1. Strengths
1. Premium brand with strong loyalty
2. Good gross margin (12.6%) and “marketing”
ROI (208%)
3. Ethically sourced coffee, responsible,
community/people driven company
4. Vegan-friendly, non-GMO, organic, seasonal
offerings
5. Rewards and feedback programs
6. Large product variety, customizable, made
in front of the customer
7. Convenient, trendy locations, drive-
throughs, study/hangout room, wifi
8. Products for home use
9. Friendly, personable service
10.Brand-customer interaction, social media
Weaknesses
1. Limited offerings for non-coffee drinkers
2. Lack of healthy options, abundance of
unhealthy options
3. Not much for lunch and breakfast
4. More expensive than competition
5. High dependance on coffee beans
6. Unavailability of seasonal options
7. Hectic, busy, cluttered environment
8. Dependence on suppliers, natural resources
9. Weak following on Pinterest (87.6K), YouTube
(80K)
10.Inconsistent customer-service, non-personal
experience
Opportunities
1. Growing cultural diversity
2. Growing environmental/health concerns
across Generation Z/Millennials
3. Chipotle and its transparency
4. Increasing number of ethical/responsible
businesses (partnerships)
5. Rising coffee demand in South Asia
6. Emerging, undeveloped markets
7. Growth in sustainable farming practices
8. New farming technologies
9. Growing demand for teas/natural drinks
10.Low income communities
Threats
1. Local coffee shops
2. Natural disasters affecting crops
3. Decreasing coffee bean crops
4. Prices of natural resources
5. Decreasing coffee bean crops
6. FDA regulations
7. Growing health concerns
8. Economic slowdown
9. Market saturation
10.Negative effects of caffeine
Methodology: Three teams, each with three students, in a marketing capstone course had about 30 minutes to complete assessment of
a hypothetical client’s, Starbucks, marketing landscape. They were limited to existing knowledge, including information they generated for a
previous hypothetical client, Chipotle, Google Finance data, and Starbucks’ owned and earned media. Their work was summarized by
Bluezzoon and shared with the rest of the class on its social media on September 7, 2015. Image is a courtesy of Starbucks’ Instagram.
Assessinglandscape

2. Competitive advantages
1. Strong, premium brand with strong
loyalty
2. Ethically sourced coffee,
responsible, community/people
driven company
3. Rewards/feedback programs
4. Large product variety, customizable,
made in front of the customer
5. Convenient, trendy locations,
drive-throughs, study/hangout
room with wifi
Positioning benefits
1. Ethically sourced coffee, responsible,
community/people driven company
2. Convenient, trendy locations, drive-
throughs, study/hangout room with wifi
“Coffee with a character”
Value proposition
Brand character
1. Compassionate
2. Responsible
3. Bold
Target customer characteristics
1. College students, mid 20’s
2. Limited income
3. Active, health conscious, community-
oriented
4. Busy, social, enjoy outdoors and relaxing
with a book or music
5. Values friends, family, honesty, worry
about future
Methodology: The same three teams had about 10 minutes to complete assessment of Starbucks’ target marketing, including positioning, as
if its prime prospects were marketing students at NKU. They were limited to information they learned through their marketing landscape
assessment. Their work was summarized by Bluezzoon and shared with the rest of the class via Bluezzoon’s social media on September 7,
2015. Image is a courtesy of Starbucks’ Instagram.
Assessingtargetmarketing

3. $499
Price per “study”
experience
“Coffee with a character”
Value propositionProduct
1. Strong, premium brand
2. Ethically sourced products
3. Large product variety
4. Customizable, made in front of
the customer
5. Vegan-friendly, non-GMO,
organic offerings
Promotion
1. Rewards/feedback programs
2. Desire-evoking posts on social
media
3. NKU community outreach
4. Seasonal offerings
5. Secret recipes/drinks
Place
1. Convenient, trendy locations
2. Study/hangout room with wifi
3. Friendly, personable service
Want to boost 2016 sales by $300,000? Here is how you can attract 418 new customers who would come 3 times a
week, and spend, on average, $4.99 per visit? Offer greater variety in breakfast and lunch options, offer a more
culturally diverse and healthier experience, and engage in supporting causes important to NKU students (low income
families, education).
Methodology: The same three teams had about 10 minutes to complete assessment of Starbucks’ marketing mix as if its prime prospects
were marketing students at NKU. They were also asked to make three recommendations they believed would help Starbucks at NKU campus
to boost 2016 sales by $300,000 generated by new customers. They were limited to information they learned through their marketing
landscape and target marketing assessment. Their work was summarized by Bluezzoon and shared with the rest of the class via Bluezzoon’s
social media on September 7, 2015. Image is a courtesy of Starbucks’ Instagram.
Assessingmarketingmix