CaseStarbucks营销案例.doc

Market Research Case Study - Starbucks' Entry into ChinaThe Fine Art of Market Entry - Coffee for Tea-Drinking ChinaStarbucks has developed an internationalization strategy to enable the company to open stores and franchises in countries across the globe. Market research is at the core of many of the market entry strategies Starbucks is employing. This case study will consider how market research has strengthened Starbucks entry into the Chinese markets.Starbucks articulated an entry strategy that would address the dominant Chinese markets and that was designed to be as inoffensive with respect to the Chinese culture as possible. Instead of taking the conventional approach with advertising and promotions - which could have been seen by potential Chinese consumers as attacking their culture of drinking tea-they positioned stores in high-traffic and high visibility locations. Moreover, Starbucks very deliberately began to bridge the gap between the tea drinking culture and the coffee drinking culture by introducing beverages in the Chinese stores that included local tea-based ingredients.Market research supported the development of Starbucks' competitive internationalization strategy. The overarching competitive strategy was to create an aspirational brand. Prospective Starbucks customers in China could look forward to what Starbucks refers to as The Third Place experience. The Starbucks experience conveys status that is highly appealing to those aspiring to Western standards or to climbing the ladder in their own culture. Market research indicates that brand consistency is important to Starbucks' customers. When Starbucks opens a new store in an emerging market like China, the best baristas are sent for the launch and to conduct training of the baristas who will carry on when once the launch has completed.Market Research Addresses the Emerging Market Political EnvironmentMarket research helped to identify the attributes of capitalism in the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC). The middle class in China has rapidly accepted Western standards as an acceptable standard of the bourgeois class. Moreover, Chinese consumers accept purchases of luxury goods as a means to pursuing quality lifestyles, and no longer consider it to be decadent or indicative of a lack of a nationalistic orientation. Capitalism in The Peoples' Republic of China supports the status conscious population that manifests its interest in keeping up with the Jones' through excessive luxury consumption.The Chinese government's support of luxury consumption is particularly apparent in certain cities in China. The second-tier city of Chengdu serves as a market research case study in Chinese governmental support of capitalism. Chengdu promotes capitalism at a level evidenced by the presence of stores like Louis Vuitton and Cartier in its downtown. According to Chengdu Retail Industry Association, stores selling 80 percent of international luxury brands are located in Chengdu, and the city ranks just third in luxury sales after Beijing and Shanghai. It is easy to see how this national orientation toward luxury goods extends to the Starbucks brand, which is characterized by a certain degree of exclusivity.Market Research Reveals Attributes of Emerging Market Legal EnvironmentIt is essential to understand the intellectual property rights laws and licensing issues when planning market entry in an emerging market. Starbucks has used intellectual protection laws to prevent its business model and brand from being illegally copied in China. Four years after opening its first café in China - in 1999 - Starbucks had registered all its major trademarks in China. A number of Chinese businesses have overstepped legal bounds in their efforts to mimic the successful Starbucks model.The organization and structure of Starbucks' global operations was informed by market research. The organizational strategies employed by Starbucks were derived from Starbucks' experiences in other emerging markets supported an early recognition that China is not one homogeneous market. The organizational strategies employed by Starbucks addressed the many Chinese markets. The culture dominant in northern China differs radically from the culture in the eastern parts of China, as reflected in the differences in consumer spending power inland which is considerably lower than the spending power in in coastal cities. The complexity of the Chinese markets led to regional partnerships to aid in Starbucks' plans for expansion in China; the partnerships provided consumer insight into Chinese tastes and preferences that helped Starbucks localize to the diverse markets.· Northern China - joint venture with Beijing Mei Da coffee company· Eastern China - partnered with Taiwan-based Uni-President· Southern China - worked with Maxim's Caterers in Hong KongStarbucks' competitive advantage is built on product, service, and brand attributes, many of which have been shown throu。