The first product, which is coffee, its main competitors, are Seattle’s Best and Folgers. The other breakfast cereal products, its principal competitors, are Kellogg, Post, and General Mills. There are still other competitors in the market, but Star bucks uses a strategy of quality and diversification, to remove the upcoming competitors.
Another strategy applied by Star bucks against its competitors is concentrating its outlets at one point. According to the reports that were obtained in 2005, Star bucks had a net profit of $494.5 million, Kellogg $980.4 million, General Mills $ 1240 million, and Folgers $2546 million(Avlonitis 113).
4P’s of Star bucks
As mentioned above, the major products of this company are breakfast products such as coffee and cereals. The company used this strategy, as a way of placing itself at a more competitive edge than its competitors’ place. The product uniqueness of the two main products is ranged as medium. The nutritional value of coffee is categorized as low while that of cereal is high. The taste of Star bucks coffee is ranged as high, while that of cereals is medium compared to that of competitors(Grant 98).
The pricing of Star bucks coffee is relatively low compared to that of some competitors, as away of making it hard for other competitors to survive in the market. The company lowers this price intentionally, as their competing strategy. However, the price of cereals compensate for coffee, as it is medium price(Grant 102). Star bucks insist that quality of their products comes first. Through provision of quality products to the customers, customers have build brand loyalty.
The company has made extra efforts in ensuring its products reach the intended customers at the right place and condition. Star bucks have ventured in more than fifty countries with so many outlets. The company has even introduced online selling of its products, whereby the customers can purchase the products anywhere, and anytime. This has created much convenience for those customers, who are always busy (Avlonitis 174). They also have a tendency of reaching the customers by concentrating their outlets at one point.
Star buck is known to promote its both nationally and internationally levels. They have used various media services to reach the customers through placing adverts for their quality products. Severally, they hold promotion for their products, where people are given chances to taste their coffee, as an effort of building brand loyalty to the customers.
Star bucks development brand image
In 2010, when star bucks were celebrating its 40th anniversary, the key theme was to facilitate the development of their brand image. The company introduced new images for coffee cups, cups holders, as well as for the shopping bags(Grant 230). During this period, the company also introduced a new coffee blend to the public, which they named Tribute. All these new modifications to their products were for ensuring the constant development of their brand image.
The new identity was marked by a bright green color that showed vibrancy of the products. The company wanted to portray the act of evolution for their products. The main theme was to re-energize their customers, both existing and new ones. Any change to the brand image of the company should be carefully handled, as it may end up confusing the customers.
The understanding and acceptance of customers are very crucial factor that need to be considered first(Grant 162). The change may also act as a limitation of widening the product line, as they may end up loosing the new customers, who may not be so familiar with the company.
Works Cited
Avlonitis, George. Product and services management. New York: SAGE, 2006.
Grant, Robert. Contemporary strategy analysis. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.