Four
local Johnson County business owners recently received marketing and promotion
recommendations for their businesses, courtesy of University of the Ozarks
students in Marketing Instructor Jaime Encinas’ Promotion Strategies class.
As
part of a semester-long class project, students were divided into small groups
to work with the local business owners to create ways to help market and
promote their businesses. The groups presented their plans to the business
owners on campus in December, as part of their final exams.
Working
with the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, Encinas enlisted four
local businesses to take part in the class project — King Gallery, La
Michoacana Dulce Vida, KK’s Dance Company and Reveal Cabinet & Closet.
“This
was an exciting exercise,” Encinas said. “The idea was twofold: One, exposing
the students to working with real businesses in real situations, and taking
just another step in getting the University closer to our local community. The
project was to develop a promotion strategy for each of four local businesses,
or clients, based on their own strategic goals. It represented the largest
portion of the students’ grade, which highlights its importance.”
Encinas
said the students put serious effort into the project.
“In
some cases they went through significant but valuable changes from step to
step, resulting in ideas quite different from what they had started early on,”
he said. “But that is how the real world works.”
Dulce
Baeza of La Michoacana said she was impressed with the students’ work and
appreciated the perspective the students provided.
“To
be able to get feedback on my business from the perspective of younger people
is very valuable,” Baeza said. “Sometimes we think we know what people want but
that’s not always the case. And, it’s not easy to think about these things when
you’re busy just trying to run the business every day. It was great to hear
their ideas and opinions on ways to promote the restaurant.”
The
students who worked on the Reveal Cabinet & Closet project recommended the
business expand its social media and digital presence by setting specific
goals, something that caught the attention of owner Sheena Higby.
“I
liked the idea of setting social media goals and then tracking the results,
something I hadn’t really thought of,” Higby said. “Getting the unique
perspective of this demographic is something we don’t have the luxury of doing,
so I thought it was a great way to get some new ideas.”
The
students also appreciate the opportunity to work on a real-world project.
“To
be able to work with real clients on real problems, using research and then
pitching our ideas to the clients was a great experience,” said senior Valeria
Carias of Honduras. “When we were first told about the project, I was a little
terrified because it seemed overwhelming. But once I met with the client
and we started putting together a plan, it was exciting to know that you’re
helping a real business succeed.”
Alexandria
Corona, a senior psychology major from Houston, Texas, was part of a
three-person team that worked on a strategy for King Gallery, an art gallery
and store in downtown Clarksville. Their plan included creating awareness and
appreciation for art in the area through events such as a “Night at the
Museum,” and with the slogan “Enrich Yourself.”
“It
was a great experience to work as a team with one main objective — help King
Gallery grow its brand and its reach,” Corona said. “When you work on these
projects, you start to understand the obstacles and challenges that small
businesses face. I was definitely outside my comfort zone on this project, but
I think it prepared me to do these types of things in the future.”
Tanner
Young, a senior psychology major from Euless, Texas, said working on the
project opened a new perspective for him.
“Even
though I had experience doing quite a bit of research in the past, I had never
conducted business research and it was quite different,” Young said. “When
Professor Encinas told us that there were no due dates, only deadlines, I think
it sunk in that this wasn’t just class work; this was like a professional
project that we were working on. It was really quite humbling to know that the
businesses trusted us to work with them and to help them.”
Seniors
Denise Garcia of Clarksville and Barbara Yanez of Chile worked with KK’s Dance
Company to help the business increase awareness and retain students.
“This
project made me realize how these small companies really need help and how I
can help make a difference for them,” Yanez said. “I plan to pursue a career in
business and marketing so I thought this was extremely helpful for me.”
Encinas
said he enjoyed watching the students make their final presentations to their
clients.
“It
was exciting to see some of the business owners nodding their heads in
agreement and it was even more exciting to hear their positive comments at the
end,” Encinas said. “Some of the clients may actually implement some of the ideas,
perhaps even the slogans created by the students.”
“I
must express my gratitude to the Chamber of Commerce for their support from the
initial contacts with the clients to assessing the students’ presentations,”
Encinas said. “And, of course, my sincere appreciation to each of our clients,
the local businesses that worked with us, confiding their goals, and giving us
the time both on campus and on their premises. Without their support, this
project would have been impossible. This was indeed as close as the
students get to work in a real business environment.”