Do What Shultz did and how you could be the Starbucks of your marketplace:

Here is what happened in the Financial crash in 2007/2008;

  1. Customers opted for cheaper alternatives.
  2. Forced to Shut 600 stores
  3. Profit had fallen 28% by March 2008
  4. In 2009 they closed another 300 stores
  5. 6,700 employees laid off
  6. Howard Shultz replaced Jim Donald as returning CEO

The Shultz effect – here’s what he did to turn this situation around in 2009;

  1. Letter to employees ‘we must shift our focus back to the customers’
  2. New corporate message ‘Reigniting our emotional attachment with customers’
  3. Unconventional Initiative: ‘My Starbucks Idea’ to engage with clients in a more engaging way.
  4. More than 93,000 ideas shared by approx. 1.3 million customers (new and existing)
  5. Drove more the 5.5 million-page views per month off the back of this strategy.
  6. Starbucks implemented over a 100 of these ideas (Free Wi-Fi group, Soy-milk group, the comfy chair group, and the Frappuccino lovers’ group to name a few).

What lessons do we as sales professionals take from this and how can we help you be more Shultz;

  1. As business owners we must energise and re-invigorate your staff and most importantly your sales team/ fee earners
  2. Understanding that the message you put out there and the way you put it out there will affect your engagement levels.
  3. Social Media based funnels are essential in engaging new potential clients by engaging with them. This is the most power form of Lead Generation out there.
  4. Create a community of customers/ clients who are evangelical about you and your business.
  5. Understanding how a loss leading service or product can be used to upsell a far more profitable product/ service once you have the customer through the door.
  6. Be responsive to what your customers wants, and needs are to maintain and grow engagement and in