Find Your Institution’s Pumpkin Spice Latte

There are a plenty of things in life that are “good enough.” When a grocery store doesn’t have my favorite laundry soap, it’s not an option to skip doing laundry until it’s restocked (no matter how much I may want to); I find another brand and it’s pretty much the same. Yeah, my clothes might not smell as much like a lavender-filled meadow after a gentle rain, but they’ll be fresh, clean, and good enough. Or, for your lucky non laundry-doers out there, maybe the brand of lightbulb you usually buy is out of stock. Do you just decide to read by candlelight for the foreseeable future? Probably not, because another lightbulb will be good enough.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte is not one of these things.

Anyone can make a pumpkin spice-flavored latte, but only Starbucks can make a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I say this as someone who isn’t even all that much of a Starbucks fan, and as someone who isn’t crazy about pumpkin-flavored things, but I say this because it’s true. I’ve had several people tell me that “(Insert whatever coffee shop here)” has a pumpkin spice latte that’s way better than the PSL, but I have never found this to be true. I mean, the fact that they are even comparing this supposedly better option to the original PSL speaks volumes about how the Starbucks version is the original, the standard, and the autumnal beverage to which all others aspire. The Pumpkin Spice Latte has become synonymous with Starbucks because it’s a product that highlights what the international coffee chain does well: consistency, originality, marketing, novelty, innovation, and seasonality—it’s Starbucks’s perfect storm.  It was their product first, and though many have tried to jump on that most cinnamony of profit-generating bandwagons, it is impossible to avoid comparisons to the original.

You want to be Starbucks in this example (and probably most examples). If you’re looking around at other institutions’ products trying to figure out how to replicate them, you’ve already lost. Don’t come at the problem from the perspective of “this thing is wildly popular; how can we do a version of it?” Instead, try “what product are we uniquely equipped to make?” If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from reading Higher Ed news, it’s that there is a demand for almost every program imaginable, no matter how niche (we talked about this in a previous blog, but bagpiping and bicycle design are two of my favorite examples).

I’m not saying that if another institution has a similar program/product, you shouldn’t offer the same one. I’m just suggesting you ask, “what makes our version of this a Pumpkin Spice Latte?” Lots of schools offer MBAs, but only one specific (and imaginary) school would be equipped to offer an MBA On Ice™—taught and completed fully in ice-skates to prepare graduates for the fast-paced and hands-on world of managing an Ice Capades troupe. This (unfortunately) imaginary program would require very specialized faculty and resources, but this program would be that school’s PSL. No other institution in existence would be able to offer the same level of quality, expertise, and passion for that particular niche.

What’s your institution’s PSL? And, almost as importantly—do people know about it? Starbucks makes a lot more than Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but come September, that is what they, and everyone else, are talking about. It’s part of their unique brand. It has never been easier for students to shop around and compare programs, so make sure that if you’re offering a PSL, an MBA On Ice™, or a Post-Doc Fellowship in Restorative Hippopotamus Dentistry, you’re shouting it from the rooftops. Don’t hide your institution’s originality and unique perspective just because you want to appeal to the broadest possible audience. Could you make a general product that is “good enough”? I’m sure you could, but it won’t be very fulfilling or fun. Instead, think about how adventurous and rewarding it is to bring something brand new to the world. What resources, staff, faculty, expertise, experience, passion, knowledge does your institution have that no one else does? Make the latte that only you have the ingredients for.

“Often imitated, never duplicated
They say she a dime, I say she underrated”
- Fabolous