22A – Elevator Pitch No. 3

https://youtu.be/wffJshckEAw


After my last pitch, the feedback I received was that I needed to draw in potential customers more. I also heard that I should try to limit filler words such as "um" and "like." I also received positive feedback, saying that I sounded confident and comfortable with the topic. All of this feedback was very helpful and I believe it was accurate.

I tried to incorporate these aspects into this new pitch. I tried to limit filler words. I tried to continue to sound confident. I also tried to relate to the potential customer more and draw them in. I think I incorporated these aspects fairly well and improved my pitch.

21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

The book I chose was "The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users" by Guy Kawasaki. 

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The books main theme was using social media in promoting a business. It talked about using social media effectively in promoting your business. 

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

This book really helped enhance the ideas of effectively growing and marketing your business. It tied in with what we have talked about with networking and making connections to benefit your business. It took these ideas and gave tips on networking specifically through social media. 

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I would design an exercise that requires students to create a mock social media account for their proposed business. This way they can learn to effectively create profile pictures, cover photos and bio sections, and also learn about making connections on social media. 

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

I think the only thing that differed from what I expected was the general "no nonsense" tone of the book. It was not all feel good material. It was straight forward and to the point. This was an aspect that I enjoyed, but it did surprise me somewhat.

20A – Growing Your Social Capital

1) My domain contact is Emillie, who is a Training Director for Chick-fil-A
My market contact is Jeff, who also runs a customer service training business.
My supplier contact is Kenzie, who is a representative for a training software company.

2) Emillie fills the domain slot as she is actively working in the customer service training industry with Chick-fil-A.
Jeff fills the market slot as he is running a similar business, and is an expert on the industry.
Kenzie fills the supplier slot as she provides training software to companies such as mine and Jeff's and Emillie's.

3) I found Emillie through my job at Chick-fil-A. I contacted her through our personnel system. I found Jeff and Kenzie through LinkedIn, and reached out through LinkedIn messages and emails.

4) Emillie told me about her training processes and we had great conversations about training in each of our Chick-fil-A's as well as my business. She gave me her opinion and said she'd be willing to recommend me if needed.
Jeff gave me information about the industry and told me what to expect. He would like to keep in contact if I do start the business, so that we can use each other as needed, to build our client bases.
Kenzie told me about the industry from her view, and gave me great information. She wants to keep in contact, and sell me software if and when I start this business.

5) Including these people can really help, if I can use them to create even more contacts. Through recommendations and general word of mouth marketing, these contacts can greatly help me if they pass the word to potential clients that they know. Also having a good relationship with a competitor like Jeff can help, as we can help each other instead of strictly competing. Kenzie can help me get setup with the software that I need and help me get started. These contacts can greatly help me as I get started.

This experience helped me get a taste of how to network and make connections. This was very different than networking events I have been to where you just walk around and shake hands and exchange business cards. This was more personal and up front. This can help me, as I get used to different networking methods as I start and grow my business.

19A – Idea Napkin No. 2

1) You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

Hey y'all! I'm Robert Martin, and I'm a Junior General Business Administration major. I have over 5 years of customer service experience with Chick-fil-A and Publix Supermarkets. I am currently the Director of Training for Chick-fil-A at Lake City, FL. I have a passion for customer service and human resources, and with my training experience in these areas, I find myself to be very proficient in these areas. I hope to continue in the customer service and HR management industry after college, and continue to make a difference in this area of business. If I was to start this business, this would be a huge part of my life. I would be able to do the exact thing that I am passionate about for a living, and that would be amazing. 

2) What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

I am offering an outside service that comes in to train employees of businesses in customer service and hospitality. This would include group classes as well as one on one training with each employee. We would come in and put special focus on hospitality and customer service, training employees to understand and use these concepts more effectively on the job. We would focus on helping businesses increase their customer satisfaction statistics, as customer service has a huge effect on overall satisfaction for customers. Our biggest point with those we are training would be to see customers as guests, not as customers.

3) Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

My customers would mainly consist of businesses that need their employees trained in customer service. This would be restaurants, grocery stores, big box stores, and any other retail establishment that deals with customers. It would tend to be newer businesses that would have a higher need for this service, as their managers are not as experienced in training. Businesses with higher turnover percentages would also be a higher need customer, as they have more employees to train in shorter periods of time. I also believe that larger companies that have their managers stretched too thin, would be an ideal customer for this business. 

4) Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service. 

Many businesses struggle with training and keeping friendly employees. By using this service they would be relying on us, the customer service professionals, to train their employees in this highly important area of retail business. We would be the professionals that they can rely on, and depend on to train their employees correctly. They would care about this service because it can greatly benefit them in their business. They would use us because we know what we are doing, as we are customer service professionals, and we put special emphasis on this area, making our training more effective. 

5) What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has? 

Because of my experience that is specifically in customer service training, as well as my business degree, I have specific qualifications to be able to balance the importance of customer service with the fundamentals of running a business. My service is exclusively customer service training, setting us apart from anyone else, as we will put special focus solely on this area of the business. This is my niche in the business world, as customer service is what I am trained in and truly passionate about. 

All of these elements fit together very well in my opinion. My experience and qualifications, as well as my passion for this industry is what drives this business, and ties all of these elements together. I believe that starting this business could pose some challenges, as I would have to prove myself before this business really takes off. But I believe that I can build a successful business here.

Feedback: My feedback on the first post was very positive. The only thing I heard that needed change was that I needed to add more in the "why do they care" section and keep talking about my passion. I did both in this post, as I added onto the "why do they care" section and added more about my passion overall. 

17A – Elevator Pitch No. 2

On my last elevator pitch, I received a lot of great feedback! Mostly people said that I needed to speak up a little bit more because I was very soft spoken. People also said that they thought I seemed confident and seemed to be very knowledgeable about my area of business. I tried to keep these positive aspects, and also work on speaking up a little bit to address that area of concern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AbJgsY7gBY&feature=youtu.be

18A – Create a Customer Avatar

My protypical customer, based on my previous findings is a male in his 20s or 30s who is a new business owner.
- He enjoys golfing on the weekends
- He has a wife and between 2 and 4 young kids
- He drives a late model full size pickup truck
- He drinks a lot of coffee, especially in the mornings
- He enjoys motivational books and podcasts
- He is very active in the operations of his business
- He and his family enjoy traveling
- He is a saver, not a spender
- He is always thinking about the future
- He is a realist, but tends to be more optimistic about the things he is passionate about
- He is very determined

I have a lot in common with this protypical customer. I do not think that this is coincidental, as this is a service that I would also see myself as a potential customer of. I too hope have a family, drive a nice truck, travel and play golf as a leisurely activity. If I was a business owner, I could see myself as a customer of this service, so I do not think that this is coincidental.

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

1) Describe five ways in which you think you have human capital that is truly unique. 

I feel that I have a unique "human capital" because a few different qualities and experiences that I have. Firstly, I currently work in customer service management, specifically over training, for a restaurant that is specifically known as a top choice for hospitality. I work as the Director of Training at a Chick-fil-A location, and that experience is a huge asset to me. I also believe that I have developed skills in dealing with people. I know how to lead and coach them, while still caring for them and being a friend at the same time. I am also very focused and passionate about what I do. I care about my tasks at hand and my work, stay focused on what needs to be done, and strive to do my best at it. I also care about others greatly. I want to see people thrive and do well, and in customer service, which is the industry of my business, you have to put others first. Lastly, I have the ability to see the best in situations and in people. In bad situations, I can see past the bad, and look for the good. I feel that this is a great attribute that will set me apart.

Interviews: I asked 5 people, including my close friends and siblings, what they see as my human capital-the skills, abilities and emotions that set me apart. Here are their answers. 

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-2 

In this interview answer Caleb said that my work experience set me apart. He also specifically mentioned my being in an upper management position at a young age. He noted that this has helped my knowledge of customer service.

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-3/s-T5h6v

In this interview answer Tara told me that she sees my care for others as a big factor that sets me apart. She sees that as a big aspect of the hospitality and customer service industry, and told me that she feels that sets me apart. 

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-4/s-dPesi 

In this interview answer Martin told me that he sees my care for others as a big factor. He also references my work experience as something that sets me apart. 

https://soundcloud.com/robert-martin-468064940/recording-5/s-K8bKE

In this interview answer Dale told me that my experience in the hospitality industry is a big factor. He also references my personality and how I treat others as skills that set me apart. 

In my last interview with Katie, I was not able to get a recording that would work. But Katie believes that my work experience as Training Director with Chick-fil-A sets me apart. She also believes that my passion for what I do is a huge thing that makes me different and sets me apart. 

I noticed that most of my interviews confirmed some of what I felt were my strong areas. My work experience in customer service and training/human resource management for Chick-fil-A is a huge asset to me and sets me apart. People close to me also said that my care for others sets me apart as well, as I am willing to go above and beyond to put others first. One person also believed that my passion for what I do was a big thing that sets me apart. These were all things that I felt set me apart as well. No one mentioned my focus on my work or my optimism in bad situations, as was in my list, but I still feel that those are skills and abilities that I have which will also set me apart. I would not change my list. I think that my interviewees were correct about me, and I believe that my list was as well.