Your Culture as Your Brand
You walk in the front door, and see employees rushing to and fro behind the counter with a look of panic in their eyes. You patiently wait at the counter to place your order, but drive through customers clearly trump all. After a couple minutes, a barista finally acknowledges your existence with an abrupt, "We'll get your order in just a second." You eye the door, weighing the option of a morning without coffee against wasting time being ignored. Just as you point your feet toward the door, the barista requests your order. You rattle off the same order you place every morning, and although she doesn't realize it, you catch her rolling her eyes. Eventually you receive your coffee and head straight out the door.
Starbucks customers don't pay $4.32 for a grande non-fat, two-pump, extra hot, vanilla latte (although it is indeed tasty!); they fork over that ridiculous amount of cash for the complete Starbucks experience. From the time they walk in until the time they leave, coffee-in-hand, customers have certain expectations:
* To be greeted as a regular, even if they aren't
* To feel like their "personalized" order is not obnoxious (even if it is) or an inconvenience to the barista
* To step out of the rush of the day into an oasis (with coffee) for a moment or two of peace and calm
* To hang out with friends or a good book in the neighborhood coffee shop, not a cookie-cutter chain
This experience is driven by their mission statement in action: "When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers- even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It's really about human connection."
Part of the Starbucks brand is their company culture. When a customer's experience in Starbucks is not aligned with the taste of the culture they have come to expect, disappointment and dissatisfaction abound, regardless of whether or not they received a perfect cup of joe.
What does your company culture convey about your company and its mission to your customers? Would a glimpse of your culture leave them satisfied or disappointed?
Starbucks customers don't pay $4.32 for a grande non-fat, two-pump, extra hot, vanilla latte (although it is indeed tasty!); they fork over that ridiculous amount of cash for the complete Starbucks experience. From the time they walk in until the time they leave, coffee-in-hand, customers have certain expectations:
* To be greeted as a regular, even if they aren't
* To feel like their "personalized" order is not obnoxious (even if it is) or an inconvenience to the barista
* To step out of the rush of the day into an oasis (with coffee) for a moment or two of peace and calm
* To hang out with friends or a good book in the neighborhood coffee shop, not a cookie-cutter chain
This experience is driven by their mission statement in action: "When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers- even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It's really about human connection."
Part of the Starbucks brand is their company culture. When a customer's experience in Starbucks is not aligned with the taste of the culture they have come to expect, disappointment and dissatisfaction abound, regardless of whether or not they received a perfect cup of joe.
What does your company culture convey about your company and its mission to your customers? Would a glimpse of your culture leave them satisfied or disappointed?
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