Starbucks Discussions

Roland Smart — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:45:00 +0000

Like most marketers in the social media industry, I read the engagementdb report earlier this week. Winning the award for best social media score was Starbucks. With a team of six, Starbucks has successfully used social media to enhance its brand and its sales – A great testament to the power of conversations and viral marketing. With so many employees, Starbucks struggles with ‘many voice syndrome.’ Who should be allowed to blog, tweet and post in official capacities? The report says, “While Starbucks encourages designated employees to have a sense of ownership in customer engagement as experts on specific topics, the company is not yet endorsing a widespread engagement in social channels. This can sometimes be difficult as many of the employees — especially those who work in stores and are avid users of social media channels like Facebook and Twitter — chomp at the bit to engage.”

Today I went to Starbucks Facebook Page and clicked on the Discussions tab. The first discussion that I came to was about ‘Rude Customers’. It included posts by 40 people (likely young barristas) about how much they hate rude customers.

Discussion around rude customers

I have read Howard Schultz’s books and I know how important customer service is to the brand. Given the strategy that is described in the report, it’s surprising to see a forum that allows employees to complain about customers on their own page. Just like companies have policies around dress and ethics at the workplace, should there be ethics around social media behavior? Would love your thoughts.

Sprout » facebook discussions

Starbucks Discussions