Professional Portfolio
A Summary of Coursework in the Erskine Business Department
Project: Donut Shop
Team Name: Crazy Glaze
When: Fall 2007
Type of Project: Fundamentals of opening a Small Business
Brief Description:
In the fall of 2007, my Introduction to Business class had a semester long project. We were told to find out all of the steps we would have to take in order to open a donut shop. We divided into teams and gave interim deliverables to discuss how far along we were.
My team name was “The Crazy Glaze.” We decided to buy the building of a restaurant in town (hypothetically). The building was for sale fully furnished, so we would not need to buy much new equipment. The fact that we wanted to buy a building helped our group on the final deliverable.
We focused on becoming active in the community to draw customers. We believed that in this small town, people will not support something without having previous knowledge of it.
Executive Brief:
Fred Jones is a young fellow, with hopes of quenching a dream of running his own retail donut shop near his house. (located in Abbeville county). His family has given him $5,000, and he is willing to take a 10,000 home equity loan to start his dream. He consulted Erskine College for assistance.
With help from Erskine’s introduction to business class, Fred Brown, has been able to create an outstanding plan for a donut retail business to be known as the Crazy Glaze. Projections show that the return on investment will come quickly to both Fred Brown and the bank. Profits increase well and remain above cost. Our well planned marketing strategy insures that we have good market penetration. Cause-related, grass roots marketing style enables us to become part of the community and add value through academics and fellowship. The Crazy Glaze donut shop adds four jobs to a small county that has a higher-than-average unemployment rate; consisting of cashier/waiters and cooks.
Using the Greenville market report we made projections, by comparing the sales of donuts in Greenville by population ratios to the population of Abbeville County, to better focus our data in choosing markets to target. This was used in selecting target markets of high school and college students, educators, and families with children. Simple donuts with varying glaze toppings were selected. Through this, simple mathematics applied to fixed costs, start up costs, and variable costs in addition to our marketing strategy show a growth, profit and value existing for Fred, and the community.
Our marketing campaign is placed directly into the day to day lives of our targets. We have an emphasis on reaching the community as it is today; with a grass roots foundation in our educational promotions, football concessions, school breakfasts, and church gathering campaigns.
Plan Details:
We plan to use advertisements which would leave good, lasting impressions on customers. Examples of these impressions include supporting academics, supporting athletics (namely football), and encourage small groups as well as other religious endeavors. Word of mouth marketing is our most powerful advertising tool, along with operating under an “attitude of gratitude”. “To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven” (Johannes A. Gaertner). An “Attitude of Gratitude” business focus is to concentrate on supporting our community, creating value through a thankful, pleasant spirit. Our food selection is simple, yet tasty, and at the same time lends itself to personalization through the glaze choices. Our young target markets are generally innovative and creative; however, the love of simplicity is grounded into their character. The personalization through glaze choices and simple donuts allows our targets to express themselves and maintain their small town simplicity.
We are a small town donut shop located in Due West, with a focus on being involved in the community. Our business plans have been developed through the use of business best practices from text books and other supplement materials. Beyond the use of these typical resources we have consulted with both business and advertising professionals. We have also made sure that our strategies would work with in the Grass Roots environment, by not over advertising, and striving to be “friendly”.
From all of this, a knowledge of the importance of directly meeting the customers is the principle advice gained. It is highly beneficial to know the statistics of the local population. Having target markets that are related to each other gets greater results in marketing.
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Project: Ethics Movie
When: Spring 2008
Type of Project: Business Ethics Education
Brief Description:
I created a video that explained several ethical situations that would be used to educate high school aged teenagers. After giving the details of a situation, we asked the instructor to pause the film. We asked the instructor to pause the movie so that the students would have an opportunity to discuss what they might do in the given situation. After the pause, we gave a suggestion of what we would do in the given circumstance.
The video was submitted in the SIFE competition in 2008 in both regional and national competitions. It was also used as a teaching aid at Carolina Springs Academy. The video has also been sent to seven area high school economics teachers.
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Project: Economics Board Game
Team Name: “Macro Mania”
When: April-May 2008
Type of Project: Economic Principles Education
Brief Description:
Our group fashioned a concept of a board game that could be used to educate fifth graders about Economics. Our game involved rolling a die and following a track that went through four different sections. When the player lands on a space he/she will be asked a question from that section. The sections are Government, Personal, Trade, and Business. The first player to answer enough questions from each section wins.
This Project was submitted in the SIFE competition in 2008 in both regional and national competitions.
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Project: B2C Marketing “Coffee Shop Wars”
Our Client: Goodness and Mercy Tea Room
Team Name: The Tea Team
When: September- October 2008
Executive Brief For Goodness and Mercy
Overview:
Our team was given the task of increasing profit and wallet share for Goodness & Mercy during a designated weekend. This task turned into a mission for the group to help the owner, Debbie Hite, improve her marketing skills to help sustain the business. The team soon realized that it was necessary to help her operate her business more profitably because her efforts were not allowing her to gain profit. The Tea Team first met with Mrs. Hite to assess their audience. They were able to learn the mission of their client and understand why she operates a tea room in Abbeville, SC. The Tea Team also became aware of the experience that Goodness & Mercy has to offer each customer. The Tea Team gained a better understanding of Mrs. Hite’s goal as the owner of this business and how their marketing efforts could benefit both her and each of her customers that come to the tea room. Then, the Tea Team developed and evaluated a SWOT Analysis for Goodness & Mercy. The Tea Team also researched the macroenvironmental factors and psychographics of Abbeville County to segment potential target markets.
Target Markets:
The target markets that were used include college students, faculty and staff of local colleges, churchgoers, and the elderly. The college students include those from Erskine College and Lander University between the ages of 17 and 22. They are part of the Generation Y cohort. Faculty and staff members include those from Erskine and Lander as well. They are between the ages of 22 and 65. They are part of the Generation X, Generation Y, Baby Boomers, and Seniors cohorts. Churchgoers include anyone who enjoys Theology, tea, and worship. They are at least 14 years of age and part of the Tweens, Generation X, Generation Y, Baby Boomers, and Seniors cohorts. The elderly we wanted to target were to be retirees at least 65 years of age and part of the Seniors cohort.
Campaigns
The Tea Team used three campaigns to attract people to Goodness & Mercy to experience everything it has to offer. The first campaign was a traditional tea time with ladies from the Due West Retirement Center that was held on October 2, 2008. Following this event was a live performance from Erskine College’s very own Fleetones. An open buffet was offered during and after the performance and each guest was charged $5 for the buffet. The buffet included a choice between four different types of tea and a variety of scones. The other two campaigns were held on Saturday, October 4. The first campaign was a Swing Dancing event. A few students from Erskine who were skilled in Swing came to entertain the guests and also offer lessons to those who may have been interested in learning. The second campaign was a praise and worship service performed by Erskine students who came to perform this live, musical event for all the guests at the tea room. An open buffet was also offered during both events and each guest was charged $5 for the buffet.
Vehicles Used:
To advertise for each campaign, many different vehicles were used. A Facebook event was created to invite everyone in the Erskine network to come to Goodness & Mercy. This mainly targeted college students because those that are part of the Generation Y cohort respond well to online interaction. This vehicle was used to also encourage word of mouth marketing to advertise these events. A survey was created to gain feedback from the experience after each campaign was over. Flyers and posters were created and placed up around Erskine’s campus to inform students and faculty of the events. Some posters and flyers were also put up around the Square in Abbeville to encourage the townspeople to come to Goodness & Mercy as well. A banner was created and set up on a street corner in Due West to interest and attract the viewers. A booth was set up at Erskine’s Parent Day to increase interest and inform others about Goodness & Mercy. Many samples of tea were provided to add more attraction.
Cost/Profit per Campaign:
Many of the advertisements for the campaigns were free such as, the announcements in Convocation, Facebook events, root emails, DWARP church bulletins, and an ad in the Due West newspaper. We spent a total of $9.42 on poster board and to have flyers and posters printed.
Summary/Outcome:
With the Tea Team’s help and effort, we were able to help Mrs. Hite increase her profit margin by 2700 percent. The advertising and promoting efforts proved to be sufficient in helping Mrs. Hite increase her profits. Mrs. Hite was very appreciative with all the work that was done in order to help her increase her profits that she could not stop thanking the team. The surveys that were conducted showed that everyone loved the atmosphere and food. They also mentioned that they would come back again.
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Project: B2B Marketing
Our Client: Packaging Corporation of America (PCA)
Team Name: The Laborers
When: October-December 2008
Executive Brief
Overview:
The Laborers Team, which includes Mary Clarke, Kimberly Dehondt, Meghan Fahy, Charles Hardy, David Hubbs, Greg Payne, Matt Schneider, Brian Amey, Rachel Irwin, Kendall Wurtz, and Taylor Rhodes were given the task of increasing the profit of PCA by 20% and cutting costs by 10%. This task turned into a mission for the group to help our client, the general manager of PCA, Phil Zygos, improve the marketing and sales effectiveness of his company. Our group first delegated the milestones and tasks for each team member to take ownership of. The three main leadership positions were in marketing/brand awareness, sales effectiveness, and personal selling. Other members of the group researched information to develop models and target specific companies for us to market to. From there we formed a joint campaign to market to our prospects while also providing Phil with best practice information to help him improve the sales management processes at PCA.
Target Markets:
From our research and meetings with Phil Zygos, the laborers team came up with three target markets that we marketed to and strongly believe PCA should continue to market to. These companies are Tier 2 companies that stand to accelerate earnings growth and capture the market share. These Tier 2 company target markets include: growing companies, sustainable companies, and non-contact food companies. Growing companies would desire to grow alongside PCA. Sustainable companies would desire to have a long-lasting relationship with PCA. And finally, non-contact food companies would desire to increase orders with PCA in this economy. All three of these target markets would also have a positive impact on the community.
Campaign and Vehicles:
The laborers team developed an overarching campaign that hit on extreme trustworthiness, over the tope customer service, and meeting the needs of every customer. This campaign, The PCA Way, was modeled from the AIDA model, which strived to bring action from the prospects through attention, interest, and desire. It included first general emails to the prospects, postcards, and telecommunications to the buyers of each prospect. We developed an email script, postcard, blogs, and calling script. We provided our client with best practices that aligned with each of these vehicles. Our campaign also included best practices for branding and sales effectiveness.
Cost of Campaign:
The total cost of the campaign was $0.00 because our vehicles that we used were no cost to our team. Our team was not able to send the postcards from the printing company, which would have cost $15.00. The emails, postcard emails, blog, and callings were all free marketing vehicles, which saved PCA money and gave them very useful information and tips.
Summary/Outcome:
With the Laborer Team’s help and effort, we were able to schedule a meeting with the prospect, Stephen Gould. The purchasing agent who took action through our marketing efforts was Gary Gagnon. We were also able to conclude this project with many best practices for Phil Zygos to use in his company’s sales management.
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Project: Speak!
When: September-December 2008
Project Overview:
I helped create language learning software to be used by American students teaching English overseas at the college level. The software was essentially a PowerPoint presentation that incorporated images as well as word pronunciations. The presentation was formatted in the style of Rosetta Stone software.
This Project was submitted to the SIFE competition of 2009 in the regional and national competition.
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Project: Love for Lepers
When: September-December 2008
Project Overview:
I created a network of college students and citizens of Due West, SC to knit bandages to be sent to people in Vietnam suffering from the disease of leprosy. Each student would knit a bandage 4 feet long and 2 inches wide of cotton thread. The World Health Organization preferred hand knit bandages because they were more durable and could be washed and reused. Our network consisted of about 15 college students and 5 local townspeople.
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Project: B2B Advertising
Our Client: Computer Consultants and Merchants (CC&M)
When: February- May 2009
Executive Brief:
Our end client for this project was Computer Consultants and Merchants (CC&M) of Greenwood, SC.
CC&M’s services include the sale of Canon® printers and scanners, data vaulting, and an excellent service department. Our End Client had built somewhat of a reputation as Greenwood’s local Canon® dealer. In our Value Proposition we took into consideration the competitive strengths of CC&M such as their outstanding service department and high-quality customer relations. The Value Proposition that we created is as follows: “You can trust us as your local Canon dealer with a history of great customer satisfaction based on reliability and relationships not common in the industry.”
The Marketing class divided the Greenwood market. Our client targeted businesses with 20-50 employees, while the competing team targeted businesses with 20 or less employees. The target market personas we went after were Oscar Owner, Olivia Office Manager, and Suzy Secretary. Oscar Owner is a baby boomer who is also a thinker according to the VALS framework. Olivia Office Manager is a Generation X Achiever according to VALS. Suzy Secretary is also Generation X, but she is a Striver according to VALS.
The concepts that we created for our client were geared toward all of these personas, but some concepts worked better for a particular constituency. The concept that our client and end client chose was one that appealed to Oscar Owner more so than the other targets. The ad that was chosen used a picture of an out of order Xerox® copier next to a clean and pristine Canon® copier. The text read “Time For a Spring Cleaning Trade-In? ... CC&M. We can do you better. Contact a representative today.” The ad capitalized on a typical concern in everyday office life: The Faulty Copier. It acts like a negative splice of life because of this theme. The ad worked for Oscar Owner because as a Thinker, he appreciates durability, functionality, and value in the workplace. He also values order, which can be attained through a reliable printer.
After contacting approximately 400 prospects, our team managed to secure three sales meetings and 35 qualified leads. Our team contacted many companies that did not have a decision maker on site. This was an issue for us due to the target we chose. Larger companies often have a decision maker at a regional office. Another issue was that people had recently started a new lease because the end of tax season is a good time to buy.
It is our opinion that CC&M’s website needs a complete overhaul. There is not a consistent template throughout the site. It is confusing and seems to be off-subject. Some things that should be added include a “Testimonials” page, as well as an “Our Values and Philosophy” page. The Value Proposition should be instrumental in shaping a new website as well as images of the products and splice of life pictures of their service.
Our team learned that communication was completely necessary in order to stay on top of this project and efficient communication was needed to be successful. We also learned that the value proposition along with consideration for the target markets should be the basis for all decisions made from an advertising perspective.
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Project: Analysis and Selection of a Groupware System for Erskine’s International Collaboration Center
When: September 2009
Executive Brief:
Our Client:
Our client for this groupware system project is the ICC Program at Erskine College, which is under the direction of the PMO Director at Erskine College, Kim Bussey. The users of the ICC Program are the business cadets. The current Virtual Case Study: Colombia is a project that is in need of a groupware system. This groupware system will allow the business cadets to develop relationships with students in foreign countries through web conferencing. The hope is that these relationships will grow as a result of this system that will lead to the development of more service projects.
Business Requirements:
- Video Conferencing
This tool includes very high quality video communication.
- 3 or more way Communication
Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro can hold up to 1,500 users in a meeting.
- Desktop Sharing
This tool has desktop sharing capabilities.
- Quality Video and Audio
Adobe Flash Player runs video and audio.
- Chat or IM Feature
This tool includes a chat option that can include notes and polling.
- Create-a-meeting Capabilities
The service exists as a URL, not massive software. The host logs in and invites users to join in the meeting at a particular time. The user then logs into the URL through an internet connection to attend the meeting.
- Virtual Marker Board
This product contains a whiteboard to record ideas and draw.
- Recording (audio or video)
Adobe Flash Player can record the meeting in high quality.
- Mac Compatibility
This is a cross-platform product that can work for Macs & PCs.
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