Best Espresso in the Neighborhood

One area of marketing I've focused on in this blog is the idea of congruency and authenticity. You should deliver an authentic experience, congruent with the image that your company and/or product represent.

I was surprised yesterday to see on the door of the Starbucks in downtown Silver Spring, a sticker saying "Best Espresso in the Neighborhood." This immediately raised a number of questions in our group, none of them positive for Starbucks.

1) We're not really part of a neighborhood, at least, not with connotation they're searching for. Downtown Silver Spring has been gentrified. The street this particular Starbucks is on, includes Potbelly, Noodles & Company, Barnes & Noble, Cake Love, a kebab place, Ben & Jerry's, and a few more chains.
2) Everyone knows Starbucks is a huge chain. Clearly, it's not a homemade sticker, of a small, beleaguered coffee shop, trying to assert its position in a competitive marketplace. They're a big brand - "Starbucks - we're the biggest coffee buyer in the world, and we bring the best coffee to you" would at least line up with who they are at this point.
3) The sticker implies a certain type of atmosphere... Maybe a small group of devoted coffee fanatics toiling away in search of coffee nirvana. This location, on the other hand, typically has a high percentage of high school students flirting with each other, crowding the store, and ordering drinks that likely contain a higher percentage of sugar than coffee.

What's interesting about this particular store, is that the people working it, are some of the nicest you'll meet in the chains locally, who manage long lines with panache. "Starbucks - good people getting you your coffee quickly" would work better :)

Starbucks - thanks, now get out

The Washington Post had an article about Starbucks booting some homeless people who liked to buy coffee and hang out. What's interesting is the changes they've made in the newly remodeled Starbucks near my house, clearly intended from an ergonomic standpoint to look great to people who just get their coffee and walk out, but to discourage anyone from lingering. In the picture to the left is what used to be a seating space with 4 or 5 standalone tables. Now, there's a section of high backed chairs with tabletops anchored in front. It looks nice, but it puts you at an uncomfortable angle leaning back - an awful angle, if you were going to type on a laptop. The other chairs are very uncomfortable after a few minutes... In the back, where there were originally comfy couches, they have a similar approach, with chairs that are now standalone, and lean back. I wonder if there's been a corporate directive of some sort, since the store was new enough that it didn't really need to be remodeled, to try and change the brand experience as people come through.

Starbucks sales

Ever wonder how much in sales the Starbucks in your neighborhood plaza has? I had a fun conversation today, and heard some interesting facts for a November. Gross sales are a little over 100k. Brewed coffee is 15% of that, Espresso drinks 60%, and 10% is bakery sales. And, about 1% in music sales, so probably around 3 CDs a day. If you figure an average drink is $3, that's 166 coffees a day, and 688 espresso based drinks. If they're open 14 hours a day, they're averaging over one coffee drink a minute. :)