Starbucks Corporation: An Examination of the Marketing Mix

This report provides a detailed analysis of the marketing mix employed by Starbucks Corporation. It examines the four key components: product, place, promotion, and price (the 4Ps). The report highlights how Starbucks strategically uses these elements to position itself in the market, build a strong brand image, and drive sales growth. The product section discusses Starbucks' coffee and tea offerings, including seasonal products and flavor variations. The place component explores Starbucks' distribution channels, including cafes, coffeehouses, and online platforms. The promotion section focuses on the company's communication strategies, such as word-of-mouth marketing, advertising, and promotional campaigns. Finally, the pricing section examines Starbucks' premium pricing strategy and its impact on brand perception. The report references multiple academic sources to support its analysis, providing a comprehensive understanding of Starbucks' marketing approach and its effectiveness in the competitive coffee market. The report also touches upon the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Starbucks' marketing strategies.

Marketing
Starbucks Corporation applies a marketing mix (4Ps) that aims to support the position of the
company in the industry and increase the sales of the products offered. The marketing mix
can be identified as a strategy that forms the marketing plan of a company and it contains
four major components which are product, place, promotion and price (The 4Ps) (Thabit &
Raewf, 2018). Starbucks is considered as a company that has been using these components
very effectively to market its products and create an effective brand image. Starbucks is
considered as the strongest coffee brand in the market and its marketing mix supports the
company’s brand development and international growth. Starbucks constantly changes its
marketing mix in order to respond the strategic market changes and compete with the other
companies in the sector. Such marketing strategy helps Starbucks to evolve its different
business operations to achieve sustainable market position against its competitors (Haskova,
2015).
The 4Ps of the marketing strategy allows the company to effectively position its products in
the market. In the case of Starbucks the main products are beverages such as coffee and tea. It
is essential for Starbucks to apply a suitable marketing mix combination to ensure that the
right products are promoted at the right places at the right price (Chang, 2020). Under this
scope, it is essential to examine the marketing mix for coffee and tea products of Starbucks.
Product
The “product” component” of the marketing mix mainly focuses on the services and products
offered by the company. It is essential for the companies to alter their products, if needed, to
ensure they appeal to the consumers in the market (Thabit & Raewf, 2018). Starbucks has
been using this component very effectively, as it constantly renews its coffee and tea range by
introducing seasonal products as well as offering additional flavours to its original products.
Starbucks has been constantly innovatively adding new products to its product mix for many
years in order to satisfy the demands of diverse consumer population in the global markets
(Haskova, 2015).

Place
Place is another component of the marketing mix and it determines the venues where the
products will be available for the consumers to access. It is essential for companies to ensure
easy access to their products so that the consumers can purchase them conveniently (Thabit &
Raewf, 2018). Starbucks offers its tea and coffee products at cafes and coffeehouses located
in various parts of the city where the company operates. However, during Covid-19 the
online shopping sites have also become an important venue for Starbucks as they allowed
people to access their favourite coffee or tea by ordering them online. This has helped
Starbucks to maintain its market share and increase its sales even during the Covid-19
pandemic lockdowns (Chang, 2020).
Promotion
Promotion is the marketing mix component that refers to the communication strategies used
by the company to promote its products as an effort to increase its sales. The promotion
involves using effective communication channels to pass on the message of the company to
its target consumers (Thabit & Raewf, 2018). Starbucks prefers to use interpersonal relations
and communications to promote its products. In order to increase the sales of its coffee and
tea range, Starbucks uses promotional mix that consists of communication strategies such as
word-of-mouth marketing, advertising, sales promotions and public relations. Among these
strategies, word-of-mouth stands out as the most effective method for Starbucks as people
tend to buy Starbucks brand coffee and tea based on the recommendations of others who
purchased such products before (Haskova, 2015). Additionally, company uses television
advertising, print media and internet channels to promote its coffee and tea products. Besides,
in some markets Starbucks uses Starbucks Rewards promotion strategy, which involves
giving free coffee and tea to regular customers, to increase its sales (Tsai et al., 2020).
Pricing
Pricing is another marketing mix component that can help companies to achieve market
growth by increasing their sales. Pricing strategy simple benefits from the behavioural

tendency of the consumers to but more expensive products due to the perception of high price
equals high quality (Thabit & Raewf, 2018). Starbucks also uses this strategy to increase it
sales and profit, as its coffee products are positioned more expensive than its competitors.
Because of its high price strategy, Starbucks manages to position its brand as a high quality
brand that deserves the extra cost. However, it is also wort to mention that the company
works hard to maintain the quality of its products to satisfy the consumers. The pricing
marketing strategy is under the scope of Starbucks Corporation’s generic competitive
strategy, which helps the company maintain its premium brand image (Geerddy, 2013).
REFERENCES
Chang, W.J., 2020. Experiential marketing, brand image and brand loyalty: a case study of
Starbucks. British Food Journal.
Geereddy, N., 2013. Strategic analysis of Starbucks corporation. Harward [Електронний ресурс].–
Режим доступу: http://scholar. harvard. edu/files/nithingeereddy/files/starbucks_ case_analysis. pdf.
Haskova, K., 2015. Starbucks marketing analysis. CRIS-Bulletin of the Centre for Research and
Interdisciplinary Study, 2015(1), pp.11-29.
Thabit, T. and Raewf, M., 2018. The evaluation of marketing mix elements: A case
study. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 4(4).
Tsai, P.H., Lin, G.Y., Zheng, Y.L., Chen, Y.C., Chen, P.Z. and Su, Z.C., 2020. Exploring the effect of
Starbucks' green marketing on consumers' purchase decisions from consumers’ perspective. Journal
of Retailing and Consumer Services, 56, p.102162.