STARBUCKS CORPORATION

1. General introduction
Starbucks is a famous coffee brand in the world. Starbucks coffee company is
headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA; In addition, the airline has more than
23,000 stores in 64 countries.(Starbucks, 2021)
History: 
The first Starbucks coffee shop was established at 2000 Western Avenue (Seattle,
Washington) on March 30, 1971 by 3 people: Jerry Baldwin, English teacher, Zev Siegl,
history teacher, and Gordon Bowker, Writer.
Inspiration: Inspired by Alfred Peet, founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea brand, the
founders of Starbucks coffee brand originally purchased green coffee beans from
Peet's. Sometime later, the shop moved to 1912 Pike Place, where it still exists today,
and they also started buying coffee beans directly from the farms. (Starbucks, 2021)

(Starbucks, 2021)
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Over 40 years of establishment and development, Starbucks not only confined itself to
Seattle or the US but even spread beyond the continent, bringing the modern art of
enjoying Italian coffee to other countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa…
The Starbucks coffee brand now serves more than 40 million customers a week and
sells 4 billion cups of coffee a year. Starbucks does not have a franchise policy and
does not intend to do so in the future.

2. Segmentation of Starbucks
“Market segmentation involves dividing large, heterogeneous markets into smaller,
homogenous segments that can be reached more efficiently and effectively with
products and services that match their unique needs.” (Curriculum BTEC, 2021)

Starbucks’ primary strategy for increasing market share in the industry is to focus on
certain market segments. The coffee chain behemoth uses all four segments in terms of
demographic, psychographic, geographic, and behavioral. In the following sections, I
will illustrate each segment that Starbucks employs in considerable detail.
Demographic Segmentation
Age Under 22 23 to 44 45 to 54 Above 55
Gender Both Male and Female
Occupation Almost Employees, Professionals
Students
Income - Middle to High income
Life Stage Single, newly Single, newly Couples with Couples with
married married couples, children, dependent
couples couples with couples with children
children, couples adult children
with adult children
Education Secondary- Graduated
High school,
College,
University
Social Middle, Upper and High class
Status
Geographic  Segmentation

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 Country US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, China and Asia
Pacific region
Area Almost urban and city. Especially in upmarket areas, close to offices, and
nearby a number of college campuses.
Behavioral Segmentation
Benefits Enjoying a Enjoying high- Enjoying high- Enjoying high-
Sought tranquil quality coffee in a quality coffee quality coffee in
atmosphere, a tranquil atmosphere, in a tranquil a tranquil
location to a location to meet atmosphere, a atmosphere, a
meet together together with friends location to location to meet
with friends and family, a place meet together together with
and family, a to work. with friends friends and
place to study. and family, a family.
place to work.
User - Loyal customers, Regular users
Status
Psychographic Segmentation
Personality Desire to try Determined, easygoing, and ambitious people
new things,
determined
Life Style Modern, care about the environment, enjoy drinking coffee, enjoy
collecting, etc.

3. Targeting of Starbucks

 Target Customer of Starbucks: Starbucks’s target customers are middle and high
income class with the desire to buy premium products. Starbucks' consumer base made
up of people aged 23 to 44 and strongly influenced by the urban lifestyle. It is a place
where customers can relax, gather and socialize. This makes them alert about their
quality control and meet high expectations. It requires a mass market approach through
the design of distinct product and marketing programs for different segments.
 Targeting Strategy of Starbucks: Because Starbucks regards the market as a single
segment, they have used an undifferentiated marketing strategy to create and maintain
the marketing mix from their start. The development of a brand that satisfies every

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 consumer is a big issue when applying this target market strategy. It requires a mass-
market approach through the design of distinct products and marketing programs for
different segments. They used their services to achieve this focused approach without
sacrificing quality, and they have succeeded in the business for many years. This is a
reason why it was successful.

4. Positioning of Starbucks

 Starbucks wants to position its brand in the direction of being a quality and premium
brand.

Starbucks coffee chain positions itself as a highly regarded coffee chain with a high
quality and high price, customers will be very satisfied with the money they spend in
order to gain the trust and satisfaction of customers. Starbucks always controls the
quality of its services and products in the most detail. Starbucks wants to differentiate its
brand through the quality of its products and services. The actual proof to prove it is that
in 40 years of development Starbucks has not franchised to any partners. That helps
Starbucks to control the quality in the best way so as not to lose the quality of the
original product or service.

As for the Starbucks’ stores, the stores have a luxurious design and most have a unique
look. Starbucks wants to give customers the best service when enjoying drinks or food
at the store and impress customers with the unique features of Starbucks. In addition,
each employee of Starbucks is carefully selected, the company always focuses on
recruiting qualified employees. For Starbucks, focusing on the quality of the brand to

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customers is the top position. So, with the above proofs, we can see that Starbucks is
going right with its positioning, you’ll get what you pay for.

Based on a detailed study of customer psychology and requirements, Starbucks has

created reasonable product, price, and distribution strategies. Starbucks's marketing
strategy will remain the same as previously, with an emphasis on market expansion and
market share. Starbucks' growth ambitions in Vietnam would certainly stimulate direct
competitors in the beverage industry, such as Highlands Coffee and The Coffee House.
This is where Starbucks stands in the market.

References:
Vi.wikipedia.org. 2021. Starbucks – Wikipedia tiếng Việt. [online] Available at:
<https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbucks> [Accessed 28 June 2021].