So Star bucks has decided to bring back
Eggnog Latte following a huge outcry from the customers when the company
announced it was discontinuing the beverage.
I know many of you would have read about it - it is all over the news.
I know many of you would have read about it - it is all over the news.
But this is the
real gist: Eggnog Latte is
an expresso with steamed Eggnog and milk, topped with nutmeg. It is a unique
beverage to Star Bucks backed by popular demand. But the goons at Start Bucks woke
up one day and decided to scrap the flavor last month and replace it with a
new praline
chestnut latte......
The result was not what they envisaged at all. There were massive protests across social media platforms by their customers.
This is synonymous with the Coke story too. When New Coke was launched in 1985, it was launched with funfare including prime time ads. Company chairman Roberto C Goizueta proclaimed New Coke "smoother, rounder yet bolder" but public reaction was overwhelmingly negative; some people even likened the change in coke to trampling the American flag.
After couple of months, the "New Coke" was yanked from store shelves. And they were able to save the day.
I still don't know why giant companies like Coca Cola and Star Bucks could make this kind of mistake; although they were lucky to have fixed things early. Not all companies are these lucky when they make goofs like this.
Here are few things I learnt from Star Bucks and Coke
1) A New Product Is Never Cool until It Is Certified by Your Customers: As a company or a start up, you should have this at the back of your mind. Your customers are integral part of your company. Without the customers, there is no company. I don't know how this skipped the mind of the "MBA-studded" Star bucks and Coca Cola.
When it comes to launching a new product or scrapping out one, you must not take your customers out of the picture.
Instead of surprising them with the new product, you should conduct a survey, find out their opinions - know how they feel about it. This will save you the stress of launching something that
2) When you make a mistake Fix it instantly: Star bucks and Coke were lucky because they made a mistake and fixed the process immediately - Especially a mistake like the one Star bucks made. Abandon your MBA at that moment and use your DNA. Forget about the crazy report from your team. Don't force a new product on your customers - you'd end up scaring them off.
Learn to listen to your customers even more than you do with your partners. Let your customers feel like the company is theirs.
Starbucks with all the MBA graduates they had no idea how their Eggnog Lattes were- until they took them away.
Here are some of the complaints from the fans of "Eggnogg Latte" I stumbled upon on twitter.
The result was not what they envisaged at all. There were massive protests across social media platforms by their customers.
This is synonymous with the Coke story too. When New Coke was launched in 1985, it was launched with funfare including prime time ads. Company chairman Roberto C Goizueta proclaimed New Coke "smoother, rounder yet bolder" but public reaction was overwhelmingly negative; some people even likened the change in coke to trampling the American flag.
After couple of months, the "New Coke" was yanked from store shelves. And they were able to save the day.
I still don't know why giant companies like Coca Cola and Star Bucks could make this kind of mistake; although they were lucky to have fixed things early. Not all companies are these lucky when they make goofs like this.
Here are few things I learnt from Star Bucks and Coke
1) A New Product Is Never Cool until It Is Certified by Your Customers: As a company or a start up, you should have this at the back of your mind. Your customers are integral part of your company. Without the customers, there is no company. I don't know how this skipped the mind of the "MBA-studded" Star bucks and Coca Cola.
When it comes to launching a new product or scrapping out one, you must not take your customers out of the picture.
Instead of surprising them with the new product, you should conduct a survey, find out their opinions - know how they feel about it. This will save you the stress of launching something that
2) When you make a mistake Fix it instantly: Star bucks and Coke were lucky because they made a mistake and fixed the process immediately - Especially a mistake like the one Star bucks made. Abandon your MBA at that moment and use your DNA. Forget about the crazy report from your team. Don't force a new product on your customers - you'd end up scaring them off.
Learn to listen to your customers even more than you do with your partners. Let your customers feel like the company is theirs.
Starbucks with all the MBA graduates they had no idea how their Eggnog Lattes were- until they took them away.
Here are some of the complaints from the fans of "Eggnogg Latte" I stumbled upon on twitter.
Shannon Mc Mullen also tweeted: "seriously broken this A.M. Just found out. Starbucks is not bringing back the eggnog latte. It is the only thing keeping me going.......
In summary, star bucks and coke were lucky to get away
with what they did, others may not. So when next your company is trying to
launch a new product or axe off an existing product, think star bucks and
coke... put the reaction of your customers into consideration.
Sadiq Daniel is a certified crazy writer and Teens Coach that blogs on business, Self- development and Life lessons. You can pursue him on Twitter: @sadiqspeaks LinkedIn: Sadiq Daniel and Email: Sadiqdaniel@gmail.com
