Intpulse Traps: How Starbucks Got the Message

If you haven’t read Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built A Company One Cup At A Time, by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz you are missing out.  The book is a primary source for the rise of the coffee giant, but also a look inside how Starbucks’s growth has been driven by passion and innovation.  In 2005, Schultz stepped down from the CEO, being replaced by Jim Donald whose 3 year tenure lead the coffee giant down a bad path.  Even the espresso buzz we felt through 2005 was starting to wear off, Starbucks continues to be an industry anchor in spite of blatant attacks from McDonalds.

In January of 2008, after a 3 year reprieve, Schultz returned to reins of Starbucks as the company CEO with an ambitious turnaround plan that included store closings, brand enhancements, and customer responsiveness.  This last one, the customer responsiveness, was something that Schultz learned early in the development of Starbucks.  He learned to lead by listening.  And listen is the first thing Schultz set out to do.

In March of 2008, Starbucks unveiled My Starbucks Idea which became a virtual complaint/suggestion box of sorts.  Instead of the omnipresent “feedback” button on most websites, My Starbucks Idea presented a familiar interface (a combination of Twitter, a blog, and Digg.com), that allowed customers to get their intpulses out in a somewhat controlled environment.  This allowed brand patrons to interact with one another and interact they did.  Make no mistake, this is no social network, there are no friends, and no vein profile pictures.  This is a feedback forum where users can instantly bring importance to their intpulse, making them all contestants on a reality tv show.

Users can post their suggestions, while other users “vote” and comment on the suggestions very much in the same way Simon Cowell does on American Idol.  Though this type of outlet doesn’t completely quell the chatter on Twitter and Facebook, it does allow users to feel more important with their suggestions.  There is instant vindication or disapproval.  If there is a mob mentality behind an idea, Starbucks has more control to respond effectively than they would if things are spread virally over the internet.  And respond they did.

Since the inception of My Starbucks Idea, the site has gathered over 70,000 ideas from free wi-fi at Starbucks locations, to the “Birthday Brew” (free cup of coffee on your birthday).  Now, this ”intpulse trap” changes the nature of the intpulse itself to have perceived value (thereby transforming it to and intended action).  It makes the bearer feel important, and bestowing the feeling of importance and empowerment is the number one way to proactively manage your online reputation.  Have a grievance against Starbucks, where is it going to be effectively handled, My Starbucks Idea, or Twitter?  Where can you most easily rally support?  Most importantly for Starbucks, where can you most effectively listen to your audience?

Now this is not to suggest that every little mom and pop ecommerce shop should set up a user feedback forum like Starbucks.  That is likely to do more harm than good, however this highlights one of the most important aspects of managing your online reputation and containing disasters; make your loyalists feel important.