Fun Fact: There are more than 11,100 Starbucks and 7,200 Dunkin Donuts across the United States. And while the U.S. is the stronghold for both coffee companies, they’re both very much global brands.
Dunkin has over 10,000 stores in 32 countries and sales of $9 billion.
Starbucks has 20,000 stores on 6 continents and $13 billion in sales.
It’s a turf war to the point where I wonder if they’re really coffee shops or just a front for real estate development.
So similar, yet worlds apart in one very key aspect.
In cities where they both have a presence, Starbucks tend to be located in more affluent areas while Dunkin Donuts dominate the more middle class, blue collar areas of town.
There’s a lesson here that can be applied to any business, not just coffee…
Know Your Audience.
They each know who their respective audience is and more importantly who their audience ISN’T.
Do you?
They tend to “stay in their lane” in that regard. Starbucks likes to be known as your “Third Place”. In other words, where you spend a lot of your time when you’re not at home or at work. Comfortable chairs, books, newspapers, wifi and ambience. And with their pricing it’s what you call lifestyle coffee.
Dunkin on the other hand is efficiency coffee. It’s not tall-grande-venti. There’s no pretense, it’s small-medium or large that you’re ordering. (BTW, there’s nothing tall about a tall Starbucks coffee. #Irony)
Dunkin is no frills, like flying Southwest or getting your haircut at a barbershop not a salon.
Dunkin is known for speed. They hang their hat on being a quick stop, get it on the go place with a VERY strong drive-thru side of their business. As evidenced by their slogan, “America Runs On Dunkin”.
In other words…
On your way to the gym, run into Dunkin.
Have an hour to kill before a meeting, Starbucks.
Food for thought:
Which are you… Lifestyle coffee so to speak or are you more of a practical, efficient brand?
Who is your core audience? (Demographics and psychographics)
And where are they primarily located?
Being armed with this information is the difference between surviving and thriving. We take a deep dive into this concept in my membership community, where I’ve shared my Super Fan Formula. Don’t worry, you can still access that if you join now.
One Starbucks drink and it’s Super Fans completely changed the trajectory of that brand. More on that in my coffee review videos playlist here and more on how these crazy “coffee wars” pertain to YOU tomorrow.