They describe an experience that is luxurious, perhaps even a guilty pleasure, something a person cannot find just anywhere.
Apple makes the common computer uncommon. Why else would Apple users be willing to pay more and put up with delayed or nonexistent Mac versions of software? They do it because they’re unwilling to give up the experience of interacting with their beloved iMacs and iBooks. For Mac devotees and evangelists—not simply “customers”—the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
In—N—Out Burger makes the common fast-food hamburger uncommon, offering unsurpassed quality in an industry founded on speed and convenience. Method makes common hand soaps and cleaners uncommon, creating a line of beautifully packaged, sweet-smelling, environmentally friendly products for cost-conscious shoppers. Whole Foods Market makes the common grocery store uncommon, providing a feast for the senses with an in-store atmosphere that compels customers to slow down, sample new foods, and purchase items they probably didn’t have on their shopping list to begin with.
And Starbucks makes the common cup of coffee uncommon.
Before Starbucks, the common cup of coffee could best be described as a liquid caffeine-delivery vehicle, a drink to be endured more for its stimulant effects than to be enjoyed for its taste.
Starbucks wasn’t satisfied doing coffee as everyone else was doing coffee. Starbucks believed coffee should be enjoyed for its rich, strong, and densely sophisticated flavors and not simply endured for its pick-me-up qualities.
Starbucks would have failed in the marketplace if they positioned coffee as everyone else did—light roast; light flavor; inexpensive, low-grade beans; and cheap, low-impact experiences. Starbucks would have failed if it didn’t engage customers with sights, sounds, and surroundings worthy of fostering a cult-like devotion from customers.
Instead, Starbucks has taken the common cup of coffee and made it uncommon by focusing on higher-quality coffee beans, longer roasting styles, and more intense and enjoyable coffee experiences. Starbucks transformed what had once been something to be endured into something to be enjoyed.
Starbucks’ almost fanatical insistence on quality—from the beans it selects, the slower, darker roasting process; to the packaging of the roasted coffee beans and the in-store preparation of each cup of coffee, espresso, cappuccino, or latte—has earned the brand a loyalty as intense as its darkest roast. It has also raised the bar. By changing the expectations we have of coffee, it’s raised the standards of an entire industry.
But Starbucks refuses to compromise its product in the face of increased competition. Take its roasting techniques as an example. Starbucks was founded with a passion for darker roast coffees. Darker roast means a longer roast; and a longer roast equates to less dense, lighter-weight coffee because more water is extracted from the beans the longer they’re roasted. So it takes more roasted beans to fill a one-pound bag of Starbucks coffee than it does for its competitors who package heavier, lighter-roasted beans. And as a result, it costs Starbucks significantly more money and more time to package its coffee beans. The company spends more on this unique aspect of their business and on other things because it’s unwilling to sacrifice the quality of a customer’s Starbucks experience. This uncompromising passion for quality allows Starbucks to maintain its competitive advantage and the devotion of its customers.
Most companies are resigned to settling for compromise—you can have this or you can have that, but you can’t have both. It’s what Jim Collins refers to in Built to Last as the “tyranny of the OR” versus the “genius of the AND.” No matter the industry, the most successful, longest-lasting businesses are those that embrace the genius of the “AND” to make the common uncommon.
Leading Questions …
In your category or industry, which company, if any, provides the uncommonly best product or service? If it’s not yours, why isn’t it and what will you do about it?
What compromises are you willing to make (and not make) as it relates to the quality of your products and services? Will these compromises diminish your company’s ability to deliver an uncommonly good product or service?
How is your business communicating what it uniquely does so uncommonly well?
When businesses tell the story about why their products and services are remarkable, they engage in meaningful marketing.
Meaningful marketing is about designing marketing activities to deliver on the vision of the business all the while being smart, savvy, and authentic. It’s about treating consumers as being everyday explorers who seek to be interesting and interested. It’s about building preference more than awareness, going beyond capturing attention to soliciting intention, and fostering loyalty beyond reason from customers.
Starbucks has long held that educating customers about the products it offers leads to greater appreciation from customers. Howard Schultz recognized early on that, because of its unique approach to coffee, the company had a compelling story to tell. And when the rest of us thought about where the coffee came from, we realized we had a truly romantic story of hand-picked beans gathered from the slopes of misty hills in far-off places like Kenya and the Indonesian archipelago. It’s easy to see the romantic storytelling allure of coffee that travels from exotic mountaintops to our mundane kitchen countertops.
But Starbucks doesn’t stop at sharing the bean-to-cup story on its packaging and in-store signs and brochures. It conducts coffee seminars, especially early on during its expansion into new markets, complete with highly-trained and highly-passionate “coffee communication specialists” who talk about the different coffee varietals and suggest appropriate pairings for coffee with various fruits, cheeses, and chocolates. Starbucks views coffee the same way vintners view wine, and it shares its passion with its customers. At one coffee seminar in Denver, held in the public library before the company was a national or even regional mainstay, more than 100 people turned out to learn about coffee from Starbucks—talk about attracting loyal “fans,” not simply customers.
These coffee communication specialists—Starbucks’ coffee “evangelists”—do more than get customers excited about coffee, they also make Starbucks baristas more excited about coffee. By serving as liaisons to store-level baristas, they educate and engage employees to become coffee experts as well.
If your company has a passion for its product, then it has a compelling story to tell and a reason to share so that others can become interested in what fascinates the company to no end.
Unfortunately, when faced with developing marketing programs, many marketers still believe in making up stories about why a product is special. They engage in outrageously gimmicky, attention-grabbing antics that over-promise and woefully under-deliver. These marketers treat consumers as being boring, indifferent, and brainlessly gullible.
The surest way to determine if your marketing is “telling the story” and not “making up a story” is to listen to how your customers are talking about your business.
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