Starbucks Brand Name SWOT Develop Information Explains

Starbucks Brand Name SWOT

Develop information explains Strengths / Weaknesses Starbucks brandname Opportunities / Threats financial future product. For information promotional activities product, find places product promoted (retail stores, magazines, TV shows, .

The success of any company's brand largely depends on the marketing strategy adopted to ensure its sales are increased. However, it is imperative that a company analyses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of their promotional means to provide sustainability Charlesworth, 2009.

The use of appropriate promotional means will ensure that all the target customers are reached and provided with pertinent information that will enable them make informed decisions. Since Starbucks operates in the highly competitive beverage industry and has more expansion plans, the company management has the obligation of ensuring that the target market is acquainted with information and that the promotional channel used is convenient for the company.

Discussion

Starbucks has widely employed the use of social media e.g. Twitter, face book and other internet means to market its product and increase its marketing share. Many companies making it one of the unique marketing channels have not extensively adopted the use of social media. The successful use of social media has enabled star bucks grow into an international coffee business. This promotional means has the strength of enabling the target market provide feedback which can assist the company in improving the quality of their coffee Charlesworth, 2009.

It also enables the customers to raise complaints and provide feedback that can assist the company enhance its services. The promotional channel via the use of the social media is also cheap compared to other promotional channels. It therefore drastically reduces the cost of advertising and promotion hence increasing the company's profitability.

The weakness of this promotional strategy is that it can only reach a target market that can access internet and can effectively use the channel. Other customers might therefore be left out or feel discriminated.

The use of social media provides Starbucks with an opportunity to exploit the expanding market and reach target customers irrespective of their location (Kurtz & Boone, 2010). Starbuck can use the opportunity provided by the social media to expand their market share since many potential customers are currently using social media for interaction.

Irrespective of the opportunities and strengths that social media gives the company. It also provides a threat to the company. Competitors are likely to use social media to discourage Starbucks consumers by easily providing information that is biased for their self-gain. Social media has been wrongly misused to peddle lies against the company by trying to defame the company's products. Security threat is also another potential threat that faces Starbucks since many internet hackers and crackers can bring the system down or unlawfully obtain information that is considered internal by the company Corporate Social Responsibility; Starbucks Coffee., 2006.

This information if availed to other competitors therefore risks reducing the company's returns and sales.

The use of social media can thus make the company increase its profit by cutting down on the promotional costs and ensuring many customers are reached and brought to the consumers net. The increasing expansion of Starbucks can partly be attributed to this unique promotional strategy.

The second marketing strategy that has enabled Starbucks successful is the use of the word of mouth marketing. This form of marketing enables the target customers to interact directly with the company's marketing personnel. This form of promotion has the strength of providing customized information to the customers Charlesworth, 2009.

It also enables the target customers to get feedback and have all their queries answered at real time. Besides, the use of direct marketing has the strength of ensuring that the company illustrated to their customers the quality products through demonstration hence making it more convincing.

The weakness of this strategy is that the company's marketers can only reach a relatively small number of target customers, as opposed to the use of mass media. The strategy also suffers the weakness in terms of the high cost that is involved and the time involved in providing information.

There are also opportunities and threats that Starbucks faces in this marketing strategy. First, the firm gets the opportunity to interact directly with their customers and obtain information that may be useful in improving the quality of their coffee. Through direct marketing, the company will also have the opportunity to tear into the competitors markets and hence expand their operations, which will ensure it increases the turnover and financial strength. The threat of this channel is that competitors could use the information gathered in word of mouth marketing to improve their own products hence reduce the company's customer base.

Moreover, Starbucks has greatly depended on the quality of their coffee as a means of maintaining customers and attracting new customers. This has been supported by the innovation in the coffee field intensified by the company and the assiduous improvement in the quality of the company's coffee. The high quality of the coffee has thus enabled the company to gain competitive edge against competitors and increase their market growth. At the same time, quality is everything in the business hence high quality will mean winning customers loyalty hence a strength to the business.

The weaknesses that are likely to arise is the over reliance on coffee innovation since other beverages could be innovated which would then reduce the customers of coffee. The fact that "75% of the company's operations are in the U.S." also poses a weakness on their expansion SWOT Analysis Starbucks., 2006.

Furthermore, the problems faced in other international operations also pose serious weaknesses to the company's prospects and profitability. Some employees of Starbucks have also been accused of being inefficient thereby reducing customers' loyalty.