ABSTRACT
A good customer should not change his shop, nor a good shop change its customers.
Chinese proverb
Starbucks got its swagger back. A victim of the Great Recession, the company was forced to close stores and lay off employees. Some said the day of the $4.00 cup of coffee was over. Reenergized, however, by the return of its founder Howard Schultz, today the company is on a roll-making better strategic decisions about its product mix and profitable once again. Recently, it passed Burger King to become the world’s third largest restaurant chain behind Subway and McDonalds. A large part of this recent success has been closely connecting with its highly loyal, tech-savvy customers via its Web site (www.mystarbucks.com) and embracing social digital media. Starbucks has built a loyalty program, and more than 1 million customers now carry the Starbucks gold card and earn rewards for their purchases. How about a grande, iced vanilla caramel macchioto with one Splenda, nonfat milk, and whipped cream?
