Ch. 18 Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Previously, we found out that Starbucks does not stress about aggressive advertising in order to win customer or boost up sales. Besides using advertising and PR, companies such as Starbucks use Sales Promotion, which is less expensive and more controllable, to push immediate turnovers.

Starbucks has placed different types of Sales Promotion across the country and other nations with hopes of motivating more customer to purchase, especially in times of economical hardships where people are less likely to purchase. The coffee company uses all kinds of different sales promotion. For example, Starbucks offered any of their breakfast sandwiches for $ 2 when purchasing a regular cup of coffee last week. Customers in Seattle, Miami or Chicago who have bought something in the morning at Starbucks were able to buy any cold drink for $2 after 2 pm (Premium). Sampling is another form of promotion that Starbucks uses. For instances, the coffee company gave away free coffee or samples of their new petites. Also, "Happy Hour" is where a specific drink is offered for half of its original price. Coupons or " Buy one and get one FREE" are frequently used tactics at Starbucks as well.

The coffee house usually uses different deals in each region to reflect the regional variations in the manner customers take their coffee . For instance, when Starbucks offers free coffee in NYC at 4 pm, they might offer the same coffee at 8 am in the morning in London. With the awareness of each customers "coffee habits" and each specifically chosen sales promotion, Starbucks shows its major customer related concern which is typical for the company. Starbucks simply knows its customers. This relationship is also reflected in personal selling. The staff at Starbucks is not only well trained in providing advice and information about the products, but they also know how to build a intimate relationship to each customer in a individual way. CEO Howard Schultz stated that the company does not believe that brand sustainability can be achieved only through advertising and sales promotion. How Starbucks builds its personal relationship to each customer is the companies key which makes thousands of them so loyal.

Starbucks designed "Duetto Cards" especially for their loyal customers in order to make them even more loyal by benefiting them (Loyalty Marketing Program). The card is a combination of a credit card and a re-loadable Starbucks card with which customer can collect points. When enough points are collected, they can be convert for any product in the store.