Starbucks Coffee Company Marketing and Product Objectives - Research Paper Example

Starbucks Coffee Company 6. Market product focus a) Marketing and product objectives Starbucks have always used a number of marketing strategies gain and maintain the market grip that they currently enjoy. Their marketing objectives has always been dominating the industry by becoming the most recognize chain coffeehouses globally (Gilbert 111). It can be said that the marketing strategies that they used have been fruitful to them in a number of ways. The market strategies that they have used over the years include running at an initial loss while targeting more profits in the future. This strategy helps in enabling the company to get a tight grip on the market. During the period that they get the losses they usually aim at gaining the trust of their customers. The other strategy that they have commonly used is the buying out of leases of their competitors. Through such marketing they aim at making themselves stronger in the market while at the same time reducing the influence of these competitors to the market. If such a marketing strategy is successful it can be used as a tool for elimination of competition by the business organization. The use of such a marketing activity has contributed to the high number of criticisms of the methods that Starbuck uses to gain the market capital that they have. Critics claim that they use such activities to make sure that they make it hard for the small businesses in this industry to survive and grow. Starbuck also used to put several outlets within a particular geographical location. This can only be effective in a situation where they have noticed that there is a large market and demand for the products that they sell. It is also best in a situation where they are the most popular producers of such goods within this geographical location. When they put up many outlets they are able to give new entrants a hard time in trying to get a market for their products. This strategy can also be used to do away with competitors who have small market capital. This is because if they are considered by the public to the best producers of the products they produce, and are readily accessible due to the increased number of outlets, customers will have absolutely no reason to go elsewhere. b) Target markets For a marketing strategy to be completely effective, it is important for a business organization to be aware of the market they target. Good knowledge of the target will enable a business organization to be in a position to know exactly the type of marketing strategy that the will use in making sure that they improve and enhance their market capital. Starbuck should focus on the high class if in any case they would want to fulfill their strategy. This is because they plan on giving the impression of the best brand in the world. The production of brand of such high quality always comes at a cost. If they decide to focus on the low class then their strategy is likely to be unsuccessful. This is because they will produce very costly product that people from the middle class will not be in the position to frequently pay for the high quality. However, due to the fact that these products have to be sold globally in places of different economic levels, it will be important for them to give a global picture of uncompromised quality. 7. The Marketing Program a) Product strategy Starbuck is a global coffeehouse chain that provides products such as whole bean coffee, ground instant coffee, snacks, and baked products. They also have evening locations which sell products such as beer and wines or from 4pm (Bussing-Burks 98). They also offer marketing services for products such as films, music, and books. The company sells their products in dependence on the season and the geographical location of specific outlets. Because the business organization prides of being able to offer the best coffee globally, there are various strategic developments that might help in this course (Baker and Hart 189). For example, instead of rationally attaching customers to their brand, they can opt for using emotional attachment. For example, they can launch products that will make their consumer feel the prestige of not taking just coffee but coffee made by Starbuck. This kind of strategy can be fulfilled by making sure that they maintain both their pre-sales and post-sales relations with their customer. When this is accompanied by product of high quality will be able to bring the emotional connection between their products and their customers. Given the quality of coffee and other products sold by this business, it will be generally easy for the business to implement this strategy (Stark 197). The nature of provision of the product that depends on the season and geographical location will also give them a competitive advantage over their competitors. People will tend to need certain product more during the season. Due to the difference in culture, political factors, and climate, people in different geographical locations are likely have different preferences. b) Pricing Strategy This company should make use of the market oriented pricing method in pricing their products. This is a model of pricing under which a business organization decides on the prices of their products independent of studies and researches carried out on the target markets. Given the fact that this business is a global one, this method of pricing will be the most appropriate in taking care of factors such as product demand, user preferences, competitor pricing, and government policies (Smith 123). All these factors tend to differ with the change in geographical location of the targeted market. With dependence to the result from the studies and researches carried out, the business organization will be able to set their prices in a way that they will avoid setting prices that will make them unpopular with the targeted market (Jensen 101). The researches and studies will also enable the business organization to set their prices in a way that will enable them to maximize their profits. Work Cited Baker, Michael J, and Susan J. Hart. Product Strategy and Management. New York: FT Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. Bussing-Burks, Marie. Starbucks. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press, 2009. Print. Gilbert, Sara. The Story of Starbucks. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 2008. Print. Jensen, Marlene. Setting Profitable Prices: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pricing Strategy - Without Hiring a Consultant. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Internet resource. Smith, Tim J. Pricing Strategy: Setting Price Levels, Managing Price Discounts, & Establishing Price Structures. Mason, Oh: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Stark, John. Global Product: Strategy, Product Lifecycle Management and the Billion Customer Question. London: Springer, 2007. Print. Read More