Starbucks fans all over Canada have been outraged over Starbucks’ decision to not serve the Gingerbread Latte in Western Canada this season. People were very verbal about it, telling Starbucks they were disappointed, and using language such as “what the hell”! This was yesterday.
What happened today? Starbucks has decided to bring back the Gingerbread Latte. This is a great example of how a company does social monitoring, and listens to its customers. They took the very negative feedback as constructive criticism, and found out that their assumption of people on the West Coast not wanting the Gingerbread Latte wasn’t entirely correct. It also shows there is influence in numbers. Because of the huge amount of people that protested against this decision, Starbucks took them seriously.
And today, a quick keyword search on Twitter for Starbucks + Gingerbread returns masses of results of people thanking Starbucks for bringing back what now has become their favourite drink of the season. Their perception of the Gingerbread Latte changed from a seasonal drink to an incredibly rare drink, making it even more attractive now that it’s back. This is great online marketing for Starbucks, and the decision to bring back the Gingerbread Latte has turned a negative conversation into a positive one.
Some people think it’s a huge marketing stunt. They may be right. I may be naive, but I choose to believe that this is an example of listening to, and respecting your fans. Starbucks has shown that they put customers first. Now I can’t wait to try the Gingerbread Latte.
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