Delivering The Preferred Experience!

I am writing this during the morning hours.

So far I have downed three cups of coffee and just popped open a can of Diet Coke.

No joke…the caffeine really helps drive my discovery mindset.

While sipping down the first cup, I read in the morning newspaper a release that Dunkin Donuts is claiming victory in the coffee war with Starbucks.

Yep. In a “blind taste test” that Dunkin’ Donuts commissioned, Dunkin’ Donuts “beat” Starbucks.

And wow…they actually cite the statistical numbers!

“Of the participants, 54.2% chose Dunkin’ Donuts, 39.3% chose Starbucks and 6.3 percent had no preference.”

Dunkin’ Donuts is certainly on a caffeine-fix with these numbers.

By the way, 476 adults participated in the taste test. That sample base posts +/- 4.4% at the 95% confidence level.

Sounds a lot like the presidential election tracking studies doesn’t it!

Neither the article nor the Dunkin’ Donut website addresses the issue of preferred environment or experience.

Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, asserts that the driver of Starbucks' brand success is the concept of delivering that “third place” in a person’s life. That place besides the home and work where people gather and get anchored in community life and personal exchange.

To be honest, the coffee at Starbucks is rather average.

While “coffee” is in the name, it really only serves as a prop of the Starbucks stage set.

Not to downplay their brand experience, but when was the last time you walked into a Dunkin’ Donuts and saw individuals dwelling there other than the homeless and the workers on break?

The real news may be that a cup of both Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and McDonald’s Premium Roast cost significantly less than a comparative Starbucks Grande Dark Roast.

On the front page of the current issue of Nation’s Restaurant News, there’s an article about another study in which “coffee fans want Starbucks to cut their prices.”

Nearly one third of Starbucks customers have cut back on their visits in the past three months compared to 17 percent of McDonald’s guests and 18 percent of Dunkin Donuts guests.

When asked what would bring them back and visit more often, 65 percent of the Starbucks customers said lower prices, only 24 percent reported even trying Dunkin Donut or McDonald’s coffee, and 48 percent said that they have no interest at all in trying them out and switching brand preference.

When brands reach “middle-age” and market maturity, they often seem to forget the fundamental drivers of their brand experience.

As the Nation’s Restaurant News article reports, Starbucks management believes that its declining traffic can be reversed through the introduction of new, more health-oriented menu items as well as better equipment.

I bet that a lot of the current Starbucks management team came out of those “fabulous” MBA programs that concentrate on the financial and mechanical delivery of products and services. (Note that I did not say the “brand experience”)

I think that Starbucks real competitive threat may just be what they sought out to deliver as an alternative experience…the kitchen table.

As much as the press focuses on the gloom and doom of the economy, people are actually connecting more with family and friends over the “buy one, get one free” cook-at-home convenience meals.

Generation X Cocooners may have initiated the drive, but Boomers and Millenniums appear to be gathering around that kitchen table more too!

Sometimes it makes good sense to package your brand as “David fighting the Goliath.” And yes, Dunkin Donuts does compete against Starbucks on the grocery store shelf, but if they really wanted to battle their prime competition, they need to do a test comparison against McDonald’s and Maxwell House.

And Starbucks…get back to your core brand experience deliverable.

Foster interaction and exchange. Pump up the cushions and invest in those fireplaces. Chuck the stupid way that customers have to pay for the Internet and make it free. New products are nice, but if it means putting those on hold to roll back the prices…do like your Seattle neighbor brand claims and “Just do it!”

Hey…you are marketing an experience, not a cup of coffee.

As I say to our clients, the businesses that we meet with, and other cool shops like ours…Refocus, recharge, get back in the race… and let’s journey!