Case Study: Watching Starbucks?1. In this case study you can read the four reasons why watching has become a major trend. Why is it important for companies like Starbucks to know the reasons behind this trend? In the case the author indicates four reasons why watching has become an important trend: • Busy life and time pressure leave no time for cooking and lead people to eat on the go • People spend much more time driving and eating in car • Lack of family life leads teenagers to an unstructured life that affects their eating habits • “Small families typically cook fewer meals” In the United States this percentage has increased to 60%. It is important for companies like Starbucks to know the reasons for this trend for the following reasons. First of all, this trend has an impact on strategic planning. It is critical to take into account uncertainties related to market changes while evaluating the external environment (customers, industry, competitors, etc.) and the company's internal strengths and weaknesses. This trend influences the company's formulation of business objectives and strategies. Secondly, understanding the reasons facilitates the formulation of the marketing strategy. More specifically, the company formulates marketing concepts and builds brand reputation by understanding customer needs. For example, after analyzing customers' eating behaviors and finding that only "35 percent of Americans eat two or fewer 'square' meals per day," Starbucks sells only high-quality coffee along with a variety of pastries and a few sandwiches in "bar". considering reasons helps develop a customer-oriented mission (what are we doing now? and visions (what do we want to achieve in the future?) The company tested four Starbucks Cafés in the Seattle area, where they were serving meals. However, the cafes were soon closed as customers came to Starbucks to watch rather than eat. Therefore, understanding the reasons behind this trend helped identify the organization's vision to remain a "café" rather than a Starbucks Café. .To make the best business and marketing decisions is possible only when you gain as much knowledge as possible about current trends and the reasons behind them.2. Suppose the marketing manager of Starbucks wants to use the information in this case as input to a strategic marketing plan.a. What information in this case should be part of the customer analysis? The customer analysis includes the potential customer's attributes, needs and perceptions of the company. In the case the author distinguished different customer segments.