Tribal Knowledge (Starbucks)

John Moore

www.tribalknowledge.biz

0)

1) building your business creates the brand. Non-traditional ways of marketing

o opening in their neighbourhood

o opening near their place of work

o sampling at a community event

o hearing a friend rave about the newest and tastiest beverage

o wanting to emulate their favourite celebrity whom the paparazzi captured sipping from a logo’d cups

o a friend remarking to them about a remarkable starbucks experience they had

2) the way to spend marketing dollar is to make better customer experience

3) make the common uncommon. Satisfy wants, not needs.

4) Meaningful mktg – treating customers as being everyday explorers who seek to be interesting and interested. Building preference more than awareness, going beyond capturing attention to soliciting intention, fostering loyalty beyond reason from cust.

5) Brand = reputation management = all the feelings associated with it

6) Create intrigue

o What the specialty coffee category is – teach cust the appreciable differences between canned coffee & specialty

o What specialty coffee does – have cust. Taste/ sample

o What specialty coffee aspires to be – enjoyable

7) Customers will overcome their aversion to higher prices if the product they’re buying is well worth it. Every individual thing is the company’s 1 shot at success. Discounts cause people to focus on price. Low price strategy is for the marketer out of ideas.

8) 3 ways to increase sales

o get new cust. To buy

o get current cust. To buy more, more often – every time they enter they’re exposed to a new sampling or promotional activity highlighting something remarkable happening

o raise prices

9) to determine impact of potential marketing activity

o does the mktg activity respect the intelligence of customers?

o Can we expertly deliver on all the promises made to customers in the proposed activity?

o Will our employees be excited and motivated by the activity?

o Will customers view the mktg activity as being clever, original, genuine and authentic?

 Must answer yes to at least 3

 No spamming (bulk mailouts)

10) Be the best, not the biggest

11) Location – highly trafficked & highly visible location; what impression does the location give the cust? Does it trigger impulse sales? Does it positively benefit what’s around it (other business’)?

12) Describe it using emotional connotations felt with the product; the benefit of the benefit

13) Keep mktg authentic

o Be genuine & authentic – crosswords, complement coffee experience

o Evoke feelings, never prescribe feelings – quotes on cups created start conversation, enhancing experience

o Always say who you are, never who you are not – never mention or compare with the competition, in any way. All focus on yourself

o Stay connected to front line employees

o Deliver on all promises made – pics show imperfect coffee

o Respect people’s intelligence – no signs like “venti = large”

14) Taste maker. Merchandise

o Merchandise quality matches the high quality of the coffee

o Links directly to coffee or to a coffee moment

o Starbucks can make the product uncommonly better by adding innovation and or unique style

o The product offers distribution opportunities outside the starbucks stores, such as grocery stores, online, etc

o Product provides cust “rewarding moments” be it in a starbucks store, in a cust home, at a cust place of work, or while a cust is on the go

15) Excessive marketing spending will only speed the demise of any poorly conceived company. Marketing $$ spent on:

o Adding more unique beverages to its menu

o Adding wireless internet and music listening/cd burning kiosks to the coffee experience

o Adding more comfy couches and more reading tables in its stores

o Adding more partners on staff to increase speed of service

16) Focusing on fewer marketing programs will result in building bigger programs, driving better results. You can be more effective by being more selective.

17) The best companies have their own employees rooting for them. Getting bigger by positioning itself as being smaller can rally customers and employees alike

18) Word of mouth – it’s easier to get your friends to convince you to do something than the TV to convince you to do something

19) Wants – the extras – allow people to gain experiences above their means

20) Don’t lose a single customer. Always say yes. Connect (say hi when they arrive, friendly conversation), discover (needs, if they’re stressed), respond (bring to table if they’re hands are full).

21) Over deliver - Ten minute rule – open 10 minutes before scheduled time & stay open 10 minutes later than posted closing time. Mother with kids, take order at table, bring them complimentary muffin

22) Donate unused or unfresh stuff

23) Community involvement

o Increases employee morale, work performance, & attendance

o Increases employee retention rates

o Increases employees’ leadership skills

o enhances the co.’s reputation

o Improves a publicly traded company’s stock performance

24) Be nice. Be clean.

25) Some actions (pre-ordering, automated systems), while improving efficiency, harmed the experience, and were discontinued in favour of longer lines & wait times. Never shift labour from employees to customers.

26) Provide samples by arriving at regular community events (little league baseball games, boy scout things, etc. Sampling to share, not sampling for sales. Sampling says: we’re not just going to tell you how great our new beverage/sandwich is (advertising), we’re going to prove it to you. Try it yourself, on us. When you offer samples, you become a destination. When you turn into a mom & pop store, you become part of the fabric of the community.

o The way the sample is presented, it’s placement in the store, the time of day it’s offered, the way the person explains the new product to customers – all matter.

o Passive sampling – happens when customers help themselves to a product sample that is sitting on a table or near the main register. Active sampling occurs when a store partner serves samples to customers and engages them in conversation. Active sampling is by far the best way to connect with customers & drive sales

o Blended beverage bingo. Fun for employees.

27) Dedicates a portion of growth to cities with less than 100,000

28) Social lubricant (drink). 5 ways customers experience starbucks

o Ritualistic morning routine

o Meeting place with family/friends

o Professionals using is as an appropriate & comfortable place to socialize around business dealings

o A treat occasion where they will reward themselves with a decadently tasty beverage

o A place to retreat from all the excesses in life & just take a moment to exhale

29) As soon as a customer can beat you in price, all your loyal customers will shop their. Walls talk through sights & sounds, words & music, & energy.

30) Satisfies customers by opening more stores in more places to be convenient to more people. When a store approaches capacity, another is opened nearby (somewhere convenient). The first store takes a hit of about 15%, but is more convenient with shorter lines & wait times

31) Everything matters. Everything will be noticed at some time. Bathroom lighting, music, promo sign at cash, way things are prepared & delivered, way baristas dressed, way beans are mechandised on shelves, hours of operation signs, package design

32) If ppl relate to the company they work for, if they form an emotional tie to it and buy into its dreams, they will pour their heart into making it better.

33) Shared vision/shared fate – 20 + hours of training. Thriving employee community. Hire right/Fire wrong ppl fast. Offer a cup of coffee during the interview to see response.

34) Competitors can replicate products, not people. The best spokesperson for a company is someone who is happy with his job and respected by his fellow employees & peers

35) The purpose of a mission statement is to help make the best, most appropriate business decisions. www.starbucks.com/aboutus/environment.asp

o Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.

The following six guiding principles will help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions:

Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.

Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business.

Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee.

Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time

Contribute positively to our communities and our environment.

Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success.

o Partners are encouraged to question any activity they believe the company is doing which goes against company values; lets employees know the company is listening and reacting to them; should the company implement something suggested, credit is given to that specific person

o Can you understand the mission enough to act on it?

36) Followership –energy should be spent working for decisions instead of against them. Legitimate leadership can exist only when those who are being led choose to follow, rather than being compelled or coerced to; that leaders seek to be servants first and leadership flows naturally from their role as servant.

o Passionate followership is founded upon a willingness and enthusiasm on the part of those being led – if you want passionate employees, you’ve got to serve them first

o Leadership can come in many forms, and anyone who serves the needs and wants to others has the potential to be a leader also

o Store managers taught in day long seminars empathy, listening and authenticity (true to your character)

o Would your employees work at your company if they didn’t need to?

o People quit people, not companies; they leave companies far more often due to bad management than because of bad business management

37) Genuineness (approachable & likeable), conscientiousness (considerate & pay attention to seemingly insignificant details), knowledge (asking questions), involvement. King Arthur flour

38) For hundreds of years these experiences have involved reading, music, culinary experiences, community, self discovery and creative inspiration. Abhor complacency (stay small, always frantic, just b/c you’re a the top don’t stop), resist conservatism (take risks, grow what you have – don’t just maintain it), fight conceit (decisions based on end user customer needs, not internal business needs)

o Solutions, not obstacles; instead of ‘that will never work, we tried it’ – “yes, and…” “yes, and we will need to solve for this issue because last time we did something similar and things didn’t work as expected” – this tells what current concerns are and teaches company history

39) Wait 6 weeks at a new job before speaking up with strong opinions (to learn)

40) Hire passion over experience. It’s better to hire people who can get you where you want than people who profess to have been there before. Place more importance on people who have a mix of verve, candor, can do spirit, and highly likeable personality than they do on people who have years of experience. Experienced people find ways to say “no, it can’t be done” more easily because they’ve invariably tried (and failed at) something similar in a different life; while passionate people, operating under refreshing naivete, will find ways to say Yes and not be inhibited by the ripples of past failures.

41) Someone who is always willing to stick their neck out or go against the grain if it meant avoiding a bad decisions, is always worth it in the long run, even if they are seen as less of a team player in the short run (poking holes in ideas, shooting ideas) Everyone should put their 2 cents, despite their fear of being ostracized. If everyone privately agrees on what to do, but because of fear of rejection by others, they openly agree to do the opposite, managing agreement becomes more critical than managing conflict. Dissent must be welcomed to empower employees and make them active participants. Participation is necessary for meetings; what’s the value you bring if you have nothing to offer.

42) Heated and contested conversations are healthy. All issues from all angles be discussed. Do employees look forward to meetings? Are decisions made from meetings? How productive are meetings? “effective meeting rules” signs to focus & encourage healthy discussion for all meetings

o Have a clear objective

o Follow a focused agenda

o Begin and end on time

o Have a designated leader and attendees who have clear roles

o Foster open, honest discussion

o Communicate next steps and responsibilities

o Fulfill its objectives

43) Organizational chart consists of you and the customer

44) Always measure your comparable job performance

o How much more did you contribute to the success of your company this year compared to last

o How have you gained more responsibility in the past year

o Are you more confident in your abilities to positively impact your company’s future

o Did you lead or participate in more project teams this year than last

o Were you involved in more worth while projects this year

o did you deliver more of your projects on time, on budget and on strategy this year

o do you have more direct reports this year than last

o what steps did you take in the past year to learn new skills

o do your peers have greater respect for your contribution as an employee and as a person this year compared to last year

o have you made more of a difference in the lives of your direct reports or peers this year than last

o do you feel more satisfied personally and professionally this year

 after reviewing this from the previous year, develop action steps in order to set the stage for positively comparing against yourself next year

 figure out how you are going to achieve your comparable performance growth goal

45) Mktg impacts employees. Mktg signage, posters, pamphlets are all exposed to employees more than customers. It can be used to inform and inspire employees. How are your marketing messages perceived by employees. Do you seek feedback from employees on how effective mktg and promo materials are? Customers rely on the opinions of those behind the counter to influence what they buy, do

46) Profits are an outcome of doing everything else right.

47) The only reason to start a new business or product is to change the world

48) Who are the influential people in your company?

o Declare how your business will change the world (even if just a small corner)

o Examine your current marketing programs and determine what needs to be improved, altered, or deleted altogether in order to follow through on your declaration

o Define all the project actions steps that need to be done by when and whom

o Enlist the assistance to influential people within your company who will help you better champion these marketing programs in order to receive the go ahead from the ultimate decision makers within your company

- stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like a customer. Do this by assigning different people within your company the task of spending a day being a regular customer. Have them all buy products from your company and from at least 2 other direct competitors, as well as two unrelated business’. Require them to write up a short report outlining their shopping experiences as they related to how each of their 5 senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste) were (or were not) engaged during each shopping visit. In addition, have them not the 2 main takeaways they experienced from each place they shopped.

- Conduct a postmortem following the shopping experience assignment and discuss the takeaway from each person’s shopping experience. Based off the discussion, compile 3 lists of activities your company should STOP DOING, START DOING, and CONTINUE DOING

- Refine your STOP/START/CONTINUE list by evaluating the feasibility and remarkability of each activity on the list. Discard the unfeasible and unremarkable activities

- Activate your refined STOP/START/CONTINUE list by following steps 3 & 4 listed in the previous uno action steps and you will be o a much better path of memorable customer experiences

o Listen to your employees. Start designing ways in which you employees can submit ideas on how to improve the employee experience

o Respond to all employee submitted ideas. It is unrealistic to implement all the ideas employees send in, but it is realistic (and very important) to respond to every employee who submits an idea.

o Determine how much money your company spent last year on customer focused initiatives (ranging from product development to marketing programs) and compare it to how much the company spent on employee focused initiatives (ranging from training programs to incentive contests to costs associated with employee benefits). If the discrepancy is wide in favour of customers, consider ways to bring about a better balance between customer focused spending and employee focused spending

Sharing is learning

Open oneself up to being judged

Reading list p 241

My story: went there for 2 venti latte’s to see if caffeine had any effect.

Think of every successful business you can and list what makes them successful.

Think of an industry - What is the industry known for; what can be done different

Brainstorm – what is the employee experience – what are the things you’ve talked about – what impressed you – what can they look forward too – what is not offered anywhere else – what will blow their minds – what will make it the place to work – then get their input to take it further.

If using a billboard, no message, just logo.

Use different billboards/bus shelters, etc. to give directions, which in the end lead to the location you want the people at. Just directions. No clues. The curiosity will attract them.

Jobs – section of website

Experience – offer positions for things that need to be done to ppl without pay, but they will get the experience (ex, website, great mktg, etc.) which may lead to a paying job, good resume content, and a solid reference

Have a space for customers to provide you with stories or their experiences.

Should be a business class called: People

Goal: 0 zero employee turnover

Ask in interview “how much do you have to learn” Sometimes people with an abundance of experience have a dearth of humility