Customer Personas & Brand Proposal - Starbucks

STARBUCKS BRAND PROPOSAL & CUSTOMER PERSONAS

Prepared by: Gina Neace COMSTRAT 564 Washington State University, Spring 2017

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

An international corporation, Starbucks is continually striving to find a balance between providing consistency across all coffeehouses and local, unique experiences reflective of the neighborhood and/or town in which they reside. Working with local design teams to create "locally relevant stores that resonate with customers,"1 Starbucks strives to position themselves as a "third place" for consumers; an inviting coffeehouse for people to gather outside of work and their home where they can relax and socialize. This broad but local approach is also applicable to their customers. While Starbucks serves a very expansive audience, their customer personas can be broken down into several subgroups that include, but are not limited to, students, young parents, blue-collar workers, urban living corporate commuters, veterans, and retired folks. For the purposes of this document, we will be exploring the needs and wants of two of Starbucks consumer personas: "Health Conscious On-The-Go Young Adult" and "Working Parents", and how the company is or is not currently fulfilling their needs and wants. In addition to one-on-one in-depth interviews being conducted with individuals within each persona profile, a survey was issued to Starbucks consumers via social media for additional general feedback/knowledge relating to areas of improvement. Based on research findings, the biggest areas for improvement are in expanding food and beverage offerings to include high protein/ low carb/ low sugar options, additional flavors, and organic choices. To address this, I propose STARBUCKS FIT a line of healthy food and beverage options that will rotate with the season.

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RESEARCH SUMMARY:

To first establish which customer personas to focus on, I visited several different Starbucks locations and observed the customers who either came into the store or went through the drive-thru. Additionally, I spoke with shift managers at each location about who they observed their main patrons to generally be.

Based on these observations and conversations, the two personas this document will be focusing on are "Health Conscious On-The-Go Young Adult" and "Working Parents".

One-on-one interviews were conducted with individuals within each of these customer persona with questions focusing on their coffee consumption habits, likes/dislikes surrounding Starbucks and other coffeehouses, their needs and/or wants in relation to Starbucks, and general purchase behavior. Additionally, in an effort to gain further insights as well as demographic information, a survey was issued via social media. Results from the survey were inline with the feedback received during the one-on-one interviews, increasing the external validity of the interviews.

Persona 1: Health Conscious, On-The-Go Young Adult

Specific to the persona "Health Conscious On-The-Go Young Adult", I hypothesized that this audience segment occasionally went to Starbucks due to budgetary restraints, but would be inclined to go more often if a wider variety of healthy food options were available and/or if prices weren't so high. In terms of general spending behavior, it is my assumption that even though price is a main factor in their lack of going to Starbucks, they consider themselves to be spenders (opposed to savers), as they like to be up-to-date with the latest trends and love to live in the moment.

My one-on-one interviews confirmed all of my assumptions. In addition, I learned that drinking coffee at home didn't necessarily mean having drip coffee. Several participants stated that they made flavored lattes at home in the morning and that going to Starbucks was more of a social thing they did on the weekend with friends. Furthermore, while they consider themselves to be spenders, they don't just spend unreservedly and do "consider if this is something I really need."

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Persona 2: Working Parents

Specific to "Working Parents", I hypothesized that quick, friendly service was paramount and that this audience segment was more likely to go to Starbucks in the afternoon during the week for a pick-me-up before picking up the kids versus in the morning (where they would have coffee at home) as well as on the weekends while out and about with their family. Additionally, I hypothesized that this audience segment would actually be less concerned with the stores being kid-friendly and more concerned with the length of the line as they would just be stopping quickly to grab a drink between events/appointments. Based on my one-on-one interviews, my findings were mostly consistent with my assumptions. Like I predicted, lines and/or wait time were more of a concern than stores being kid-friendly as they expect their "kids to behave no matter where we take them." I was also correct in my assumption that this audience segment is more likely to make their coffee at home in the morning and go to Starbucks in the afternoon, however not before picking up their kids (like I hypothesized) but after so that their kids are able to get a treat as well; making trips to Starbucks all the more expensive. Because of this, they wish Starbucks offered more variety in healthier foods as well as lower prices, but this isn't a huge deterrent as they feel like they are supporting a "good, socially responsible company" which ultimately offsets the high prices.

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CUSTOMER PERSONAS:

Persona 1: "HANNAH" ? Health Conscious, On-The-Go Young Adult

For Hannah, every day must start with a cup of coffee. She's mastered the art of making a latte at home before running out the door for work, but on the weekends she'll treats herself to an espresso at Starbucks with friends. Hannah takes pride in being exactly who she is and prefers brands that are akin ? unique and individualistic. She also understands the value and importance of taking care of her mind and body and turns to working out and eating right to ensure she's always the best version of herself. Value always trumps cool and Hannah is willing to pay a little more for quality. A self-professed extrovert, Hannah loves to live in the moment, but struggles to do everything she wants to do and save money. Whether it's something big like going on a trip to Greece or something small like happy hour with her roommate, she knows she has to budget her money if she wants to make it all happen on her salary. She has an entrepreneurial spirit and is driven in her chosen career path, but struggles to understand why she must start from the bottom and "work her way up" and can't just have the career she wants now.

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