Do you have an MacBook or iMac? Do you get your coffee every morning from Starbucks?
Have you ever wonder what type of customer do Apple and Starbucks have?
I would say not customers but fans. Apple and Starbucks were able to create products people felt in love with.
So what is their marketing secret? I think it’s all about the culture built around their products. Why so many people think that Starbucks coffee is better than others? I bet there are baristas (coffee experts) who would say that there is better coffee than this from Starbucks. So what? Millions of people are buying Starbucks coffee every day – that’s a proof.
It’s the same with Apple customers. Do the test and try to say something bad about Apple products – I am wondering after how many seconds you will get the feedback that you are ‘soooo wrong’.
Have you noticed that Starbucks do not produce commercials, they are focused on building ‘community‘ and ‘environment‘ for their customers fans. People who are drinking Starbucks coffee feel that they belong to some kind of unique group – and that’s the secret. People are wiling to pay over $4 for one cup of coffee (I’m wondering how big is the retail margin?) just to feel that they are special. Those people are the best ‘everyday’ advertisement. You can create anything better than that. Millions of people with paper cups in almost every country.
Apple fans – exactly the same. People are wiling to pay few hundreds dollars more just to have a product with apple logo. Why? because they want to belong to that ‘special/unique group‘. The logo of apple, those white earphones – you don’t have to say anything because everyone knows – it’s Apple, it’s cool.
I found 2 books you might like:
- “Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks“ by Bryant Simon
- “Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul“ by Howard Schultz
