Last week, Starbucks launched its first global ad campaign, “Meet Me at Starbucks”. Shot over a 24-hour period in 40 Starbucks stores across 28 countries, it reminds me of Apple’s “shot around the world in one day” commercial, 1.24.14. The 30-second and 60-second spots cull footage from longer documentaries that you can watch on Starbuck’s special “Meet Me” web site. The ads illuminate the human interactions that occur daily at the “third place” Starbucks creates between our “first place” of home and our “second place” of work.
In my recent ASUG presentation, Secrets of a Business Intelligence Barista, I made the case for integrating the Starbucks customer experience into our Business Intelligence Competency Centers.
The business intelligence competency center is a third place between the cubicle and corporate IT that provides a collaborative environment to solve business challenges and align execution to organizational strategy.
I’m a realist- “Meet Me at the Business Intelligence Competency Center” isn’t going to generate the same emotional response that Starbucks has achieved with their new campaign. But I’m also an idealist. Solving business problems with data? That’s something that can be life-changing for the people we serve.
Some of our business intelligence consumers are gregarious. Some are cantankerous. But as you begin your week today, look beyond the crisis of the moment. Look beyond the technology. Take a moment to make the human connection.
What’s your reaction to Starbucks’ new campaign?
Over the years I have worked with many different types of BICC groups when it comes to how they interact with their customers. Yes there are internal and external customers for almost every business. I usually see one of two types:
– those that KNOW what their customer needs/wants (or THINK they KNOW) that fall flat on their faces and then blame the BI software or vendor who helped implement it. Enter a ticket and IT will magically produce a report that is exactly what you need. Yeah right?!
– Then there are those who at least make an effort to connect with their customers, understand the problem they are trying to accomplish, and see each customer as a human being (rather than as ticket number 12345). Even if those BICC’s are not all that “competent” at first, they still enjoy a high degree of success with their customers. I’ve enjoyed a higher degree of success with my customer as a result as well.
It is the very occasional times that a Starbucks is super busy and I get pushed along like a number that my order ends up wrong. If it does happen to be right (technically) then it’s not usually very good.
It’s not about how busy you are either. I have been to Starbucks in very large cities and smaller towns. Even when super busy, if they take their time and treat each customer like a human being, and understand what I want my order is usually still perfect.
There is a reason people will pay $5+ for coffee and gladly wait in line to do it!