I want to share two personal experiences that provide simple examples of the face of a Brand–the first positive, the second negative….
One of my jobs at Starbucks was Manager Internal Communications. One day I received a call from a vice president in retail. He told me about a store partner (employee) who tattooed the Starbucks logo on his arm. Never one to resist a good story, I asked our company newsletter editor to get the details.
In the next issue, we ran the employee’s picture, prominently displaying his tattooed logo and a brief article answering the question: Why would an otherwise sane and smart person do such a thing? The answer proved quite simple: He loved Starbucks–he loved his job, he loved the coffee, he loved his co-workers, and he loved the customers. His Happiness Quotient was off the charts, and with his passion for the company, its products, and its services, he was creating a positive Brand image.
On the other hand, on a cold Sunday morning, I stopped at a Starbucks store on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle with my wife and several friends to purchase coffee and something to eat. I overheard one barista tell another that this was his last shift and that he could not wait for it to end so that he could leave Starbucks and get on with his life. Imagine the impression he left with those who visited that day. The Store and District Manager should have let him go when he gave his notice and paid him for the next two weeks. Brands suffer when employees exhibit bad attitudes.
Fortunately for the Starbucks Brand, nearly all interactions with Starbucks partners (employees) produce a positive reaction to the Brand because they exhibit passion for what they do. This does not happen by accident.
Candidates for employment are filtered through the values test to see if they are a good fit for the culture before they are hired. (Some bad seeds are not filtered out, of course, because no system is flawless.) And then they are treated to culture training as well as product and service training regularly.
Is it any wonder that Starbucks boasts one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and has grown from a multi-million dollar business less than a decade ago to a multi-billion dollar one today? Starbucks combines values, The Happiness Quotient and smart business sense to achieve the passion people demonstrate about its Brand.
Brands are built from the inside out. Customers and employees build their perceptions of your business based on the quality of their human contact with your company, not on the quality of your services and products, which they expect to be good. Therefore, every person working within your business, every communication created, and everything you do represents and determines your Brand Image.
According to Accenture’s 2005 annual survey, top executives understand the importance of building the Brand from the inside out. Strengthening the organization’s human capital is the number one issue among executives, and 33 percent rate changing their organization’s culture and employee attitudes as a top-of-mind concern. They know their business and their Brand rest on the shoulders of their people. What those people say and do, the values they declare verbally and through their body language, are keys to Brand Image.
At great companies, employees are hired based on the likelihood that they will fit comfortably within the existing culture. And then they receive hours of training to help them succeed, followed by frequent and consistent communications about their company’s Brand and what it represents. I believe that this internal focus drives success more than any other factor.
Excerpted from Lead With Your Heart, Sell Happiness and You and Your Business Flourish, It’s all about The Happiness Quotient™, by Lewis Green, scheduled for publishing in spring 2007.
Very interesting story about the tattoo, Lewis. I wonder if perhaps people should be hired not just if they fit inside the existing culture, but also if they have something to add that will improve the culture and add value to their fellow employees. Think, again, of Wal-Mart. They definitely need a shot in the arm, and nothing management does is going to change the culture overnight.
The cultures that succeed the best are the ones where the employees believe in what they’re doing. Starbucks communicates that pretty well, I think, whereas Wal-Mart has been having difficulty.
Also, as an aside, I would be particularly interested in your perspective of the difference between the number of U.S. Marines who get some USMC-branded artwork tattooed on their body and the proportion of other services who do the same. Do you think it’s borne of the same motivation as you describe here?
Cam,
As always your insights are right on target. When I was at Starbucks, most marketing and communications budgets were dedicated to employee updates, training, communications, and answering questions. It was the culture to help partners feel as if they had a say in the business, and that is a special feeling.
Now, as you know, I spent 8 years soldiering but am tattooless. My guess is that, especially among Marines and special forces units, tattoos identifying their units or branches represent a source of pride and passion for what they do.
Passion doesn’t have to equate with happinness, although in the business world I think it is one of the keys. But passion, I think, is directly proportional to pride in what one does.
Just thought of this: Tim’s socks are a great example of passion and brand building.
I think the Marines and Special Forces units brand themselves to show that they’re different from the rest of the armed forces. They want people to know that they are different from the rest of the crowd (of soldiers and civilians). Don’t get me wrong, pride in what they do is also a factor. But let’s apply this idea of setting yourself apart to Starbucks…
It’s obvious that employees and customers (me included) love Starbucks. But our culture is becoming inundated with Starbucks stores. One street in Memphis has five locations in a five mile stretch. Consequently, if it hasn’t begun already, Starbucks will become the norm. When that happens, customers and employees will begin to look for a cooler/more hip alternative. My friends and I have already begun to wish that a Caribou Coffee (or some other competitor) would move into the area to offer something different.
Could Starbucks be slowly killing its cool factor by over-expansion?
Michael,
Your question has been being asked repeatedly both internally and externally since at least 1998. I don’t think anyone knows.
The answer may lie in Starbucks primary market: professional women, both active and inactive in their careers, 20 – 45, single or married with children. They want safety, security, a place to get away, lattes for themselves and juices for the kids, comfort, games, a place to read or browse, etc.
Starbucks provides all that in bunches.
My take on Starbucks is that they have decided that they don’t need to be cool any more…they are going for the mainstream, because that’s where the masses are. Of course, I love Starbucks. But it seems that the brand is evolving from cutting-edge cool to mainstream mass. All I can say is…Once they put Coolattas on the menu… I am so done.
As for Tim’s socks….GREAT observation, Lewis. I totally agree.
Ann,
You are their target market, and you are correct–they are appealing to everyone in America who has your emotional and psychological makeup–and that is lots of folks. It is not about cool (and, honestly, it never was).
I was going to comment earlier but I stopped myself because it was about the decline of Starbucks. But after revisitng and reading some other comments I decided to chime in.
Starbucks is starting to feel more like McDonalds than a cool coffee spot to relax. The quality has gone down immensely – speed has taken over the quality and I see and hear a lot of orders being prepared incorrectly. The employees seem to be on a revolving door of disposible, lack luster kids. Starbucks are popping up on every corner and Tucson doesn’t have enough talented people willing to waste their lives slinging joe, no matter what the perks are. (no pun intended)
Sorry to be so negative. I still go to Starbucks once or twice a week but it’s only because it’s literally below my office. In the last few times I’ve been my order has been wrong and the barista blamed the cashier when the barista actually wasn’t listening.
Another time the employees were having goofy adolescent banter over their headsets.
Starbucks needs to stop the mass expansion and revisit it’s employee, customer experience strategy. Sorry but there’s my 2 cents or was it 5 cents more for Frappucinos?
I have to lower my expectations and just get a cup of joe.
I am “USMC branded”, and it was solely based on pride for the job…
I think that Starbucks still has a lot of room just in the US to be the “cool kids” on the block. I recently moved from San Diego to a small town outside of Pittsburgh. Everybody declared that this area was about 10 years behind the rest of the world, and Starbucks is proof of that. We moved here in 1997, and finally our wait is over, Starbucks, (the hottest thing to hit the scene here) just opened their first shop…finally.
“The Store and District Manager should have let him go when he gave his notice and paid him for the next two weeks.”
This reminds me of Starship Troopers by by Robert A. Heinlein.
Heinlein’s vision of the military was a model where it was very hard to get in and very easy to get out.
Values testing and culture class is the “eye of the needle” for new Starbuck hires.
Sending that employee somewhere else where they could be a 10 is exactly what that store manager should have made possible.
By the way, if you have only seen the movie and not read the book — It’s NOT about the bugs!
Great post Lewis; and thank you for serving our country!
Golly, so much to comment on here (Ann, I apologize for this coming novella…).
Lewis- Right on brother! I served time as a barista and was being groomed for management. I came from an uber-hip coffeehouse/ art gallery and had opened another boutique coffeehouse. I was deeply entrenched in the “scene” and thought Starbucks was crap… but I need the cash and got a second job there. Then I fell in love with the place. I have never been treated better by a corporation and quickly came to learn why people would get tattooed with the logo. Seriously, for just 20 hours a week, a part-time employee get sht efull benefits package- that freakin’ rocks! (How’d they get away with the exposed tattoo though- I was told they had to be covered…) Starbuck invests heavily in the employees and it normally shows through the employees.
Tammy- I have to think you are experiencing an anomaly. Seriously. Maybe the District Manager needs to be fired for allowing this to happen. I promise you, what you have seen is not the norm for the company… not at all.
I don’t think they are going to kill their cool for a long, long time- if ever. Like Lewis said, cool was never the goal, but a nice side effect. They will keep an eye on the expansion issue and close stores where needed. That said, there are two stores one block away from each other in my neighborhood… and both are always busy. They still have room to grow and will be smart about it. Every dynasty has a fall from grace though, so it is ultimately a matter of time.
As for the socks… gosh, thanks guys. The folks over at SockGuy are pretty happy with my posts about their socks. I do it because I do believe it is a superior product, but also because they are friends of mine and I enjoy that they are getting the exposure from my comments. Now the posts (the Daily Drive ones) have spawned parody videos (as CK noted in a post on her blog). Due to those great videos, which are a lot of fun, I am running a video contest; the winner gets one of my (Masi) bike frames… but they have to show their socks as well. That’s a key. How cool is that?
Group hug!
Starbucks has expanded and is definately a power company. When any company gets this famous there are those that attack it. When one is in a power condition in business management will expect that there are 20% unhappy customers. There are other coffee houses and those 20% should just go there rather than complain.
Starbucks funded the movie http://www.akeelahandthebee.com/
This is priceless for families to see. I just loved it.
As for the unhappy customers, they should be specific as to the exact store and the exact employee and write that up. It’s not all of them. If those individuals were written up, Starbucks would qualify and correct them I guarantee it.
Happiness is the overcoming of obstacles toward known goals.
Thanks for posting and for being
so loyal to a company.
Kathy
Wow! You guys are amazing. The comments are better than the post. Thank you!
Tammy, I always enjoy your outspokeness, and I think both you and Tim are correct–the available employee pool may not be great in Tucson and the manager at your store is not up to snuff. Tell corporate in Seattle, if you want that changed. They do listen.
Jeremy, thanks for serving Man! We owe you. If you’re ever around Hartford, let me know. I will buy you a cup a Starbucks or a beer.
Michael, you get it! Help unhappy employees find work where they can excel. It’s good for them and good for the business.
Tim, what can I say? Man, you are special.
Kathy, brilliant! I love your thoughtful comment.
Jeremy — Funny that you mention Starbucks making a town feel like it’s arrived… The small town where we vacation in Maine recently acquired a Starbucks — with a DRIVE-THRU window, to boot!! I experienced joy (FINALLY! Decent latte!) followed by dread (UH-OH…does this mean we’ll become the next “discovered” and overpriced spot?
Anyway, the folks who work there are nice as pie…unlike Tammy’s experience.
I was going to tell the manager about the cashier and barista incident, but I never saw them again in the store. So I guess they were both let go. Actually I rarely see the same person twice in that store. It’s on the corner of River and Campbell in the Joesler Center. I do know first hand that it is really hard to find quality employees in Tucson. Everyone has some kind of intense sense of entitlement or or they’re morons or both. I actually don’t usually complain about bad service. I do seek out management when I see someone doing a great job and tell them. So sorry for complaining. I guess I should get a job at starbucks and then pop off.
Interesting stories here. I’m looking forward to the book.
Great article with lots of food for thought. I have just included a reference to it in http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com.
David, with all the smart people participating in this conversation, we could create one heck of a good read.
C.B., Thanks!
Love you all, and I’ll take the beer Lewis.
These examples really show HOW important our employees are to the success of our companies, products and brands. I made all of my managers read this Blog today. The trick really does get down to harnessing the dedication that an employee has. What is it that makes them want to tatoo your brand on their body?
We preach PRIDE to our employees. Pride in everything that they do and know that they are representing themselves, their company and their boss (me). They all know that I will always go to bat for them. I’ve parked cars, run lawnmowers, served tables, cleaned shoes and caddied, and the staff knows that I am willing and ready to jump in whenever is needed. I think that when they see that, it makes them learn more pride in their job and dedication to their employer.
We have a nearly non-existent turn-over, almost unheard of in the hospitality industry, and our employees are becoming happy people.
cheers all, and happy holidays!
Jeremy
Jeremy,
You get it! And your employees and customers benefit because of that. You are my new hero.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
And what you say is so true.
R-A
What a fantastic blog entry. Soooo very true. I have to read it again it’s so good!
I asked my CEO once if he’d get his company logo tatooed on his body as a promotion and he said he would.
I’m willing to bet that we could get one of the employees to do it too if we asked.