Effective Relationship Building Strategies For Coffee House Business

A. Plan to present options for building networks and business relationships. 

1. Study scenario information and simulated business documentation, including the vision statement and strategic directions.

2. Develop communication strategies to promote your ideas and gain acceptance amongst peers. Ensure you relate your ideas to the long-term interests and objectives of the organisation. Refer to any relevant industry or technological trends.

3. Investigate sources of advice for local network building.

4. Suggest targets and performance measures for networking at various levels: organisational, managerial, barista and cashier levels.

5. Research and identify at least two actual organisations, agencies, industry Groups, online networks or people, etc., to build relationships with.

6. Plan to discuss your ideas for building relationships among people with diverse backgrounds and people with diverse abilities.

7. Plan to discuss your ideas for gaining acceptance of any changes to practices, policies procedures and promoting networks to people at different levels of the simulated business:
- What is the message for sales and customer service officers?
- What is the message for baristas and cashiers?

o Ensure your ideas are consistent with the budget for networking and related expenses, or plan to explain why the budget may need to be amended.

8. Plan to use presentation and technology skills to present your ideas Clearly and persuasively.

9. Present to group of peer managers. Ensure your presentation and notes demonstrate all aspects of your planning outlined above.

Levels

This report contains two parts. First contains a review of business plan and budget while in the second part, networking building plan is presented. Reviewing of business documentation would need an exploration of the policies documented in order to understand if they are able to fulfill the objectives of the policy, are aligned with the service framework of the company, aligned with the  regulatory or statutory requirements, and have clearly defined roles for all the parties to contract. Review of a business plan would need an exploration of the subjects the business document covers.  The objective is to check if the plan has all the essential elements needed and if it has the potential fulfill its goals. The network building plan is specified at the personal levels of people at different hierarchical positions in the company with most focus on the cafe manager.

Following questions may be answered to understand if the business plan of CoffeeVille is effective from these perspectives:

1. Does the plan have a clear unique selling preposition identified?

The company wants to position itself as a premier provider of gourmet coffee and food which is the identified USP of the business.

2. Does the plan identify the key target markets?

The company wants to target the Australians who are ethically responsible 

3. Does the plan have a clear exit procedure in the case business turns out to be unprofitable?

The exit procedures are not covered in the business plan and it is assumed that the company would make profits without fail

4. Does the plan have a clear vision?

The business plan states that the company wants to become a premier provider of coffee gourmet in the entire Australia which is the vision of the

management (Hackley, 2005)

5. Does the plan give a roadmap to success?

The plan contains strategic directions for the subsequent years after the business was to be launched. It identifies some strategies that the company would make use of to achieve success such as increase in revenues, cost control, maintenance of quality standards, addressing needs of ethical responsibilities, building of local community links, and maintaining of a highly trained staff. This identifies strategies but no specific year wise targets have been identifies. Thus, one cannot make out the milestones and potential achievements of the company.

6. Does the plan contain customer, competition, and market analysis?

The company has clearly identified the target market which consists of individuals looking for takeaway, sit down individuals, and groups looking for catering services. It has also identified the markets geographically that include Sydney, Brisbane, Noosa, among primary places in Melbourne. However, the plan does not explore the consumer buying trends nor does it cover the details of completion and thus, the market forces that can present challenges before the company is not sufficiently understood. The company has a USP but if it is sufficiently differentiated would not be understood unless these market forces are identified and reviewed (Higgins-Desbiolles, et al., 2015).

Target

Thus, it can be concluded about the business plan that although it does cover the vision, USP and business strategies needed for success, it primarily lacks consideration of market forces like consumer trends and competition that are essential elements of a business plan as they can affect the probability of the success of the company.

A budget review would need an understanding wither the allotted budget would be sufficient to execute the business plan activities and if it would bring sufficient profits. Following questions may be answered to understand if the business plan budget allotted for CoffeeVille business is appropriate:

1. Are the assumptions about sales correct and aligned with the market growth figures?

The budget forecasts an income of $1,400,000 from sale of food, $1,300,000 from the sale of beverages, and $800,000 from catering services.  The Australian Tea market in 2013 had reached $473 million. Melbourne leads among the Australian cities in the consumption of coffee and with 4.5 million people living in Melbourne, the figures appear realistic achieve (WONG, 2010).

2. Does the expenses considered aligned with the value of the company?

The company has a vision to create a premier product and thus, the plan must have major figures for investing in marketing to create that positioning in the market and on research and development to get the best products in the market. The budget does highlight the costs that would be incurred in marketing which makes a major component but it fails to recognize the need to put overheads for research and development (Morgan, 2015). 

Thus, it can be said that the budget of the company is feasible and can help company achieve the target sales but it does not take into consideration the long term vision of the company.

Vision Statement

The company has a vision to become the premier coffee gourmet supplier in Melbourne in next 5 years 

Strategic Directions:

Strategic directions provided to achieve the vision of the company include:
• Increase the revues from sales through launching targeted marketing campaigs
• Control the direct as well as indirect operational costs  of the company
• Maintain the standards of quality at par with the industry standards
• Establish an ethical and environmentally responsible culture into he company
• Build the community network of clients and suppliers
• Maintain a highly motivated staff in the company

Communication Strategies

For establishing strategic goals of the company, I can use following communication strategies for promoting my ideas and gaining acceptance in peers:

Performance Measures

• I would explore the consumer trends in the region and would discuss about the same with my peers to brainstorm on what has boosted specific trend in Coffee consumption in Australia
• I would connect with the fellow coffee drinkers over social media and would keep posting unique or interesting trends about coffee consumptions seeking comments from the fellow industry experts as well as coffee drinkers
• I would attend the industry events and would connect with the senior people from potential clients and suppliers to build relationships with them for  a long term association that can benefit both (Heaton, 2014)
• I would connect with the fellow industry peers on social networking sites like LinkedIn where I would add them based on their profiles and would contact them directly seeking a professional meeting. I would also post comments on their posts to get them interested in me. I would also take part in LinkedIn discussions forums and would answer questions posted by people from the industry 
• I would connect with the supplier representatives through seminars, meetups and professional networking sites like LinkedIn where I would try to understand how they are as suppliers and if there is a possibility of positive association then I would make use of my personal relationship building skills to get good discounts and supplier terms while initiating association with them (Grosse, 2002)

Local Network Building

For building a network locally, I would take part in the social gathering, exhibitions, seminars and meetups where I will meet the fellow industry people and would connect with them to have fruitful discussions for relationship building. Before going to such a gathering, I would make an assessment of the target audience and identify the topics they could be interested in and based on my analysis, I would study the latest trends and fundamentals about the topics so that I can be an active person in the event and grab any opportunity to talk to fellow industry people. I would use the following strategies and steps to achieve my goal of building a strong local network:

• I would attend various industry events and gathering and I would study the topics that would be of importance so that I can use the knowledge to initiate talks with fellow people in the industry
• I would try to talk more with the people and leave them with a positive image of me and would also take their personal contact details with a promise to connect outside the events
• I would make a list of the people who are most positive in meeting and  can have a mutually beneficial relationships and would make a call after a few days of the event to plan a personal meeting (Kim & Grunig, 2007)
• I would also engage with fellow industry experts on the social media through commenting on their posts, asking direct questions to them on topics they have blogged on, and sending them greeting messages. I would use a business networking site like LinkedIn for this and once I get  a positive response from the people on my messages,  I would ask them to share their numbers
• Once I receive the contact details of the people on social media, I would make calls to fix up personal meeting with people with a clear agenda of a mutually beneficial relationship
• I would also go to social, cultural and other kinds of events or trips where I see people from my industry would be expected. In these events, I would try to connect personally with the people who could be helpful in my career path and those who can guide me into things that I need to learn (Long, 2003)
• I would initiate coffee meetups for fellow industry members at my own cafe inviting them to experience the cafe and would do this with clearly communicate agenda for discussions to have a professional environment

Organizational

Performance Measures

I would set targets and measure performances of the networking strategies at different levels including organizational, managerial, barista and cashier levels. These measures would include:

Organizations to Build Relationships With

Organizations with which the relationships have to be build would include the suppliers and the potential clients. Some of these organizations include:

Atomica Coffee: They offer 100% Arabica beans of best quality and best flavors in the industry they have been into the business for over 20 years and have a good hold over market and the understanding of the consumer preferences for Coffee beans. They would be approach to build a supplier-buyer relationship such that the company can purchase the Coffee beans from them at low prices in large quantities which would help the company achieve its goal of providing premier coffee to its customers as well as reduce the cost of goods sold to increase its profits from sales.

National Australia Bank Limited: It is one of the leading banks in Melbourne. It has over 35,000 employees working from them. Being a bank, most of the staff has a sedentary life style and consumption of coffee by them is very usual. Thus, if the company can tie up with the bank to sell its coffee to the staff, the company would be able to add 35,000 potential coffee consumers to its portfolio. Once the Coffee culture in the bank is understood and a good experience is provided, the opportunities to reach out to more banks and expand the portfolio of the company would also increase which would get the company a long term profit (Hall, et al., 2017).

Building Relationships With People

I would build relationships with people from diverse backgrounds using different strategies as listed in the table below:

Message For Customer Service Officers

The customer service officers have to make the following changes to achieve networking goals of the organization:

• They would have to add customer feedback forms and get them filled by every new customer entering the cafe
• They would have to not just store the feedback form but also enter the detail in the system and perform an analysis on the data received to make sense of the consumer preferences and experiences
• They would have to create a standard way of greeting customers such that every person in the staff follows the guideline

Message For Baristas and Cashiers

For the Baristas and Cashiers, following changes have to be made to achieve networking goals of the organization:

• They would have to start talking to customers rather than depending complete on the service staff to provide an experience
• They should answer any queries of the customer and direct them to the right person in the cafe following standard guidelines for customer communication
• They would have to follow a standard way of greeting customers that is also followed by the serving staff of the cafe.

References

duPont, K., 1999. Handling Diversity in the Workplace Communication is the Key. s.l.:American Media Inc. .

Grosse, C. U., 2002. Managing Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams, s.l.: The American Graduate School of International Management.
Hackley, C., 2005. Advertising and Promotion: Communicating Brands. s.l.:SAGE Publications Ltd.
Hall, B., Simmons, D., Faint, P. & Bonnell, Y., 2017. THE 2017 MELBOURNE TOP COMPANIES REVEALED: THE TOP 10. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.businessnewsaus.com.au/articles/the-2017-melbourne-top-companies-revealed--the-top-10.html
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Heaton, A., 2014. Achieving Integrated Digital Marketing. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/integrated-marketing-communications/integrating-digital-marketing-199/
Higgins-Desbiolles, F., Wijesinghe, G. & Moskwa, E., 2015. A TASTE OF SUSTAINABILITY: CASE STUDIES OF SUSTAINABLE CAFÉS IN AUSTRALIA , Adelaide: University of South Australia.
Kim, J.-N. & Grunig, J. E., 2007. Problem Solving and Communication Activeness: A Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS), West Lafayette, IN : Purdue University.
Long, L. W., 2003. COMMUNICATION & CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATIONS, s.l.: Illinois State University.
Lunenburg, F. C., 2010. Communication: The Process, Barriers, And Improving Effectiveness, s.l.: Sam Houston State University.
Morgan, R., 2015. Caffeine wars: which city is Australia’s coffee capital?. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/which-city-is-australias-coffee-capital-201503240030
[Accessed 13 December 2017].
Motorola, 2009. Improve Customer Service with Instant Communication, s.l.: Motorola.
WONG, J., 2010. Aussie café culture accounts for ‘biggest growth in coffee’. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2010/03/04/aussie-cafe-culture-accounts-for-biggest-growth-in-coffee.html
[Accessed 13 December 2017].