SWOT Analysis for Starbucks Corporation

SWOT Analysis for Starbucks Corporation

Introduction

The winning story of Howard Schultz who innovates and transforms a product into an upscale phenomenon of culture has become the matter of study. Gerald Baldwin, Ziev Siegl and Gordon Bowker were three coffee conservatives who opened a small coffee shop. This niche market was specialized in offering the experience of arabica beans to the coffee pursuits. His visionary attitude and tactical marketing efforts made him to propose the idea of opening America's 'third place' coffeehouses. He believed that after home and work, another place to relax and enjoy the experience is the coffeehouse.

He signed agreement with founders of Starbucks and purchased their chains of coffeehouses. Not spending anything of advertising to achieve Starbucks was an impressive episode of his success story. However, North American marketing strategy relies of point-of-sale materials and local store marketing. This company has revitalized the value proposition of maintaining the culture of national coffee alive. It creates an experience and proposition of consuming coffee as a fabric of everyday experience.

This reflects the hymn of 'live coffee' as a corporate code of their company. The three defining components of its branding strategy is coffee itself. The other two are service as customer intimacy and holistic environment of its outlet. The shared values of the organization relates greatly with its vision and mission. The early growth cycle of Starbucks reflects the deep rooted connections with the end customers. The success and challenges faced by Starbucks can be interrelated with their modus operandi. Lawley (2001) explained this phenomenon as the brain metaphor for the company. The brand philosophy of Starbucks has been executed in various academia of business marketing. The endeavors of its business activities reflect the metaphors of learning, value and experience. The corporate value of Starbucks is to make over the commodity into privileged aspect of culture. This leverages the customers to get associated and own the brand (Moon & Quelch, 2003).

Discussion

Business Framework and Brand Philosophy

The business analysis of Starbucks is the core requirement to understand the potential, strength, opportunities, competitiveness and future prospects of the company. It tenders the simple yet effective framework and breakdown of the company. It is also necessary to evaluate the multiple domains of coffee production and delivery and decides the outputs of investments in the future. The ultimate success and survival of Starbucks Corporation is the mutual understanding and shared values of the organization.

These are the provisions and consideration for the business to establish reputable nature and links with the customer as premium coffee provider. The goal of organization is to maintain the brand positioning that offer customers with an elegant product and experiential service. Positioning and strategizing the core functions for luxury lovers and coffee fanatics may not capitalize the marketing efforts of the company. It targets common people and business professional who seek for an outside pursuit and mental comfort after their hectic work schedules (Keeley, 2006).

This will also assist the company to grow and improve ...