Editorial
The Gist
- Individual focus. Tailor experiences to each customer’s unique preferences and behaviors.
- Unique locations. Encourage franchises to add personal touches to enhance customer loyalty.
- Nostalgic vibes. Reconnect with your brand’s origins to revive customer engagement.
You may have heard recently in the news that Starbucks had a little bit of a bumpy Q1. In fact, Starbucks Chairman Emeritus Howard Schultz said recently on LinkedIn, “The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant. The answer does not lie in data, but in the stores.”
Hold on a second, did I hear that right? I think I did, the answer isn’t in the data, it’s in the customer experience? That can’t be right — can it?
In actuality, I wholeheartedly agree with Howard and his approach. In this day and age, the customer and their experience are everything.
Here, let me tell you a story to explain and unravel the lessons learned for customer experience strategies.
A Morning Bike Ride to a Cozy Coffee Retreat
One of my favorite morning activities is to wake up early, before the day starts and the sun rises and take a bike ride to my favorite coffee shop in Austin located at the Carpenter Hotel. A cozy nook inside a trendy, vibey hotel that offers some of the best coffee, music and aesthetics the city has to offer. For me, being able to sit, enjoy some ambiance and aromatic coffee is my daily ritual and therapy — it’s how I like to fill up my cup of motivation and drive for what the day brings.
Ironically enough, this coffee shop sits directly, and I mean directly, across the street from a Starbucks. Even more surprising, each morning this small, no-name coffee shop has way more people sitting inside enjoying their cups of joe than Starbucks does. This demonstrates the importance of effective customer experience strategies.
Related Article: Personalization Plateau: Few Brands Deliver Highly Personalized Experiences
Refocus on Customer Experience Strategies
Why is that you might be asking?
Well, it’s simple. As Howard noted, the small local coffee shop provides more than just good coffee. It offers an experience that tantalizes all the senses in the right ways. It has personality and character, and even, to some extent, a sense of anthropomorphism. I think to myself — this local coffee shop “just gets me,” whereas Starbucks' seasonal-inspired beverages just aren’t my cup of tea.
So, what gives? Well, it’s no secret that Starbucks came from humble beginnings in Seattle. But that humble start offered customers exactly what local coffee shops provide today — culture and vibes. As things tend to happen when a good idea is born, expansion and growth follow. But with expansion and growth, the little details can often get lost. Managing a brand and a franchise on a global scale requires process and uniformity.
But does it really have to be that way? What if big brands like Starbucks allowed its individual franchises to just do their own thing? Is this idea so crazy? I don't think it is.
Howard’s right — Starbucks should refocus its brand on what customers want today, providing an experience that fits them and who they are, as part of its overall customer experience strategies.
Here are three customer experience strategies brands can leverage their humble beginnings to offer exceptional experiences that give customers what they want.
Related Article: Mastering Personalization in Digital Marketing Strategy
1. Embrace 'Customer Individualism'
That’s right, "customer individualism." There’s never been a better time to give consumers experiences that are designed for who they are as an individual, not who a brand thinks they are. Putting the customer in the driver seat of their experience by letting them decide their own journey and path by their behavior will let customers feel and shine in their most individualistic self.
This can be done through advanced personalization efforts that are tied to behavioral shopping and purchase patterns. Find out what your customers are interested in, what motivated them — what makes them, them. Once you’ve found this find ways to support who that customers is through your brand. Eventually, your customers will start to anthropomorphize and humanize the experiences you’re offering helping you to create customers for life.
Related Article: AI in Marketing: More Personalization in the Next Decade
2. Embrace 'Brand Individualism'
You can’t have one, without the other, right? Just like how each customer is unique so is each location or franchise. If your brand does in-fact have multiple locations, encourage each location to add a little bit of who they are into the experiences they are providing.
Listen, I’m all for brand continuity — I get it. But today customers want to experience things that are slightly different from the norm. Create a program within your brand that allows each location to showcase what makes each employee unique. How can that shine through? The quality of the product draws consumers in, but the people that offer up the product are the magnet that brings customers back.
Related Article: Allow Customers to Control Their Narratives for Improved CX
3. What Was Once, Is Now Again
What got your brand to where it is today is exactly what you need to refocus on to get you to where you want to go tomorrow. Sure, with scale and massive growth, the little details can get lost. Spend a few hours each day looking back on your brand’s humble beginnings. What propelled you past your competitors? What inspired customers to try your experience versus someone else’s? More importantly, what kept them coming back?
Focusing on the experiences rooted in your brand's beginnings and bringing those experiences back into the fold today will evoke nostalgic vibes in your customers, reminding them why they choose to do business with you.
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As Walt Disney once said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Ask yourself this: Are you creating experiences for your customers that will make them want to tell their friends? Are you creating something buzz-worthy, leaving your customers eagerly anticipating their next visit?
If not, this is your sign to wake up early tomorrow, go to your local coffee shop and brew up how you can bring back the magic that once was.
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