The selection of an appropriate business-level strategy is critical for the survival of a business, especially during the pandemic, and Starbucks is one of the companies which successfully manages to address this task. The overall focus of this corporation during this time is the creation of competitive advantage through differentiation (Thompson, 2020). This approach can be seen in Starbucks’ decisions intended to maintain its regular operations with the required degree of flexibility. For example, promoting specialty coffee, which aligns with current customer preferences, or developing other products with a greater nutritional value, such as foods without corn syrup, distinguishes the company from its rivals (Thompson, 2020). By adopting these solutions and regularly modifying them as per demand, Starbucks heavily relies on functionality; however, this approach is not optimal for possible challenges regarding profitability. It seems appropriate only in the absence of economic crises since they might adversely affect people’s ability to purchase drinks. In this situation, the correspondence of offers to personal taste would not be the decisive factor in decision-making.
Considering the potential obstacles deriving from the business-level strategy of Starbucks, one can recommend taking into consideration numerous circumstances in contrast to the sole orientation on customers’ tastes. These factors suggested for a more thorough analysis should include the buying power of the population and the varying conditions of new markets the company aims to enter. For instance, when developing products such as Frappuccino, the process of innovating should include a careful analysis of target countries since cultural characteristics, especially related to consumer behavior during crises, can influence sales (Thompson, 2020). From this perspective, a more practical approach would be a combination of previously elaborated differentiation techniques and assessments of a greater variety of conditions. In this case, the main challenges in readjusting operations concerning the specified needs will be higher costs of new procedures; however, they will be eventually compensated for while enhancing Starbucks’ competitive advantage.
Reference
Thompson, A. (2020). Starbucks’ generic strategy & intensive growth strategies. Panmore Institute. Web.