Verified Document

Starbucks' 'Third Place' Strategy Derived From Howard Essay

Starbucks' 'third place' strategy derived from Howard Schultz' experience in Milan, where he saw how the coffee shop could serve this role, and how the comfortable environment attracted customers. Starbucks decided to cultivate this third place with a number of key policies. The first is that the company needed outlets with ample seating in order to facilitate a large number of customers in the establishment at any given time. The staff needed to be oriented to allowing customers to remain in place for long periods of time as well, so some training was required in order to implement this strategy. In addition, the design and layout of the stores was important. Starbucks stores need to feel comfortable, so that people are encouraged to linger. This creates an atmosphere that other customers pick up on, and becomes part of the culture of the...

The company has also supported this with its strategy towards music, which is generally anything but abrasive, as well as its policies towards computers (having plugs) and Internet (now offering free Wifi).
The objective of the third place strategy was to make Starbucks a comfortable place, something that many coffee shops lacked in the U.S. prior to Starbucks. By creating this environment Starbucks attracts customers to come to the stores more often. Other elements of the strategy play into the third place. The rich desserts that Starbucks offers are part of the package that encourages relaxing, for example. In addition, the casual atmosphere among the staff is critical. If the stores had stressed-out or incompetent staff the atmosphere would be noticeably less enticing.

The third place strategy…

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Starbucks Struggled in the Late 00s As
Words: 2634 Length: 9 Document Type: SWOT

Starbucks struggled in the late 00s as a result of increased competition and the economic slowdown. However, the company has since righted its ship and now has a bright future. The firm has addressed its economic and competitive threats, and improved its internal performance. As a result, it is now well-positioned to take advantage of its opportunities, and faces few serious threats to its business. Starbucks is positioned to drive

Starbucks Continues to Define Coffee
Words: 2161 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Business and Corporate Strategies Analyze the business-level strategies for the corporation you chose to determine the business-level strategy you think is most important to the long-term success of the firm and whether or not you judge this to be a good choice. Justify your opinion. The most influential competitive business-level strategy that Starbucks has put in place is differentiation. Starbucks focused on creating an aspirational and consistent brand that would translate to

Elimination of Debit Cards
Words: 8384 Length: 30 Document Type: Term Paper

Cell Phone as an Electronic Wallet Rapid advances in technology in recent decades have brought about a dramatic change in the way people work, transact and communicate. Yet, it is widely believed that there is still ample scope for technology to make life even more convenient and efficient. For instance, the cell phone is already showing the promise of functioning as an electronic wallet. It is the purpose of this

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now