Comments on: David vs Goliath isn’t always that dramatic

By: Jeff Mitchell

Jeff Mitchell — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:50:37 +0000

There was an interesting article on Slate about this phenomenon. link to article

"They'll do all of your marketing for you, and your sales will soar." The prediction came true: Each new Starbucks store created a local buzz, drawing new converts to the latte-drinking fold. When the lines at Starbucks grew beyond the point of reason, these converts started venturing outâ€”and, Look! There was another coffeehouse right next-door! [Local coffeeshop owner] Hyman's new neighbor boosted his sales so much that he decided to turn the tactic around and start targeting Starbucks. "We bought a Chinese restaurant right next to one of their stores and converted it, and by God, it was doing $1 million a year right away," he said.

By: Scott Bach

Scott Bach — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:58:45 +0000

They also have the best espresso in the world! I have it everyday!

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:40:03 +0000

Great article and nice blog. One of my favorite concepts that I talk to people about is just that – Authenticity. Most people do not realize the power of being authentic and true to who you are… especially if what you are doing is already working. Broadway Cafe had already tapped into the power and profitability (my assumption) of being who they were, then they dug in deep and stuck to what whey know. Good for them, very mature business ethic. Thanks for the article.

By: John Jantsch

John Jantsch — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:32:42 +0000

Tipper,

I don’t know that I agree and this certainly wasn’t meant to come out as me picking on Starbucks – I like Starbucks a lot – in fact that’s where I am right now typing this.

The point of the story to me is that small companies have a competitive advantage if they choose to use it.

That’s true whether the competitor is Starbucks or Bob’s All Night Cofee

By: Business Tipper

Business Tipper — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 15:12:18 +0000

Very interesting story. This is especially interesting to me as starbucks always tries to be more about the experience and community of coffee rather than “just” the coffee.

However they have gotten so big that people are beginning to think of them closer to McDonalds and the local coffee shops are the ones that have the unique experience and community.

I expect to see a decline of Starbucks in years to come, they seem to have hit their peak.

By: Gary

Gary — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:01:57 +0000

As you pointed out, this is a wonderful opportunity for a sociological study. Letâ€™s throw in marketing research. Starbucks fills a niche, offering convenient with mediocre coffee and service, high priced food, and wireless internet. Road warriors can have a quick meeting or get some work done in a familiar environment.

Broadway Coffee had an established customer base. In my opinion, Starbucks made a mistake opening next door and never had a chance.

By: Parks Bros. Farm Blog » Blog Archive » Don’t Panic - A Smallmart lesson

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 21:20:48 +0000

[...] More on Smallmarts from the Duct Tape Marketing Blog. [...]

By: Ian Brodie

Ian Brodie — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:16:28 +0000

Don’t know if it quite applies in this case, but sometimes having siilar stores near each other helps business for all. It makes life easier for potential customers to know that if they want to look for antiques, or kitchens or whatever, then there’s a whole bunch of similar stores near to each other. It draws more customers in than would otherwise have happened so all the stores benefit – especially if there are similar, but different, things in each store. Doesn’t normally happen with coffee, but perhaps the stores were similar enough that if you want to go for a coffee, you had more choice by going to where they both were; but different enough that you didn’t end up with cut-throat price competition.

Ian