Why is Starbucks one of the OGs of CX?

Why is Starbucks one of the OGs of CX?

Hot.

Sweet.

Satisfying.

Pick-me-up.

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Is there anything better than a glazed Krispy Kreme donut fresh out of the fryer?

(I could argue that my donuts are better, but that’s a discussion for another time.)

You know what goes well with a glazed Krispy Kreme donut? Coffee.

Personally, I like my coffee light and sweet (it’s a NY thing, IYKYK). And I’m really grumpy in the morning until I have my coffee.

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Coffee has been on my mind a lot lately because I’ve been doing a deep dive into 星巴克 .

Not because Starbucks has been in the news recently, but because I am genuinely curious about the history behind what got them to where they are today.

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Starbucks is often spoken of in CX circles as one of the OGs of Customer Experience.

“The Starbucks Experience” was created to “develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time.” Everything the company did was intended to give customers a positive experience while purchasing a premium-quality product.

However, there have been a few times in Starbucks’s almost 40-year history when it has lost focus on customer experience. Each time, Howard Schultz , the company's first CEO, returned to get the company back on track.

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In his first book, “Pour Your Heart Into It,” Schultz said he’d “be devastated if, twenty years from now, Starbucks achieved the penetration, the presence, and the recognition we aim for at the expense of our core values.” That was in 1997; Schultz remained CEO until 2000.

  • Well, Schultz came back as CEO in 2008 because he heard from others and saw the deterioration of the customer experience. In a now-infamous leaked internal memo to senior leaders, he said, “…we have had to make a series of decisions that, in retrospect, have [led] to the watering down of the Starbucks experience, and, what some might call the commoditization of our brand.”
  • Schultz stepped down as CEO for the second time in 2017 but returned as the interim CEO in 2022. At that time, Schultz acknowledged the company had become too focused on efficiency and transactional metrics, eroding the personal connection Starbucks was known for.
  • In 2024, in a widely publicized LinkedIn post, Schultz expressed his disappointment AGAIN in the erosion of the customer experience. Schultz criticized senior leaders for focusing too much on data instead of customers, not spending enough time in stores, and being transactional instead of experiential.

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This all leads me to some questions…

  • How has Starbucks retained a positive halo of customer-centricity for so long?
  • Does Starbucks deserve this reputation despite its missteps, which have been publicly acknowledged multiple times by Howard Schultz?
  • Can a company as large as Starbucks deliver customer value and value to shareholders simultaneously?
  • How successful do you think the new CEO, Brian Niccol, will be in bringing back the Starbucks “magic”?

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What do you think? I would love to read your thoughts in the comments.

Want to talk about it IRL? Let's meet for donuts & coffee! ????

[email protected]


MK Marsden

?? Unlock Profitable Customers with AI Insights | Double Your Sales & Marketing Impact Fast | Proven Team with $Billions in Client Growth | Keynote Speaker All Things B2B

3 个月

Such a good question Beth. I think Starbucks long term CX success is a combination of ingredients. Yes they do care about their customer even when they mess up. 2) they generally hire enthusiastic people 3) the product is reliable....Mr Shultz came in when they forgot that CX is multiple pillars not one thing. And financial growth without good CX is not a great business

I really don't like what the future has in store for Starbucks. At least not insofar as they can regain some of their CX magic. In the time since they abandoned the third place strategy to transform stores into volume-driven mobile pick-up points, coffee lovers have found an abundance of local cafes offering up incredible coffee just waiting in the wings with the ambience, personality, and experience they perhaps used to love so much about Starbucks. From a customer perspective, the experiential void has largely been expertly filled by others. Starbucks may wish it could claw some of it back, but I don't think customers anywhere really need them to anymore.... And I mean seriously, their drip coffee consistently rates worse than McD's... what are they even doing?? https://tinyurl.com/yckffce6

回复
Ryan Rael, CCXP

Helping Businesses Operate Smarter, Scale Faster, and Serve Customers Better | Driving High ROI Through CX Optimization, Tech Solutions, and Leadership Development | Certified CX Professional & Front/HubSpot Admin

3 个月

Loved this! Such a great breakdown. Thanks for doing this. I look forward to them every week.

Harry Hynekamp

??? ??????Biz & HR Leaders: Elevated Fan, Guest & Customer Experiences Start with You (And Culture!) || 21 Yrs Exp || Keynote Speaker || How-To, And How-to-Think || Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, Let’s Have Brunch

3 个月

Roxie and I prefer Dunkin. Why the Halo? Few today deliver experience so not hard to stand out. Landing on the moon, that’s hard. Excellent CEX isn’t.

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Edward Murphy

CX Exec & Thought Leader || Complex Problem Solver || Tough Question Asker || Unabashed Truth Teller

3 个月

I do love a hot gooey Krispy Kreme. How has Starbucks retained a positive halo of customer-centricity for so long? Maybe because there are so few examples I do believe they deserve the reputation as they were an industry disruptor and innovator. They are a great case study for their CX success and failures - the next chapter to be written by Brian Niccol will make the brand a true CX success story or just another Wall Street kiss up.

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