Starbucks Corporation's societal marketing orientation and business strategy

Starbucks Corporation Business Plan

Starbucks' Societal Marketing Orientation

Today, Starbucks Corporation (hereinafter alternatively "Starbucks" or "the company") prides itself on being a responsible corporate citizen that values its customers which uses a societal orientation for its marketing. In this regard, Abhinandan and Ashok (1999) report that, "An orientation which encompasses customer orientation and which also preserves or enhances the consumer's and society's well-being, is termed as societal orientation" (p. 30). The company's focus on its customers is made clear by Starbucks' senior vice president of marketing, Scott Bedbury, who notes, "How can you, your people, your products, and therefore your brand -- create a human connection? To me, the answer is that being different is ultimately about values -- your values, your brand's values, and your company's values. Your values are what set you apart" (cited in Marek & Miller, 2009, p. 33).

Starbucks' Products/Services

Through its network of more than 18,000 retail outlets in 62 countries (Our heritage, 2014), the company offers a wide range of the following products:

Caffeinated (coffee and tea) beverages;

Roasted whole bean and ground coffees in packages;

Various single-serve products;

Bottled water; and,

Juices (Starbucks profile, 2014).

In addition, Starbucks' retail facilities also offer:

Fresh-food and other food items (including breakfast item and lunch items and pastries);

Beverages that are ready to drink; and,

Equipment and accessories for beverage-making applications (Starbucks profile, 2014).

Starbucks' Brand-Name and the Brand Logo

The founders of Starbucks named the company for Moby Dick's Captain Ahab's first mate, "Starbuck" (Our heritage, 2014). The company currently has a licensing arrangement through The North American Coffee Partnership with the Pepsi-Cola Company to produce and distribute the company's branded products to various outlets including grocery stores, national foodservice accounts and licensed stores (Starbucks profile, 2014). The company's brands include:

Starbucks,

Teavana,

Tazo,

Seattle's Best Coffee,

Starbucks VIA,

Starbucks Refreshers,

Evolution Fresh,

La Boulange, and Verismo (Starbucks profile, 2014).

Continuing the nautical theme from its name, the company's logo features a mermaid or siren (see Figure 1 below), depending on the source (Hoots, 2010).

Figure 1. Representative Starbucks' Logo

Source: Hoots, 2010

Product Life Cycle of Starbucks

The company's product life cycle has expanded significantly over the past 45 years to include the wide array of products and brands noted above; however, when the company opened its first store in Seattle's Pike Place Market in 1971, the company only sold packaged roasted coffee beans (Roos, 2013). The company has also made three unsuccessful sorties into the publishing world as well, including efforts to sell books and publish its own literary magazine (Roos, 2013). The life cycle of these Starbucks' products are set forth in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Product Life Cycle for Starbucks

Introductory Stage

Growth Stage

Maturity Stage

Decline Stage

Limited distribution of product line (roasted coffee beans only)

Increasing rates of sales due to addition of brewed caffeinated beverages.

Saturated markets mean slower growth in product sales.

Not yet reached.