What the coffee culture can teach the industry
By Brian Carroll, E-business editor -- Furniture Today, February 29, 2004
I live and work in what is but a tiny speck on the Georgia map. We in Mount Berry are safely outside the orb and influence of metro Atlanta. The downside to this immunity is a lack of big city amenities and conveniences, like decent coffee, wireless Internet connectivity or a New York Times newspaper rack somewhere in the ZIP code.
All that has changed. We at Berry College now have a Starbucks. It's redefining small-town life here, and in that process are lessons for the furniture industry.
In addition to supplying espresso, the Times and wireless computing, our Starbucks has given the college what author Ray Oldenburg calls a "great, good place." Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz calls it "the third place."
For Schultz, who has watched his empire's revenues bulge by 20% every year and his share price shoot up 56% in 2003 alone, the first place is home and the second place is work. Third places provide comfort, a sense of belonging and perhaps a few moments of serenity before the day's madness begins.
Since furniture stores are all about the first place, think of the potential boost in sales in becoming also more like a third place. Here's how:
Lesson 1: Americans want to trade up. What else could explain my and apparently millions of others' willingness to pay $2.35 for two shots of — truth be told — fairly mediocre espresso and a dollop of whip cream. Twice a day. One to start the mental engine in the morning, one to keep it at least idling in mid-afternoon. Starbucks is aspirational, which is a powerful force furniture stores can tap. I realize that many are.
Lesson 2: We want customized products. Fast. Don't tell us what you can't do. I have a colleague who daily orders a double half caf, half de-caf carmel macchiato, extra whip on a leash (to go). She isn't stared at, cursed or even asked to repeat her order. And she gets it fast. As Schultz says, repeating mantra-like, "We're in the people business serving coffee, not in the coffee business serving people." What if more furniture stores were in the people business?
Lesson 3: We will pay for the emotional experience. If the coffee isn't all that great, why do we pay so much, without complaint? Because it's about much more than a hot cup of coffee. For the brief time my colleague does have to wait, she has Steve Tyrell rasping in the background, beautiful American cherry hardwood walls and counters enveloping her in a warm, inviting cocoon of quiet, and any one of a dozen conversations to join, should she choose to. It's about the transporting power of the shop's ambience. We shouldn't underestimate that.
Let them aspire. Give them what they want. Fast. And take them away by providing comfort, safety and space. Make your stores more of a great, good place.
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