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I will end the strategy series with Starbucks.

Disclaimer: This analysis is based solely on the strategy discussion in Jack Welch’s Winning.

You enter a typical Starbucks and what do you see? Bunch of people sitting with their coffee cups reading, working on their laptops or talking (usually) softly, soothing jazz music playing in the background and baristas standing at the counter ready to take your order and prepare a fresh cup of coffee. One might argue why people pay the premium on each cup of coffee they buy at Starbucks. Apart from the great tasting coffee, the answer lies primarily in this atmosphere that Starbucks creates at its stores.

This links directly to the strategy of Starbucks: making the local Starbucks as the third place for the people in the community after their home and work. How is this atmosphere created? By providing friendly service, likable music and of course, great coffee.

In the recent years, Starbucks is facing growing competition from the like of McDonald’s, and the interesting thing to note is that McDonald’s is taking potshots at this very strategy of Starbucks in its advertisements. To counter the initial competition, Starbucks still maintained the same “third place” atmosphere and complemented it with serving simple breakfast and lunch options at its stores. This fit pretty well in its basic strategy. Next they started the $1 cup of coffee, which added an economical option to its premium-priced beverage lineup, but still maintained the atmosphere. It will be interesting to see how Starbucks will further reallocate resources to take on growing competition from the fast food chains.

Here’s the next installment of the strategy series (based on the strategy chapter in Jack Welch’s Winning): Trader Joe’s.

Trader Joe’s tagline: Your Neighborhood Grocery Store. And if you visit one of these stores you will definitely get the feel of visiting a neighborhood store with an old-fashioned bell to call for help at the counters, wooden shelves, fresh bread and friendly staff. Another distinctive thing about Trader Joe’s is that, along with the regular products, you get a range of “unique” products including international frozen food, gourmet food and a different selection of wine and beer.

Trader Joe’s strategy, which seems to be ingrained in every part of the company, is very simple: provide a local feel and complement it with a unique selection of products. This is the winning strategy for the grocery chain with more than 300 stores and $6.5 billion in revenue.

This strategy provides Trader Joe’s a way to differentiate itself in the industry. Trader Joe’s distinguishes itself from other local stores by having a unique selection of products, and from competitors like Whole Foods, that carry similar products, by using its local store atmosphere.

Here’s the first installment of the strategy series: Thai Tom.

Walk by the University Way in Seattle during lunch or dinner hours and it will be really hard to miss a good number of foodies waiting outside a small and dark Thai food joint while the other places have good number of tables empty. That small shabby restaurant with a few tables, an open kitchen and a bunch of counter seats is Thai Tom. Maximum capacity: about 25. Minimum wait time: 25-30 minutes. The normal procedure at this place is to put you on waitlist and ask you to wait outside. 10 minutes later, hand you a wooden slate with menu on it. Another 10 minutes and your order is taken (still on the street outside). Then eventually you get a seat in.  People from all around come to this place to have what is arguably (and voted for last three years as) the best Thai food in the city. 

Thai Tom’s strategy is clear and crisp: focus on the product. Thai Tom with its cook and three member service crew probably never had a strategy review, but knowingly or unknowingly, formed a perfect strategy: serve the best Thai food in city. Every time I go there, I hear people arguing that if the capacity of this place is doubled, it will still be full all the time. But Thai Tom sticks to its strategy by having just one cook who knows how to cook the dishes with excellence.

How can competition take on Thai Tom? Provide differentiation by excelling where Thai Tom is weak, i.e. focus on service and ambiance of restaurant while serving the best possible food. It is very unlikely that Thai Tom customers will like a competing joint on University Way just for quality of the food, but by having a strategy that focuses on zero wait time, comfortable seating and likable ambiance, they will win some customers who are either in a rush or are not interested to wait outdoors in Seattle rain!

What is strategy? Jack Welch puts it so well in Winning: “Strategy is simply resource allocation. When you strip away all the noise, that’s what it comes down to. Strategy means making clear-cut choices about how to compete. You cannot be everything to everybody, no matter what the size of your business or how deep its pockets.”

I believe every successful business, small or big, has a clear and crisp strategy. Or put it in other words, to be successful, it’s better you have one for your business. Every person in a company should be on the same page when it comes to strategy, so it is critical for it to be simple.

Here, in the next few posts, I will analyze strategies for some of my favorite “brands” including a neighborhood restaurant, a grocery store, a retail giant and a couple of computer manufacturers.