With Tata Starbucks all set to open 100 stores by next year, home-grown companies like CCD are bound to have a few headaches. Starbucks with all its global marketing expertise is ready to take on the challenges of selling coffee in India. The Indian market is still very much in the nascent stage. To earn a major share of this pie, CCD needs to come up with some brilliant marketing ideas.

Starbucks has stayed with the upper-scale of the coffee market, competing on comfort rather than convenience but for India they may target lower segments considering large middle income population the country has. So its very important for companies like CCD to ward off any potential completion and not even allow a sniff at the apple pie!

Here are some ideas that CCD can take to ensure that Starbucks’ entry is not that auspicious in India

Bring the takeaway culture:

Globally, cafe consumers are attuned to a takeaway culture; it can help CCD add to its margins with very little cost.

Launching the CCD Card to know:

Who its best customers are?

Where its best customers are?

Domination in the online space:

With around 4 million facebook followers in India, CCD can take lead in this domain where Starbucks’ presence is minimal. Online sales account for a majority of the earnings.

Give Starbucks the taste of its own medicine:

Follow the strategy of clustering or saturating the market. Take over the best locations in the best locales in Central Business District Areas of Bangalore, Mumbai etc., leaving no footprint of opportunity to rivals

Press on scalability:

While CCD targets a broader market, Starbucks aims at a niche segment. The company can look at scalability to maximize revenues

Making a TVC:

While CCD is prominent in tier 1 cities, it still has to go a long way to gain more band value in tier 2 cities like Nagpur, Bhopal, Agra etc. Making of a television commercial is the 1 stop solution for this.

Heavy Promotion in films:

CCD has already done this in movies like Main Hoon Na, Kyun Ho Gaya Na , etc but shelved this idea as there was not much competition at that period of time. In wake of competition looming large, its time to do it again. All of Starbucks’ popularity in India is due to Hollywood film stars walking with a Starbucks coffee cup in hand as shown in films. CCD can start doing the same in Bollywood films.

Retaining the top leadership at CCD:

It’s very often that whenever MNCs set foot in India, they hunt for experienced leaders in the rival companies. So it’s very important that the CCD retains its top leadership. These bright minds can be a big asset to the company.

(Gagan Deep is pursuing MBA at NITIE, Mumbai.)