By Jamie Turner, CEO, 60 Second Communications

 

Here's what you'll learn in this article:

1. Why Starbucks is facing an onslaught of stories suggesting people stop buying their coffee;

2. How Starbucks (and you) can turn stories like that on their head by changing the way people view their product.

 

One of the things I most admire about Starbucks is their lack of advertising over the past 20 years. They've built an entire company based primarily on word-of-mouth. Very few organizations have been able to do that.

But times have changed.

Today, everywhere you turn, Starbucks is being accosted by advertising and news stories suggesting that the best way to trim your budget is to stop buying the $2 cups of coffee you get at Starbucks. Major advertisers are spending millions of dollars on ad campaigns that effectively tell people that they can save a $60 a month by dropping their Starbucks addiction.

Worse yet, the news media has jumped on the bandwagon. Virtually every news story I've seen offering money-saving tips kicks off by suggesting people should stop spending money at Starbucks. "Drink your office coffee or drink your coffee at home," they say. "And you'll save yourself $60 a month."

Its a serious challenge for Starbucks. And one they need to confront head-on. But before I go on, allow me to tell you a story that's relevant to the Starbucks situation.

My folks are in their 80s. Great people. They're a lovely old couple living on a fixed income. Not long ago, all the kids got together to try to figure out how to help them live within their fixed budget. We looked at everything, including cutting magazine subscriptions, newspaper subscriptions, cable subscriptions and other little pleasures that would add up to about $75 a month.

But in order to save $75 a month, they'd have to give up a lot of the little treats that make life worthwhile. I don't know about you, but getting the newspaper delivered each morning is a nice, little treat. And having a magazine in your mailbox every few weeks is another little treat. So is watching ESPN.

It's not the big, expensive, once-a-year things that make life enjoyable, it's the small, inexpensive daily pleasures that make it enjoyable. It's those little gifts you give yourself every day that are like a pat on the back saying, "Job well done."

How does all this relate to Starbucks (and you)?

Here's how.

A nice, hot cup of coffee is one of life's great pleasures. It tastes great. It smells great. It perks you up. It warms your insides.

So when advertisers and the news media are encouraging people to give up their daily trip to Starbucks, they're asking people to give up a special treat every day of their lives. They're saying, "You know that little walk you take next door to Starbucks every day? You know that nice conversation you have with the Starbucks employee? You know that nice, hot cup of coffee you get when you leave? We want you to give that up every single day of your life until the economy kicks back in."

But there are alternative ways to save $60 a month. If you spent one Saturday a month at home watching a DVD instead of dinner out, you'd probably save $60 in just one evening. Or how combining trips to the store every week instead of jumping in the car every time you need a jar of Peanut Butter? That might save you $60 a month.

But we're getting off track here. Our point is not to provide you money-saving tips, our point is to suggest that Starbucks can respond to this competitive environment by positioning itself as one of life's little daily pleasures.

Starbucks isn't about $60 a month, it's about the smell of the coffee, the chit chat with the waitstaff and the feeling of a warm cup on a cold day. It's about the walk to the store, the sound of the coffee grinder and the music playing in the background.

It's about a simple little treat you give yourself every day for a job well-done.

Isn't it worth getting a month's worth of coffee at Starbucks in return for spending one Saturday night at home?

In my opinion, the answer is yes. And the sooner Starbucks gets moving on positioning itself as one of life's little daily pleasures, the sooner they'll be able to put an end to the advertising and news stories suggesting people cut Starbucks out of their lives.

How can you apply this to your business?

Take a look at your current marketing strategy. Is it tapping into the hidden emotions that drive people to buy your product? Is it touching on the "hot buttons" that are the unspoken reasons people reach for your brand instead of a competitors?

If you're not digging deep into the psyche of your customer, you may not be uncovering the unspoken reasons they buy your product.

That's what Starbucks needs to do. And it's what you need to do, too.

Good luck!

 

Jamie Turner is the CEO of 60 Second Communications. He lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia and he hopes you sign up for The 60 Second Marketer weekly eNewsletter. It has the newest marketing tools, tips and techniques for people who want to keep up-to-date on all the coolest new trends. The woman down the hall signed up last week. And so did the young guy that sits in the office with the grey carpet. You know the one ... he's always talking about the latest marketing stuff in all the meetings. I mean, gosh, who does he think he is? Mr. Know-It-All-Smarty-Pants, that's who. Sheesh.

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