Thursday, August 14, 2008

10 Lessons for Small Businesses from Starbucks

Here are 10 lessons you can emulate from one of the most successful American companies in the 21st century, Starbucks:

1. Start with a good business concept.

Starbucks was successful because it was able to come up with a new concept of presenting a coffee house as a gathering place. It is not only a place to drink gourmet coffee but it has also become a center for socialization.

2. Think Big

Starbucks started small but it always had big ambitions. Having a vision that's ambitious will drive the company to continue on achieving.

3. Think Outside the Box

Starbucks pursued clustering, opening stores close to each other, a strategy considered risky by most to increase total revenue and market share. Their risk paid off as the practice help them achieve market dominance quickly.

4. Partner Smart.

Starbucks demonstrated that even a large company sometimes needs help. Through partnerships, Starbucks was able to expand their brand into other products like ice creams and bottled beverages. It was also able to increase it's distribution channels by partnering with bookstores. Strategic partnerships can help you enter new markets and reach a global audience.

5. Create a Unique Experience.

Starbucks was able to create a coffee shop experience that was attractive, comfortable, and even entertaining. In the stores you can find, comfortable chairs, high speed wifi connections, and a unique selection of music.

6. Keep customers happy.

Starbucks' mission statement is "Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time." Every decision management came up with was geared towards fulfilling this mission.

7. Dig deep into customers' wallet.

Although Starbucks' main product was coffee, the company introduced other products like pastries and sandwiches to go along with the coffee to get customers to spend more.

8. Ability to roll out new initiatives.

Starbucks continuously came up with innovations, coming up with new coffee flavors and concoctions.

9. Good Management.

Good management team that come up with winning strategies for the company. The company also takes good care of its employees. Treating each employee as a business partner rather than just an ordinary employee.

10. Diversified revenue stream.

Starbucks was able to genereate income from different sources and not just from selling coffee beverages.


source: http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol144/starbucks.htm

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