The Starbucks Story. How the brand changed the world

You cannot deliver a brand that customers like unless your own people embody your brand

Customers want to know what a brand is going to give the world in return for the cash they hand over for a product.

For a brand to have growing power, it needs to be a social animal; it must have the ability to bring people together.

starts with a commodity product – coffee beans – and invests them with extraordinary added value by creating an experience that transcends the simple act of drinking an unnecessary beverage.

People enjoy working with a company that they perceive as having a soul.

: “In business, the front room is what the world sees: in our case, the coffee, the stores, the style, the brand. But the back room is where we win. The efficiency of the back room is really what’s made Starbucks a financial success.”

Coffee is the world’s second most heavily traded commodity, after petroleum. Its economic power was apparent to the World Bank, which had encouraged many poor nations to move into coffee growing

Starbucks is a phenomenon. A very successful and surprising one. Perhaps that is why it arouses antagonism and envy among many people, while inspiring affection and loyalty among many more.

You know a brand has really arrived when it sneaks into everyday consciousness like that.

1. Start with your own people: they are the real link to consumers. Exceed the expectations of your people and you will automatically exceed those of your customers.
2. Have strong values that you stick to and know yourself by. Then take decisions according to these values.
3. Ensure there is no gap between your brand values and your actions. Change your actions to fit your values, not the other way round.
4. Keep things fresh by reinventing, but never tamper with the core of what you do.
5. Reach out to communities, making emotional connections between the people who work for you and the places where they work.
6. Remember that every detail matters