Global Marketing

Starbucks Coffee Company is the world’s leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee. They have coffeehouses in North America, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. The total number of customers worldwide that have patronized a Starbucks is approximately 35 million (www.starbucks.com).

Starbucks target market are people of diverse ethnicity, income and age groups. While their current marketing strategies are not geared toward children or youth, they have a history of supporting community activities and events that are important to their customers, which includes the youth. For example, they donate used coffee grounds to schools and parks so they can use them as nitrogen-rich garden compost. The environment is one thing that Starbucks is strongly passionate about. They want to make their customers aware that they are committed to minimizing the environmental impacts from their coffee beans to the cups they use. They strongly believe in reusing and recycling that they even offer a $.10 discount to those customers who bring in their own mug. They also recognize the environmental impacts of their store design and its operations. By doing this alone, they are getting the word out about their product to those environmentally conscious people who might not patronize Starbucks but hear about them from a loyal customer. This is a way of marketing their product by word of mouth and could lead bringing in new customers.

Starbucks is committed to offering the highest quality coffee while doing business in ways that produce environmental benefits for communities in which it does business. Just this month, they introduced first ever coffee from Rwanda, Rwanda Blue Bourbon coffee, thus targeting a different brand of customers. Rwanda has the perfect terrain and climate for growing arabica coffee which is the first coffee to come out of this country. This could not have been possible for Rwanda if it had not been for the US Agency for International Development and Agribusiness Development Activity of Rwanda who help farmers write business plans and obtain bank loans and taught them how to cultivate arabica Bourbon trees (www.starbucks.com). These are the type of environmental factors that affects the marketing decisions Starbucks makes.

The technological factors affecting their marketing decisions are pretty much similar to all other major corporations. Today you cannot go anywhere and not see someone on a laptop in a Starbucks, the mall, the airport, on a plane, etc. With more people on the go and working longer hours, the need to have a cup of coffee and catch up on work is becoming more important. Starbucks