its second anniversary with 61 stores across six cities. The Starbucks’ mission and customer-oriented marketing strategy cultivated success in both China and India. Starbucks used the same marketing concepts and techniques as it does in the U.S., but tailored the products to reflect the culture of the different countries.

According to the Starbuck’s website, the company feels that “the planet is our most important business partner” (Starbucks, Our Company [A], 2017). Starbucks provides four allencompassing approaches to environmental sustainability when making decisions on its brand in the marketplace. These four approaches include LEED® certified stores, recycling, and reducing waste, water and energy conservation, and climate change. Starbucks is bringing all stores to LEED® standards by designing and maintaining stores with the environment at the forefront, as it is working to minimize its environmental footprint by increasing recycling and reducing waste.

Since 2004, Starbucks has been leading the way in “Green Marketing,” or the “marketing products and services based on environmental factors or awareness and make decisions relating to the entire process of the company's products, such as methods of processing, packaging and distribution” (Investopedia, 2017). The company uses recyclable cups, napkins, and paper bags in coffee retail outlets (Lamm, 2012). In addition, Starbucks assists coffee farmers in dealing with the impact of climate change on their farms (Wang, 2015).

Starbucks is also leading the way with its social media marketing efforts. The company has a highly successful social media campaign, utilizing all channels to reach its consumers.

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Starbucks spends far less on paid advertising than other coffee companies, and promotes its products mainly through special events, public relations, and sales promotion. Additionally, Starbucks is considered a pioneer in mobile order and plans to enhance this capability in other parts of the world. Kevin Johnson, the company’s president and COO, reports “Starbucks is now processing more than six million mobile order and pay transactions per month” (Breen, 2016).

While tactics are important, all marketing efforts are driven by the strategic management and leadership of Starbucks. The management team plans and coordinates marketing activities, such as identifying potential customers, developing marketing campaigns, and organizing focus groups. The marketing management is then responsible for developing marketing plans that align with the business' strategy. A marketing manager oversees the daily activities of the organization and long-term marketing strategy for the company (Paladin, 2017). Being customer focused, it is essential that the Starbucks marketing management team implements a strategy based on the “Four A’s of Marketing" (Kotler and Keller, 2015). This means that products must meet customer expectations, are affordable, accessible, and that customers are persuaded to buy Starbucks brands (Appendix J). This four-pronged strategy requires top-down leadership from company’s C-suite. Sharon Rothstein, Starbucks’ chief marketing officer, is responsible “for stewardship of the Starbucks brand, [the company’s portfolio of emerging brands, as well as] retail and channel development, marketing initiatives, creative expressions, advertising, and key business partnerships,” (Starbucks Executive Team, 2017). As a consumer-facing brand, the strategic management of Starbucks has to be closely tied to the company’s overall marketing strategies.

After conducting this audit, it is clear that Starbucks is currently, and will remain, one of the strongest companies in the food service industry. Starbucks holds a commanding lead over its

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competitors in terms of the market saturation, customer engagement, and loyal social media followers. The company has demonstrated success after expanding into other countries, along with a willingness to adopt environmentally and culturally friendly strategies. While the company may be behind in the retail coffee or at-home brewed coffee market, the innovative mobile pay solutions and expansions into alcoholic beverages pushes Starbucks beyond the coffee market into new customer products and diversified revenue streams. All of this is achieved while following the company’s clearly defined guiding principles, mission, and vision.

With all of these positive attributes, it is easy to see why Starbucks has done so well in its 45 years of existence.

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Annotated Bibliography Breen, M. (2016, January 22). 1 Million People Now Ordering Starbucks On Mobile Every Month. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/technews/more-people-ordering-ahead-starbucks-n502061 This article discusses Starbucks use of social media and other marketing tactics used to reach their customers. The article provides information from the company’s president and chief operating officer regarding the Starbucks mobile order and pay service and smartphone app, which positions Starbucks as a pioneer for using social media to reach consumers. This is a beneficial source for obtaining an overview of the current social and digital marketing strategies of Starbucks.

Economist, T. (2015, February 14). A loss-making machine. Retrieved January 12, 2017, from http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21643271-tax The Economist is a British based website produced by the Economist Group publishing company. This publication offers insights and opinions on international news, politics, business, finance, and a variety of other topics through up-to-date and high-quality stories. Starbucks is a company known for growing too quickly and becoming successful in most countries it targets. However, Starbucks has not been so successful in Britain.

Specifically, this story outlines Starbucks’ poor performance in Great Britain as the company struggles to compete with Britain's high taxes and local brewers infiltrating the market. This article can be used to analyze some countries that Starbucks is not successful in as compare to the ones that bring the most revenue.

Dunkin’ Donuts. (2016). Company snapshot. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dunkindonuts/en/company.html This source is a specific webpage on the Dunkin’ Donuts company website that features information on company size, store numbers, and locations. Dunkin’ Donuts is widely considered an industry competitor of Starbucks. This article aids in understanding their store numbers and market penetration. It is important to compare the companies not only for strategy, but for comparison of success and failure. This was also used to compare the store numbers from Dunkin’ Donuts to the store numbers from Starbucks to understand the company’s overall market penetration and consumer reach.

Dunkin’ Donuts. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from https://www.facebook.com/DunkinDonutsUS/ This source is the Dunkin’ Donuts company Facebook Fan Page. Dunkin’ Donuts manages this page and uses this channel to promote its brand, products, and interact with their fans, potential customers, or consumers. Understanding the social media presence and following of Dunkin’ Donuts, a Starbucks competitor, is important in comparing and gauging the social media following and engagement for the Starbucks.

Folgers. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from http://facebook.com/Folgers This source is the Folgers Facebook Fan Page. Folgers is a retail coffee brand, meaning it can be purchased at supermarkets and brewed at home. While there are not Folgers storefronts, it can still be considered a competitor of Starbucks in the retail coffee market.

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Understanding the social media presence and following of Folgers is important comparative information for better gauging the social media following of Starbucks.

Gale Group. (2016). Roasted Coffee. [Industry profile]. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from Business Insights: Essentials database. http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE%7CRN2501400044/07e1bc4c51ad950b 17ced8d7ca829076?u=nysl_sc_elmira This information was pulled from Gale Group, a prestigious company that provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern and innovative research.

This specific article dives deep into the roasted coffee industry. It shows trends in the market, and revenue for the largest competitors, this information was useful in seeing the industry as a whole. Most articles show only Starbucks’ corporation information. This article compares Starbucks and competitors in the same market place and the hard data numbers to support it. By seeing the hard data, we can understand what countries or areas Starbucks is in and how their competitors have been approaching it.

Green marketing. (2010, August 16). Retrieved January 13, 2017, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/green-marketing.asp#ixzz4VqpzTp8A This website provided information on the meaning and utilization of Green Marketing and how it relates to customer’s buying power. The information discusses how company’s utilization green marketing make decisions relating to the entire process of the company’s products from the beginning to the end cycle – product in consumer hands.

The definition provided a more in depth definition to Green Marketing, which was instrumental in drafting the opinion of the paper.

Groden, C. (2015, September 29). Here are the 5 top-selling coffee brands. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://fortune.com/2015/09/29/top-coffee-brands-keurig/ This source is an article from Fortune magazine, a multinational business magazine. The reporter, Claire Groden, often writes about company stock performance, sales, the recent election, and other general business topics mostly related to the U.S. This article outlines the top five-retail coffee brands in the United States based on a study from The Washington Post. The results were that for home coffee brewing Americans prefer brands like Keurig and Folgers over Starbucks. This is very valuable in understanding consumer preferences, but also retail coffee sales for Starbucks, which are behind its competitors of Keurig and Folgers.

Haskova, K. (2015, January). Starbucks Marketing Analysis [Scholarly project]. In De Gruyter.

Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/cris.2015.2015.issue-1/cris-2015-0002/cris2015-0002.xml This source dives extremely deep into the detail of Starbucks and the information needed to analyze where the company is positioned in the market. With over 80 references, this scholarly source has hits all the topics that show how Starbucks is doing not only against itself, but its competitors. This article was used to understand 4 P’s of Starbucks with an in depth resource behind it.

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Investopedia. (2010, August 16). Green Marketing. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/greenmarketing.asp This source is considered a world leader source of financial content on the web, which is powered by a team of data scientist and financial experts, which provides real time and trusted information. This specific article defines “green marketing” as a concept and in practice. This source was used to better understand Starbucks’ efforts around sustainability.

Keurig Coffee. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from https://www.facebook.com/keurig/ This source is the Keurig Coffee Facebook Fan Page. Very similar to Folgers, Keurig Coffee is a retail coffee brand that consumers can purchase at stores and use at home, or brew the coffee at home. Again, while there are not Keurig Coffee storefronts, it can still be considered a competitor of Starbucks in the retail coffee market. Comparing the social media presence and following of Keurig and Starbucks helps to determine the reach and consumer awareness of both brands.

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2015). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Living our values, corporate social responsibility. (2003).

This source presents a description of marketing management and overall marketing strategic planning. Both of these concepts are important and demonstrated in the marketing efforts from Starbucks. Based on the authors, and the contributing authors, the textbook gives the student an overview of how companies rely on the information and the strategy to reach their consumers. This information was applied to Starbucks specific information to make it beneficial to our analysis.

Lamm, M. (2017). Three Companies with Best Practices in Environment Sustainability.

Retrieved January 17, 2017, from https://www.usanfranonline.com/resources/supplychain-management/three-companies-with-best-practices-in-environmental-sustainability/ This article provided another insight on Starbucks environmental sustainability. The article showed examples of best practices in environmental sustainability using Starbucks as an example. In addition, the article showed how Starbucks uses green initiatives and green supply chain management. This article was useful in the research of Starbucks.

National Restaurant Association. (n.d.). Restaurant industry food and drink sales in the United States from 1970 to 2016 (in billion U.S. dollars). In Statista - The Statistics Portal.

Retrieved January 10, 2017, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/203358/food-anddrinks-sales-of-us-restaurants-since-1970/.

This article shows the revenue levels of Starbucks’ revenue from 1970 to 2016. It shows where the company expanded too fast and lost the fast gaining revenue. It shows where the country was in recession and where Starbucks was slowing in revenue. More importantly it shows the total revenue for the companies last fiscal year. This can be used to analyze the company against its competitors.

Paladin Staffing (2017). Marketing Manager Job Description. Retrieved January 21, 2017, from http://www.paladinstaff.com/jobs/careers/marketing-manager-job-description/

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This staffing website provides another view of a marketing manager’s position, by providing key details on the role of a marketing manager. Some of these roles are to lead creative a research assignments. Thus, the importance of the position and the innovation of the company. This source demonstrates what is expected from the marketing manager in order to achieve a company’s goals, standards, and expectations relating the strategic company plan. The marketing manager plays a key role in the ultimate decisions of the company and where Starbucks might plan to go in the future. By understanding the key position, you can understand the logic behind the companies push and pull towards different trends in the market.

Peet’s Coffee. (2016). Peet's Coffee & Tea Store List. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://www.peets.com/stores/peets-stores/stores-store-list.html This source is a specific page on the Peet’s Coffee company website. The page lists all the storefront locations for Peet’s Coffee, a coffee chain that is very similar to Starbucks.

Peet’s Coffee could be considered an industry competitor of Starbucks, and understanding their store numbers and market penetration is important to measuring the success of Starbucks.

Rajasekaran, R. (2015). Starbucks' entry into tea-drinking India. IUP Journal Of Brand Management, 12(3), 45-58. Retrieved January 13, 2017, from http://ezproxy.elmira.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=t rue&AuthType=ip,uid&db=bth&AN=111807909&site=eds-live This article is about Starbucks’ business strategies and the company’s penetration into foreign markets. It goes in depth on how they expanded into China and India. The last part of the study features a SWOT analysis and a marketing strategy. The main point of this case study is to show the strategies Starbucks used and how it can be successful in other markets.

Speculations, Great. (2016, January 18). How Starbucks plans to grow its international operations. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/01/18/how-starbucks-plans-to-growits-international-operations/#14f7b1905fc7 Great Speculations is a company offering advice that leads to actionable advice.

However, the author, Trefis Team (Led by MIT engineers and Wall Street analysts), specifically wrote this article for Forbes magazine looking at the future plans of Starbucks for international expansion. Specifically, the two largest areas for expansion are China and India. However, each country shows interest in different subjects.

Starbucks plans to expand in China through technological innovation and expand into India through their local partner Tata. The company still faces obstacles in each country before Starbucks can take the market share they plan to. This is useful in understanding the promotional mix and future sales estimations in the coffee and snack industry.

Starbucks 1912Pike.com Blog. (2016, July 8). Starbucks Japan finds innovative ways to recycle coffee grounds. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://1912pike.com/starbucks-japanrecycle-coffee-grounds-as-fertilizer/ This source is a consumer facing blog owned and operated by Starbucks. The blog features several content contributors from Starbucks store managers to corporate

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Starbucks employees, or general coffee enthusiasts. This specific blog post focuses on how Starbucks stores in Japan are finding new ways to sustainably reuse coffee grounds for animal food and farms. This post helps demonstrate some of Starbucks core values around sustainability and supporting local communities.

Starbucks, Annual Report. (2003). Living Our Values, Corporate Social Responsibility.

Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/e31d4604b78141bfb13172aa5fd67cfa.pdf This source is an Annual Report issued by Starbucks in 2003. This document outlines the company’s guiding principles. The document also includes information on the company’s corporate social responsibility-related activities and financial performance for 2003. This document was used the pull out the company’s guiding principles and use those principles as the foundation for the company’s overall marketing strategies, customer approach and environmental focus.

Starbucks, Executive Team (2017). Sharon Rothstein. Retrieved January 27, 2017 from https://news.starbucks.com/leadership/sharon-rothstein This source, part of the Starbucks website, provides a summary of the upper leadership and C-suite management team at Starbucks. This specific page on Sharon Rothstein, the global chief marketing officer at Starbucks outlines her job responsibilities, her career history, and educational information. This source was used to help outline the role of the marketing manager and the focus Starbucks places on marketing in the overall management of the company.

Starbucks. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from http://facebook.com/Starbucks This source is the main Starbucks Facebook Fan Page. While specific storefronts or Starbucks locations within a certain country (Thailand, China, etc.) may also have their own individual Facebook Fan Pages, this is the main Facebook account for the overall company. Reading the content on the page provides insights into the marketing messaging and strategy for Starbucks. From this page we can also get an idea of who the largest target audiences are. Additionally, it is important to note the number of followers the page has compared to other brands as a way to gain insight into consumer awareness and engagement.

Starbucks, Investor Relations (2016, November 03). Starbucks reports record Q4 and record FY16 Results [Press release]. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://investor.starbucks.com/press-releases/financial-release/2016/Starbucks-ReportsRecord-Q4-and-Record-FY16-Results/default.aspx This source is a press release issued by the Investor Relations department within Starbucks. The press release shares high-level and in-depth summary and reports on the fourth quarter and year-end fiscal year results for 2016. This is a valuable source for understanding the company’s global growth, net revenue, and performance year-overyear.

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Starbucks, Newsroom [A] (2016, December 01). Starbucks announces new leadership structure to drive global growth [Press release]. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-announces-new-leadership-structure This article from the Starbucks Newsroom on the company’s website gives detailed information on Starbucks international stores, featuring the number of stores in each country, and company growth. The information illustrates the marketing strategies, and concepts used in the United States and globally. This material helps understand where the company is now, and where Starbucks is strategically headed in the future.

Starbucks, Newsroom [B] (2016, November 01). ‘Tis the Season: Starbucks 2016 Holiday beverages return [Press release]. Retrieved January 18,2017, from https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-holiday-beverages-2016 This new release features the holiday drink specials that Starbucks is known for. This helps understand the product life cycle of Starbucks’ products such as beverages, food, and merchandise. This information is used to understand the product profile, and the control Starbucks has over their products life cycle, which is a creative marketing strategy.

Starbucks, Newsroom [C] (2017, January 03). Starbucks debuts its first single-origin Yunnan Coffee in China [Press release]. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-first-single-origin-yunnan-coffee-in-china/ This source is an article from the Starbucks Newsroom that is part of the company’s website. This article introduces a new coffee product specific to Starbucks China. This product is sourced completely from local Chinese coffee bean farmers and will only be sold in China. This recent news from the company demonstrates their commitment to the local communities, farms and economies in which their company operates.

Starbucks, This Season (2017, January 03). New at Starbucks Beijing Roast Duck Wrap.

Retrieved January 18, 2017 from https://www.starbucks.com.cn/en/new-atstarbucks/cny2017/beijing-roast-duck-wrap Featuring on the website is a new selection for the Starbucks China menu. Understanding the culture of the market entered is important. This showcases the research and development Starbucks did for this market segment in order to be successful. This information is helpful when analyzing Starbucks marketing concepts, and how it aligns with their mission statement.

Starbucks, Our Company [A] (2017). Environment. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment The Starbucks Global Responsibility report offers a 12-page summary of their 2015 company-wide goals, which includes a strong focus on sustainability. In addition, the report offers an insight of Starbucks financial and other performance versus their goals, and a letter from Moss Adams, an independent CPA firm. This CPA firm examined Starbucks data and found it to be fairly represented and accurate. This report provides evidence, as well as an expert opinion, that can be used to understand the company’s overall strategies, commitment to local communities, and sustainability.

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Starbucks, Our Company [B] (2017). Our mission. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/mission-statement This source is a specific webpage titled “Our Company” on the Starbucks website. This page outlines the vision and mission of the company, with links to more information on the company’s history, logo, store locations, and other important facts. This information, especially the mission and vision statements, demonstrate the direction and strategy for Starbucks as a whole.

Tălpău, A., & Boşcor, D. (2011). Customer-oriented marketing - a strategy that guarantees success: Starbucks and McDonald’s. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov.

Series V: Economic Sciences, 4(1), 51-58. Retrieved January 13, 2017, from http://ezproxy.elmira.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=t rue&AuthType=ip,uid&db=bth&AN=66180384&site=eds-live This articles points out the importance of marketing a company as a customer-oriented company, and following through with that perceived concept. The article opens with explaining marketing and the overall goal. Moving forward it discussing the several definitions of customer-oriented marketing strategies, and develops an understanding of the definition the author uses when looking at Starbucks and McDonalds marketing strategies. The main points taken away from the article are, Starbucks strategy to get more customer traffic in all stores, to train and develop loyal and goal oriented employees, as well as to market to all customers differently, different markets, different experiences wanted. The article concludes with the understanding that to have a successful customer-oriented marketing strategy, the company must make customers their the top priority.

Tim Hortons. (2014, September 28). Fresh Facts. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/corporate/fresh-facts.php#!open_flyout This source is a specific webpage titled, “Fresh Facts,” on the Tim Hortons company website. The page includes information on the company size, store numbers and locations. Tim Hortons is mostly based in Canada and the United States, but could still be considered an industry competitor of Starbucks. Understanding the store numbers and market penetration of Tim Hortons is important to measuring the success of Starbucks.

Tim Hortons. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from http://facebook.com/TimHortonsUS This source is the Tim Hortons company Facebook Fan Page. Tim Hortons manages this page and uses this channel to promote its brand and products. The company also uses this channel to interact with fans, potential customers, or consumers. Understanding the social media presence and following this Starbucks competitor is valuable for comparing the following and engagement of the Starbucks Facebook page.

Wang, W. (2015, April 14). Top Ten Sustainability Initiatives of Starbucks Corporation.

Retrieved January 15, 2017, from http://cleantechies.com/2012/02/20/top-tensustainability-initiatives-of-starbucks-corporation/ This article provides further evidence of Starbucks’ sustainability goals and initiatives.

This provides an outside view of how the company is becoming more environmentally friendly and utilizing fair trade products. The author is active in the clean technology

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community and participates in sustainability programs.

Willis, J. (2016, May 08). Starbucks stock: analyzing 5 key customers. Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/050816/starbucksstockanalyzing-5-key-customers.asp Investopedia, the world’s leading source of financial content on the web, identifies how Starbucks not only depends on the basic customer for support, but also support from major corporations such as, PepsiCo, Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding Corporation, Sysco, U.S. Foods Holding Corporation, and Keurig Green Mountain. Each of these large corporations plays a specific role in Starbucks continuing to be leader in the coffee and snack industry.

MARKETING ANALYSIS OF STARBUCKS CORPORATION

Appendix Appendix A

Starbucks, Annual Report. (2003). Living Our Values, Corporate Social Responsibility.

Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/e31d4604b78141bfb13172aa5fd67cfa.pdf

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MARKETING ANALYSIS OF STARBUCKS CORPORATION

Appendix B

Starbucks, Our Company (2017). Our Mission. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/mission-statement

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Appendix C

Starbucks. (n.d.). Number of international and United States Starbucks stores from 2005 to 2016.

In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/218366/number-of-international-and-us-starbucks-stores/.

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Appendix D

National Restaurant Association. (n.d.). Restaurant industry food and drink sales in the United States from 1970 to 2016 (in billion U.S. dollars). In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved January 10, 2017, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/203358/food-and-drinks-sales-of-usrestaurants-since-1970/.

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Appendix E

Haskova, K. (2015, January). Starbucks Marketing Analysis [Scholarly project]. In De Gruyter.

Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/cris.2015.2015.issue-1/cris-2015-0002/cris-20150002.xml

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Appendix F

Haskova, K. (2015, January). Starbucks Marketing Analysis [Scholarly project]. In De Gruyter.

Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/cris.2015.2015.issue-1/cris-2015-0002/cris-20150002.xml

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Appendix G

Competitors Store Locations as of January 18, 2017 Who?

What?

Where?

Dunkin’ Donuts

11,300 restaurants

36 countries

Tim Hortons

4,590 restaurants

3 countries (mostly Canada)

Peet’s Coffee

3,665 restaurants

1 country (USA; mostly California)

Dunkin’ Donuts. (2016). Company snapshot. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dunkindonuts/en/company.html Tim Hortons. (2014, September 28). Fresh Facts. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/corporate/fresh-facts.php#!open_flyout Peet’s Coffee. (2016). Peet's Coffee & Tea Store List. Retrieved January 18, 2017, from http://www.peets.com/stores/peets-stores/stores-store-list.html

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Appendix H

Facebook Followers 6%

27% Starbucks Dunkin' Donuts Tim Hortons

67%

Dunkin’ Donuts. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from https://www.facebook.com/DunkinDonutsUS/ Starbucks. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from http://facebook.com/Starbucks Tim Hortons. (2017) Fan Page. [Facebook Fan Page]. Retrieved January 18, 2017 from http://facebook.com/TimHortonsUS

Appendix I Groden, Claire. (2015, September 29). Here are the 5 top-selling coffee brands. Retrieved

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January 18, 2017, from http://fortune.com/2015/09/29/top-coffee-brands-keurig/

Appendix J

The “Four A’s of Marketing” Acceptability

the extent to which a firm’s total product offering exceeds customer expectations

Affordability

the extent to which customers in the target markets are able and willing to pay the product’s price

Accessibility

the extent to which customers are able to readily acquire the product

Awareness

the extent to which customers are informed regarding the product’s characteristic, persuaded to try it, and reminded to repurchase

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Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2015). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Living our values, corporate social responsibility. (2003).