Well check you out, Starbucks. At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, the under-performing company announced some initiatives that stray from what the brand has turned into as of late. I found the most intriguing idea to be their version of a social scene — just yesterday they introduced an online community, My Starbucks Idea, where customers like you can get in touch with employees and make suggestions. Not only that, but Starbucks' head honchos will contribute to a blog that will live on the site.
The new community is a natural fit for the revitalized image CEO Howard Schulz envisions for the company. In his opening remarks at yesterday's meeting he said, "We somehow evolved from a culture of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation to a culture of, in a way, mediocrity and bureaucracy."
YumSugar has all of the details on the new coffee ideas that made caffeinated waves at yesterday's meeting, but before you check them out tell me if you think the new community makes good business sense.
i do;nt necessarily think that it's really going to make an impact. i think that starbucks has been around for a while - and rather successful for the most part - but people have figured out how to find alternatives - and that's kind of where the market is going. to have the type of interaction that they are thinking about - that's just not the most realistic thing - seeing as how we all know that in general our input isn't going to change anything.
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