1. A BRICK MEETS CLICK ORIGINAL PAPER
The Pull Side of Social Media
How Starbucks leverages online consumer dialog
to continuously improve the brand experience
By David Bishop, Managing Partner, Balvor LLC
It’s true that digital technology has shifted market power to shoppers. Today
consumers can leverage various web-based applications to maximize their ability
to get the best perceived value. However, it’s also true that technology offers
retailers the opportunity to engage shoppers in new and more effective ways.
Many retailers leverage digital technology to broaden their reach, build
brand awareness, and push out incentives via special deals. However, marketing-
centric retailers are also leveraging it to build
Brick Meets Click explicitly
stronger connections with consumers –
invites constructive builds and
commentary on its original connections that support company efforts to
papers. Join the conversation
at www.brickmeetsclick.com.
continuously improve the brand experience
throughout the path to purchase.
Via proprietary platforms or a large social media sites like Facebook,
companies are pulling consumers into the business process by encouraging
comments, stimulating discussion, listening to what others are saying, determining
what actions to take, following up on consumer questions or issues, and sharing
the changes they are making in response.

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The “My Starbucks Idea” web site is a great example. It enables consumers
to “Share. Vote. Discuss. See.” ideas with the company and others in the
Starbucks user community.
Value of Dialog
The site’s functionality is impressive. It provides an easy and effective method for
consumers and the company to interact. Less than thirty months after its launch,
Starbucks claimed to have received their 100,000th idea. This is the equivalent of
receiving over 3,000 ideas per month. It’s important to recognize – as Starbucks
does – that many of the ideas shared may not have been on the company’s “radar”
or ever identified without this type of consumer input.
Form Follows Function
Anyone is able to post an idea or build on other conversations after setting up an
account on the site, which is relatively quick and easy. Starbucks enhances the
process by offering a drop-down box that allows consumers to select where each
idea is classified – atmosphere and locations, food, new technology, etc. The
comment is posted instantly for others to see, vote on, and comment.
The Pull Side of Social Media
How Starbucks leverages online consumer dialog to continuously improve the brand experience
Published August 2011

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Collective Wisdom
Given the sheer volume of input that the site generates, Starbucks takes advantage
of technology even further by using a form of crowdsourcing.1 This process helps
them understand and begin to evaluate the merits of each idea by allowing others
to:
• Indicate agreement with the comment by either promoting or demoting an
idea (their version of “liking” or “disliking”). Each vote helps to determine
how interested others are in the idea and what level of agreement there is
among the community.
• Share comments related to the idea, essentially keeping the discussion going
and offering additional insights. And, in some cases, comments from others
help reveal what the community already knows or believes about various
ideas, acting in a way as a brand ambassador for the company.
In this way, Starbucks enlists the broader consumer market to help generate
ideas and analyze their potential appeal. It lightens the company’s workload
slightly by acting as an initial filter for new ideas – and it empowers consumers by
allowing them to share their personal opinions. These mutual benefits help to
build a stronger connection between consumer and the brand.
Understanding the Impact
One approach to examining the value of engaging consumers using digital
technology is to examine how it helps improve business practices, product
offerings, and/or the overall experience with the brand.
1
Crowdsourcing is a problem-solving process. Ideas or issues are broadcast to a group of people using an open forum
for discussion. People —also known as the crowd—submit feedback and crowd sorts through the ideas/comment,
helping to identify the best ones.
The Pull Side of Social Media
How Starbucks leverages online consumer dialog to continuously improve the brand experience
Published August 2011

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As of June 2011, Starbucks indicated that they’ve launched 150 of the ideas
so far, such as bringing back happy hour, offering a 24-ounce reusable cold cup,
and creating a mobile app for the Android smart phone.
Exposing the Brand
What’s really neat about the site – or potentially unnerving – is that anyone can
learn a lot about what consumers would like Starbucks to do differently. The good,
the bad, and the ugly, it’s all out there – and companies need to be willing to
embrace and encourage this level of transparency.
For instance, according to my search, the top, all-time idea relates to
offering a coffee-club program, e.g., “buy 10 get 1 free.” And while Starbucks
may not deploy a program exactly like the suggested idea, it is vitally important to
follow up in general to ensure consumers feel as though they’ve been heard and
that the company appreciates their input and comments.
Look before You Leap
Something like the Starbucks site isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes many
resources and an on-going commitment to execute effectively. For instance,
Starbucks indicates that they involve around 40 “Idea Partners” to support the
The Pull Side of Social Media
How Starbucks leverages online consumer dialog to continuously improve the brand experience
Published August 2011

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process. Each is a specialist in different parts of the organization, e.g.,
sustainability, operations, etc.
Efforts don’t have to be this elaborate. It’s important to point out that other
retailers are engaging consumers in similar ways, using different platforms like
Facebook. The digital technology available today helps level the playing field to a
degree, so companies of all sizes can develop programs that support their unique
needs and business strategies.
Embracing the Opportunity
It’s worth noting that consumers are offering ideas and feedback without the
promise of a coupon or free drink; the desire to be heard and appreciated has value
in and of itself – apart from other incentives.
It’s becoming increasingly clear
that a well-executed program that
engages consumers in a two-way
dialog can do more to help build a
business over time than any limited-
time promotional deal ever could. This
suggests that companies would benefit
by incorporating pull strategies that
help to capture online consumer
insight in order to continuously
Starbucks leverages Twitter to broadcast messages to
improve the overall brand experience. consumers as a way to build more engagement on their web
site.
David Bishop is managing partner at Balvor LLC, a sales and marketing firm located in
Barrington, IL. He can be reached at davidbishop@balvor.com.
The Pull Side of Social Media
How Starbucks leverages online consumer dialog to continuously improve the brand experience
Published August 2011

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Thinking Through the Implications
John Schaninger, Vice President of Marketing at Quick Chek, a 120-store
convenience store operator headquartered in Whitehouse Station, NJ, helps to put
the article’s implications into context from his perspective.
Q. What are the key lessons learned from this articles?
A. The article shows the potential value created when companies interact with
consumers. However, it also highlights the need for resources so that companies
can handle the flow of information that is generated from a process like this.
Q. What should companies consider as they evaluate plans to do something
similar?
A. I’d suggest that before embarking on this type of initiative, companies need to
have a good strategic plan in place as to what they want to learn, who they are
targeting, how they will respond, and how it fits into their overall marketing and
research plans. This will ensure that the activities provide a good fit and are
supporting the company’s overall business objectives and strategies.
Q. What could companies do if they can’t commit the level of resources that
Starbucks does with its site?
A. Companies can start by asking a few questions on their Facebook page or
designing online surveys that customer can take. Doing so can help them gain
consumer insights more cost-effectively before investing in more complex
programs. The key is that companies can leverage these insights to make more
effective decisions about the business that help improve the consumers’
experience with the brand.
For instance, prior to launching our latest sub campaign, Quick Chek
shared the proposed billboards with consumer focus groups. We then selected
the top two and posted them on Facebook for voting and comment. Our fans
overwhelmingly responded in favor of one board over another. Interestingly, the
billboard we had planned on using, while the most popular among focus groups,
received very negative comments during the online polling process. Ultimately,
The Pull Side of Social Media
How Starbucks leverages online consumer dialog to continuously improve the brand experience
Published August 2011

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based on the online consumer insights, we made a decision to go with the fan-
supported billboard.
The point is that these types of applications can provide you with an
incredibly rich source of customer insights that are difficult to gain from other,
more traditional research methods. At the same time, the online tools simply
strengthen a company’s research capabilities.
Q. Given that this technology can change what and how companies engage in
consumer research, what do companies need to be aware of as they
incorporate this into their internal processes going forward?
A. It’s important to remember that many successful companies have been doing
this for years. Before the internet, companies captured consumer feedback via
store team comments, comment cards, letters, phone calls, and in some
instances, customer panels. Today, the internet, and Facebook in particular,
have created these types of giant, “uber-panels,” with the expectation of two-
way feedback and action.
The Pull Side of Social Media
How Starbucks leverages online consumer dialog to continuously improve the brand experience
Published August 2011