Specific Strategy In Italian Market Marketing Essay

Selling American coffee as main product: In Italy, most people prefer drinking espresso. Its necessary for Starbucks to sell espresso in Italian market, but there are thousands of coffee houses in Italy sell the same products. Starkbucks has no advantage in this aspect, because Italian coffee is the origin of coffee culture. So, Starbucks need to sell special products to be outstanding in the market. Despite most Italian are not used to drinking American coffee, it’s fresh to some people who like trying new things, especially some young people. Gradually, they’ll love this flavor, and their concepts will be changed.

Selling Italian unique cups: One of Starbucks’s features is the cups of variety patterns. Many people are interesting in collecting Starbucks cups. They spend many time and money to collect a set of Starbucks cups, especially some limitied editions. In Italian market, if Starbucks releases a set of Italian specialties cups, it will catch many collecting enthusiasts’ attention.

Selling healthy products: Coffee is a high-calorie drink generally. Many consumers who want to lose weight or worry about weight may refuse to drink coffee. It’s a huge loss of comsumers. So, Starbucks can sell some low-calorie coffee or food. It would be a characteristic in Italian coffee market. For a consumer, the purchase of a product is not to own the product, but to enjoy the benefits of a product (Rafiq & Ahmed, 2009).

Selling special holiday products: Starbucks always releases Christmas limitied products which are very popular among consumers. In Italy, there are a lot of holidays. Starbucks can sell some special holiday goods, such as selling some cute cakes for kids at Epifania.

Price

Price plays an important role in product differentiation by enhancing the perceived value of the product and helping consumers to distinguish between offers from different competitors in order that their needs can be met. An attempt should be made to forecast how competitors might react to a change in pricing strategy by analysing the market and product factors which affect them, comsumer perceptions of their product offers and their internal cost structures.¼ˆDoole & Lowe, 2008¼‰. Pricing strategy is important for Starbucks to be outstanding from its competitors in Italian market.

Discount for the hottest product: Some products are characterised by having elastic demand and being extremely price sensitive, so that sales volumes increase significantly as prices are reduced¼ˆDoole & Lowe, 2008¼‰. In the intense competition of Italian coffee market, the discount will attract customers surely.

Discount for “standing customers”: It’s a unique phenomenon in Italy that some people like standing to drink coffee. If there has no seat available in coffee house, it is a good method to attract more cuntomers coming in and not to bring them down.

Place

Locate at places where have large flow of people: The location is very important for coffee houses. Central commercial ciecle, railway stations, schools are good location for Starbucks in Italian market. Italian will know Stabucks quickly in there places.

Set official website in Italy: Nowadays, internet is convenient in many ways. People can get a lot of information from internet. Italians are not familiar with Starbucks, so it’s necessary to set official website to let Italians know Starbucks quickly and convenient.

Promotion

Make advertisements: Starbucks doesn’t put emphasis on advertisements. But in Italian market, Starbucks is not well-known by many Italians, and it has many competitors. So, putting some cost on advertisements is necessary. In fasting moving consumer good marketing, advertising can be used to raise awareness, creat interest and encourage consumers to purchase. Advertising is one of the most vivible forms of communication and often the most important part of the whole strategy for consumer products in countries with a well-developed media industry¼ˆDoole & Lowe, 2008¼‰.

Be a sponsor of big events: Sponsorship involves a firm (the sponsor) providing finance, resources or other support for an event, activity, form, person, product or service. In return the sponsor would expect to gain some advantage, such as the exposure of its brand, logo or advertising message¼ˆDoole & Lowe, 2008¼‰. Being a sponsor is a useful way for Starbucks to expand its brand effect in Italian market. As McDonald’s being the sponsor of Olympic Games, its brand image is enhanced greatly.

Membership: In Italian market, the first step of Starbucks is to expand customer groups. Starbucks can give some preferential policies to membership, such as integral exchange, birthday activities and so on. It’s a good way to keep loyal customers and attract new customers.

Pure American style: Starbucks insists owned chain strategy and the decoration style of Starbucks all over the world is almost the same, but in Italian market, American style decoration and American style music may make Starbucks catch the concern of Italians and differ from other Italian coffee houses.

Convenient services: Convenient is an important factor of sale strategy. Using computers or cellphones to order drink and food can save time to queue. And coffee services delivered to as large range as possible. These must be welcomed by most Italians.