Introduction

Starbucks is the largest global coffee house with its headquarters in Seattle. The company has for the last few years registered tremendous growth. The company has had the largest chain ofcoffee shops in most of the major towns worldwide.The company offers a variety of hot and cold drinks to its customers all over the world. Having a good marketing strategy has been critical to the aggressive growth realized by the company (Gia, 2009). In the recent past, the company has realized increase young customers and teens to their coffee shops. The management of the company intends to develop strategy that will help the company appreciate the influx of young customers in their premises.  This has necessitated development of new products that will suit this new group of potential consumers. The paper will have a better analysis of the intended marketing plan for the company.

Objective of the organization

The main organizational objective of the Starbucks Company is to serve and appreciate the young and teenage customers who frequently visit their coffee shop. It is also important to note that the company has great concern for the overall welfare for both the grown-ups and the young customers.  The company intends to have new products that will supplement the current list of products that fits the teens and the young consumer base(Gia, 2009). Currently, the company has few products that fit the young population since most of their beverages got caffeine. It has become necessary for the company to supplement the available milk and hot chocolate with other new drinks of different sizes that will meet better the needs of the teens and younger customers.

The company acknowledges that there is possibility of teens and young consumers getting into these coffee shops without guidance of their parents. Starbucks objective is to have products that suit every age group. It is after the recognition of the company that their shops are of family destinations that requires a variety of products that meets the family demands. This has necessitated the company to create a picture of being a family destination through their marketing plan. The company will strive to ensure that all the age groups in the company get the utmost satisfaction from the company’s products.

Risks

In the spirit of achieving this organizational objective, it is also paramount for the company to realize the possible risks associated with the achievement these of the objectives. For instance, the introduction of new products in the market may be a risky venture to the organization. The introduction of the new products will force the organization to dig deep down their pockets. This is because more funds will be required for research and development of the new products (Wong, & Radel, 2011). There will also be the need for more funds to use in the promotional exercise of ensuring that the existence of the new products is known to the target group. Another risk associated with this objective is possible obsolesce of the company’s products. This is because the consumers may shift their attention to the new products thus ignoring the previous products in the market.

Nevertheless, the company has for several tears enjoyed consumer loyalty which will make it easy for its marketers to communicate of the new developments in the company. It is also of great importance to note that the company has a huge financial base which will make it possible for the research and development exercise to be a success (Gia, 2009). The widespread chains of coffee shops all over the world are an advantage to the company since it will be possible to reach a significant number of new consumers.

In order to achieve the organizational objectives, it is essential for the company to have well defined approaches to their marketing plan. For several decades, Starbucks has been exemplary good in its marketing approach which has enabled the organization to grow from a small shop to the largest coffee shops in the world today. This tremendous growth can be associated with the company’s well calculated marketing strategy adopted by the company.

Appropriate approaches

For many decades, the company has employed porter’s differentiation focus strategy to advance its promotion and marketing agenda. This is a form of marketing strategy where the organization provides a product or service to a particular market segment. The company is currently concerned in developing and marketing new products to young consumer. This will be accompanied by high profile branding and packaging if the products to suit the young population.

For the last few decades, Starbucks have not been aggressively involved in the marketing of its products through newspaper ads and other promotional means; instead the company has been driving its marketing agenda through enhancing the company’s image and reputation. It is for this reason that the company is striving to ensure that its coffee shops remain a family destination that will gain favor with people across all the age groups (Gia, 2009).

Marketing mix

Starbucks have also been able to effectively use the 4 Ps in marketing mix to realize its organizational objectives. The company has strived to ensure that the 4Ps of price, place, promotion and product meets the requirements of the potential consumers. To start with, the objective of the organizations to provide a product that meets the needs of kids and teens. This should be I terms of size, content and satisfaction derived from the product.

The company also has a large network of coffee shops which ensures that the products penetrate as far as possible(Gia, 2009).  The company’s pricing strategy has also been effective thus making the company’s products affordable. The company will also be actively involved in promotions and advertising of the new products in the market. These promotions will be through social media, newspaper ads as well as through audio and visual media. The target group being of young people and the teens, it is likely that the company will use social media and visual programs like cartoon networks to sensitize their target group of their products.

Review and implementation strategy

According to the company’s spokesman, it is clear that the company has high regard to the young customers and the teens. It is crystal clear that the young has become an integral part of the company. It is for this reason that the organization should be swift in implementing the best marketing strategy for the organization. Since the young are frequent attendants to these coffee shops, it is essential that the organization speeds up the development of the new products (Wong, & Radel, 2011). This will make it possible for the new market target to have a variety to choose from. The process of developing new product should be implemented within a period of one year. It should also be important to ensure that vigorous distribution and promotion of the products is carried out to ensure that the products are available in all the outlets. Appropriate action plan by the organizations marketing department is paramount to ensure overall success of the organization. Starbucks should provide tough deadlines to the responsible groups in the organization which will ensure that the overall objectives of the organization are realized.

In order to ensure the success of the marketing strategy, the company must put in place measures to review the performance of the strategy. The organization should set up a team to review and assess the development of the marketing strategy. This task force should advice the marketing department on the developments being realized and what changes needs to be implemented to ensure that all the objectives of the organization are realized. It is the obligation of this task force to assess whether the set deadlines are achieved and give recommendations to enhance the situation.

In order to have a proper review strategy, the task force must be well conversant with the objectives of the organization and the definite action plan towards realizing the objectives(Wong, & Radel, 2011).The review process must start with understanding the current market situation of the organization. This will be essential in determining whether there has been any progress in realization of the organizational objectives. The review process should also be carried out in timely and regular manner which will ensure that the plan is not neglected.  The review process should also be guide by the budgetary allocations of the plan. It is important for the review taskforce to put in mind the budgetary limitations in terms of finances and human capital as they make their recommendations.  The review process can also be carried out in determining whether the sales forecast has been realized which is critical in providing funds for maintaining research and the marketing strategy for the company.

Conclusion

A marketing strategy is a very important aspect in the success of any organization.  However, it is equally important to have the objectives of the organization in hand to ensure development of a successful marketing plan (Wong, & Radel, 2011). The action plan should also be reviewed continuously with minimum period being one year after its initiation. Starbucks have realized major developments over the years due to its proper marketing strategy which has helped the organization to grow from a humble beginning to the current world giant we currently know of. It is also important to hold high ethical and legal standards in the marketing strategy to ensure that the objectives of the organization are upheld (Gia, 2009). Such kind of marketing strategies will be beneficial to both the marketers and the shareholders in the organization.

References

Gia, K. (2009). Marketing strategy of ‘Starbucks Coffe’. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.

Wong, H. Y., & Radel, K. (2011). Building a marketing plan a complete guide. New York, NY: Business Expert Press.

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