Hook Customers With A Newly Invented Language

Line at Starbucks

The first time you went to Starbucks, words like Tall, Venti, and Macchiato may have confused you. That was by design. Star Bucks knows that loyalty is formed out of belonging.

When a group can distinguish itself with its own internal language, the loyalty only strengthens (and so. Of course, the trick is getting new folks quickly acclimated to the language so that they feel like insiders and not outsiders. Starbucks has a trick for this too – rapid new language repetition.

The flow of customer traffic through a Starbucks is setup that when you are in line you hear the unique terms said during the customer order before you. When you place your order, the terms are yelled back to the bartista by the cash register attendant. When your order is ready the unique terms are yelled out again by the bartista.

And if you are a newbie, when you order a “small coffee”, they quickly educate you on the proper language “tall pressed French vanilla without cream”.

Once you learn the language, your in. For life.

What new language have you invented for your business to teach your customers? It will make them customers for life.

Starbucks Bartista


Comments

5 thoughts on “Hook Customers With A Newly Invented Language”

  1. I had never considered the power this has! It is such a clever idea and I have definitely been on the receiving end of feeling left out due to not understanding the ‘language’ of a store!

      1. We are a meeting and conference facility, there is potential for a new language. It may be wise to introduce something like that in phases though I suppose, I wouldn’t want to alienate anyone.

  2. This is a very interesting idea. Starbucks probably thought this through, after all the major companies hire the best psychologists to develop their brands and establish customer loyalty. I used to work for a retail pharmacy and they utilized a lot of psychologists in their marketing.

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