Saturday, November 9, 2019
Marketing Creates Customer Needs Essay
Marketing creates customer needs. The following paper will elucidate how consumers are made not born. Marketing entices customers to try new products or do new things that they may never have thought of before. Commercialism is everywhere you turn. From the glossy ads, pop ups on their computer screen, billboards, emails, tweets, radio, television, telemarketers, etc. You canââ¬â¢t get away from advertising wherever you go. The marketers would not be continuing if it was not so successful in getting people to buy more of what they are selling. The following paragraphs will give examples of successful marketing advertisement campaigns and how they were effective. According to Forbes, for advertising to be effective it needs to be: memorable, connect with the consumer by delivering a person meaningful message that tells them how their product would make their life a better place, stand for values beyond the product itself, and be intricately tied to the brand not to be confused with the competitor. (Greewald, 2014). The article gives several examples of successful ad campaigns. First, the Red Bull gives you wings campaign. The ads are inspirational telling consumers if you use our product you will do everything better from studying to doing your job better. It empowers people and gets them to relate to the product. Next, the Beats Dr. Dre advertising campaign. The advertisements tell the consumer that by wearing these headphones you will be able to overcome your critics and be empowered to believe in yourself. They depict athlete Kevin Garnett blocking out his critics and allowing him to focus on positive thoughts and the music he loves. Both advertisements connect with the consumer on a psychological level. They focus on you relating to our needs to do better and finding greatness in ourselves. It is what most of usà tell ourselves every day- donââ¬â¢t listen to the people that are our critics and believe in yourself. Find greatness and believe in yourself sounds more like a motivational s peaker however it works to connect the consumer to the product. According to Forbes both campaigns met all the aspects to be effective. Both these products are not necessary for humans to survive. Both products are considered a want not a need. The advertisers have convinced students far and wide to drink Red Bull because it will help you concentrate more and be successful. We all survived before without these products. They have successfully changed the mindset of consumers who now believe the opposite that they now canââ¬â¢t survive without them. One of the most successful marketing campaigns has been Applesââ¬â¢ I Phones. Hundreds of people stand in line when their newest product becomes available. Everywhere you look people have an I Phone. It is a sign of stature to have the state-of-the- art technology which includes the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer. It has become an item people canââ¬â¢t live without. I lost my I phone for 24 hours and thought I was going to have an anxiety attack. All my personal information, contacts, bank card information is all in the one little phone. I canââ¬â¢t remember any of my important phone numbers anymore because I donââ¬â¢t need to ââ¬â they are all in the phone. They have made it irreplaceable in our day to day living. This is the ultimate in marketing and sales of a product. I lived 36 years without ever having a cellular phone and survived just fine. Now I see 8 year olds with I phones calling their friends and tweeting! Marketing provides a value to business in that it helps showcase their products and engage consumers in purchasing them. The value to society is that some of these products may make our lives easier and we can benefit from them. In conclusion, I believe that marketing creates a need we didnââ¬â¢t know existed until they showed us their fabulous products. They connect with us, make us believe that what they are offering will improve our lives and are necessary for our existence. I agree that marketers encourage consumers to spend money they do not have on non-essential items. So many Americans have credit card debt. The average American household has nearly $7000 of credit card debt as of December 2013. (Credit Card Debt Statistics, 2013). We continue to spend money on things we donââ¬â¢t really need with money we donââ¬â¢t have. It is a vicious cycle for many Americans that leave them broke and in some instances homeless. References: Credit Card Debt Statistics. (2013). Credit Card Debt Statistics. Money-Zine.com: http://www.money-zine.com/financial-planning/debt-consolidation/credit-card-debt-statistics). Greewald, M. (2014, July 10). Secrets of 7 of the Most Effective Ad Campaigns. Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michellegreenwald/2014/07/10/secrets-of-7-of-the-most-effective-ad-campaigns/
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Geography of Arizona & Facts About the 48th State
Geography of Arizona & Facts About the 48th State Population: 6,595,778 (2009 estimate)Capital: PhoenixBordering States: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New MexicoLand Area: 113,998 square miles (295,254 sq km)Highest Point: Humphreys Peak at 12,637 feet (3,851 m)Lowest Point: Colorado River at 70 feet (22 m)Arizona is a state located in the southwestern United States. It became a part of the U.S. as the 48th state (the last of the contiguous states) to be admitted into the Union on February 14, 1912. Today Arizona is known for its varied landscape, national parks, desert climate and the Grand Canyon. Arizona has recently been in the news due to its stringent and controversial policies on illegal immigration. 10 Geographic Facts About Arizona The first Europeans to explore the Arizona region were the Spanish in 1539. In the 1690s and early 1700s, several Spanish missions were established in the state and Spain established Tubac in 1752 and Tucson in 1775 as presidios. In 1812, when Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, Arizona became a part of Alta California. However with the Mexican-American War in 1847, the area of present-day Arizona was given up and it eventually became a part of the Territory of New Mexico.In 1863, Arizona became territory after New Mexico seceded from the Union two years earlier. The new Arizona Territory consisted of the western part of New Mexico.Throughout the rest of the 1800s and into the 1900s, Arizona began to grow as people moved into the area, including Mormon settlers who founded the cities of Mesa, Snowflake, Heber and Stafford. In 1912, Arizona became the 48th state to enter the Union.Following its entry into the Union, Arizona continued to grow and cotton farming and copper mini ng became the states two largest industries. After World War II, the state grew even more with the development of air conditioning and tourism to the states national parks also increased. In addition, retirement communities began to develop and today, the state is one of the most popular for people of retirement age on the West Coast. Today, Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the U.S. and the Phoenix area alone has over four million residents. The total population of Arizona is hard to determine however because of its large number of illegal immigrants. Some estimates claim that illegal immigrants make up 7.9% of the states population.Arizona is considered one of the Four Corner states and it is best known for its desert landscape and highly varied topography. High mountains and plateaus cover more than half of the state and the Grand Canyon, which was carved over millions of years by the Colorado River, is a popular tourist destinations.Like its topography, Arizona also has a varied climate, though much of the state is considered desert with mild winters and very hot summers. Phoenix for instance has an average July high of 106.6ÃÅ¡F (49.4ÃÅ¡C) and a January average low of 44.8ÃÅ¡F (7.1ÃÅ¡C). By contrast, Arizonas higher elevations often have milder summers and very cold winters. Flagstaff for ex ample has a January average low of 15.3ÃÅ¡F (-9.28ÃÅ¡C) and a July average high of 97ÃÅ¡F (36ÃÅ¡C). Thunderstorms are also common throughout much of the state. Because of its desert landscape, Arizona mainly has vegetation that can be classified as xerophytes - these are plants like cactus that use little water. The mountain ranges however have forested areas and Arizona is home to the larges stand of Ponderosa pine trees in the world.In addition to the Grand Canyon and its desert landscape, Arizona is known as having one of the best preserved meteorite impact sites in the world. The Barringer Meteorite Crater is about 25 miles (40 km) west of Winslow, Az. and is almost one mile (1.6 km) wide and 570 feet (170 m) deep.Arizona is one state in the U.S. (along with Hawaii) that does not observe Daylight Saving Time.To learn more about Arizona, visit the states official website. SourceInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Arizona: History, Geography, Population and State Facts- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0108181.htmlWikipedia.com. (24 July 2010). Arizona - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Not All Iron Is Magnetic (Magnetic Elements)
Not All Iron Is Magnetic (Magnetic Elements) Heres an element factoid for you: Not all iron is magnetic. The a allotrope is magnetic, yet when the temperature increases so that the a form changes to the b form, the magnetism disappears even though the lattice doesnt change. Key Takeaways: Not All Iron Is Magnetic Most people think of iron as a magnetic material. Iron is ferromagnetic (attracted to magnets), but only within a certain temperature range and other specific conditions.Iron is magnetic in its à ± form. The à ± form occurs below a special temperature called the Curie point, which is 770à à °C. Iron is paramagnetic above this temperature and only weakly attracted to a magnetic field.Magnetic materials consist of atoms with partially-filled electron shells. So, most magnetic materials are metals. Other magnetic elements include nickel and cobalt.Nonmagnetic (diamagnetic) metals include copper, gold, and silver. Why Iron Is Magnetic (Sometimes) Ferromagnetism is the mechanism by which materials are attracted to magnets and form permanent magnets. The word actually means iron-magnetism because that is the most familiar example of the phenomenon and the one scientists first studied. Ferromagnetism is a quantum mechanical property of a material. It depends on its microstructure and crystalline state, which can be affected by temperature and composition. The quantum mechanical property is determined by the behavior of electrons. Specifically, a substance needs a magnetic dipole moment in order to be a magnet, which comes from atoms with partially-filled electron shells. Atoms will filled electron shells are not magnetic because they have a net dipole moment of zero. Iron and other transition metals have partially-filled electrons shells, so some of these elements and their compounds are magnetic. In atoms of magnetic elements nearly all of the dipoles align below a special temperature called the Curie point. For iron, the Curie point occurs at 770à à °C. Below this temperature, iron is ferromagnetic (strongly attracted to a magnet), but above it the iron changes its crystalline structure and become paramagnetic (only weakly attacted to a magnet). Other Magnetic Elements Iron isnt the only element that displays magnetism. Nickel, cobalt, gadolinium, terbium, and dysprosium are also ferromagnetic. As with iron, the magnetic properties of these elements depends on their crystal structure and whether the metal is below its Curie point. à ±-iron, cobalt, and nickel are ferromagnetic, while à ³-iron, manganese, and chromium are antiferromagnetic. Lithium gas is magnetic when cooled below 1 kelvin. Under certain condition, manganese, the actinides (e.g., plutonium and neptunium), and ruthenium are ferromagnetic. While magnetism most often occurs in metals, it also occurs rarely in nonmetals. Liquid oxygen, for example, may be trapped between the poles of a magnet! Oxygen has unpaired electrons, allowing it to react to a magnet. Boron is another nonmetal that displays paramagnetic attraction greater than its diamagnetic repulsion. Magnetic and Nonmagnetic Steel Steel is an iron-based alloy. Most forms of steel, including stainless steel, are magnetic. There are two broad types of stainless steels which display different crystal lattice structures from one another. Ferritic stainless steels are iron-chromium alloys that are ferromagnetic at room temperature. While normally unmagnetized, ferritic steel become magnetized in the presence of a magnetic field and remain magnetized for some time after the magnet is removed. The metal atoms in ferritic stainless steel are arranged in a body-centered (bcc) lattic. Austenitic stainless steels tend to be nonmagnetic. These steels contain atoms arranged in a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice. The most popular type of stainless steel, Type 304, contains iron, chromium, and nickel (each magnetic on its own). Yet, atoms in this alloy usually have the fcc lattice structure, resulting in a nonmagnetic alloy. Type 304 does become partly ferromagnetic if the steel is bent at room temperature. Metals That Arent Magnetic While some metals are magnetic, most are not. Key examples include copper, gold, silver, lead, aluminum, tin, titanium, zinc, and bismuth. These elements and their alloys are diamagnetic. Nonmagnetic alloys include brass and bronze. These metals weakly repel magnets, but not usually enough that the effect is noticeable. Carbon is a strongly diamagnetic nonmetal. In fact, some types of graphite repel magnets strongly enough to levitate a strong magnet. Source Devine, Thomas. Why dont magnets work on some stainless steels? Scientific American.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Compare and Contrast Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Compare and Contrast Religion - Essay Example Christian Theism is the classical Christian philosophy of 17th century. The word ââ¬Å"theismâ⬠is derived from the Greek word ââ¬Å"theosâ⬠which means God. The word was first used in this context by Mr. Ralph Cudworth in the 17th Century. Literally speaking, Christian Theism is, in fact, propagation of Monotheism which means that there is only one God. Many argue that Christian Theism is based on Judaism, the Pagan Gods and the old Greek philosophy but this is disputed and, to a large extent, a matter of opinion. The first two attributes, when read together gives an apparently contradictory yet interwoven understanding of God. Theism defines God to be personal ââ¬â which means God has characteristics of a human being. Hence God thinks and acts like a human being, takes interest and is involved in the activities of his creations ââ¬â that is our universe and us, human beings. At the same time, God is also perceived as infinite and transcendent and therefore one can never truly understand or comprehend his nature. As Sire (2004) frames it ââ¬Å"This means that he is beyond scope, beyond measure, as far as we are concerned........All else is secondaryâ⬠(Sire,ââ¬Å"The Universe Next Doorâ⬠,2004).Theism also defines God to be omnipresent ââ¬â and thereby always aware of what is happening in this world. God is, hence, present in everything but not the thing itself. And God is also perceived to be good and thereby all his actions are for the good of human beings. This philosophy throws up some interesting thinking and concepts. This inherently assumes that the world is logical and has a co-relation between cause and effect. God has created an underlying order into the universe and therefore the world and the universe is meaningful. Though not a defined Christian Theist, perhaps the best expression of this concept was uttered by Mr. Albert Einstein when he said ââ¬Å"You believe in the god who plays dice, and I in complete law and order
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Elements of US Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Elements of US Culture - Essay Example Elements of US Culture In other words, for free expression of ideas, there is need of a proper social order. In addition, it can be said that allowing free expression of ideas helps reduce violence to a great extent. When people are allowed to opine publicly, they are less likely to resort to violence or armed agitation which, often, are the ways of the suppressed. Thus, the American society, from the very beginning, believes in liberalism including freedom of speech, freedom of press, equality under law, equality in all governmental provisions including education and health care. Though this freedom of thinking and expression resulted in better individual performance, and thus better overall growth, there are certain areas that witnessed a trend that is in sharp contrast to expectations and thus, having a negative impact on society. The first one among them is the family structure. Looking into the way American families have changed over these years, one can see a rather grim picture of situations. The tr aditional concept of family included a breadwinning father as the head of the family, a caretaking mother and a few children. mother and a few children. The family, in the traditional context, involved a number of basic relationships including biological, emotional, social, and economic relations. People used to turn to their families whenever they wanted physical, economic or emotional support. Thus, families acted as the basic institutions that passed culture and traditions to the future generations. However, the social changes in the twentieth century resulted in a lot of changes in the way families operate. Some such changes are active participation of females in the paid labor, medical advances resulted in effective birth control, and increasing divorce rates due to the general fall in morale. Though almost three quarters of American citizens still live in family setup, the nature of the family is totally different from that of a traditional one. Recent studies reveal that only less than one-tenth of families fit the traditional definition of family In addition, more than half of the families have no minor children; and yet another serious concern is that only twenty percent of total births are out of wedlock (Fraser 1989). Traditionally, women were raised to become dependent housewives and they did not work outside home. They were caretaking wives and the economic safety of the family was the total responsibility of the breadwinning husband. In sharp contrast, in the present generation, most females in the child-bearing age are employed. Yet another surprising trend visible is the decline visible in the employment rate of men. In addition, there are more grandparents than grandchildren for the first time in the history of America. The trend is pointing towards a social situation that is totally contradictory to the traditional concepts. Despite these shortcomings, America is looking forward to a bright future through technology and education. The present situation of education in America is rather grim. It is a tough task for the American youth to join a school or college as they have to go through the tiring task of proving why they are joining the school through essays, tests and recommendations. Furthermore, it is possible for Americans to judge the ethnicity and economic status of a student
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Sonoco HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Sonoco HR - Essay Example The industryââ¬â¢s shift towards a more involved supplier that offers end to end packaging solutions made it hard for SONOCO to compete directly with its competitors until serious change are implemented in the company. In response SONOCOs leadership implemented strategies designed to control cost that is juxtaposed to its new business model of generating top line growth. The strategy involves retooling its consumer packaging divisions to meet the large demands of clients that is sensitive to consumer taste or preferences. The new business model practically granted more autonomy to the General Managers of each division in terms of managing his or her own talent pool despite the new business modelââ¬â¢s demand for more cross functional cooperation to respond to the dynamic customer needs. SONOCOs corporate culture is family-oriented, paternalistic, collaborative, and team oriented. Due to its long profitable history the company in its entirety tolerates underperformance so long a s the company can afford it. But the employees are also extremely loyal to the company with majority of them enjoying tenures of more than 20 years. The companyââ¬â¢s employees pride themselves of being able to set the phase in the packaging industry. The Issues Cindy Hartley was hired to assist SONOCO to support the strategies of DeLoach the companyââ¬â¢s CEO that is aimed at: (1) increasing GMs accountability for talent management; (2) distribute HR talent and support more evenly across the companyââ¬â¢s divisions and make HR systems and process consistent; and (3) to optimize HRââ¬â¢s ability to provide customize strategic support to the GMs businesses. These priority areas are designed to align the organization with the dynamic demands of the packaging industry. After conducting a comprehensive assessment of SONOCOââ¬â¢s HR needs, Hartley identified three priorities that she needs to resolve at once to respond to the challenge posed by DeLoach. First, the mechanic al and arbitrary compensation and performance-management systems needed to be linked and made consistent and more accurately reflective of employee contributions to company performance. Second, the company needed to create an employee-development process to refine employeesââ¬â¢ skill and to identify and develop deficient skills. Third, develop succession planning to identify and prepare the next generation of leaders was urgent. It would be prudent to ensure that whatever changes and initiatives that will be implemented by the organization it will also change the corporate culture and psyche of SONOCO to sustain its continuous implementation (Devero, 2007). The onus should be geared towards continuous improvement through iterative compliance to dynamic policies and procedure of a learning organization (Senge, 2006). The transformation should also be complete that it will positively influence or impact the correct core values of the organization (Whiteley & Whiteley, 2006). Analy sis of the issues SONOCOs steady growth through acquisition of other companies over the years has contributed to the redundancy of several departments across divisions when the acquired companies were eventually consolidated to their respective divisions (DePamphilis, 2009). One of these departments is the HR department. Operational imperatives or requirements that call for expedient filling of positions to meet orders from customers also contributed to
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Starbucks Expansion to China
Starbucks Expansion to China Our group would like to present Starbucks story in China. Starbucks is one of the largest coffee chains in the World, ranked 631 in Global 2000 list of Forbes. The company has a unique style and atmosphere in their coffee houses. We chose China because it is the worlds most populous country with over 1.3 billion people live there and second-largest country by land area. After 1978, the countrys economy were underwent dramatic changes which involved such relief as permission for entrepreneurs to start up their own business and opening the country for foreign investment. It is obviously that Starbucks managers decided to take advantage of such opportunity to expand their business into new region. To evaluate Chinese market the company used several steps of analyses. The initial screening process helped the company answer the question: who might be interested in buying coffee in China? To introduce the Starbucks brand the company begun to distribute coffee for free to guests in several Beijings hotels in 1994. This initiative indicated that there was a strong demand for their products, particularly among foreigners in China. Local people, who strived to imitate the Western lifestyle, also showed interest for coffee drinking. In addition young generation were enchantment by brands and products from the West. These factors led Starbucks managers to learn and understand more about business climate in that Asia country. Next step for Starbucks was to determine financial and economic conditions of China. Companys managers were aware that Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) continuously grew approximately 9 % on an average and a GDP per capita was US$3.800. All these factors led to rising income of middle class. That was undoubted advantage for entering Chinese market for Starbucks. At the third level of screening Starbucks faced with political restrictions. China is highly bureaucratic country with difficult processes of getting permissions and sanctions to start and run business. In order to avoid these challenges the company built and maintain firm relationship with Chinese local partners as well as government officials. In addition, Starbucks Soong Ching-Ling Foundation received $5 million donation from Starbucks to support education in countrys poorest regions. The fourth level of screening involved socio-cultural forces. It showed the biggest challenges for Starbucks, because of the old tradition of tea drinking in China. At the beginning managers didnt know how to accustomed Chinese to drink and appreciate coffee. To acquaint employees and Chinese executives with coffee drinking experience Starbucks provided different training programs for them in which they learned more about coffee and Starbucks culture. The same way the company taught customers about different flavors and types of coffee. Another aspect was Chinese shopping behaviour which was different from the US market. People in China spent main slice of their monthly budget on foods. This also led to success for the company. The fifth level of China screening was focused on competitive forces. As we mentioned before China is a tea country and the share of coffee was low. Little or no competition for Starbucks was considered as an advantage. Chinese people were familiar only with one international brand which was Nestlà ©s Nescafe. However, Nescafe is not a coffee house like Starbucks. As regards local competitions, it was a well-known Chinese brand Li Shen and Japanese brand Zhen Gou Coffee. Having taken into account all the factors of international market assessment which was done by Starbucks we think that it was right decision to enter that market. Despite of all the risks of Chinese economy and vacillating attitudes toward The West culture, there is no doubt that consumption of coffee in China will continue to grow. As a result Starbucks will benefit from it. Question # 2 Although Starbucks encountered several challenges in the process of entering into Chinese market. Starbucks had successfully expanded its business in over 20 large or medium sized cities of China, and opened about 560 storefronts in these cities by 2012. The astonishing achievement owes to its careful marketing assessment and various marketing strategies in different periods. These strategies mainly refer to 2 different modes of entering foreign markets: licensed agreement and joint venture. Licensed agreement In 1998, Starbucks adopted the mode of licensing agreement to license its Chinese partner (Beijing Mei Da), a wholesale distribution company to supply coffee beans to some selected hotels and restaurants. Starbucks realized that local partners can have the best understanding of local cultures customers and some related laws. and they have already established good relationship with local government, so it was easy to obtain the permissions and sanctions required to start and operate business in a bureaucratic country like China. Moreover, Starbucks could also maintain a high standard on the control of production, and achieve a ideal revenue in Chinese market. So licensed agreement was a optimal option for Starbucks to enter into a booming Chinas market in the mid-1990s. Joint venture A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new asset by contributing equity. Starbucks formed a joint venture with different partners at different times when it entered into Chinese market. Starbucks achieved considerable knowledge about the Chinese market conditions and then began to open Starbucks stores in China. The company adopted a strategy of having three different partners to enter different regions in Chinese market. In September 1998, Starbucks entered China under a licensing agreement with Beijing Mei Da Coffee Co.Ltd, which was as their first partner. In 1999, Starbucks formed a joint venture with the Taiwan based Uni-President Group and opened stores in Shanghai. In 2000, Starbucks entered into a joint venture with Mei-Xin International Ltd, it also called Coffee Concepts Ltd. It managed the operations in the region of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau, Guangzhou, and other parts of southern China. Based on our market assessment, there are some advantages for Starbucks with joint venture to enter Chinese market. First of all, Starbucks choose a good local partner to form a joint venture which can help it better understand the local laws and negotiate better with the authorities. It is beneficial for Starbucks to obtain required permissions and sanctions so that it can be opened easily. Secondly, local partners know Chinese market condition better than Starbucks; therefore, it is effective and efficient method for Starbucks to adopt a few localization strategies to satisfy different regions of customers. Last but not least, joint venture is a good way for Starbucks to reduce operation expenditure, and it also helps to reduce risks in Chinese market. Question # 3 In many ways Starbucks has changed their business strategies while operating in China. We could simply identify those changes from the case study, library sources and other sources.We have described those changes in the following paragraphs. We want our customers to recognize that were not coming to China just to make money, we are coming to China to build an enduring company that they can trust and they can view as one of their own. (Howard Schultz) Starbucks modified their menu and tried to localize its brand name by selling some food items according to the choice of the Chinese people and selling different kind of tea. They also changed their marketing and pricing strategies based on needs for the Chinese market. Our entry into Beijing is about serving people, building global relationships, and celebrating local cultures over a great cup of coffee. That is the heart and soul of the Starbucks Experience. We are excited to be working with our partners, Beijing Mei DA Coffee Co. Ltd., who shares our values and business philosophy. said Howard Behar of SCI When Starbucks started in China, one of the biggest challenges it faced was to make the consumers accustomed to drink and appreciating coffee. Arrocding to analysts, compared to other countries in which Starbucks operated this task was more difficult in China because of the age old tradition of tea drinking in the country, where coffee was seen as nothing less than a kind of Western invasion. Starbucks, like any other multinational company, had to go through the dilemma of choosing whether to follow Chinese traditional tea or take a big risk of following Starbucks culture of promoting premium coffee. The company chose to opt for its own culture and sell the idea of the Coffee drinking experience. Starbucks started by projecting the stores as a place for social gathering. The stores were also larger in area than the ones in the US, as the idea was to make the customers feel at home, relax and spend more time there. Similarly the company took initiatives to teach the customers about the different types of coffees and how to distinguish between flavors. The customers were given some samples to smell as well as sip and then describe their experience. At times if the customers did not enjoy the sample, the store employees asked them to come back again later for another tasting session or they offered them some other drink that they enjoyed. They also spoke to the customers about the positive effects drinking coffee. For example, they spoke about how drinking coffee helped to change their mood and how it was good to have coffee in the morning. On the other hand as Chinese people were accustomed with tea drinking, Starbucks other business strategy was to promote the benefit of coffee drinking to its customers and distributed free samples of coffees. The company also changed its normal store size to project itself as a place for social gathering. Localization Strategies: Normally Starbucks follows a high standard technique to maintain its stores worldwide. But in the case of China it adapted some strategies influenced by local culture and market conditions to gain Chinese peoples trust and confidence. Small changes were made in the texture, menu and store layout just to match with Chinese culture and food preferences. Within few months of opening the coffee stores, the company started observing that coffee culture is different for Chinese people than US, where people are very busy in their daily lives and they just grab their coffee and leave, but in China coffee stores were more like a place for social gathering where they can sit and talk for hours with their friends and families. Therefore, according to the market needs they had to square bigger stores. In the US a normal size of Starbcks store is about 1,200 to 1,500 square feet whereas in China they started opening stores bigger than 2,000 square feet. It was observed that the Chinese also liked to have some food along with their drink. 5 In response to that Starbucks started offering some popular Chinese foods like, curry puffs, moon cakes, and traditional cookies. Starbucks incorporates another localize strategy in every country they go, by modifying the name of Starbucks to suit the local language, like in China they Changed the name to Xing Bake where Xing represents Star and Bake was pronounced as bucks. Starbucks accepted the reality that maximum people in China like tea more than coffee though young generation is more likely to go for coffee. So they decided different menu for different stores in China. In Shanghai and westernized, the stores a standard menu where they served coffee. And in Beijing stores they introduced different tea-based drinks like coffee-flavored milk tea, green tea-flavored frappuccino etc. to attract more people. Promotional and Pricing Strategies: To promote themselves in China the company chose a different way. It was mostly depended on the people to spread goodwill through word of mouth than commercial advertisements and media products. Their knowledge, organized way of business left a good impression on customers mind. The customers were willing to pay a higher price for the brand name. As a result young, urban Chinese, who solely started to associate visiting Starbucks or being seen with a Starbucks cup, as a symbol of social status. They tried to build their reputation in terms of, product quality, customer service, employee relationship, etc. To enhance the name of Starbucks they had different strategies. From professional to students they had different ways to attract them. They started selling latest DVDs, free access of internet and also use to provide different wireless services so people can feel it like their 3rd home. Starbucks uses the highest quality coffee beans from ideal coffee producing climates. They helped Chinese farmers, made good relationships with their workers and they also made a good reputation in the supply market .As a result of good reputation, good quality and high price they were able to attract people and also maintain their luxury appeal. The company priced its coffees at around US$ 6 for a cup, which was considered by analysts as too costly , even though it was too costly by Chinese standards but they decided to continue with it because in China, high price was directly associated with quality.
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