Starbucks Customer Base

Starbucks Customer base is one that has managed to expand over the years. Although he shop established its first company in 1971, and focused its business on selling Arabica beans. As this proved to be a great community success over seas with coffee bar patrons, it was believed that the same success could be had amongst American coffer drinkers. It was not until many years later that the company brand name grew to become a household name amongst coffee connoisseurs, and the general public (Moon & Quelch, 2006). In the beginning Starbucks primary audience were white collared patrons, geared mostly towards females, between the ages of 25 and 44 (Moon & Quelch, 2006). These customers usually come from an educated middle to upper class background and worked white collar job. Starbucks approach to gaining customers and retaining them was to offer them a higher quality coffee, in many different unique blends, and offering its customers and experience that could be woven into the very fabric of a person’s upscale style. Many of its early customers bought into the idea, because many wanted something different than the everyday work, and home environment they were familiar with (Moon & Quelch, 2006). Starbucks approach to its customers was that although the coffee maybe more expensive than its competitions prices, their customers felt and still believe that you are paying for a quality experience, and quality comes with a price. It has been substantiated over the years that the by the growth an retention of its loyal customer base. However over time research shown that there was a change taking place in Starbucks customer base. Its customers were no longer just falling into the educated white-collar mold they had previously been built from. They were now ranging from different genres, ages, cultures, and many other demographics.

COMPETITION

Although Starbucks has become the leader in the coffee house franchise, it goes without say that there have come forth many,...