fin 370 week 3 team

Strategic Initiative Paper
Veronica Johnson Melissa Herrera Nick Engelke Carlos Martinez Gary Gilberthorp
FIN/370
April 21,2014
Junius Jaubert

Strategic Initiative Paper
Starbucks Strategic Initiative expanding globally and reaching new customers is the goal of Starbucks Corporation. To produce more revenue as well as excel above the competing international coffee organizations. Starbucks Corporation must not only meet but also continually exceed this goal. Starbucks is known for continuously creating new innovations in the marketplace. The Corporation is also well-known For using various media channels to perpetuate their reputation as the top coffee organization in the world. This strategic initiative will increase these channels of communication to include Facebook, Twitter, television advertisements, and magazine ads. The resultant efforts of this strategic initiative will determine Starbucks future revenue and future direction of the organization.
Starbucks has several current strategic initiatives in place to improve the organization’s sales and drive long-term shareholder value. This strategic initiative will further expand current strategic initiatives by including a multi-channel advertising and marketing campaign to increase successfully the transparency of the Corporation. This initiative will enable Starbucks to expand globally and reach new customers to enable one-on-one dialogue while increasing sales both internationally and domestically. Current strategic initiatives will improve through the implementation of this strategic initiative of multi-channel advertising. Social Media has become the best way for Starbucks to communicate with consumers, partners, and suppliers. Social media also allows the corporation to monitor the social media efforts of its competitors. With a fierce competitive market in the coffee industry this opens the result is a huge increase in social energy, which is being channeled in all kinds of directions” (Sifry, 2011, p. 42). Utilizing magazine and television ads will enable the company to direct more visitors to both Facebook and Twitter. This will increase the number of potential customers who have access to this one-on-one dialogue. The transparency will increase customer trust and give value to the brand name, thus increasing sales both internationally and domestically.

There are many risk factors associated with the initiative. There are some that will be beyond company control; such as customer traffic, decline of product demand, cost increases such as labor and products, and any additional cost associated with the opening of new locations. The corporation must also weigh the risk of any changes in the economy. Corporation is heavily reliant on consumer purchases, and if there are any down falls in the economy there will be a financial impact on the company. These and other risk factors must be given due diligence. It is important that the company weigh the risk that it may be unsuccessful in this strategic initiative; there is no assurance that this or any other strategy will be successful. “The accelerating rate of change in the business world ensures that the option to avoid risk is not open to any company” (Reading, 2004, p. 120). As part of this initiative, the company will attempt to reach out to consumers and employees through social media channels. This increases the risk that our competitors while also be paying attention to our channels, which May in-turn reduce our profitability. Weighing the risk of transparency and the possibility of failure are important aspects of this strategic initiative. There are other risk factors, such as the cost of imported items, the currency exchange rates of foreign countries, and the international value of our brand. The value of our brand both internationally and domestically will have an impact on the company financially. The success of our various business partners (both international and domestic) also has a financial impact on the company. If the company cannot meet market expectations because of increased costs of imported items, it may adversely affect the unpredictability of company stock prices. The cost of imported items, the currency exchange rates, and the international value of the brand will pose an ongoing risk factor regardless of the success or failure of this strategic initiative. In summary, it is the goal of the strategic initiative to reach new customers on a global level. It is vital that the company continue to produce more revenue and maintain its standing as the top coffee organization in the world. By increasing channels of communication to include Facebook, Twitter, television advertisements, and magazine ads the company will increase its transparency with consumers. This increased transparency will build brand trust, increase visitor interaction on company social media channels, and ultimately increase sales.

References
Reading, C. (2004).Strategic Business Planning: A Dynamic System for Improving Performance & Competitive Advantage (2nd Ed.). Business Knowledge Transfer, Ltd. Sterling, VA. Siri, M. (2011).
WikiLeaks and the Age of Transparency. Bookmobile, USA. Starbucks Corporation. (2009).
Starbucks Annual Report 2009. Retrieved December 2012, from starbucks.com: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/99/99518/SBUX_AR.pdf Starbucks Corporation. (2012). Annual Reports. Retrieved December 2012, from starbucks.com: http://investor.starbucks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99518&p=irol-reportsannual The Sydney Morning Herald. (2012, December 6). Product recalls in the social media age. Business Day, p. 1. Weinberg, T. (2009).
The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc.