Starbucks: How to transform a crisis into an opportunity

The vice president of public relations of Starbucks held a session during the public relations day at Newhouse. James Olson presented an interesting view on his company, and how going back to basics was a wise move.

Starbucks underwent a financial crisis back in 2008 when it had to shut down more than 600 under-performing locations. It leads to the departure of its emblematic CEO, Howard Schultz, who came back to the company a few months later. This situation brought important change within the company’s communication approach. Right after that, Starbucks tried to find again its true spirit and identity.

This quest to find the company’s true beliefs leads it to go back to the basics: its customers. The company grew so fast and so big in his years of existence, with more than 17,000 stores in 60 countries, that it became difficult for it to keep a common voice shared by all its stores. In conducting change, Starbucks’s CEO played an enormous role as the leader and face of this change.

Howard Schultz at the Global Leadership Conference
October 2012, Houston, TX

Starbucks’s case illustrates how well it was able to handle a crisis, but also how important is the CEO within a company. The strength of its communication after 2008 was to put Schultz in the front line and having him being the bond of this huge organization. From Olson’s presentation, I’ll tend to say that crisis management is all about being able to question yourself: When something is wrong choosing to change is a key to evolve toward the right direction.

Schultz’s personality was the driving force through Starbucks’s global communication to retrieve their roots. Employees programs, community relations, being transparent by advocating their decisions and policies, were the main implementations done to strengthen their company’s overall communication.

Global Leadership Conference
October 2012, Houston, TX

This situation is the perfect example of a strong corporate social responsibility program. Starbucks managed to turn its crisis into an opportunity and by doing so, it wisely communicated toward both its internal and external publics. Employees were one of the key targets, and the feeling of belonging to the company was one of the top messages to spread out.

This case will surely become a classic of crisis management and of the use of CSR as a communication tool. It will now be even more interesting to keep an eye on Starbucks’s future communication to assess whether it is a lasting project that will guide the company through its future years of business.