I built the following prototype concept as part of a team Internet Marketing project.  The concept was to create a mobile app that would allow Starbucks’ customers to place orders ahead of their arrival and to set up repeat orders.

Here’s the interactive prototype that was created for this project.

Watch the promo video!

 

 

Starbucks can monitor the following metrics to gauge their success in penetrating the marketplace:

  • Sales: Can be measured both in number of purchases and in revenue)
  • Customer satisfaction & Quality: Can be measured using surveys to assess customer/resident opinion of Starbucks and get feedback on issues that matter like pricing/menu options/locations etc.
  • Quality: Can also be measured by monitoring individual franchises to ensure they’re adhering to standards of training and production
  • Efficiency: Can be measured by monitoring waste and cost of goods compared to revenue
  • Profit: Can be measured by comparing cost of goods sold to revenue generated
  • Market share: Can be measured by comparing Starbuck’s sales to other coffee establishments and related competitors

 

Information and ideas that could help Starbucks penetrate the Brazilian market utilizing e-commerce and internet marketing tactics:

  • Latin American countries have 215.9 million internet users.  Worldwide, 72% of internet users use email 4.4 hours per week.  46& of internet users spend 4.6 hours per week on social networking sites.
  • 2010 studies show that Google is the #1 Global Brand and that search engines are the most common ways people discover a new online product.  It would make sense for Starbucks to utilize Google Ads to target Brazilians.  The second and third most popular ways is through emails from merchants and word of mouth/recommendations from family and friends.  For this reason, Starbucks would benefit from making coupons available to e-newsletter subscribers and available to share with others on Facebook.
  • Starbucks has done a great job of localizing their products – even from an e-commerce standpoint.  They’ve created a Brazilian web site at http://www.starbucks.com.br/ and they have set up a Brazilian Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/StarbucksBrasil as well as a Brazilian Twitter account: http://twitter.com/StarbucksBrasil
  • They market their loyalty card through Facebook.  Translated, the facebook post reads: “Buy your favourite drink at any of our stores and get a loyalty card already stamped. Every next drink, you get a new stamp and, completing five, get a drink at the Tall size!”  However, I wasn’t able to find any printable coupons in their Facebook photo album.

From an e-commerce standpoint, Starbucks has done a great job at making purchasing easy in the U.S. and Canada by utilizing Square Wallet for smartphone transactions.  Customers can make a purchase by scanning their phone at the register.  Square Wallet links to your debit or credit card and manages your digital receipts.  Unfortunately, Square Wallet is not in Brazil.  Starbucks would benefit from teaming up with a local smartphone payment processor, such as Oi Paggo, to capitalize on the smartphone user market (which is very high in Brazil).

Since word of mouth is a high contributor to new product awareness, Starbucks would also benefit from participating in Foursquare – which is rapidly growing in Brazil.  Foursquare has created a Brazil-centric website in response to its accelerating user base in Brazil.  Starbucks could provide incentives to those who frequently checked-in and also use Foursquare members’ feedback to gauge customer satisfaction.

Recently, Brazil has made it easier on tourists who use smartphones by implementing QR Codes throughout Rio de Janeiro.  The bar codes are imprinted on sidewalks and scanning them reveals tourist information (maps, history, facts, etc.) about the location.  Given the high number of smartphone users in Brazil, it would make sense for Starbucks to utilize QR Codes in Brazilian advertisement to provide coupons or product information to users.