Ted,

We'll have to wait and see. Although I admire both Dell and Starbucks for reaching out to customers, I am skeptical that this tool will return Starbucks to greatness.

I would be surprised if customers submitted ideas that employees are not already aware of. When I worked at Starbucks, we counted on the store partners for those ideas, because not only are they aware of what customers want, they know what will work and what won't.

I don't mean to be negative, but neither Dell nor Starbucks need more ideas; they need to better do what will make customers happy and create great experiences. It isn't about which ice cube they use; it is about customer experiences.

"It isn't about which ice cube they use; it is about customer experiences." Exactly, Lewis. I guess the question is: will Starbucks be able to turn things around by taking customers' comments to heart? Will it help them to deliver better experiences? We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, the company really needs to go back to doing what they did best when they were so successful. The romancing of the customer via coffee bean was magical once, wasn't it?

"It isn't about which ice cube they use; it is about customer experiences." Exactly, Lewis. I guess the question is: will Starbucks be able to turn things around by taking customers' comments to heart? Will it help them to deliver better experiences? We'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, the company really needs to go back to doing what they did best when they were so successful. The romancing of the customer via coffee bean was magical once, wasn't it?

Thanks for adding very valuable insights as always, Lewis. Especially as a former Starbuckian.

I think that this is a brilliant and necessary move for Starbucks.

With our economy slowing, people are watching their spending more carefully. As a luxury brand, Starbucks is already seeing the limits of their growth.

Creating an online starbucks will not only tap the collective intelligence of starbucks zealots, but it will also create a sense of community and heightened customer interaction.

Nice post!

Thanks,
Vi Wickam
Zello Partners
http://www.zello.us
Online Marketing for Real Business

Vi,

The idea of launching this web site will create a sense of community among Starbucks devotees. It will be interesting to see whether this leads to innovative ideas or a return to some of the aspects that made Starbucks great in the eyes of its customers in the past. Dell was in trouble when it launched its IdeaStorm site and this has led to direct innovations per customer insights with some success. It wasn't a bad idea for Mr. Schultz to tap Mr. Dell's experience and knowledge of this before launching his own site, was it?

Thanks for weighing in, and for your registering your approval of my post, Vi. I appreciate it.

Ted, one of the key takeaways of this post is the addition of "ideapartners" to the mix to facilitate conversations and "listen". SBUX isn't just providing a message board for ideas and rants, they are deliberately interacting with customers, and teasing out the best ideas.

Too often, an attempt like this to create a community involves giving customers a place to mix it up with each other, but leaves the company as a passive observer. Active engagement with customers is important to advance discussions and make customers feel like they've been listened to.

As I stated in my post, Paul: "To give Starbucks credit, the company is now showing willingness, even an eagerness, to solicit ideas from, and listen to customers."

That ought to be the first thing Starbucks does in regard to its new site. However, I do think that good ideas might emerge from dialogue among the brand's devoted followers, as well. Engaging the customer directly in conversation as well as monitoring conversations among customers and perhaps jumping in--as you suggest--is the way to go. I would also add that listening is the first step. Implementing sensible innovations as a result of those conversations is crucial, otherwise why would customers bother to make suggestions?

This new tool has to be put to good use. Passivity will be the death of it, otherwise. Thanks for pointing that out, Paul. I appreciate your input.

Great post Ted. I manage the Salesforce Ideas product line and helped launch the Salesforce IdeaExchange (ideas.salesforce.com). If your readers want to learn more about these types of communities and the impact they are having take a look at our blog.

http://blogs.salesforce.com/ideas/blog_index.html

Terrific, Jamie. Nice to hear from someone who is instrumental in the program for Starbucks. We'll be happy to check out the blog. Any early indications on how this is going yet? We do know that a customer idea or two has already been implemented with great success. You are, no doubt, considering others right now. Any feedback or insights you can share with us would be appreciated. . .

Thanks for checking in with us, Jamie. Please feel free to add your thoughts as the conversation continues.

Ted, this sounds very interesting. But if one considered idea is the card to order and save time, maybe Starbucks did not get the fact that this does not sound as an experience.
Starbucks can't be about get your cup of coffee and bring your ass out in 30". This is something McDonald's style.
I understand that coffee culture is different between Europe, and Italy mostly, and US. But Starbucks built its image on a European approach to coffee experience.

Gianandrea,

Welcome back to the Fix and to my posts! Your insights and comments are always on target and they've been missed. I got a chuckle out of your McDonald's reference. Too funny.

You're so right when you state that "Starbucks built its image on a European approach to coffee experience." That means that implementing any idea that doesn't go back to creating that level of experience for the customer will be a failure. Starbucks had better make sure that any changes it adopts aligns with the image, culture and experience it wants to enforce in the minds of its customers.

Great stuff, Mario. Loved it.

Apologies, Gianandrea, for calling you Mario. I must be in need of another Starbucks drink!

Ted, I forgive you....
But only because your "welcome back" was so warm.

Grazie, amico. I am very pleased to hear from you again. Your comments are a blend of humor, wit and great insight. It's always nice to hear from you. Now all I have to do is remember you're not Mario!

I think the idea is good but what Starbucks really needs is some good old fashion competition -- that will drive innovation!

Hi Levon,

When it comes to coffee shops, Starbucks has a ton of competition already. If there are more and more operations coming on or expanding, it's probably because other chains see that Starbucks has gotten away from what it does best. That means there is opportunity in the marketplace. If Starbucks gets back to romancing the customer and romancing the bean, it might regain its stature. If not, it will continue to lose steam--no pun intended.

You're right about one thing: competition works to keep everybody on their toes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Levon.

It's a great concept. But not for the "wisdom of crowds" that the project inspires, but more for the fact that you can't complain about something if you had a hand in it's creation!

Hi Eric,

You and I agree and disagree. I don't see the interchange between Starbucks and its customers as a way to glean "wisdom" from a crowd. But I do think engaging in direct conversation with consumers can lead to significant insights to help the company fix the problems it has with its business. Having said that, I do agree that if a number of customers take the time to weigh in and clamor for particular changes, they can't complain if they don't like them once they're implemented.

Thanks, Eric, for adding a good exclamation point to this conversation. I appreciate it.

Ted ... fyi, the Splash Sticks idea cannot be considered a quick win from the MyStarbucksIdea site. This idea, as I’ve been told, had been used at Starbucks locations in Japan and was in the pipleline to be introduced to locations in North America months before the MyStarbucksIdea website launched.

Since Starbucks has dipped its toes in the online conversation waters, I’d like to see these “Idea Partners” participate in the conversations that are happening OUTSIDE of the MyStarbucksIdea website. Notice how it was someone from SalesForce and not Starbucks that commented on your post. I’ve yet to see a Starbucks “Idea Partner” post comments on the StarbucksGossip blog or any other blog where people are passionately discussing all things Starbucks.

While I applaud Starbucks for evolving its corporate culture to embrace outsider ideas, I’m not convinced it needs them. To Lewis Green’s point, Starbucks doesn’t need new ideas to course-correct its ship — the company needs to execute better on their current ideas.

I would always concede that you and Lewis, having been insiders at Starbucks, have a better understanding about this than any of us could. I get what you're saying: more valuable info might be gleaned from outsiders' blogs than the company's own site. Still, if the Starbucks web site pulls in devoted customers, I think their insights might have value. So, I'm not convinced that this doesn't have some merit.

Executing current internal ideas is fine if they will work. Do you happen to know what their current strategies are? It might be helpful if you could shed more light on this. For my part, I think they've strayed too far from their core values over the past few years, and that has gotten them into trouble. My question is: why don't they get back to the basics that made them what they were? What was wrong with the old strategies that built an empire?

Ted ... I've dissected Starbucks from all sorts of angles on the Brand Autopsy blog.

My initial take on the SBUX "Transformational Agenda":
http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/2008/03/starbucks-trans.html

My take, along with MP Daily Fix contributor Paul Williams, on solving the major issues SBUX faces:
http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/SolvingStarbucksProblems.html

Plus, there are countless other posts sharing insights about how SBUX does its thing:
http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/on_all_things_starbucks/index.html
*********************
Ted, you asked us questions, I'd like to hear from you as well.

* What's your take on SBUX only participating in the online conversation when its on their soil?

* What's your take on the lack of the ability to comment directly to the Ideas In Action posts from SBUX?

* What's your take on how the Idea Partners have participated in the conversation with their comments?

* What's your take on the potential "quick wins" from the ideas already generated from the MyStarbucksIdea website?

Thanks, John, for sharing these posts with us that effectively encapsulate SBUX plans going forward. Interesting commentary on these plans, as well. . .

My take, as you requested:
*Starbucks initiating any customer conversation for the first time, is a plus; on their own soil or not.
*Having asked for customer ideas, and then responding to specific ones in the "ideas in action" section, Starbucks ought to be open to further comments in this section.
*The Idea Partners' responses are widely varying. Some are predictable, some a bit condescending or trite, and others are pretty good.
*I think some of these ideas have merit, while others don't. The act of opening up to converse with the customer is the important thing.
It would be a smart move if Starbucks allowed its Idea Partners to join conversations on these other sites, as well. If they aren't yet, it probably signals they're not being allowed to go outside their own site.

Whether customer input leads to good, actionable ideas from the site or from some other source, or not, I don't think we should disparage this attempt. You know, some companies never reach out to talk to their customers, John. It's a shame others do it only when they get into trouble, but better late than never.

Thanks for adding so much dimension to this conversation, John. I appreciate your input and your great knowledge on this subject very much.

Hi Ted,

At the end of the day, its about consumer experience, Interacting with them and implementing their suggestions is an excellent measure.
(This reminds me of Korn the Band,that has hardcore dedicated followers just because they involve their fans for so many things, be it designing the album cover or shooting a video for a new single)

In fact, these Co.s could have started lot earlier if they had taken inspiration from them.

Cheers..

Varun Badhwar

Varun,

Exactly. All of Starbucks marketing efforts, including the new web site that enables customers to suggest ideas has to lead to better customer experiences in the end, or it's not worth doing. The reason Starbucks has lost business is that it got away from giving customers the experience they came to Starbucks for in the first place. Let's hope they can right the ship.

Thanks for adding to the conversation, Varun.

Yes, I think the ideas website has the potential to change business strategy within Starbucks. What's important is how Starbucks responds to customers, is it really just a conversation, or does something actually happen? If something happens not only will an individual customer be happy, but Starbucks will gain from the changed perception of many other customers.

On your second question, Starbucks should react to suggestions whether they act on them or not. In fact if Starbucks cannot resolve an issue, it is far better to acknowledge this fact and explain why changes cannot be made. An open conversation in this way will add credibility and trust will follow. I've seen this work for other companies. I wrote a case study about Macromedia a few years ago, and in that story, Macromedia came back to a customer who made a suggestion with a negative resolution, because the solution would have made the situation worse. The customer's reaction was positive and gained Macromedia respect, credibility and links from from the customer's blog.

That silo question is an important one. Many companies have taken an eco-system approach to social media adoption, this is some what inspired by the cluetrain manifesto. As long as a company has a coordination team, a central team the company should do okay. Dell took the overall dedicated approach and look at their success.

I think that anytime a company listens to its customers, it is valuable. The company needs to take those ideas, refine them internally and put them into practice. We created www.brainstormexchange.com to give companies of all sizes and even non-profits, an easy to use, free or very affordable solution to solicit and collect ideas from customers, suppliers, employees, and other companies. Consider this an invitation to take a look at what listening to your customers can do for you.

Ted ... thanks for going beyond reporting what SBUX is doing online to offering your HMOs (hot marketing opinions).

Like you, I think any online conversation between a company and its customers is good.

However, I just see too many ways SBUX could do their MyStarbucksIdea program better. Just after it launched, I offered the following idea on how to improve upon what SBUX is doing.
*******************
Instead of opening the customer suggestion box floodgate, which is exactly what MyStarbucksIdea is, I would have started by taking a much smaller step and simply layered on a blog-like component to their existing website. On this proposed company blog, Starbucks could ask customers focused questions about their ideas on improving various aspects of the Starbucks business.

For example, a potential Starbucks blog post could read something like…

”When we launched the Starbucks Card in 2001, we had no idea it would be accepted by so many of our customers. 15% of you purchase all your Starbucks stuff on the Card. That’s amazing! Thank you. We want to “thank” Starbucks Card users even more. Please share your ideas on how we can reward you for your continued devotion to Starbucks.”
*******************
More here:
http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/2008/03/my-starbucks-id.html

Thanks for giving us some very well articulated input, John. Your reference to the Macromedia case study is very helpful, too. I agree that customers should be acknowledged and thanked for their input, whether their ideas have merit or not. Furthermore, if someone on the Sbux team takes the time to explain why a specific idea that several people are advocating, isn't a good one, and does that in a tactful manner, it ought to win the company points.

Lastly, I would say that Sbux has taken some pains here, and while the program may not be perfect, it has some merits. Dell has been successful with its program and if Sbux makes some changes to theirs as they go along, per the suggestions of people like John Moore, who are intimately familiar with the company, it could be a win-win.

Thanks for weighing in, John. Much appreciated.

Interesting web site, Robert. Thanks for sharing it with DF readers. I hope they'll be checking it out in detail to get some ideas of their own.

Marketing isn't a one-way street; customers have to be part of companies' efforts to innovate their products or services if they truly want to be successful. It's hard to have give and take unless marketers open up conversations with their customers. As Lewis pointed out, front line employees have valuable insights because they interact with customers and talk to them every day. Blogs can also be helpful when customers feel free to give their opinions, but the company has to be open to those communications and talk, too.

I see what you're saying, John. Your idea to use the original Starbucks site and add a blog to it is a good one; it enables customers who already use that site to express their opinions. Better yet: it thanks them for their business. Still, I'm not convinced the flood gates still wouldn't have opened since the company has legions of hardcore fans. Whether their ideas are feasible, adopted or not, at least the customers feel they can "talk to the company" in a more direct way. Being asked for input makes customers feel that their voices might be heard. Now that they have, it's important for Starbucks to show them that they have been heard. Sometimes I think the customer just plain wants to be listened to, and I don't think they always expect something to come of their ideas, either. We just want to be acknowledged as human beings. We also want to know that companies appreciate us and our business.

Thanks, John, for offering so many great insights on this post. I appreciate it.

Finally Howard is listening to his customers. There was a time when the innovation was fresh as a result of being new. Now that you really really have to differentaite and offer relevent products you better listen to your customers. Competition will continue to heat up and the days when extensive expansion was providing the growth, it's now time to listen and do some really really good strategic and tactical marketing and product development.

A very interesting discussion so far. I live in market # 103 or 104 in the USA. We call it Fort Wayne Indiana.

I have witnessed and discussed with others the Starbucks invasion to our city a few years ago. My own Coffee Shop experience began when I met my wife 8 years ago and she introduced me to the overpriced specialty coffee experience. Over the last 5 years, I visit coffee shops much more frequently, and there is one thing that all have except Starbucks, and that is Free WiFi. Today there are at least a dozen Starbucks in town, and yet the local coffee shops are doing well.

If Starbucks can wrap it's head around the total experience factor, such as the drink, and the environment together, then they will be on the right track again.

Competition has been heating up for Starbucks right along, Richard. That, along with the fact the company has deviated from what it does best--and what made it so great--have been key problems for some time now. Listening to the customer is important, and returning to relevance is key if Starbucks is going to be able to get back on track.

Thanks for adding your insights, Richard. Much appreciated.

You've hit the nail squarely on the head, Scott: "If Starbucks can wrap it's head around the total experience factor, such as the drink, and the environment together, then they will be on the right track again."

There was a time when Sbux customers loved the whole experience of watching their favorite coffee drinks being whipped up in front of their eyes. They loved the homey atmosphere. They felt at home. Once the coffee shops got away from romancing the customer and the coffee making process; once it began to address the long line of waiting customers as a "herd", perceptions definitely changed. Their response was to hurry up the process, but they hardly engaged in the romance aspects that had made Sbux the fabled "third place"--you know--not home, not the office, but the third place where customers could come and stay a while, getting away from the two other constant places in their lives. If they returned to that, I'm not sure whether offering free Wifi would matter as much. . .but maybe I'm wrong.

Thanks for sharing your insights based on your personal experiences over time, Scott. That's very relevant.

Ted, thanks for your response. I have a friend that owns a couple coffee shops in town and has franchises all over the area, to the point that he is neck and neck with Starbucks as far as # of locations.

Yet he is suffering from the same problem that Starbucks has, a lack of consistency in the experience. Some places are drive up only, others are in a gas station, but the best ones offer the whole experience that we've been talking about.

Last summer when my wife and I traveled to a resort area in Ohio, we went looking for a good cup of coffee. We finally found a Starbucks in the middle of a grocery store produce section!

As far as Free Wi-Fi, Nearly every coffee shop besides Starbucks that I've been in has it and there is always someone besides myself using it.

As I write this, at this moment there are 14 people in this coffee shop, 7 are on a laptop.

Perhaps this will change in a few years with the growth of the mobile web via cell phones.

You're a very observant person, Scott. . .you must be a marketer! Businesses of all types face challenges when it comes to being consistent and true to their core identities. Consistency takes hard work and an almost fanatical commitment if businesses are going to pull it off year after year. If they don't, though, you can clearly see what happens. Coffeeshops, as well as other service-intensive hospitality businesses, generally experience quite a bit of employee turnover. That can wreak havoc with great customer service, and again, being able to deliver consistently positive experiences for the customer. Corporate mandates to speed up service, sans any romance, can also work negatively to detract from the experience. . .as we can see in the case of Sbux. When customers are paying the kinds of prices they do at Sbux, they expect great service, positive experiences and a lot of romance for their buck. Per the company's new idea-generating site, they may also capitulate and offer free Wifi. . .we'll see.

Great conversation, Scott, and I thank you.

What I notice most about this discussion of Starbucks is that everyone posting seems to drink coffee. I don't drink coffee, but the dessert flavor I love most is mocha.

I've never been in a Starbucks. Perhaps it needs to expand its customer base in a way that is consonant with its principal product -- coffee. Maybe Starbucks needs to tell me why I should stop by.

You raised an important issue, Barbara. Starbucks tried to compete in the breakfast food business, which has been a bust for them. The company might explore other logical adjuncts to its booming coffee drink business that might resonate more with consumers. To your point: mocha or other coffee-flavored desserts might be well-received. As is the case with everything else, test markets could be used in various markets. Also: Sbux has a perfect opportunity to query customers, if it chooses to, on its new web site, to solicit feedback on the idea. Before the company tackles any major new intros though, it has to fix its core problems, which are significant. Doing anything less will result in failure.

Once the company fixes its issues for its core customers, it can reach out to potential new customers like you with new products and be in a much better place to do it.

Thanks for sharing your idea with DF readers, Barbara. I appreciate it.

I think the idea is excellent. Just like in the book Wikinomics this is an idea about using collaboration and leveraging people's willingness to contribute for free to something that interests them or they care about.

From what I can tell this is just one of many changes happening at Starbucks. At least they are trying new things and are going back to their core competencies.

-Nathan
http://www.HiYaYa.com

You've stated it very well, Nathan. I agree with you that customers' input should not be disparaged. However, as others have pointed out in their comments, for this to be effective, Starbucks representatives should engage in dialogue with the customers who post ideas on the new site. While many of the ideas won't do anything substantive to rejuvenate their business, they still should be acknowledged with respect. And, as you point out, this is only one avenue Starbucks is using to try to get back to what the coffee purveyor does best.

Thanks for weighing in, Nathan. I appreciate it.