Struggling US coffee giant, Starbucks, has turned to an interesting source for inspiration – its customers.
The brand has recently launched www.mystarbucksidea.com. The premise is simple – utilise people power to suggest new ideas to improve Starbucks. Once a proposal has been submitted, the community gets to discuss and vote on each idea. Even better, visitors can check on the most popular ideas and monitor their progress and (hopefully) implementation.
I must confess that the site gets my vote. It’s easy to use and customers seem keen to contribute. What’s more, it doesn't appear to be a piece of PR fluff - Starbucks seems to be listening and is posting comments and updates against suggestions.
As an example of how a brand can invite customer insights and benefit from their expertise, it certainly hits the mark. I guess the proof of the pudding will be in how many proposals are finally implemented and whether the site can survive the initial surge of suggestions but I will be watching with interest to see if any other brands will be copying this example.
In the meantime, I’m almost tempted to take my laptop to Starbucks, order a latte and join in. If only they could make their milk a little less sweet... Hmmm, now I know what I can do with that idea.