Blog 2

I work as a supervisor in the food service industry, specifically, at a very popular coffee company. I guess you could say that like any other coporation with marketing strategies, this corporation tries to target a few specific groups of people. In my 2 years of experience there, I've noticed that one targeted group is definitely business people.

I work full-time, so I see help a lot of customers day-in, day-out. One of the things that amazes me is how similar and how different many of our customers are. Although many of our customers are astute business men, the majority of our customers (overall & overwhelmingly) are women. (Of course these "statistics" are only applicable to my specific location, but overall I think they generalize for this company in this region of the country, at least.) Many of our customers who are business people are women. I'd say at least half of the business people that work nine to five, management, or white collar positions are actually women. Many of them are very independent, and will be glad to let you know that they are. Perhaps this percentage of women has something to say about our community. Maybe we have a significant number of women in white collar jobs in the area. A high percentage of "white collar" women visiting this company daily could also say something about the company itself-- perhaps these women are another targeted group. At my location and the other 3 locations at which I've worked, it is obvious that more women than men purchase this company's coffee. Because this company is international, I cannot help but wonder what the customer demographics look like internationally.

This specific company also works very, very hard to incorporate and foster an international awareness in its stores and its communities. It works very hard to promote many causes like environmental awareness & protection, AIDS awareness & protection, racism awareness, the need for clean water in third world countries, even the specific needs we have here in the local community. However, in my two years of employment with this company, I've yet to hear one word about women's issues, other than breast cancer awareness walks, which are wonderful, of course. I'm surprised that a company that is so international, with such social presence and influence, I'm still not surprised that my insurance won't cover my birth control or a vasectomy for my husband. I am, however, surprised to learn that at the beginning of the fiscal year (next month) my company is switching insurance plans, and I will be losing my free yearly women's exams and all free women's health preventative measures. These changes are being made corporately, so international employees will also be affected. I can't help but notice how ironic it is that although the vast majority of this company's customers may perhaps be women, this company is cutting health benefits that are among some of the most important to women.