DOWNLOAD: Could Starbucks (insert brand with big Fan base here) become a bank? (Graham Brown mobileYouth) Starbucks Corporation ( SBUX ) is perhaps the first name that comes to mind when you’re thinking of getting a cup of coffee. The brand’s position in the American marketplace is secure. But is the coffee icon grabbing a share of your bank’s business? Can it easily perform a big chunk of those functions?

1. mobileyouth.org http://www.mobileyouth.org/post/could-starbucks-insert-brand-with-big-fan-base-here-become-a-bank/
Starbucks could become a retail bank through the back
door
Graham Brown
Mobile Youth
Could Starbucks (insert brand with big Fan base here)
become a bank?
EATING INTO THE BUSINESS OF BANKS
Nasdaq analyst blog reports:
Starbucks Corporation ( SBUX ) is perhaps the first name that comes to mind when you’re thinking
of getting a cup of coffee. The brand’s position in the American marketplace is secure. But is the
coffee icon grabbing a share of your bank’s business? Can it easily perform a big chunk of those
functions?
In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review,
senior consultants from Accenture plc ( ACN )
claim that players from outside the industry are
eating into the business of banks through innovations such as Starbucks’ loyalty cards. These
include such industry giants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ( WMT ), Google Inc. ( GOOG ) and
PayPal.
WHY STARBUCKS?
Because it’s all about having a passionate base of Fans.
FROM CUSTOMERS TO FANS: BREAKDOWN OF THE MARKET
Size Who are they? Role
Fans 10%
of the
market
Employees, co-
workers, vocal
customers who
“get it” and love
the product
Key influencers, advocates and educators. Focus on
breaking down the walls to help Fans tell their story
and broadcast to the customer base. Commit all your
energy to the Fans and leverage their lines of influence
to shape the market.

2. Observers 20% Silent Fans who
are to be
convinced that
going public with
their affections or
ideas is a good
idea
The bridge between Fans and the mass market. 2nd
wave of adopters
Skeptics 50% The silent majority
who are easily
swayed one way
or the other
Skeptics only come on board when the Social Proof
from Fans and Observers is strong enough to de-risk
any change in behavior.
Critics 20% The vocal
opposition. The
“Yes, buts”. The
naysayers
Critics will continue to fiercely oppose any change,
product or technology simply because their position of
opposition gives them significance. Do not waste
energy to convert the Critic. Focus energies on those
that matter and use the mass market to silence the
critic.
Amazon has moved from selling books into pretty much every category once offered by the
generalist high street retailers. Then there’s the latest addition of streaming video.
Apple moved from selling desktop computers to iPods to iTunes to the iPhone and it keeps growing
thanks to the brand’s ability to grow a passionate core of Fans who will provide a powerful
launching pad for new products and services.
And so enter Starbucks with its payment cards.
When you consider how customers may adopt the retail banking capacity of the payment app by
default rather than thinking “I need a mobile banking app” then it becomes a realistic proposition,
through the back door.
You start to see how mission creep may eventually force Starbucks into the retail banking space.
More From Graham Brown’s Series on How to Sell Technology
Give customers what they need: Not more technology but more Social Space
Don’t Teach a Pig to Sing: Why you should master the internal sale first when selling
technology
Why People Buy Technology: Social Proof
Privacy drives the next wave of Social Media Apps
The Paradox of Quality: Why Better Technology Fails
What the Oscars and Ellen’s Selfie teaches us about selling mobile phones
The 90-10 Rule: Focus on the 10% that influences the 90%
Why you need to become a Farmer not a Hunter to sell technology
Technology Companies need to Embrace the Unofficial or Die
Change Your Metaphors: How great leaders sell technology

3. These 2 Social Experiments Show How Stories Sell Technology
If you want to sell technology, stop trying to “have a conversation” with your customers