Starbucks’ digital marketing strategy is a powerful and influential force in the industry. Coffee remains a popular beverage globally, and Starbucks has surely hit the bullseye on how to market it. This multi-billionaire brand is an inspiration for multiple marketing strategies. In this article, we will dissect how Starbucks can help brands build a strong email marketing campaign.
Starbucks’ Approach Towards Personalised Customer Relationships
Mobile App and Loyalty Program
Starbucks’ mobile app has helped the brand build long term loyalty with its customers. From mobile transactions to building an ecosystem of personalized loyalty incentives, Starbucks’ approach demonstrates the intersection of technology and customer loyalty.
The customer wait time was reduced by 50%, post the introduction of the app in 2011. Customers that are waiting for their morning coffee can be quite impatient, and Starbucks found a way to help them!
Key benefits like menu browsing, customisation, digital payment and order pick up, the app aided the increase of the brand’s efficiency.
Loyalty members contribute to 55% of U.S. company-operated sales.
Customers can enjoy Star Accumulation, Rewards Redemption, and Exclusive Perks all in one seamless experience. Features like these helped improve customer retention by 40%. Incorporating this information into email marketing can be beneficial as customers will automatically trust the brand emails and engage with them.
Customized Offers & Birthday Rewards
Starbucks provides customers with personalised offers and special rewards like a free drink or dish on birthdays. This is a stellar way to make the customers feel special. Starbucks Rewards has over 34.3 million active U.S. members.
By doing this, the brand has built an emotional connection with its audience, and they will keep coming back for these experiences.
Exclusive deals encourage non-members to participate and sign up as well. Emails can be carriers for these offers and be used to notify them.
Personal Touch in Communication
Starbucks doesn't just sell coffee, it creates a unique experience for its audience. As customers love being seen and heard by our favourite brands. Starbucks takes notice of this and ensures a warm and personalised touch in its communication.
Be it personalised offers and deals, or baristas remembering regular orders, the brand has curated its own communication style that sets it apart from competitors. Personalized offers and rewards have increased consumer spending by 15%.
Data-Driven Customer Insights
Data-Driven customer insight has surely helped boost Starbucks brand value by a huge margin. Leveraging data with organic customer relationships can work wonders.
These insights can be utilised to optimise inventory, predict demand and even recommend drinks. This technology has helped reduce wastage by 10%.
What Businesses Can Learn From Starbucks?
Listen and Learn From Your Customers
Social listening and paying close attention to your customers can provide huge returns. Starbucks implemented changes in their star-based loyalty program based on customer complaints.
The initial system resulted in exploitation of the system, and the brand took notice. They swiftly implemented a new system that prevented customers from taking undue advantage of the program.
Build a Strong Sense of Community
Customers deeply value community. The feeling of belonging to a strongly knit group of people that value the same product is very rewarding. The brand welcomes its customers into a space that allows them to build a community together.
Create Urgency with Limited-Time Offers
Creating Urgency matters because it helps drive action. Customers feel a sense of motivation to interact with the brand and get their money’s worth. Who doesn’t want to save money or get their favourite drink at a discount?
A time- sensitive environment can push for more sales and also boost customer visits and online orders.
Automate and Streamline Processes
Starbucks brings in automation to streamline its processes by incorporating inventory management, supply chain optimization, automated espresso machines and much more. This helps reduce waste, improve speed and give customers a valuable experience.
How Starbucks Inspires Email Marketing Strategies
Use Customer Names
Opening an email with your name on it feels personal, relevant and engaging! Not only does this technique grab attention among customers, but it also drives higher open rates.
Personalizing emails boosts engagement and also feels less like mass marketing. Customers feel a genuine equation with the brand.
Make Emails Valuable
Spam emails are always an inconvenience. Customers are already bombarded with multiple robotic emails. Starbucks set an example on how to be different from the crowd, and give customers a refreshing experience with emails.
Relevant emails can help your audience remain engaged and invested in what your brand wants to communicate.
Segment Your Email List
One size fits all is probably going to fall flat among consumers. Instead, using different emails for specific groups can be a better strategy. Messages tailored to different behaviour and demographic can help boost engagement.
For example: New customers can get introductory emails while long-term customers receive loyalty offers.
Encourage Community Engagement
Building a close-knit community that gravitates towards the same brand and products can help bring in more customers in the long run. These existing community members will encourage non-participants to join in as well!
Automate Where Possible
Incorporating automation ethically can help reach thousands with no manual effort. This can help cut costs and time, enabling the brand to spend time and money on other aspects of a marketing campaign.
AI can help save time and track customer behaviour. This can help create tailored content and improve personalisation as well. Automation also helps track performance and brands can refine their strategies accordingly. Automation can drive revenue and save time and effort.
Conclusion
To conclude, Starbucks has tailored its marketing strategy in a unique way and while it can be seen as a major competitor today, it is also a power house of lessons. This brand not only teaches us marketers new ways to step up their game, but also comes up with new strategies. Multiple elements can be used to improve a brand’s email marketing campaign, and Starbucks is a great example!
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