Taking a closer look at competition – II

When dealing with competition, companies need to find their way to the top and make sure that they are in the customers’ short list for the longest time possible. To be successful, companies need to differentiate themselves keeping in custody a sustainable competitive advantage.  

First of all, the formation of the employees is quite close for Brown’s and Jeronymo. They both have a constant formation (before and during their work) while Starbucks is using a more progressive formation, starting from baristas to the highest level for a store general manager.

When interviewed, the managers of the three stores gave us an idea of what they considered to be their competitive advantage. So, for Brown’s Coffee-Shop owner their edge relies on their cosy and comfortable environment whereas for Jeronymo’s Coffee-Shop manager is their innovative coffees and finally for Starbucks’ Coffee-Shop manager, it is their customer orientation.

When asked about their customers’ opinions, Brown’s Coffee-Shop owner mentioned that they don’t ask any kind of opinion but he admits they should. Regarding Jeronymo’s Coffee-Shop manager they receive daily feedback and they also have a mystery client per month – someone that belongs to the group and pretends to be a regular customer to evaluate the service with the purpose to improve the relation with the customer. Starbucks’ Coffee-Shop manager explained to us that they have a weekly goal to fulfil, regarding customers’ suggestions to improve: 10 suggestion cards per week, in addition to this they also have a suggestion box where you can leave your comments about the service, the products and the store.

We also wanted to know if they kept track of what competitors were doing and both Brown’s Coffee-Shop and Jeronymo’s Coffee-Shop managers said that they don’t. However, the manager of Starbucks mentioned that it is not a priority but they have it into consideration.

Concerning the promotion policies of the three Coffee-Shops, Brown’s Coffee-Shop doesn’t make promotions, whereas Jeronymo’s Coffee-Shop and Starbucks Coffee-Shop develop monthly promotions created by the headquarters (marketing department) but Starbucks’ Coffee-Shop manager has some flexibility and autonomy to implement some special promotions like 50% discount days, sampling and coffee tastings.

As part of the strategic spectrum one must have clear goals. As it was mentioned before, Brown's Coffee-Shop is detaching from the original concept and focusing on other business. The financial crisis enhanced the downfall process as they are currently struggling for survival. The other two mangers weren't very specif in terms of  goals and objectives but both mentioned that these are established by the companies headquarters. 

Finally, we tried to find out if they have loyal customers and fortunately they all proudly expressed they have. Brown’s Coffee-Shop has every day customers, Jeronymo Coffee-Shop receives visits from foreign clients every time they come to Portugal and Starbucks Coffee-Shop has the policy of asking the customer’s name when ordering and for some loyal customers the beverages start to be prepared as soon as they cross the door.