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CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
EXPLORATION
PRESENTED TO
ALL ACROSS AFRICA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
All Across Africa is a social enterprise that takes aim at the issue of high unemployment in
sub-Saharan Africa. Under its brand "Kazi", All Across Africa connects artisans in Ghana,
Uganda and Rwanda with vendors around the world. All Across Africa’s high-volume
production model enables their workforce to stimulate local economies while supporting
numerous dependents, thus reducing the need for aid.
As a Certified B Corporation, All Across Africa balances its fiscal needs as a business with
the responsibility to make a positive social impact for artisans and their communities. The
company’s commitment to dignity, accessibility, and a grassroots mindset has allowed
BRANDING MARKETING PUBLIC
3,200 artisans to invest in education, healthcare, and farming; in other words, their own
futures. RELATIONS
Peter F. Drucker - “The John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
purpose of business is to be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
create and keep a customer” to go for the great.”
All Across Africa’s Constraints be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
In order to increase the number of artisans it employs (which in turn maximizes the overall
social benefit), All Across Africa continually expands their global market. Strengthening
relationships with current vendors while developing relationships with prospective ones
facilitates growth. In the first three quarters of 2019 alone, All Across Africa has grown by
roughly 50%. While this is good news for artisans and the bottom line, growth can also be a
drain on resources.
Because of All Across Africa’s prioritization of providing meaningful work for artisans, they
understandably have limited bandwidth for lower priority projects. Surveying current and
prospective vendors to improve customer relations, for example, requires traveling for in-
person interviews and manually collecting a substantial amount of data. Accordingly, the
significant amount of time required to complete a project like this is an unnecessary
burden for the All Across Africa team, whose time is much more valuable when devoted to
other projects.
Lewis & Partners will take on the task of data collection and analysis to help All Across
Africa maintain strong relationships with their vendors while also scouting new potential
partnerships. After surveying vendors through online forms and in-person interviews, we
will look for trends in the data to create actionable recommendations for improving
customer experience. We hope our contributions will not only strengthen vendor
relationships, but also allow the All Across Africa team to focus on more pressing matters.
1
Alicia Wallace, Chief Operating Officer
All Across Africa
100 W 35th St Suite G
National City, CA 91950
We at Lewis & Partners Consulting Group would like to thank you for the opportunity to
collaborate with All Across Africa. We appreciate the work your company does and the
impact it has had on such a large community across the world. Our group hopes to
B R A N D Iyour
represent N G company well as we M Aexplore
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N Gimpacts you havePon U Byour
L I Ccustomers
through the survey that has been generated. You have provided education, R E L A T I Oincome
N S and
Peter F. Drucker - “The John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
new opportunities
purpose of business is to
to people in Africa andtohave
be afraid already
give up had such an impact on their lives
the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
as well as the customers who support those artisans.
create and keep a customer” to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
At Lewis & Partners Consulting Group, we are confident that we will be able to give
valuable information to All Across Africa. We appreciate your willingness to trust us with
such a project. All of our group members have experience working in the current job
market and we believe we will be able to apply our own individual skills to accomplish this
task as a group.
Our plan is to generate the survey to your customers with the hope that they will provide
beneficial information regarding their own customer experience that can help All Across
Africa solidify their upcoming marketing initiative. The company has already seen so much
growth, and we hope that with our consultation services, we will be able to provide you
answers that will help the company continue growing.
All of us at Lewis & Partners are very excited to work with All Across Africa and will provide
beneficial information for the future of the company.
Sincerely,
3
INTRODUCTION TO
PROBLEM
With over 1.2 billion people inhabiting 54 countries and speaking as many as 2000 different
languages, Africa may be the most diverse continent on the planet (United Nations, 2019).
However, the scope of its diversity is often lost in western depictions of the continent which
paint Africa as a single, homogenous nation. Further lost in this generalization are the
dignity and unique identities of individuals who are typically portrayed as primitive, violent,
and above all, needy. This view of Africa as a massive charity is not only disrespectful, but
also incredibly harmful.
This map depicts the number of languages apparent across the contient of Africa, further illustrating the need for
perspective.
4
INTRODUCTION TO
PROBLEM
Variability of Need
The needs of individual Africans varies as much as their cultures do. While Egypt and
Morocco experience similar rates of unemployment as many western nations, as much as
80-96.5% of people in sub-Saharan Africa can experience unemployment or
underemployment (All Across Africa, 2017). In Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and
Burundi, a lack of employment opportunities has created pervasive poverty.
While charitable aid from wealthier nations has helped lighten the burden of these issues,
it is only a temporary fix. Furthermore, donations en masse of clothing and manufactured
goods
BRAN hasD Icrippled
NG local manufacturing
MARK inEseveral
TI countries (Goldberg,
P U B2016).
LIC
RELATIONS
Peter F. Drucker - “The
purpose of business is to
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
create and keep a customer”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
5
INTRODUCTION TO
PROBLEM
By recognizing an opportunity to create jobs and markets and thus, foster improved
livelihoods, All Across Africa created a more sustainable, beneficial solution to systemic
poverty across Sub Saharan Africa. The company's solution: creating new jobs and markets
by connecting artisans to the western markets. This solution has created thousands of
jobs, 99% of which belong to women from rural, poor areas. Instead of low-skill, single-
purpose work, AAA artisans are provided with financial, leadership, and artisanal training
which results in increased skill and livelihoods. The artisans’ products are made with local,
renewable materials for the purposes of sustainability and support for the community.
BRANDING MARKETING PUBLIC
All Across Africa’s impact goes even further, as over 90% of these artisans use their wages
RELATIONS
to purchase
Peter health
F. Drucker - “The insurance, payJohn
for D.
their children’s
Rockefeller education, and support local
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businesses. Each one of these artisans supports an average of 5.7John dependents, and
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be afraid to
each additional artisan employed, 1.5 jobs are created as a result of increased spending give up the good
to go for the great.”
(All Across Africa, 2017).
An estimation of the total economic benefit generated by All Across Africa's artisans in Rwanda in 2017 (All Across
Africa, 2017).
6
INTRODUCTION TO
PROBLEM
Impact Focus
Because of the tremendous impact of their work, All Across Africa is first and foremost
dedicated to the artisans they employ and is firmly focused on increasing the number of
jobs they can provide. Whereas a primarily profit-driven company focuses on aggressive
expansion, including rapidly growing its workforce, All Across Africa tailors its business and
focus to maintain its priority of social benefit. Without the luxury of a massive team, and
without a direct benefit for artisans, the company cannot concentrate its resources on
maintaining constant communication with its numerous vendors. Therefore, it is difficult
for All Across Africa to collect and analyze feedback from its customer
BRANDI
7
RATIONALE
All Across Africa’s list of customers is expansive, and although many of these clients may
have similar business models, each customer’s experience is unique. By surveying a
multitude of customers, Lewis & Partners will have access to data that reflects these
unique experiences, thereby allowing us to draw more meaningful conclusions. Our plan
has three major components:
1. Data Collection:
BRANDING MARKETING PUBLIC
Data collection will entail interviews and online forms that utilize a R single,
ELAT master
I O N Ssurvey.
Peter F. Drucker - “The John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
The in-person interviews will allowbeusafraid
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to gain further insight into All Across Africa’s
to give up the good
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customers anda their
create and keep experiences to
customer” bygogiving usgreat.”
for the the opportunity to observe how their
be afraid to give up the good
products are merchandised, as well as the opportunity to record additional to go for theinformation
great.”
regarding the survey questions.
2. Analysis:
When the survey process is complete, Lewis & Partners will rate customers based on their
survey responses specifically regarding their customer experience and sales success. We
will then look for patterns in their respective responses about more general topics, such as
vendor sourcing and product positioning.
3. Recommendations:
The ultimate deliverable will be recommendations based on our analysis, which will help All
Across Africa achieve excellent customer relationships and experiences.
8
RATIONALE
A comprehensive survey will provide substantial, unfiltered data, and in turn, clear insights;
it is therefore the most effective method for learning about the experiences of All Across
Africa’s customers. However, there are two key challenges we will face:
1. Time
Like All Across Africa, our firm, too, is on a tight schedule. Our biggest obstacle will be
finding the most efficient way to survey all the customers on our preliminary list. The in-
person
B R A Ninterviews
D I N G will require a significant
M A R K Eamount
T I N G of our time andPour U Brespondents’
LIC time.
Consequently, some of the customers we hope to interviews may request R E L A TaI Otime
N Sthat
conflicts with our schedule, or decline the interview altogether. Though we believe these
Peter F. Drucker - “The John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
purpose of business is to be afraid to give up the good
face-to-face interactions
create and keep a customer” will be the
to most enlightening,
go for the great.” we do realize that
John online forms
D. Rockefeller are
- “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
much more viable for respondents with limited time. to go for the great.”
2. Motivation
Similarly, our intended respondents may not feel particularly motivated to participate in
our survey through any medium because we cannot offer any incentive. We understand
their aversion to inconvenience as they are preoccupied with their own businesses, but
their responses are highly valuable to our firm and All Across Africa alike. Therefore, we
hope to persuade indifferent respondents by appealing to their interest in social causes
which may have motivated them to partner with All Across Africa in the first place.
9
DELIVERABLES
Survey
Lewis & Partners will gather quantitative and qualitative data on potential and existing
customers. We will collect data on current customer relations, experiences, and challenges
as well as potential customer opportunities. This data will assist us in establishing a clear
understanding of All Across Africa's current customer experiences as well as opportunity
areas moving forward.
Recommendations
We will then propose recommendations that will be utilized to improve the relationships
between All Across Africa and its customers. Presentation of goods, search optimization,
location of contact, and selling price are key areas that are discussed.
10
COST ANALYSIS
Low Cost
In order to minimize overhead costs, All Across Africa does not designate a budget for its
internal marketing team. So, Lewis & Partners’ budget for this project is $0. Like All Across
Africa, we will utilize free resources and tools to complete our work and find alternatives for
any processes that have costs.
The table below details our plans for executiving our project with resources that we already
have access to:
Projected Benefits
We recognize that this budget may constrain us, but it will also maximize the value we can
provide for our client. The ultimate recommendations will help All Across Africa retain
existing customers and address new possible customers. With a larger customer base, or
more orders from existing customers, a greater number of artisans can be employed and
thus, All Across Africa will further their mission to decrease poverty across Sub Saharan
Africa.
Our project will stretch over a two month period from October to December. We will have
weekly meetings to review our progress. We will dedicate seven hours a week toward the
project on a pro-bono basis.
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PROJECT SUCCESS
METRICS
Our Goal
The goal of this project is not based rooted in profit; instead, it is to accelerate success
through specialized consultation services. By gathering information through surveys, we
will establish stronger relationships between All Across Africa and its customers and leads.
Our business model utilizes free resources and tools that help spread our reach without
monetary constraint.
Metrics
New Customers: provide All Across Africa with recommendations which enable them
to close a deal with at least one prospective customer
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DELIVERY SCHEDULE
13
MEET THE TEAM
ANDREA FELTZ:
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Andrea is a senior at SCU studying Management and
Studio Arts. She is passionate about ways in which
she can use her strengths to create beneficial and
sustainable social impact. Her background in the
practices of arts and yoga, along with her
professional experience in the business world allow
her to bring a unique perspective to problem solving
and motivating change.
MACKENZIE BARTZ:
MARKETING/OUTREACH
Mackenzie is a senior majoring in Marketing at Santa
Clara University. Born and raised in southern
California, she enjoys going to the beach, bike rides
along the boardwalk and spending time with her
three younger sisters. Mackenzie has recent
experience in sales and marketing as well as some
accounting background. She brings her strong work
ethic, creativity and marketing skills to the Lewis &
Partners Consulting Group.
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MEET THE TEAM
LUCAS ARGELES:
COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR
Lucas is a Junior at Santa Clara University. Born in
Lyon, France, his experiences around the world have
led him to pursue his interests in technology around
the world. Lucas will use his relational experiences
and his skills in interpersonal communication to best
help All Across Africa’s new marketing initiative.
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MEET THE TEAM
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DISCUSSION
Discussion of Results
In collaboration with All Across Africa, Lewis & Partners created two surveys: one for leads
and one for accounts. We also created two master spreadsheets to organize survey data
and additional notes taken during interviews.
During our initial outreach, we contacted 20 customers ourselves before All Across Africa
decided that their sales team should contact leads and accounts on our behalf. The sales
team emailed 350 contacts to set up an interview with us, and emailed an additional 50
contacts to interview themselves. A total of three leads and six accounts agreed to our
request; we conducted two surveys, and All Across Africa conducted seven.
Limitations
Initially, All Across Africa expected Lewis & Partners to conduct at least five surveys in-
person and 15 surveys in total. Because our outreach only produced a single reply (which
was negative), the sales team expanded our list of potential respondents, as well as their
expectations. We were now expected to conduct ten surveys in-person and 30-40 surveys
in total.
In the three weeks following the sales team’s outreach, only two leads were willing to
schedule interviews with us over the phone. These two leads represent .57% of the
contacts who were asked to respond to us. In contrast, 14% of All Across Africa’s potential
respondents agreed to be interviewed. Though neither figure is satisfactory, we are
especially disappointed in our low response rate. We did not collect nearly as much data
as we had hoped to, and were unable to meet with any customers in person.
17
DISCUSSION
Implications
1. Packaging
Respondents did not have strong opinions regarding other vendors’ product packaging,
except for one preference: eco-friendliness. Since several customers emphasized their
desire for eco-friendly packaging, All Across Africa should minimize packaging material use
and avoid styrofoam. Several respondents seek vendors that employ sustainable practices,
so minimizing waste and utilizing more sustainable materials can improve customers’
reactions to the products they receive, as well as improve their general perception of Kazi
Goods.
2. Search Terms
One-third of all keywords were unique, so once again, it is difficult to draw general
conclusions. Because 53.2% of total keywords are represented by the five terms on the
right side of the chart, we recommend combining these terms for enhanced searchability.
Tagging webpages and products with long tail keyphrases such as “Handmade Sustainable
African Baskets” will improve search engine optimization. 18
DISCUSSION
3. Customer Engagement
All Across Africa’s leads and accounts typically find new vendors through (1) tradeshows, (2)
social media, and (3) websites/platforms.
A majority of leads that were contacted discovered the Kazi brand at a tradeshow. All
Across Africa already has a significant presence at tradeshows, so they should continue
to allocate a significant amount of time and resources to these events.
For companies who prefer to do business online, All Across Africa’s social media
presence is crucial. Again, All Across Africa social media presence is already strong, so
maintaining this presence is critical for garnering the attention of potential customers.
One final method for attracting new customers is developing partnerships with other
companies who sell artisan goods and have a strong online presence. This will optimize
All Across Africa’s searchability, and their products will appear more frequently and
prominently in customers’ searches for artisan goods or similar terms.
4. Pricing
Customers ranked their best selling price points in the following order: $20-40, $40-60, $0-
20, and $60-80. Since there are very few Kazi products priced under $20, there is an
opportunity to change the price filtering feature so that customers can find products more
specific to their price range
The Kazi Goods website includes price points for their products that can be filtered as
follows: Under $30, $30-60 and Over $60. Our data indicates the two best selling price
points for customers are $20-40 and $40-60. Accordingly, we suggest that the pricing filter
on the website should list the following options: Under $20, $20-40, $40-60 and Over $60.
19
DISCUSSION
5. Style Preference
Out of eight unique customer style preferences, “Boho” was chosen most frequently and
appeared just as frequently in our two interviews. Though several Kazi products can be
considered Boho, searching “Boho” on the Kazi Goods website only produces a single
result: a blog post from 2017.
Since this is a popular style preference for vendors’ ultimate customers, we recommend
featuring a collection that explicitly includes Kazi products that are Boho style. We also
recommend drafting an updated blog post about Boho styling to guide customers’
decisions.
20
DISCUSSION
Recommendations
Although Lewis & Partners lacks sufficient data to produce statistically significant analyses,
the surveys and spreadsheets we created can continue to be used as part of All Across
Africa’s ongoing efforts to collect customer feedback. Before implementing the
aforementioned suggestions, All Across Africa should collect and analyze more substantial
data to validate our reasoning. Based on our experience, these data collection and analysis
processes can be improved in the following ways:
Data Collection
Personalized Emails - Although sending standardized emails en masse is the most
efficient way to contact potential respondents, it has proved unsuccessful. Instead,
the largest accounts should be targeted with invites appealing to their specific
relationship with All Across Africa.
Tradeshow Surveys - A tradeshow is an opportune setting for surveys because that is
where All Across Africa meets hundreds of leads. These leads can offer their initial
reactions to the products as well as useful information about how they select
vendors. This information can help All Across Africa close deals with these leads in
the future.
Analysis:
Surveying Service - To streamline data analysis, All Across Africa should utilize a service
such as Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey. These services provide several tools for
examining and exporting data. The master survey data is currently stored in an Excel
spreadsheet which can be difficult to navigate and analyze. Furthermore, Lewis &
Partners is unable to transfer ownership of the Qualtrics-produced surveys utilized in
this project to All Across Africa’s sales team.
21
APPENDIX
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APPENDIX
BRANDING
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APPENDIX
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APPENDIX
Address:
500 El Camino Real
Suite #345
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Fax: 420-214-3535
MARKETING PUBLIC
Office Phone: 422-256-2345 RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
Letterhead and Logo: be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
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APPENDIX
MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
MARKETING PUBLIC
RELATIONS
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
be afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
to go for the great.”
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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APPENDIX
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
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APPENDIX
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
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APPENDIX
All Across Africa. (2017). All Across Africa 2017 Annual Report. Retrieved from
https://www.allacrossafrica.org/s/All-Across-Africa-2017-Annual-
Report_Website.pdf
Goldberg, E. (September 19, 2016). These African Countries Don’t Want Your Used
Clothing Anymore. Retrieved from
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/these-african-countries-dont-want-your-used-
clothing-anymore_n_57cf19bce4b06a74c9f10dd6
BRANDING MARKETING PUBLIC
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (JulyR E L23,
A T 2019).
I O N S World
Peter F. Drucker - “The John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
Population
purpose Prospects
of business is to 2019. be
Retrieved from
afraid to give up the good
John D. Rockefeller - “Don’t
create and keep a customer” to go for the great.”
https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2019_DataBooklet.pdf
be afraid to give up the good
to go for the great.”
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