Share. Vote. Discuss. See – Starbucks Wants to Hear From You!

Have you ever wondered why Starbucks decided to start selling yogurt parfaits, prepared sandwiches or the fruit and cheese bento-style boxes as snacks? Well, all of those great ideas came from everyday people like you and me. Having recently celebrated its fourth anniversary, My Starbucks Ideas is an online extension of Starbucks that encourages consumers to submit ideas they believe will make their Starbucks experience even better. Through the use of crowd sourcing, My Starbucks Ideas has generated over 150,000 ideas to date that range from offering patrons a free drink of choice on their birthday to using mobile payments at drive-thru windows (Adamson, 2011). Customers are encouraged to visit the My Starbucks Idea website to learn more about the initiative, but also submit their own ideas. Hundreds of ideas are submitted daily, where customers can vote (once) on each idea they think Starbucks should implement. Every vote counts as 10 points, and the ideas with the most points move to the Popular Ideas section where a team of skilled professionals reviews the selected ideas. Consumers who are fortunate enough to have their ideas selected and launched do not receive monetary payments, but instead recognition for making Starbucks better.

My Starbucks Ideas has created a new type of customer engagement that is free, creates brand awareness and most importantly, gives customers a place to be heard. Customers get what they want while seeing change happen! In a 2011 Forbes article, Starbucks Chief Marketing Officer, Annie Young-Scivner said the goal of Starbucks has always been and continues to be about the customer experience.  Starbucks want to “talk to customers, not at them” and by doing so they can create a memorable experience for each of the 60 million people (in 55 countries) who visit Starbucks each week (Adamson, 2011).  So next time you visit Starbucks – whether for coffee, tea or a snack, take a moment to check out what’s new. You never know if the person next to you was responsible for the new seasonal drink or even better, submit your own ideas.

Reference

Adamson, A. (2011, June 7). Starbucks wakes up and smells the coffee – and buzzes back up the leader board. Retrieved on June 8, 2012. http://www.forbes.com/sites/allenadamson/2011/06/07/starbucks-wakes-up-and-smells-the-coffee-and-buzzes-back-up-the-leader-board/

Farfan, B. (2012, June 30). My Starbucks ideas customer loyalty, profits and employee engagement that U.S. restaurant chains can’t afford to ignore. Retrieved on July 8, 2012. http://retailindustry.about.com/b/2012/06/30/my-starbucks-ideas-boost-customer-loyalty-profits-and-employee-engagement-that-u-s-restaurant-chains-cant-ignore-sbux.htm

My Starbucks Ideas. Retrieved on July 2, 2012. http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/apex/ideahome