Starbucks Analysis

Starbucks

Pull techniques on-site: Starbucks has links to its Facebook, Twitter, and My Starbucks Idea. The website contains links to different offers and information on seasonal coffees and sweet treats. One of these links is to the Panama Geisha coffee. Once you click on that link; it brings you to a page that has a sign up link for a newsletter and coupons through email. The website also has headlines and stories that connect to their blogs. On the blogs, the website has links to all their social media platforms.

Push techniques on-site: I did not notice too many push techniques on-site. There is no RSS Feed buttons or section to sign up for emails. They do have a website for the Starbucks Card: https://www.starbucks.com/shop/card that has a popup advertising the Starbucks Reward Card.

Off-site pull techniques: Starbucks advertises on TV and in magazines such as People. They also have AdWords on Google. Starbucks has a sponsored story on Facebook about their partnership with USAID in support of Columbian coffee farmers that was posted on August 27.  They also offer promotions. On their blogs, Twitter, and My Starbucks Idea site, there are buttons to click to get transferred to their other social media sites. Twitter has a section to sign up with an email address to follow Starbucks and request updates.

Off-site push techniques: Starbucks sends email and newsletters. They also have started advertising with pop ups on mobile devises.

From my observations, it appears that Starbucks uses pull marketing on their website and social media sites. They offer followers different opportunities to sign up for email updates, coupons, and newsletters. Starbucks does push marketing through the emails and newsletters. I feel like they really take advantage of word of mouth advertising that comes from their followers both on Facebook and Twitter. The number of comments on their posts is quite high. Their followers seem to be very engaged and loyal.

Content: I have been looking at the Starbucks website for over a week, and I have noticed that they changed some of their informational links and added some new content in that time frame. They do post new content on their Facebook daily. Many times the content includes photos of their beverages. They also post new content on Twitter a few times a day. The tweets vary from in store promotions to touching tweets about enjoying coffee. They also re-tweet tweets from followers. Starbucks My Idea has a lot of fresh content that is generated by the users who are posting their ideas to make Starbucks even better.  Both Starbucks blog and their Shared Values Blog have not had any new content posted for months.

Mobile Friendly: Starbucks is mobile friendly.  Under the Card column on their website, there is a link to mobile apps.  Also, there is an app that can be installed on a cell phone to pay. Starbucks has also created ads that are popping up on mobile devices. These ads are targeted to promoting their new to-go iced coffees. If you click on the ad you must tap it to ‘break the ice.’ After the ice breaks, the three different iced coffee flavors pop up. They also have a button on this site that brings you to the Facebook page and Twitter feed. Starbucks also includes great photos and captions that are easy to read on a mobile device. Their layout is also conducive to clicking on links or looking at posts.

Share Buttons: Starbucks does have share buttons on My Starbucks Idea, Facebook, and on their blog. 

Other Features: Another feature that Starbucks uses on all their different sites is a uniform presentation. Starbucks signature color is green. The color, logos and information are consistent on their website, blogs, and social media channels. They maintain the same font and color scheme. They do present a consistent message on the multiple channels and maintain their brand image with brand imagery, tone of voice, and their message. Their website is easy to navigate and contains a variety of content that is useful to a consumer. It also contains links to their social media channels

Recommendation: I do have a few recommendations for how Starbucks could improve their website. I feel that Starbucks should include links for email updates and RSS feed that are more visible on their website. These links need to be on the initial website page and clearly visible to the user. I also think that their content needs to be updated more frequently on their website, as well as on their blogs. In order to engage the target audience, new content must be provided. Blogs can help improve SEO. Starbucks basically deals with coffee, tea, and specialty beverages. It might be difficult to constantly add new content on such a limited topic, but I think the blogs definitely need to be updated more frequently.  I also think that Starbucks could benefit from having a link that takes customers from their Facebook and Twitter pages directly to their website. Starbucks could also create some contests to attract more users to their website.