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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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