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Over the years Starbucks has become a household name. With its beginnings in Seattle’s own Pikes Place Market. This coffee shop named for a character in a classic whaling book “Moby Dick”, has risen and taken the market place by storm. Their mission; “To inspire and nurture the human spirit-one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Growing into an international conglomerate, boasting over 22,000 locations, Starbucks has become mainstream. A status symbol if you will, with their plain white cups and standard two tailed mermaid, Starbucks has integrated themselves into the hearts and minds of the public. Moving consumers with its socially conscious efforts, utilizing “fair trade” coffee, supporting farmer loans, and forest conservation. Taking their mission seriously by working on reducing their environmental footprint. “We share our customers' commitment to the environment. And we believe in the importance of caring for our planet and encouraging others to do the same. We are working to reduce our environmental footprint through energy and water conservation, recycling and green construction.” ("Starbucks Company Profile", 2016). 

When viewing the menu of products offered, there is an extensive variety of options. Starbucks offers forty-four different Bakery items, nine breakfast items and five Starbuck Petites. Additionally offering seven Bistro Boxes options varying from Cheese & Fruit to Hummus, to PB&J o Wheat, or Prosciutto & Mozzarella. There are four assortments of yogurt & fruit items, fifteen different sandwiches, panini’s, and salads.

There is a vast selection of Drinks; Bottled products, Fresh Brewed Coffee, Iced Coffee, Evolution Fresh, Chocolate Beverages, Children’s Beverages, Smoothies, Fizzio Handcrafted Soda, Starbucks Refresher Beverages, Teas - and Cold Brew Coffee

A variation of food nutrition is also offered; beverage Nutrition, Delicious Drinks under 200 calories, Favorite Foods under 350 calories

Not only does Starbucks offer an extensive menu, but they are also interested in helping their hired staff! Contributing a Career Center which offers a College Plan, Current Partners, Corporate Careers, Manufacturing & Distribution, Retail Careers, along with an offer of International Careers. Starbucks as a company is not only about making millions, they also have a concern for their personnel.

In business, every company experience some type of success and failure. Companies with major brand names like Nike, Apple, Microsoft just to name a few, had to perform self-reflection on their company and their products to see where to improve. Through customer surveys and feedback, individual product sales, overall company profit, companies’ consumer psychologists, and competition sales, the gathering of information will determine the company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or SWOT analysis. According to Investopedia.com, (n.d.) SWOT analysis is defined as “a basic, straightforward model that assesses what an organization can and cannot do as well as its potential opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses describes the internal issues; opportunities and threats expresses the external issues”. Starbucks Corporation- “Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide and in the United States. The market is segmented into growers, roasters, and retailers. Starbucks and Dunkin Brands, Inc. has a combined market share of 50 percent in 2011” (Statista, Inc., n.d.).

Starbucks has been facing enormous competition from other businesses in the industry but with its robust competitive strategy, the company has been able to remain in the market, holding an extremely competitive positioning. Some of the companies which have posed a massive threat to the company include Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds, Greggs, and Jollibee. With this high number of competitors, all fighting for the same clients, the company needed to come up with a sensible competitive strategy which will see them maintain their market share.

One of the competitive moves which was taken by Starbucks is the provision of a variety of products, which are of a high quality. In such a sense, the company has become highly specialized in cakes, bread, cookies, and pastries which meet its individual requirements. In addition to these, so of its products are of a much higher quality, in comparison to that of their competitors. For instance, the company offers a very high quality of coffee brewing via its brewing and smelling, which is done on site (Bussing-Burks, 2009).

Looking at the price, the company works to have its supplies at a lower cost than its competitors which enables them to offer products such as its coffee, at a lower price. Also, the company forms strategic partnerships, such as the inclusion of Starbucks products into the espresso machines packaging, which gives them a competitive advantage. The company has also adopted the global expansion strategy; where they have moved to open stores in countries such as China, and this brings them more revenues.

As a competitive strategy, the company has moved to being environmentally conscious where it is promoting a friendly environment. In 2008, the company was ranked number 15 on the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s list of purchases of renewable energy. In addition to this, the company has also been engaging in the practice of recycling.

There are different segments that need to be considered when it comes to marketing. A company needs to study demographic, psychographic, geographic and behavior factors. How they go about accomplishing these things will ensure that all targeted market segments can be met.

Starbucks’ has a wide range of consumers that they target from the age of thirteen to forty. Through this demographics they have identified the different age groups; adults, young adults and kids. Their primary targeted group are men and women between the ages of twenty-five to forty which makes up forty-nine percent of its total business (O'Farrell, 2016). In the young adult age group of eighteen to twenty-four they make up forty percent of sales and kids and teens ages thirteen to seventeen make up two percent of sales (O'Farrell, 2016).

The targeted area of adults is of higher income, professional careers and with a focus on social welfare, which tends to be urbanites (O'Farrell, 2016). With the young adults it is geared to the college students. Finally, children, which are usually with parents who purchase a beverage and will ensure to purchase an additional drink, so they all walk out with a cup in hand. As varied as their beverage selection is so are the targeted demographics ranging from professionals to children coming in with parents who are purchasing a product.

There are a number of things that make Starbucks a company that stands out amongst its competitors. As stated in the beginning Starbucks mission statement; “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time”. With a mission statement like this, which identifies the strength of the personality traits of the company, gives a good understanding of the marketing segment needed to compete in the coffee market.

The geographical area of Starbucks blankets the world, with locations in 67 countries. Targeting individuals who utilize social networking, technology and looking for a cool image (O'Farrell, 2016). They are also close to colleges where students can do school work in a setting away from the dorm room or class room and more of a social environment. It also appeals to the business person who can hold meetings with clients away from the office, which leads to a more relaxed atmosphere.

There are different behavioral factors that the company follows in their day to day operations. They ensure legal compliance, ethics training along with covering sensitive issues in the lines of conflict of interest. They also have a way in which partners can voice their concerns on any issues that may arise. They provide a way in which every aspect of the company, from employees to managers, can bring any issue to the fore front to be resolved in a timely manner. They provide a behavioral environment which ensures a smooth running operation.

As an organization that depends on rural items, we have long known that the planet is our most critical business accomplice. Starbucks thorough way to deal with decreasing our ecological effect implies taking a gander at all parts of our business, how they meet and how we can incorporate new answers for make important and supported change. They’re attempting to contract our ecological foot shaped impression and meet the desires of our clients by expanding reusing, advancing reusable glasses and decreasing the waste connected with our mugs and other bundling.

By preserving the vitality and water we utilize and obtaining renewable vitality credits, we're driving ourselves to lessen the natural foot shaped impression of our operations and guarantee access to clean water in espresso developing groups. Following 2004, we've been seeking after procedures to address this test and offer ranchers some assistance with mitigating the effect of environmental change on their homesteads. Starbucks is planning to infuse a touch of environmentalism into every one of its prepared beverages by offering it in a reusable mug, costing just $1. The new mugs change practically nothing, aside from the material: they are almost indistinguishable to the Seattle-based espresso organization's notable white paper glass.

Obviously, the paper mugs are still accessible for no charge, however the organization is trusting that it will expand clients' propensities in bringing reusable glasses, an activity they've advanced subsequent to 1985 which they as of now nets clients a 10-penny rebate on their request. The new mugs will likewise take after this same approach, which implies it'll pay for itself in 10 employments. Nothing energizes an espresso dependence like a touch of natural do-goodism. It's all part of a long haul exertion by the chain to diminish ecological waste by eliminating the quantity of paper glasses discovering their approach to landfills.

Positioning Statement

Starbucks Product/Service: Coffee is just a drink. Starbucks is a flavored experience. The exotic aromas and flavors will give customers a global essences. Starbucks variety of indulging drinks, food, and nutritional products are for the person on the go or can be savored at one of our many establishments. Starbucks brings the convenience of indulgence to customers online, or at your local grocery and retail stores.

Target Market

Before you start to cram for your final exam, or wonder which way the stock market is going to turn, start your day with Starbucks. Need a relaxing place to communicate with friends, online or in person, come to Starbucks! Kids on the way to school and its cold, have your parents stop in and get something warm to start your day.

How your product solves the target market's needs

Taking a look at the target market, which comprises almost all segments in the demography, they are all looking for products which are of a high quality. To the company, it does this by ensuring that it provides goods which are of a high quality, bringing a high level of satisfaction to the clients. In addition to these, the company’s products are offered at a price which is affordable to the target market. The company also provides a variety of products which enables the consumers to have various options from which they can their consumption needs satisfied.

What makes your organization different from its competition?

The organization is set apart from its competitors in that it has worked to put its concentration on coffee, a product which can be taken to be an affordable luxury. Almost everyone likes drinking coffee. In addition to these, a human being can drink coffee at any time without feeling bad about it. Hence, specializing in this market is a brilliant strategy.

Reference

O'Farrell, R. (2016). Who Is Starbucks' Target Audience?. Chron, (), . Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/starbucks-target-audience-10553.html

Starbucks, (2016). Company Information. Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information

Starbucks, (2016). Company Information. Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/business-ethics-and-compliance

Starbucks Company Profile. (2016). Retrieved from