Relating the Brand and Customer Perspectives of Marketing Management - Essay Example

?Introduction Starbucks was established in 1971 in Seattle under the of Moby Dick’s character. The three founders, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker established the organization with the premise that they wanted to spread the love and passion for coffee that they themselves had. Their mission was to spread coffee in each neighborhood and to each person inspiring the love for the taste of coffee. To ensure such a transition towards coffee, Starbucks has a policy to procure such coffee beans that are of extremely quality and roasted to give the perfect taste, where the brew is Italian tasting coffee beverage. The organization also sells various types of confectionary as well as pastry items along with equipment for coffee such as coffee beans, travel mugs and other such coffee related items. The company has further grown and ventured into several other options such as selling its coffee beans in retail stores operated under the name of Starbucks. Moreover, Starbucks also produces premium quality ice cream along with Frappuccino as a labeled specialty drink through its subsidiary parties. In addition, Starbucks has a sister concern by the name of Tazo Tea Company that sells premium quality tea products in retail. Starbucks works under the premise that each country and each neighborhood should know the name of Starbucks and associate it with positive feelings particularly towards the food products that the company sells. The paper will focus primarily on the customer service elements of Starbucks coffee retail outlets that focus on selling hot and cold coffee drinks along with food items such as pastry items (History of Starbucks, 2003). Review of the Service Setting Starbucks is a global organization with its retail outlets in a large number of countries across the world. The root of success for Starbucks has primarily been the quality of service it provides to its customers, which has helped the company to gain loyal consumers in the longer term. The channels that Starbucks uses are critical in developing a holistic customer experience thus gaining the company loyal customers (History of Starbucks, 2003). As a customer, the service experience that I had with Starbucks included several elements including a greeting, listening to my order and noting down the details about what I specifically wanted, and providing me with the service and my coffee with a smile wishing me a good day. As a customer I believe this was very important because it made me feel that they were taking time out to understand my order and make me feel involved and a part of Starbucks. Verheof et al. (2009) believe that retail stores particularly service related retail stores consider service quality towards consumers extremely important because it helps in keeping customers involved, allowing for a stronger customer base that can bring in larger amounts of revenue. Management of customer experience is now becoming part of organizations’ longer term vision and mission because products, channels and services can become brands with their own personality through effective management of this customer experience (Michelli, 2007; Badgett, Boyce & Kleinberger, 2007). Frow and Payne (2007) suggest that the effective management of customer experience is through exceptional customer service and this can only be done if the correct touch points of the customer are managed effectively. At this point, the Starbucks staff tried to greet me nicely and wished me a good day which I felt was important as not many people are inclined towards it; as most people are too busy with their work. Thus I feel that Starbucks did cover some of the touch points which are important to a customer. The key touch points of the customer’s experience have to be noted for each scenario in case of a service setting and then targeted in such a manner that the customer experience can be enhanced positively towards the service or retail brand. Starbucks is one such popular example that many scholars and authors (Enquist et al., 2007; Fang & Yu, 2009) try to use as a case study to explain how exceptional quality customer service can lead to effective customer experience. There are significant positive and negative elements that researchers discuss regarding exceptional customer service, as to how Starbucks manages these elements of customer service. Berry, Carbone, and Haeckel (2002) indicate that products and services have an experiential factor that caters to the needs of the consumer. If the consumer’s needs are met, he or she formulates positive feelings towards the product or service and can be expected to visit again and again for the same experience. With positive experience a strong brand association can be built for that particular service or product brand within the eyes of the customer. This also indicates that a loyalty factor can be attributed to that particular customer. In case of negative experiences, the customer loyalty can be set aside, because the factors that contribute to negative association and experience also lead to negative publicity for that particular service or retail brand. This similar aspect can be noted with the consumers of Starbucks and can be measured through the popularity factor of Starbucks’ products and customer service. This indicates that Starbucks has been able to generated a positive feeling and experience for its customers with respect to its brand as a result of which positive brand identity has been established as well. Naylor et al. (2008) believe that some of the factors that attract customers include colors and arrangements within the retail setting, music and scents that are part of the environment along with input and arrangement for customer response that are made within the retail or service setting. As I enter into Starbucks on a regular basis, the first thing that attracts me is the arrangements that Starbucks has made for its customers. It makes the place interesting and makes me feel that I should spend more time in the setting. Through these elements, the company can attract various customers for the first time. The second element that is important to me is the customer servicing provided by Starbucks. Subsequent visits by the customer require that the staff is attentive and responsive, and the customer is serviced beyond what he or she is expecting. This is part of how Starbucks affects its customers because of which it witnesses significant repeat purchase and customers because loyalty has been built in these customers through effective customer service. Critical Incidents and Starbucks Starbucks is one of the most popular specialty coffee brands in across 1800 countries with more than 17000 outlets in these countries. Starbucks is now a famous brand and is akin to the term specialty coffee as anyone who hears the word Starbucks immediately associates the brand with specialty or gourmet coffee. The company has its own stores as well as franchised stores through which it sells its selected goods and services. The problem in this situation arises when franchises who have to follow a particular standard with respect to the organization, fail to do so, and monitoring of such deviations is a difficult and challenging task considering that Starbucks is spread out across the globe. I have heard from my friends who have traveled abroad that they felt Starbucks abroad did not have the same tasting quality of coffee and their decor was not the same as experienced as the one they visit regularly in the country. This problem has been compounded by the fact that there is a severe recessionary trend across the world because of which many of the franchises are failing to perform with respect to the standards set by the organization. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the trend of customer service that all franchises are offering to their customers. It has been noted that due to various concerns, several franchises across the globe have been shut down. If Starbucks fails to offer excellent customer service to its customers, it will not able to manage and run its franchises that are spread out in various countries (History of Starbucks, 2003) Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) presented the theory that customers judge quality of service in any organization based on some characteristics. These characteristics include responsiveness, tangibles, assurance, reliability and empathy. Each customer evaluates the service that an organization provides based on these parameters. If organizations tend to manage these parameters well, a loyal customer base follows. However, failure to meet these criteria can result in negative publicity, loss of regular as well as potential customers and failure to earn revenues in the longer term. I believe that in my experience as well these factors are extremely important. For example, if the staff is not responsive to what I need on a particular day, it upsets me because I am expecting better response and service from them. Bolton and Drew (1991) believe that surprising a customer is the foremost way through which organizations can aim to build their customers. One of the key ways that researchers such as Lewis and Mitchell (1990) and Ratneshwar, Mick and Huffman (2000) study customer service is through a tool called SERVQUAL, short for service quality. This tool has been developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) and includes an evaluation of the parameters described earlier. The various gaps that exist in the quality of service that Starbucks aims to provide and what it actually provides need to be evaluated in order to improve this service quality. The various gaps that Starbucks should evaluate include the actual expectation of customers against the expectations that managers believe their customers have; the perception of the management against what the customer is receiving in terms of experience; the gap between what customer service is expected to be given and what is actually delivered; the communication to customers against the delivery of service, and the customer’s expectation against their perception of the service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry, 1985). Starbucks has conducted various surveys and I have filled out numerous such surveys which I believe can be extremely helpful in determining the perception and expectations of customers as to what they need. When evaluating the critical incident based on SERVQUAL, response time from the staff was extremely slow once when I had visited a Starbucks outlet, and in that particular instance, I was in a hurry at that time. This led to the fact that I could not consider the staff to be reliable in their service or in providing quality tangible product to me. With respect to my running late, I was not assured that I would be serviced on time and the staff did not show any empathy towards my situation. As a result, this critical incident shaped my response towards Starbucks as a brand as well. Good Service Experience and Starbucks Starbucks is a premium coffee manufacturer, in the market of selling hot and cold beverages to its customers. It is important that it caters to each and every need and demand of its customers in order to maintain its successful customer base. With respect to the theoretical framework presented by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985), it is important to understand each customer in order to meet their specific demands. It is a well known fact that Starbucks focuses on its clientele and tries to introduce products that meet each and every need of its customers. For example, in 2010, Starbucks introduced several low calorie options in its menu for all those individuals who wanted to drink Starbucks premium coffees but were health conscious as well. There are several other elements such as introducing new items on the menu other than coffee to cater to all customer types who were not interested in coffee. I, for example, appreciate the various types of coffees that Starbucks produces, particularly their Frappuccino. Therefore, I appreciate the different types of tastes and types that Starbucks keeps introducing on its menu. Other than that, I believe that it caters to my needs and wants as required based on my taste which is one of the reasons why I visit Starbucks frequently. In this context, it can be noted that Starbucks has catered to two specific variables in the service quality framework that Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985) have presented. These variables include tangibles or the products that Starbucks offers to its customers and the assurance factor where customers are assured they are purchasing the right product for themselves. One of the key areas in customer experience and service quality is also retail branding. Retail branding is the key towards how customers build their expectation of a particular product or service. Fitzsimons, Chartrand, and Fitzsimons (2008) have studied that customer expectations are built up through the type of brand and the perception that they have about the brand. I believe that when I visit Starbucks I will be given the best service and a gourmet coffee that will suit my taste buds. This is the main reason why I like to visit Starbucks on a regular basis. Therefore, behavior towards the brand is then changed and modified accordingly in line with the brand. It is studied that with positive perceptions towards a particular brand, the customer feels that positive quality of service has been given to them. In this context, it is understood that Starbucks has positive brand equity and customers therefore consider Starbucks to be in positive light. As a result, customers always feel that they have been given extremely good quality service within the Starbucks outlet, which is in terms of service provided by the attendants, the way their coffee has been presented to them, and the greetings that the staff issues out to the customer. In this context, positive service quality is believed to have been received by the customer as well. I think it applies to me perfectly since I appreciate Starbucks for these same qualities when I visit an outlet. Keller and Lehmann (2003), Leone et al. (2006) and Ambler et al. (2002) believe that despite this positive brand equity and image that the customer has, it is important that this image be reinforced in the mind of the consumer on a regular basis. Positive reinforcement can be built through increased awareness, building more involving and attachment with the brand and bringing increased associations with the brand. For example, Barnes and Nobles associated itself with Starbucks creating a positive image for both the organizations boosting mutual sales. This is a critical element that Starbucks utilized in order to capture more customers and provide effective customer service to its regular customers who were also visitors for Barnes and Nobles. In this way, positive brand association led to effective reinforcement as well, thus boosting sales levels within the organization. Attachment of multiple brands can be effective if both brands are on the stage of growth and have positive brand image and equity. I believe that Starbucks is reinforcing its image in various ways and Barnes and Nobles is one such way, which I visit frequently as well. In case, one brand has a negative image, or develops a negative image because of lack of effective service quality, this brand association has a fair chance of destroying the other brand alongside as well therefore, I believe Starbucks should be extremely careful (Aaker, Fournier, & Brasel, 2003). Bad Service Experience and Starbucks Researchers such as Barsalou (1991), Lee and Ariely (2006) and Rohm and Swaminathan (2004) have evaluated that customers generally enter a retail store with specific goal in mind, and this goal is strongly associated with the perception of the consumer. Once this perception and goal is formed, the customer’s behavior is then a reflection of the combination. It is important to understand that the goal that the customer sets is the key to how the consumer behaves while associating and purchasing a particular brand. At one of the Starbucks outlet that I had visited once, I faced severe problems, my order was noted wrong, the coffee that I got was lukewarm and the staff was not attentive at all. My expectations were beyond this dismal service quality and my perception about Starbucks was impaired after this experience. It is important to note that these goals can change extremely easily as perception and expectation of the consumer change based on the environment and facilities that the customer is facing within the retail store, with respect to the brand they have come in to purchase. With the extreme problems with respect to debt ridden countries, decreasing supply of coffee due to bad weather and rising costs of finished products, Starbucks has faced several issues because of which several of its stores across the globe have been closed down. In addition to that, it has also been noted that the brand equity of Starbucks has suffered because the company diluted from its main products of premium coffee and started focusing on other products such as its premium tea and coffee beans supply in the market. This has caused several customers to rethink about coming over to Starbucks for their regular purchase of coffee. When evaluating this situation against the model of SERVQUAL, we can see that this also leads to the fact that if this trend of negativity continues, the positive brand image of the organization and the brand name will continue to suffer. This can be detrimental to the organization in terms of revenue, because customers will start losing their empathy and reliability on Starbucks. As a result, people would not feel that their orders would be ensured or they would be serviced appropriately, losing the feeling of assurance as well. Another element that is studied by researchers such as Puccinelli (2006) and Chandrashekaran and Grewal (2003) is that of involvement or engagement of the customer. I believe that Starbucks has tried to engage its customers in various ways however, this area is still severely lacking because I do not get to find out if there are any events or competitions taking place at any of the outlets etc. Several researchers such as Puccinelli (2006) and Chandrashekaran and Grewal (2003) note that many organizations focus solely on trying to communicate and send their message across about their products and services to their customers, without realizing the fact that this context and message might not get assimilated. The problem here arises when customers are not engaged within this communication and therefore, the effort and expense that the company is putting in, goes to waste. Without customer involvement, the communication elements are completely wasted. One of the key areas where Starbucks failed was when it decided to change the logo and this change did not impact the customer base as the company had expected. I believe that the change in logo was uncalled for and completely unnecessary because it does not change the image of Starbucks at all. It was noted that involvement or engagement of the customer is the key to understanding their needs and demands, while paving way towards communicating the brand’s image towards the customer as well. Several customers on the Facebook page for Starbucks indicated that the logo change was completely uncalled for and unnecessary because the logo had been completely fine without the change. Spending time, effort and money on rethinking and redesigning the logo could have been spent else where as well, such as spending on training the attendants and staff to attend to the needs of the customers in a more effective manner. One of the key areas in this context is that strong communication is critical in transferring the brand identity and image to the customers and this can only be done if the organization focuses internally on improving its internal communication processes in order to extend that brand identity externally as well. Recommendations Based on the requirements of Starbucks as a premium coffee selling retailer, it is important that it maintains a successful list of loyal customers who bring a lifetime value of business to it. Maintaining a loyal customer base is the primary key toward success and businesses should aim to target clients only to build repeat purchases from them. Based on literature, it has been noted that attitude of the customer when improved through various techniques such as better customer service by attendant, attentive servers and positive greetings from the staff, can lead to patronage of the customer, building not only loyalty but a positive marketing presence and brand image in the mind of the consumer as well. The correct positive experiences that a customer gains from a particular service or retail brand also help build a positive brand image and identity. With this positive brand identity, an association towards brand loyalty is also built. As a result, customer loyalty can be established through targeting the right experiential factors of a particular retail or service brand. Therefore, one of the key areas that Starbucks should explore is building on positive image and attitude in the minds of its regular customers in order to build patronage amongst its regular customers. I personally think that this would be beneficial because I would like to be attended to, be given exceptional service and asked to come again (De Wulf & Odekerken-Schroder, 2003; Meyer-Waarden, 2007). Another area of exploration that researchers (Enquist et al., 2007; Fang & Yu, 2009) have studied is affective processing where moods and emotions of the consumer are extremely important in terms of how customer service can be improved and the organization can stand to benefit. Affective processing involves both moods which are low key responses and states of mind where involvement of the mind is extremely low; and emotions which are highly intensive states of mind where the mind is intensely involved. In such a scenario, with respect to the multiple stages of purchases, affective processing has a deep rooted impact on how the customer processes information regarding purchase of a certain product. In this case, with the first few stages of purchase where information is being gathered, the customer may, based on affective processing, decide to move towards a product that he or she is already inclined towards and familiar with. With positivity towards a particular product, the customer is then inclined to evaluate and make a purchase of a familiar product that he or she can easily relate to. When analyzed, this is an area that Starbucks should explore because it can help the organization to plan and target customers in terms of their emotions. Moreover, it can help target customers based on affective processing on each stage of purchase starting from the thought process of purchasing as well. With effective planning, Starbucks can target and obtain customers and develop positive attitudes about the brand image in the minds of these customers as well. 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