Starbucks Coffee and Its Target Audience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Starbucks Coffee and Its Target Audience - Essay Example According to the Italian tradition coffee houses are like a place for conversation and that provides the customers with a sense of community. From the very beginning Starbucks has been a very different company. The company has not only celebrated the coffee and rich tradition but also successfully brought a feeling of connection. The company endeavors to bring an exceptional experience to the lives of its target market (Clark, Taylor 2007; Starbucks Corporation 2011) Starbucks’ target audience mainly comprises of the upscale coffee drinkers. The coffee chain provides an opportunity to its customers to take a break from the busy and hectic lives and spend some time in a relaxing atmosphere. Starbucks has a very well defined target audience. It has a target market in each age segment whether its adults, young adults or kids and teens. The primary target market of Starbucks consists of men and women aged between 25 to 40 years from urban areas and usually with high incomes. This target segment accounts for almost half the sales of the Starbucks. In order to appeal this target audience Starbucks works keep its products current and position them in such a way that they become a status symbol. Then comes the target market of young adults aged between 18 to 24 years. This segment accounts for 40 percent of the sales of the company. ... It makes it easier for the students whether they want to hang in there and work on their projects or it can be that they just want to hang in there to enjoy the coffee. The relaxing atmosphere provided by the Starbucks stores is an appealing factor to both the adult and young adult target audience. Now moving to the third target market segment that Starbucks is serving, comprising of kids and teens aged between 13 to 17 years. Though this segment is not large and accounts for only 2 percent of the total Starbucks sales, but still the company focuses on this segment. The main reason for the focus is that it is mainly the parents who purchase items for their kids. There are several products that Starbucks has just made for the kids and teenagers. Starbucks do not target the kids segment directly but it does make sure that its products are kid-friendly. The company also offers special child sizes in order to attract the kids (Starbucks Corporation 2011) Starbucks has formed a strong bra nd image in the minds of its target audience. It has used the selective specialization, product specialization and market specialization techniques for selecting its market segments. Target audience of Starbucks trusts the brand and associates it with high quality. There are certain requirements that the target market has from this famous brand as they look up to it with great admiration. The store has created a sense of convenience in the minds of its customers. Almost where ever they go, especially in United States they’ll found a Starbucks franchise within the respective vicinity. This means that there are several places still left that do not cater to the target audience. These places do not have a Starbucks franchise and