Improving Customer Experience at Cafes

This assignment focuses on improving customer experiences within a cafe setting. It emphasizes the importance of effective communication between staff members and customers, proposing changes in how baristas and cashiers interact with patrons. The document also highlights the need for a standardized greeting protocol across all cafe staff. Furthermore, it suggests implementing feedback forms to gather customer insights and conducting analyses to understand consumer preferences and experiences.

Develop and Maintain Professional
Networks
Introduction
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.
Review Business Documentation
Business Plan
Following questions may be answered to understand if the business plan of CoffeeVille is effective
from these perspectives:
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.
Does the plan identify the key target markets?
The company wants to target the Australians who are ethically responsible
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
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)
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.

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).
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.
Budget
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:
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).
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.
Contact Plan
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:
 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
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:
Levels Target Performance Measures
Organizational Build good contacts with at least 5
supplier organizations and 5 corporate
clients within 2 months
New clients added per month
New suppliers contracted with per
month
Managerial Establish a network of fellow industry
people connecting with at least 15 new
people in next 3 months
Number of industry events attended
Number of new contacts added into
professional network
Number of new connections added
on LinkedIn from the industry
Barista At the cafe level, the target would be
gain at least 10 new customers visiting
the store within next 2 months
Number of new customers of the
Cafe through professional network
Number of new corporate clients
associating with the cafe as a result
of networking (Lunenburg, 2010)
Cashier At this level, the sales received from the
new contacts developed should reach
$12,000 in next 4 months
Number of new corporate customers
added and the sales made
Number of new suppliers added and
the additional products with sales
achieved by selling these products

Number of new visitors coming from
social networking contacts and the
amount of the purchases made by
them (Motorola, 2009).
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:
Target person profile Relationship building strategy
Supplier representative They would be connecting through business meets and the
opportunities would be used for talking and taking their
contact details. After events, they would be connected
personally and the follow up would be done to strengthen
the relationship
Corporate buyer representative They would be connecting through business meets and the
opportunities would be used for talking and taking their
contact details. After events, they would be connected
personally and the follow up would be done to strengthen
the relationship. They would be invited to the Coffee house
to enjoy a coffee experience and suggest if they would like
their employees to enjoy the same taste (duPont, 1999).
Young buyer A young buyer coming to the coffee shop would be
personally met and would be asked to share the feedback
about the experience of the cafe which would help
understand the preferences of young consumers as well as
connect with them. A number of events would be conducted

in the cafe to target youngsters and involve them in activities
for relationship building such as music display and games
An employee as consumer An employee coming to the cafe would be personally
contacted to receive the feedback and special discounts
would be given to them if they belong to a customer
company
Traveler as consumer A trailer would be contacted to get the feedback and the
manager of the cafe would also help the tourist get the
details of attraction or other services to build a good relations
such that he can direct other travelers to the cafe to get the
same personalized experience of the service
Manager as industry peer The industry peers would be met in seminars and through
the social networking sites. The manager of the cafe would
talk to them through messages, comment on their posts and
give them endorsements to initiate conversation and take
them ahead to the point of a personal meeting
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
[Accessed 13 December 2017].
Heaton, A., 2014. Achieving Integrated Digital Marketing. [Online]
Available at: http://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: http://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: http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2010/03/04/aussie-cafe-culture-accounts-for-
biggest-growth-in-coffee.html
[Accessed 13 December 2017].