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ABC Electronic 245 W. Main StreetMedia Consultants Moscow, ID 82843

April 17, 2015

Mr. Gabe BooherPost Falls Coffee Co. & Bakery621 N. Spokane StreetPost Falls, ID 83854

Dear Mr. Booher,

Enclosed you will find a report which analyzes the electronic communication of your business. This report is unsolicited, but I respectfully offer you some recommendations of improvements on your electronic communication. These suggestions are based off of my analysis and research.

The recommendations I have drafted for your company are designed to help increase your connection with your clients through communication on your website, Facebook page and Google+ account. Here at ABC Electronic, we are confident that implementing the changes we recommend in this report will help your business serve your customers in a better and more efficient manner.

I would like to thank you for considering this report. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (208)-277-7260 or at my email, roma0019@vandals.uidaho.edu.

Regards,

MaryAnn

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Recommendations for better Electronic Communication at the Post Falls Coffee Co.

Prepared byMaryAnn RomanABC Electronic Media Consultants

April 29, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Executive Summary.... 1

Introduction 2 Background.. 2 Problems.... 3 Sources and Methods.. 3 Report Organization.... 4Current Situation.. 3

Detailed Objectives.. 8

Conclusion.... 10

References 12 i

Executive Summary

The Post Falls Coffee Co.s primary source of electronic communication is their website. After this they use Facebook and Google +. The website is very visually pleasing featuring professionally taken photos and a color scheme of mochas and browns, perfectly suited for a coffee shop. The site is easy clear and easy to navigate, but hasnt been updated in many months. Certain tabs that appear clearly outdated need to be changed or removed. The companys Facebook is equally easy to navigate, but also need updating. The visual aspects of these forms of communication would benefit from the addition of photos, weekly posts and responses to customer reviews. Finally, the Google+ page simply needs to be finished. As of now, this page is lacking in visual appeal, ease of navigation and currency. The Post Falls Coffee Co would benefit greatly from the updating and redesigning some of their electronic communication sites.

Introduction

BackgroundElectronic communication is becoming more and more important in the business world today. This communication now includes social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google + and the like. Keeping up with this new communication is essential for a small business since it has the capability to set the company apart from other competition, maintain customer loyalty, and allow the company to keep in touch with its customers.

The Post Falls Coffee Co. holds a central part in the community of Post Falls, ID. It is a popular place to grab a cup of coffee and catch up with friends or get some studying done. The customers, who come to the PF Coffee Co. for these reasons and more, want to stay in touch with the company even outside of the shop. The Post Falls Coffee Co. uses a business website, Facebook page and Google+ to conduct its electronic communication. The primary mode of communication is their website, which has been professionally designed. After this, Facebook, Yelp and Google + plus are used equally as another mode of electronic communication.

Other coffee shops in the region also use Facebook to update customers on events, special offers and new products. The Coffee Cottage up the street from PF Coffee Co. keeps a very updated Facebook page, Yelp, and Google+. Like this company, Leopard Lattes also located in Post Falls also keeps an update Facebook page as well as a Yelp page.

ProblemThe Post Falls Coffee Co. has a unique opportunity to form a strong relationship with its employees and customers, but this opportunity is greatly impeded by the companys current electronic communication. Electronic communication is key to developing a solid way to interact with customers. As of now, the PF Coffee Co has a good basis for e-communication, but it could greatly benefit from a few changes, namely updating all forms of electronic communication and creating more visually pleasing pages. This report will lay out detailed suggestions for revisions and plan of action for updating all information.Sources and MethodsTo prepare this report, I researched the business plans commonly used when opening a coffee shop, tips for business communications, and the Post Falls Coffee Co.s current use of electronic communication. I analyzed in detail every aspect of the companys website, Facebook page, and Google+ page. Each of these sources of communication have a good start, but are in great need of updating. I chose three criteria to consider in my analysis: 1. Writing for audience, which analyzes how well the e-communication is directed towards the coffee shops client base; 2. Easy to Navigate and Visually Pleasing, which analyzes how easy the communication is to use; and Updated Communication, which looks to see if the communication is as current as possible. Based on my analysis, I am certain improving the Post Falls Coffee Co.s online presence is quite manageable and will greatly improve all the sites examined in this report.

Report OrganizationIn this report I will begin with an analysis of the Post Coffee Co.s current electronic communications according to the three criteria mentioned above. Next, I will describe in detail five objectives that should be focused on to ensure better e-communication, I will provide examples of specific tasks that will fulfill the objectives, explain the benefits of these changes, and lay out a reasonable timeline for the suggested changes.

Current SituationIn this report I have analyzed the Post Falls Coffee Co.s electronic communication, namely their website, Facebook page, and Google+ account. I have used three specific criteria, as follows:1. Writing for audience2. Easy to navigate and visually pleasing.3. Updated communication.

Writing for audienceThe website is very strongly written for the coffee shops audience. The website contains all the information that their audience would be interested in, and the way it is written is spot on. The language is neither too simple nor too complex. The texts tone is friendly and inviting. One particularly strong aspect of the website is the inclusion of the different foods and services the shop offers and a list of what spending time at the shop is good for. The list is fun and even humorous at times, the coffee shop suggests that it is a great place for amazing coffee, treating an A student, and splurging.

The website also includes mini biographies and photos of all those that work there. This is a very personal touch and would appeal to their audience very well. The Facebook page and Yelp page both cater to the coffee shops audience. The Facebook page posts are friendly and definitely directed towards the audience. The Yelp page features good photos of the coffee shop, but other than that there is little business communication. This is also true for the PF Coffee Co.s Google+ account, which is hardly completed at all.The Facebook page was directed towards its audience quite well at the start of it, but since the opening of the coffee shop, very few customers have received responses to the reviews they have left on the page. The PF Coffee Co. only responded to one customer review on the Yelp page; the review was negative and the coffee shop apologized.

The PF Coffee Co. could enhance their appeal to their audience by adding a new tab on the website that features daily deals or weekly events that might take place at the shop. A news tab would also give the customers a place to keep updated on the coffee shops activities. Another suggestion would be to complete the Google+ profile and make the page ready for customer communication.

Easy to navigate and visually pleasingThe website is very easy to use and navigate. The tabs are clearly marked and accessible at the top of the page. There are links to both their Facebook page and their email. The website and Facebook page and Yelp include directions to the different PF Coffee Co. locations and also maps. However, the Yelp page is overwhelming and not particularly pleasing to the eye. Again, the Google+ account has not been completed so I cannot judge how visually appealing it is.

Due to the template nature of Yelp and Facebook, it may be difficult to make it more visually pleasing. Adding new and updated photos to both pages is one thing that can be done to help improve on visual appeal. Also adding live links on the website, Yelp and Facebook for each of the other sites would give customers the opportunity to explore all of PF Coffee Co.s electronic communication without having to Google it. In this manner, the customers gain a full view of the company they support.

Updated communicationThe Post Falls Coffee Co. falls short under this criterion. Each of their sources of electronic communication is sadly lacking in currency. This is a definite weakness and detrimental to the companys communication. The lack of updated pages exhibits a lack of care and attention to the customers.

The website features a tab that is labeled Customer Appreciation Week. The tab is very out of date; the date reads September 15-20th. The Team tab is also sadly out dated. There are pictures of newer employees but their mini biographies have not been written yet. This lack of completion could give customers the wrong message. Like the website, the Facebook page needs updating. The last post on Facebook was in December and they have not posted new photos in many months. The Yelp page and Google + are also very outdated.

To remedy this, the Post Falls Coffee Co. should come up with a weekly regime of posting to their Facebook page. The posts should feature events that have happened at the shop lately, new services or products made available or coming soon, future events and products to look forward to, and interactive posts to get the customers communicating and involved with the company. The PF Coffee Co. should reply or comment to at least some of the customers comments and reviews. I only noticed one response from the coffee shop to a customer even though I looked through all of their online communication. Customers would like to know that they have been heard. If the review is negative, then the response should be apologetic. If the review is good, the response should be to thank the customer and to acknowledge that the company appreciates them.It is also important to update the website. This could be very quickly accomplished by simply taking away the customer appreciation week tab. This week is long gone and the coffee shop should either take down the tab on the website or create a new customer appreciation week. I would also suggest finishing the new employee biographies. This gives the audience the message that the PF Coffee Co. cares about and appreciates their staff.

Detailed ObjectivesIn the following you will find a list of objectives, which I would focus on to provide the Post Falls Coffee Co. with better electronic communication. These objectives are based off of the three criteria used in my analysis of the companys electronic communication.

1. Create/ Write weekly posts for the Facebook page. 2. Update the website3. Finish biographies for employees4. Make the Google + page more visually pleasing 5. Reply or comment to all of the customers comments and reviews on all sites

DeliverablesBased on the objectives laid out above, the following will demonstrate a few examples of what should be done to improve the companys e-communication. Below I have listed three examples of deliverables that address objective 1. Update Facebook page regularly. Weekly updates on events Weekly posts of amusing riddles to get customers responding Monthly updating of photos

2. Update the website Finish new employee biographies Design a new customer of the week event

3. Finish Google+ page Add photos of coffee shop and products Post a little history of the coffee shop Essentially finish all aspects of the companys profile

BenefitsThere are three main benefits to implementing the changes I have suggested above. Firstly, communication that is easy to navigate, visually pleasing, directed towards the correct audience and updated regularly will help keep the companys online presence separate from that of other competitors. Secondly, it will help maintain the coffee shops existing customers. Coffee shops cannot expect to steadily gain new customers; it is very important that they keep their already established customer base. Finally, efficient and well-designed electronic communication can serve as the perfect and easiest way to keep in touch with customers. I have based these benefits on some research I found on marketing and effective communication specifically for a coffee shop written by Craig Berman whose writing has appeared USAToday. With a few manageable changes to their electronic communication, the Post Falls Coffee Co. will be able to start seeing these benefits almost immediately.

Timeline The suggested changes to the Post Falls Coffee Co.s electronic communication, which is found in this report should be implemented immediately. Each suggestion is fairly easy and would take little time.

If hired, I would begin this updating May 1, 2015 and have all changes made to the different forms of communication by May 15, 2015. The maintenance of the Facebook page may be the most time consuming, but it is important to keep the page updated. The Facebook page should be updated weekly, preferably at the start of each week. I would suggest updating the page every Monday morning by 9am, and responding to all customer reviews or comments by Monday closing time. The Yelp and Google+ page should also be checked weekly for new customer posts, questions, comments or reviews. These sorts of customer communication should be answered and acknowledged right away. As for the duration of this practice, it should continue for as long as the company is in business. Communicating with the customers if vitally important to the life of the company.

Conclusion Electronic communication is a very important part of doing business today. Most of society communicates through online social media. Staying up to date with this practice and being familiar with how it works can help a small business increase its customer base and remain connected with its already existing customers. The Post Falls Coffee Co. would benefit greatly from making a few changes to its electronic communication, primarily on its website, Facebook page and Google+. This report suggests a few changes to these modes of electronic communication, which can be implemented immediately and with little trouble. The criteria used to analyze the PF Coffee Cos online presence are the following: 1. Writing for audience, 2. Ease of use and visual appeal, and 3. Updated communication. The suggested changes found in this report will increase the usability and appeal of all the PF Coffee Co.s electronic communication and will benefit the company as a whole.

ReferencesBerman, Craig. Marketing and Communication Objectives for a Coffee Shop. Chron.com. Houston Chronicle, na. Web. 2 April 2015.Fergison, Lisa. 13 Tips to Opening a Successful Coffee Shop. Bplans. Web. 28 April 2015.Post Falls Coffee Co. Facebook. Facebook. Web. 15 April 2015.Post Falls Coffee Co. Google+. Google. Web. 15 April 2015.