THE LAB

In my next several posts, I plan to carry out case studies of how community works in business. Why would a business choose to incorporate community? How does business profit from cultivating community? How does a corporation create community around its product in the first place?

I’ll start with Starbucks, the perfect example of the impersonal, giant, corporate chain threatening to take over the world with its ubiquitous Grande lattes and frappuccinos who suddenly seeks out community…

Last summer there was quite the buz (almost the hyper, jittery buz of some espresso-holic Seattle-ite) about the coffee titan. Starbucks was breaking with tradition and going “undercover,” as an article in the Huffington Post describes the unusual move. For some reason, Starbucks had chosen to open up a new coffee shop that would look nothing like the previously employed, cookie-cutter-recipe cafe that the corporation had already opened up across the world.

Why the change? Why suddenly was the old policy of brand consistency and familiarity overturned for a coffee shop that would effectively look nothing like what we’ve come to know, love, and yes, sometimes hate, about Starbucks?

The answer: Starbucks is looking to incorporate more community into its business model

This new, community based Starbucks store is called 15th Avenue Coffee. It has none of the familiar trappings of your original Starbucks. It serves beer. It wants to have poetry slams. Above all, it’s looking to set itself apart from the Starbucks chain that gave birth to it and actively engage the local community.

To be fair, Starbucks has always sought out at least some elements of community cultivation and corporate social responsibility before going undercover. Its efforts to purchase fair trade coffee, the way it sends nutrient-hungry gardeners (like me) home to garden with leftover coffee grounds, and the company’s employee support system are all efforts by Starbucks to create a positive community around its product.

But unexpectedly individualizing its stores? This is taking marketing to a whole new level. I mean, this was a former multinational tycoon, just another of the faceless chains where you’re guaranteed to get the exact same product at every store. Lack of variety, lack of individuality. This was the model that served Starbucks for years to grow and grow. It brought the business of specialty coffee to center stage. In some cities, it seems there’s a Starbucks on every corner. Expand, expand, expand, but then, bam, Starbucks is getting local!?

But going undercover isn’t the only way Starbucks is cultivating community these days. A quick perusal of their website will show you immediately that community is an integral part of their marketing. To be honest, having never looked at their website before, I have no idea whether or not community has always been so central to their online branding. My ignorance of Starbucks’ marketing history aside, it’s still interesting to note the kind of emphasis they place on community on their webpage.

The Starbucks homepage has a lot of frothy looking cups of coffee on it, personal account information, and a short video about a rewards program. However, there is also links dedicated entirely to cultivating a Starbucks community. They have the usual Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube links. More importantly for our story here is that the MyStarbucksIdea.com, Starbucks V2V, and Starbucks Shared Planet programs. It is through these programs that you really see Starbucks’ efforts to cultivate community coming through.

In the MyStarbucksIdea.com, people obviously have the chance to share suggestions with Starbucks. They create an account, sign in, and join the conversation.

In Starbucks V2V, Stabucks is “redefining community.” It has essentially created an online forum to connect people with other people, actions, and causes to bring good into the world.

Finally, in the Starbucks Shared Planet Program, you’ll find Ethical Sourcing, Environmental Stewardship, and Community Involvement programs. In the Community Involvement tab, Starbucks says:

“From the neighborhoods where our stores are located, to the ones where our coffee is grown – we believe in being involved in the communities we’re a part of. Bringing people together, inspiring change and making a difference in people’s lives – it’s all part of being a good neighbor. And it’s a commitment rooted in the belief that we can use our scale to be a catalyst for change.”

Frankly, I’m impressed. I had no idea Starbucks was trying to be such a catalyst for change, trying to cultivate and engage its community offline and online.

Maybe this new move is towards community cultivation is appropriate. After all, that’s what Starbucks was about originally: a local coffee house that garnered a loyal following and community. Perhaps the ‘powers that be’ at Starbucks understand that the local and individualized is more attractive to a community of people than a chain corporation practically synonomous with McDonalds and other fast food joints. Starbucks does try to give off the sense that it’s all about the finer points in life. Community is one of those finer points.

Ultimately, Starbucks creating community around its specialty coffees and shops through the individualization of its cafes, through its efforts in community involvement, and through its social media programs means that Starbucks is getting to know its customers in a far more intimate manner than ever before. And if Starbucks knows its customers better, it can serve them better, and in the end, better secure their loyalties, all while making the world a better place. What a novel concept!

Up next week: Lululemon: Cultivating Community or Cultivating Cult?

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