Pricing and Positioning: Starbucks Introduces Instant Coffee

One issue that new(ish) entrepreneurs face is how to position their products based on price. Starbucks, long known for bringing America upscale coffee prices is today introducing Via, an instant coffee. A 3-pack is $2.95 or $9.95 for a 12-pack - that is 98 cents a cup or 83 cents a cup. Read the article or watch what consumers have to say about their first taste or watch (video below) CEO Howard Schultz talk about Starbuck's down-market move. Will this move by Starbucks be successful? As a very small business, could an entrepreneur have the same success with this sort of mixed message? How would you go about discovering whether your customers want a less expensive product?

Personalized Starbucks Card: Final Thought

This is a bit tardy, but just to wrap up ... the card looked pretty good, but most importantly, me mum appreciated the thought. And enjoyed her cuppa joe.

Personalized Starbucks Card: Round 2

I just went through customizing a Starbucks card - I can't tell you who for because it's a family member. It wasn't quite as much fun as I 'd hoped. There were quite a lot of choices, but frankly, I was hoping to upload a design of my own creation.

Oh well.

My second issue - and this is more of a beef -you don't find out until the very, very last page that there's a $4.00 customization fee. This is in addition to loading the card to buy coffee. And that's my other, related issue - you can't load the card for less than $15.00. Yet without a doubt, if you send this card to someone who goes to Starbucks regularly, they will load and reload this card. The gift should really be in taking the time to create a cool card.

Of course, for Starbucks, that means that each order is a minimum $19.00.

I won't be giving too many friends a $19.00 card. And that's too bad, because I'd take the time to design a LOT of these if the total amount I had to pay was, say, $10.

Next up: how the card looks. Stay tuned ...

Personalized Starbucks Card

I can't wait to give this a try: Starbucks is now letting customers design their own card! I've always appreciated the Starbucks cards designed by employees, but really -- aren't we all designer wannabes?

I'm going to take the plunge and try it. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Starbucks: I Smell Just Fine

A very unhappy Starbucks customer takes Howard Schultz to task in Time magazine. I enjoyed the well-crafted commentary, but wonder where this person lives. In parts of San Francisco, there's a Starbucks on every corner. Maybe the real estate is too rich where Bill works, so the company can't afford to buy the space. Or maybe no one's willing to sell to them?

Anyhoo, I've used Starbucks to jump on wifi, and think it's fine. Of course, I've not done it where there isn't enough seating. Still, I think it's great they have it. Why would I want Starbucks to stop offering wifi? I know I can always count on a speedy internet at a great price when I've traveling state-side.