Today, it is more and more common for brands to be using social media. You can find a page for almost any brand on Twitter and Facebook. The most random products from Maker’s Mark Whiskeyto Oral-B dental care have thousands of followers and friends. And if brands aren’t using these sites, they are far behind.
But in order to make their online presence more valuable to consumers, brands should be social rather than simply use social media. Brands have to invite, include, connect, and engage with their consumers, not just use the sites as another platform for broadcasting.
To better control consumer feedback and give the consumer a say in the brand, Starbucks created “My Starbucks Idea” in 2008. Rather than use existing social media networks for this, Starbucks created their own site as an attempt to separate themselves from other brands.
But in order to make their online presence more valuable to consumers, brands should be social rather than simply use social media. Brands have to invite, include, connect, and engage with their consumers, not just use the sites as another platform for broadcasting.
To better control consumer feedback and give the consumer a say in the brand, Starbucks created “My Starbucks Idea” in 2008. Rather than use existing social media networks for this, Starbucks created their own site as an attempt to separate themselves from other brands.
My Starbucks Idea is designed to find out what consumers like and dislike about Starbucks. Consumers can make suggestions on a variety of categories ranging from the coffee and food to the social responsibility of the company. Other visitors can vote on whether they agree or disagree with an idea and can comment on them as well. Visitors can search for ideas through keywords, view the most popular ideas, view the most recent ideas, or view ideas based on category. Starbucks labels each idea as “Under Review,” “Reviewed,” “In the Works,” and “Launched.” Lastly, there is a blog-like section called “Ideas in Action,” where Starbucks reports on progress it has made in response to community feedback.
My Starbucks Idea seems to be a worthy effort to give consumers a say in the company. Starbucks is able to see first hand what the customers like and dislike, and it gives them an opportunity to offer a personal response to issues or suggestions. Consumers love to know that companies and brands are listening to what they have to say and are not just feeding them advertising messages. My Starbucks Idea ensures that the consumer has a voice and that their voice matters.
The company also has complete control of the site. It isn’t your typical social media network like Facebook and Twitter and this is probably best for the company. In this instance, Starbucks is able to directly respond to all complaints and won’t be driving traffic to a Starbucks version of “Dell Hell.”
The idea has been beneficial to Starbucks. The My Starbucks Idea Twitter page has over 37,000 followers. In five years, over 152,000 ideas have been submitted. Starbucks has implemented 890 of these ideas, some on a long-term basis and some in a trial stage. This number may seem low based on the amount of ideas they are receiving, but it must be understood that a large percentage of ideas are probably not practical or feasible at the current time. However, the fact that they have taken 890 ideas from consumers and actually given them a shot is great for Starbucks’ image and gives consumers a greater connection to the brand.
The company also has complete control of the site. It isn’t your typical social media network like Facebook and Twitter and this is probably best for the company. In this instance, Starbucks is able to directly respond to all complaints and won’t be driving traffic to a Starbucks version of “Dell Hell.”
The idea has been beneficial to Starbucks. The My Starbucks Idea Twitter page has over 37,000 followers. In five years, over 152,000 ideas have been submitted. Starbucks has implemented 890 of these ideas, some on a long-term basis and some in a trial stage. This number may seem low based on the amount of ideas they are receiving, but it must be understood that a large percentage of ideas are probably not practical or feasible at the current time. However, the fact that they have taken 890 ideas from consumers and actually given them a shot is great for Starbucks’ image and gives consumers a greater connection to the brand.
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