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Marketing Analysis of Starbucks, INC

1) Situation Analysis

a) Nature of Demand

i) The world is a complicated place. People are even more complicated to predict and determine exactly what they want and more importantly how they will try to achieve it. Here at the Starbucks we are determined to provide the best cup of coffee that a diverse group of people want. This is the very first struggle our marketing team needs to determine which is exactly who is buying, enjoying, drinking, and coming to our stores. We have about 2100 stores across 65 countries (International Stores). There is an article online that tries to sum up our brand identity, which states

“Postmodern individuals need relief from the digitalized, globalized, homogenized reality in which they live, and although Starbucks has played a part in the creation of this reality it also offers relief from it. By promoting a lifestyle of intellectuality, activism, and innovation, Starbucks gives like‐minded people a place to hear what they want to hear about the world they live in.”( McGarth, Casey) .

Our brand identity is as strong as almost any company out there. It helps us show the lifestyle we offer as coffee drinkers, which establish a unique aura to our company that most do not have. The target population of Starbucks currently is about 50% 25-40 of age and 40% 18-24 of age (Who Is Starbucks'). This is mainly a group of young business professionals that are on the go and looking for a quality cup of coffee with strong brand recognition which can be perceived as a symbol of power and wealth. This will make a reoccurring theme of purchases by them bringing them back for more each month. Starbucks gives anyone the power to come buy our quality products during the workday. Buying a product for us has a low negative effect on our customers as we are not that expensive and it does not have a huge impact on the total income of our target population. That reduces our negative monetary...