Introduction.
Starbucks is one of the
few coffee shop businesses that, owing to its premium brand status, enjoys a
high degree of customer loyalty. Over a time it has gained a significant
competitive advantage over lesser known brands, through their approach to
business, centred on innovation and customer intimacy. Despite this ongoing
success, it is vital for the business to continue to meet customer needs and
understand their values through innovative business models.
CEO of Starbucks,
Howard Schultz, once defined the company's business model as "a concise
representation of how an interrelated set of decision variables in the areas of
venture strategies, venture architecture and venture economics will be
addressed in order to create sustainable competitive advantage in the coffee
market". And although the company faced some difficulties in a past,
Starbucks continues remaining a "choice number one" for the majority
coffee drinkers.
But does the company
deliver a hundred percent service for real? Or are there those customers who
still are unsatisfied and disappointed with its products? Hence it was decided
to investigate and analyse the levels of customer satisfaction of Starbucks, conducting
a primary research.
Primary
research.
Primary research refers
to the collection of data for the first time. This data is collected for some
specific purpose directly from the research subject/area, by a researcher. It
usually involves the researcher going into the market place (field) to find the
information they are looking for. If the researcher does not go into the field
they may send or place something into the field to record information for them.
Primary research is
more expensive and time consuming but it will give better results than secondary
data. There are several methods that can be used for research - interviews,
questionnaire, surveys, observation etc. The appropriate method of research
will depend on the aim of the research and the time, money and resources
available to the researcher. Each research method has its limitations and
margin of error. Hence research analysis will need to take these factors into
account.
Taking into an account
varies methods of research, the two outlined below are considered to be most
relevant to coffeehouse industry, in order to investigate and analyse the levels
of consumer satisfaction:
1.
Field research/Interviews
a)
store intercept interviews - chat with the consumers at the till point to
understand the consumer’s shopping experience and decision making process fully;
b)
barista intercept interviews - chat with the baristas, questioning some basic
rules and their strategies to resolve problems;
2.
Online Survey - multiple choice questionnaire.
Survey VS Interview
A survey is usually general and covers a wide range
of issues. It is designed to find information rather than to investigate
specific questions about an issue and it helps to identify the most important
ideas, questions and issues about a general trend in people’s opinions, experiences,
and behaviour. Surveys are particularly useful to find small amounts of
information from a wider selection of people in the hopes of making a general
claim.
In turn an interview usually focuses more on a
particular topic or issue. Interviews are best used when detailed information needs
to be learned from specific people. By interviewing consumers in this setting
at the moment of purchase, many of the pitfalls of telephone, mail and Internet
surveys can be avoided, such as memory loss, lack of interest, product
confusion. Instead, all factors can be equally assessed including pricing,
packaging, other elements of the in-store environment that may only barely be
recalled days or weeks later. In this manner, all aspects of the purchase
decision can be explored at a time when the perceptions of products,
competitors' products and the overall category are top-of-mind.
The results of both methods can be powerful insights
into the key drivers that motivate customers and those of competitors at the
moment the sale is actually made. It is possible to examine the issues that
affect both strategic plans and their tactical execution.
Also upon the research, a person who conducts it
will be able to:
a) Probe the true drivers of purchase decisions and
quantify their effects, whether they differ by class of trade or retail venue;
their purchasing influences, decision hierarchy, sequence and structure;
b) Develop full brand profiles, as consumers see
them;
c) Evaluate account specific issues;
d) Test new products and/or concepts in a real-world
setting
e) Assess the stopping power and sales effects of
merchandising materials;
f) Better understand "how” consumers shop a
brand and category;
g) Gain an understanding of shopper behaviour and
motivation;
h) Measure awareness of advertising and in-store
display presence;
i) Determine if and in what ways the individual
retailer or the trade channel affect shopping behaviour;
Another
advantages of using these following methods are:
·
They help easily collect a lot of
information from a large number of people.
·
The researcher does not necessarily have
to be involved in the data collection process. She/he may use a proxy (another
person) to gather a sample of opinions and views and then select some of these
for follow up interviews for more depth.
·
Results from surveys and questionnaires,
if the forms are designed well, can be collated and analysed quickly,
especially using numerical techniques, such as spreadsheets.
Analyzing
and using Primary Research.
Once primary research data is collected, it has to
be analyzed based on what have been found in order to use it appropriately and
effectively for the business. The purpose of analyzing the data is to look at
what was collected (survey responses, interview answers to questions, observations)
and to create a cohesive, systematic interpretation to help answer existing research
question.
When analyzing findings, researcher should remember to
eliminate bias by being truthful and as accurate as possible about what was
found, even if it differs from what she/he expected to find. Data should be
seen as sources of information, just like sources that can be found in the
library, and researcher should work to represent them accurately.
The following are suggestions for analyzing
different types of data.
Interviews
If a small number of people was interviewed, then it
can be helpful to use summary, paraphrasing, and quotation skills in order to
describe accurately what was said in the interview. When working with sources, interviewees
should be introduced and only clear and relevant quotes from the interviews may
be chosen in evaluation. An easy way to find the important information in an
interview is to print out transcription and take a highlighter and mark the
important parts that might be used in research result paper. If a large number
of interviews have been conducted, it will be helpful for a researcher to
create a spreadsheet of responses to each question and compare the responses, choosing
representative answers for each area she/he wants to describe.
Surveys
Surveys can contain quantitative (numerical) and
qualitative (written answers, descriptions) data. Quantitative data can be
analyzed using a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel to calculate the mean
(average) answer or to calculate the percentage of people who responded in a
certain way. A researcher can display this information in a chart or a graph and
also describe it in writing in their paper. If she/he has qualitative responses,
a researcher might choose to group them into categories and/or may choose to
quote several representative responses.
Evaluation & Analysis of
Primary Research
Based
on information presented above it was decided to conduct a primary research
utilizing a survey technique.
Hence
a list of 15 general questions was constructed (using Survey Monkey
application) and outlined on a single sheet (refer to Appendix 1 for
questionnaire sample).
The
survey was designed in a manner in which it could address both existent and
potential Starbucks customers. By using a qualitative and quantitative design (both
closed questions and also open questions allowing for more in-depth personal
information to be written down), it was sought as much information as possible
that could be elicited from respondents.
Following
my three visits on 17th, 22nd and 29th of March to the coffee shop located at
Dame Street, Dublin 1, I spread the questionnaires to the customers of
Starbucks who willingly volunteered to fill the answers in.
As
a result I have received 23 replies. Some of the questions remained blanks,
some were not fully completed. The tree different visits were carried out
during different hours of a day, where the first visit was in the morning, the
second - in the afternoon and the last - near to the end of working hours.
However
despite the fact having a small number of replies I was able to draw out a
general conclusion. I have also used a spread sheet to help visualise an
approximate relation of the answers. The analysis and evaluation of gathered results
are presented below.
Results:
As
it was mentioned earlier the number of the questioned customers was 23. Among
them were 9 males and 14 females.
In
a questionnaire the people were asked to simply indicate their age. Based on
those answers I decided to break the respondents into the following age
categories according to presumable occupational status: 17 and less; 18 - 23;
24 -30; 30 - 40; 40 and more (Table 1). The youngest among the respondents was
16 years of age, where the oldest - 42. As a result it was found that the
majority of the coffee consumers are between 18 - 23, where the percentage of an
older generation is much less. The accuracy of the answers could depend first
of all on the small number of participants. Second factor impacting the results
could be an awareness of healthy life style which led to a reduction of coffee
drinkers among elder population.
|
Age
|
17 and less
|
18 - 23
|
24 - 30
|
30 - 40
|
40 and more
|
|
No.
Of consumers
|
1
|
11
|
8
|
2
|
1
|
Table
1: Age groups of consumers
With
a question No. 3 I was able to identify the three main groups of coffee
drinkers with relation to their occupation. The list included many professions,
which overall were categorised as office employees. Based on the results it
appeared that the majority of visitors are students, which surpasses the number
of the office employees by 4 persons. The last group named under the heading
"other" included one visitor who identified himself as "a
writer". Considering the answers it can be stated that there are three
main groups of coffee drinker:
a)
a person who works really hard all of the time and needs a coffee boost;
b)
a student, who drinks one coffee and stays to study for hours;
c)
a person who just like the smell of coffee.
In
terms of the frequency of visits paid to the Starbucks, the majority of people
come to the coffee shop between 1 and 4 times a week, which is equal to 15
people. Hence it underlines how popular this brand is among the coffee drinkers
and their habits coming to the shop to enjoy their drink. The results of visit
frequency are displayed below in table 2.
|
Frequency
|
Every day
|
Once a week
|
2-4 times a week
|
Once or twice a month
|
rarely
|
|
No of people
|
3
|
8
|
7
|
3
|
2
|
Table
2: Frequency of visits
To
the question No.5 under the heading "Purpose for using the coffee
shop", 12 participants chose the place as a "taka-away" point
where they usually get a cup and rush out being on the way to work or class.
Shop as a "leisure place" appeared to be less but not least favourable,
being chosen by 7 people. The fewer number of visitors takes Starbucks shop as
a workplace. The answers received depended on the hour of a day the
questionnaire was spread around. For instance the morning visitors are mainly
take-away people, where by the end of the day leisure becomes more favourable,
leaving workplace category somewhere in the afternoon. It was also noted that
men are most likely to use the coffee shop as a workplace.
To
the question related to problem experienced while served at the coffee shop,
the majority of people said that they had no problems. However out of 23
participants there were those who left negative responses (two visitors),
quoting they were "overcharged" and "received a wrong
order!" Following those replies the respondents were also asked to state
how quickly they were helped with a problem. Both explained that they were
satisfied with a speed of problem resolution. Based on this I can assume that
Starbucks delivers a good service. But again, the number of participants is too
small to make a final conclusion.
Because
Starbucks Company recently introduced a new training strategy for baristas I
also considered it to be appropriate asking the participants of what they
thought of the coffee shop staff. Relying on those replies it was concluded
that Starbucks managed to bring improvement to customer service after all. 21
participants were positive, referring to the baristas as: "friendly",
experienced", "knowledgeable", "cheerful", "understandable",
etc. The remaining two, based on their previous negative experience descried
the serving staff as "sometimes incompetent".
Answers
to question 8, related to "how cosy is the Starbucks coffee shop?"
could be divided onto two main groups: people with positive and neutral
attitude. Between those two, the number of people with a neutral opinion was
higher. Such choice could be connected to the previous question where takeaway
people have little concern about the atmosphere within the shop.
The
words used to describe the Starbucks coffee shops in question 9 varied. All
carried a positive opinion. Some of the answers were like "warm",
"nice and quiet", relaxing". One appeared to have a mixture of
both: "crowded but friendly". The others considered the shop to be
their "third home" or "a great start to the day". Following
these answers I may assume that one of the company's goals is to make a nice
inside environment so to please its every customer, independently whether
he/she is loyal or a single-time visitor.
Question
10 concentrated its attention on the important factors that drove the customers
to the shop. This was a multiple-choice question, hence participants were
allowed to pick more than one choice. Following it, the main factors appeared
to be: taste, convenience, price and location that exceeded 15%, while
atmosphere and speed of service categories fell below 8%. Therefore I can
assume that the quality of coffee is a main driven factor for every
customer.
Queuing
in a shop is always a painful topic. Hence a separate question was devoted to
it. The majority of respondents rated the time needed to queue in a coffee shop
as being very important (18 participants) and somewhat important (4). In the
second part of the question when prompted for the reasons behind their choice
some of the answers illustrated issues of high tend valuation of personal time
("if I see that I need to queue a long time I rather go somewhere where I
do not need to spend that time", " Coffee is not that different that
you want to spend time queuing when the next door you get no queue",
"Depends how on how busy I am"). Those that chose queuing to be very
important usually referred to the morning hours when they were in a rush to
work.
Out
of all participants, 19 owned a Smartphone. Overall, however 80% of those who
answered had an active internet option available for use on their handsets.
|
"Yes,
I have a Smartphone"
|
"No,
I do not have a Smartphone"
|
|
19
|
4
|
Table
3: No of participants owning Smartphone
In
a continuation and in direct accordance with the findings revealed by question
14, 74% of those who answer the questionnaire declared themselves willing to
pay extra in order to have the drink ready and waiting for them upon arrival at
the store. Opinions regarding the popularity of this concept demonstrated a
genuinely welcoming attitude: "If done efficiently then this would be
ideal", "Yes, it would be more convenient and save a lot of
time", "Yes, sounds like an interesting idea!"
To
the last question, more than a half of respondents agreed with an idea of a FREE
Wi-Fi being available at the coffee shop.
Conclusion:
After
conducting a quick primary research, it has been highlighted that although
Starbucks enjoys a loyal customer base and has built up a very successful
business model, there are still areas in which new opportunities could be
pursued. For instance the percentage of visitors who had negative previous
experience could be higher as well as the number of faults. Hence Starbucks
should consider improvement of barista training strategy or at least deliver an
annual assessment on productivity of coffee staff. But it is already clearly
seen from the results that one of the company priorities is handling of all
kinds of complaints in a short period of time.
As
it was mentioned above queuing and crowding make an impact onto visitor's
decision when choosing one or another coffee shop. However, such factors as
"taste" and "convenience" are not less important, which
Starbucks delivers excellently, proving a good quality coffee and creating a
cosy atmosphere.
