The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods

Introduction

At first, Starbucks serves as one of the wide-reaching coffee chains globally. It is estimated to have a revenue of $24 billion and more than 350000 (Snell & Lemley, 2017). The case study encapsulates Starbucks’ crucial steps it implemented to design a financial product anticipated to create an added value to their prevailing program. An extensive study of tests was undertaken to measure how the proposed card’s aspects would be grasped before the dual-use card was developed. Starbucks’ achievements are frequently ascribed to the clients’ sensory experience and quality products. The case study will examine the research facets that involved several surveys, focus groups, collaborative research, and product optimization.

Analysis of the Case Problem

It was recommendable for Starbucks to undertake multiple research testing series to comprehend the financial market; it was penetrating before it would set to develop new card specifications and concurrently reinvent the monetary sector. It started by administering secondary studies to establish whether the dual-function card was initially present. They ascertained currently that the dual-purpose card did not exist in the market. After that, Starbucks embarked on finding the right venture partners (Snell & Lemley, 2017). However, the chosen accomplices had to share the commitment to provide top customer service and work with Starbucks’ vision (Markovich et al., 2017). It announced Bank One and Visa to be the correct partners, after which they all conducted collaborative research.

As a section of the study, there was a massive requirement to develop a hierarchy of queries. Management questions serve as the administrative dilemma restatement in an inquiry form. As a result, the phenomenon propels the research problem, leadership quizzes, and utilizes the exploratory studies. In this case, the organization’s dilemma was: is there a brand fit between Starbucks and the newly developed card? Such a vital preliminary study assists in establishing how the products can be designed to derive optimal success for the firm (Nguyen & Chaudhuri, 2019). In order to pinpoint key areas requiring clarification, there was the establishment of focus groups and the plead for the dual functionality frameworks.

One of the key portions of the research process is the surveys, which offer an indispensable database. The survey studies can give market investigators useful and reliable data to enhance the study if used adequately. At the same time, the survey anonymity enables the participants to give trustworthy answers to the research queries (Chrysochou, 2017). Through undertaking surveys, it provides additional merits, whereby the types of research costs become averagely inexpensive and can be provided in various methods, creating room for flexibility. Finally, the created team embraced Greenfield online for the panel recruitment. A sample of sufficient respondents for the projected online surveys needs to be undertaken from the Starbucks card users, who have extensive knowledge of the company (Chrysochou, 2017). Therefore, genuine insights would be provided into the value of the derived advantages.

Solution Section of the Case Study

The leadership can acquire a supplementary database vital for the research findings through phases of hierarchy management study questions. After addressing the organizational dilemma queries, the next stage involves establishing a hierarchy of management-study inquiries, as shown below.

Management queries Investigative questions Research queries Measurement Questions
Do the customer value and brand fit match? Does the Duetto Visa card align with Starbucks’ core values, reputation, and mission? Should Starbucks inaugurate the card in the absence of the give-back element? Is there any grasped worth at the give-back to the societal facet?
Should there be a brand launching to a vast audience? Should Starbucks adopt a restricted or full institution of the card? What is the comprehended level of satisfaction for the clients to benefit?
What needs to be accomplished to inspire card applications by the clients? What degree of adverse viewpoint will Starbucks encounter grounded on the newly developed card? (Snell & Lemley, 2017)
What measures must be adopted to ensure the partner’s sustained quality customer service utility? Is there any discrepancy between using the Starbucks prepaid card and the Duetto Visa card?

To a greater extent, Starbucks deployed quantitative assessment through online surveys aiming to establish the brand fit. The brand tracking was conducted to calculate return on the marketing stage and its objective was to examine the reactions after the launching of the product. In that case, knowing whether there is a brand fit helps identify salient clients and the rationale for applying or not using the card (Nguyen & Chaudhuri, 2019). The quantitative analysis gave Starbucks knowledge of establishing if earlier negative prepaid credit card encounters will adversely affect the brand of the company and its hard-earned reputation. Additionally, the online surveys will be deployed to the consumers who value the new card’s rewards specifications (Chrysochou, 2017). It helped understand if the give-back to the social element of the payment initiative had any witnessed value.

It goes without noticing that Starbucks undertook a series of semi-structured quantitative online study surveys to provide a massive chance of reaching a broader geographical region. In that case, such an approach ensured money and time savings. At the same time, it enabled the prospective consumers to respond to the research queries candidly with full impartiality (Nair et al., 2021). Notably, surveys can engender broad findings due to multiple individuals participating in the research. Another important limitation of the survey is that it may be restricted, thus not offering an adequate and comprehensive database. The initial goal was to establish card functionality by projecting take rates and usage, confirming the effect of diverse card characteristics, merits obtained and profiling probable respondents (Nguyen & Chaudhuri, 2019). The general findings were highly appealing, and even though not everybody loved the card concept, several applicants had developed an extensive comprehension of the new card to be launched. The next objective was to determine the brand fit by asking a couple of questions. This was to find whether the card would improve the Starbuck client experience, establish the level of satisfaction for each customer, know if they feel adequately appreciated, and determine the significance of the give-back component. There was a favorable early reaction from the focus groups and the brand fit surveys.

Lastly, Starbucks embedded and embraced Greenfield online to panel recruitment for future surveys or phone interviews. Through additional surveys, the company could effectively sustain information of people who had earlier used or applied for the prepaid card (Snell & Lemley, 2017). The clients may not have been approved for the card or asked for the Duetto Visa card and can offer an indispensable database required for further study.

Justification Section

Significantly, the research data may be either quantitative or qualitative. Notably, both can be utilized to acquire factual information in establishing what the customer wants or demands. However, the qualitative study concentrates more on people’s feelings, suggestions, and attitudes. This exceptional study approach will act as the primary research technique, and it will be deployed to undertake the focus groups and the surveys. Using online surveys to examine Starbucks’ key goals can easily and quickly reach a broader geographical area and multiple families. In that case, the overall populace is represented by a vast sample size of 200 study respondents (Leavy, 2017). This ensures obtaining the results that reflect the opinions and attitudes of most people in society.

There was the utilization of internet surveys integrated with conditional branching. This programming instruction guides an electronic device (computer) to another portion of the program grounded on the comparison results. It enables a swift and sufficiently client reaction based on the correct answers to closed-ended questions (no or yes) (Leavy, 2017). The survey’s findings demonstrate the current product’s achievement, particularly giving a database on what the customer is willing to pay. Nevertheless, due to the restriction of the surveys, they may not give comprehensive information and therefore produce extensively broad results as they require of individuals participating.

Conclusion

Quantitative and qualitative research is frequently used to create new products and is particularly well-suited to interpreting phenomena in their context, revealing behavioral linkages, and developing theories. The findings of the study for the Starbucks card functionality were deemed successful. It involved components like the effects of the benefits and the features of the Duetto Visa card, the potential utilization, and the customers who would be using them (Markovich et al., 2017). This saved the financial issues faced by the company regarding their earlier prepaid cards. In addition to that, the brand fit goals established that there was a practical client experience (Nair et al., 2021). Grounded on the full study results, Starbucks effectively publicized the inauguration of the Duetto Visa card. Multiple individuals wrote testimonies about their excitement about the new product launch and asked to be notified of its updates.

References

Chrysochou, P. (2017). Consumer behavior research methods: Consumer perception of product risks and benefits. (G. Emilien, R.Weitkunat, F. Lüdicke, Ed.). Springer, Cham. Web.

Leavy, P. (2017). Research design: Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, arts-based, and community-based participatory research approaches. Guilford Publications. Web.

Markovich, S., Malkani, A.P., Tseng, A. & Meagher, E. (2017). Hip to be square: Disruption in the US mobile payment market. Kellogg School of Management Cases.

Nair, R. K., Sinha, R., Crasto, S. G., Kian, K. W., Kee, D. M. H., Abdullah, S. A. B.,… & Ganatra, V. (2021). The effect of Starbucks marketing campaigns on consumer buying behavior. Asia Pacific Journal of Management and Education (APJME), 4(1), 72-81.

Nguyen, H. T., & Chaudhuri, M. (2019). Making new products go viral and succeed. International journal of research in marketing, 36(1), 39-62. Web.

Snell, S.A. & Lemley, A. (2017). Starbucks: Schultz back in the brew. Darden Business Publishing Cases. Web.

Cite this paper

Select style

Reference

StudyCorgi. (2023, July 31). The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods. https://studycorgi.com/the-starbucks-firms-consumer-behavior-research-methods/

Work Cited

"The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods." StudyCorgi, 31 July 2023, studycorgi.com/the-starbucks-firms-consumer-behavior-research-methods/.

* Hyperlink the URL after pasting it to your document

References

StudyCorgi. (2023) 'The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods'. 31 July.

1. StudyCorgi. "The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods." July 31, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/the-starbucks-firms-consumer-behavior-research-methods/.


Bibliography


StudyCorgi. "The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods." July 31, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/the-starbucks-firms-consumer-behavior-research-methods/.

References

StudyCorgi. 2023. "The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods." July 31, 2023. https://studycorgi.com/the-starbucks-firms-consumer-behavior-research-methods/.

This paper, “The Starbucks Firm’s Consumer Behavior Research Methods”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal. Please use the “Donate your paper” form to submit an essay.