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6 Proven Ways to Multiply Your Repeat
Customers! By Anne
M. Obarski
I don't try to hide the fact that
I love coffee. I have noticed that there has been a lot of
media hype regarding the research findings about the good and
bad effects of coffee and quite frankly I don't care. I love
the sound and the fragrance of the coffee beans being ground.
I love the aroma as coffee is perking. And I love the soothing
feeling of the hot mug on my cool hands early in the
morning.
I know I must not be alone! I
recently read that the average Starbucks customer returns 17
times a month. I would bet that they would return more often
but considering the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks,
they might have to get a second job to handle the price of
their "coffee fix"!
Wouldn't you love to have a
business that drew your customers back time and again? What is
it about Starbucks that brings the customer back? Is it the
coffee or the locations, or the employees or the ambience of
the store that brings customers back? This question intrigued
me and I went to the Starbucks website and was pleasantly
surprised. The website is as "warm" as the product they offer
but more importantly, as the business that stands behind
it.
I clicked on their Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) Annual Report 2005 and read the
following:
We always figured that putting
people before products just made good common sense. So far,
it's been working out for us. Our relationships with farmers
yield the highest quality coffees. The connections we make in
communities create a loyal following. And the support we
provide our baristas pays off everyday.
It's more than marketing a
"brand"; it's "being the brand". Their brands' "aroma"
permeates every part of their business, and I think that's why
their customers keep coming back.
The gurus in marketing say that
when you develop a solid marketing plan the customer should
ask themselves three questions:
? Why should I
care?
? What's in it for
me?
? Why should I believe
YOU?
If I asked you to close your eyes
and envision the Starbucks logo could you do it? I know one
thing for sure...its round; there's a girl's picture in the
center and the band of white lettering on a green background
surrounds her. I know that when I see a Starbuck's location,
the sign is that same green color and the employees are
dressed in green attire.
But that artwork is not the only
thing that helped create the brand. They did a fabulous job of
going beyond the simple marketing plan to the more complex
plan, in "being the brand" in everything they do.
If you go to the website you can
read about the farmers that they buy their beans from, their
community involvement, and their concerns about environmental
issues as well as how they embrace diversity. It seems to me
that their company is not so much about "getting" but how much
they are "giving".
If you click on their mission
statement this is what you'll find; Establish Starbucks as the
premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while
maintaining our uncompromising principles while we
grow.
I've also found the following
information impressive.
They have listed the six guiding
principles that help them measure the appropriateness of their
decision:
1. Provide a great work
environment and treat each other with respect and
dignity.
2. Embrace diversity as an essential
component in the way we do business.
3. Apply the
highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting
and fresh delivery of our coffee.
4. Develop
enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the
time.
5. Contribute positively to our communities
and our environment.
6. Recognize that
profitability is essential to our future success.
I found it interesting that
becoming profitable was at the bottom of the list. Not so
unusual when you re-read their mission statement ...
maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.
I believe that they established
those principles first and everything revolved around them. I
am sure they had to produce sales goals, investment plans and
financial reports that apply to any brand new business. But
they decided in the beginning that their "bottom line" was to
be based on strong business principles that their loyal
customers have now embraced and that is what keeps them coming
back.
And when they come back they are
greeted by Starbuck's "partners" and not "sales clerks". This
is what Starbucks, listed in Fortune's Best 100 Companies to
Work For, in 2006, has to say about their "partners".
At Starbucks, you'll find a
commitment to excellence among our partners; an emphasis on
respect in how we treat our customers and each other; and a
dedication to social responsibility.
We look for people who are
adaptable, self-motivated, passionate, creative team players.
We are growing in dynamic new ways and we recognize that the
right people, offering their ideas and expertise, will enable
us to continue our success.
Many businesses would say they
have "team" mentality. I believe to be truly successful like
Starbucks, it is a mindset of "one" mentality. This is a
company working as "one" towards a common goal; with
principles, people and profit in the right order.
What is the product or service
you offer that your customer can't wait to come back to get?
Does your entire company have the mentality of "one"? Is your
brand so strong that you are always the company of "choice" in
the mind of your customer? If not, the six basic principles
that Starbucks lives by, might be worth studying a few more
times with a big cup of hot coffee!
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