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EnVia Retail – Marketing Plan Christina Hayes | Derek Kaufman | Haley Ljunggren | Alyssa Luttrell | Kyle Parnell 5/21/2015
EnVia Retail – Marketing Plan
Christina Hayes | Derek Kaufman | Haley Ljunggren | Alyssa Luttrell | Kyle Parnell
5/21/2015
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Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 2
General Market/Situation Analysis ............................................................................................................... 3
Client and Service Description ................................................................................................................. 3
Situation Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Market Research ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Marketing Management and Strategy ........................................................................................................... 8
Target Market Overview ........................................................................................................................... 8
Identity and Branding ............................................................................................................................... 9
Supply Chain and Timing ......................................................................................................................... 9
Retail Support ......................................................................................................................................... 11
“Closing the Loop” – Connecting Customers to the Artisans ................................................................. 14
Social Media and Outreach ..................................................................................................................... 15
Business Plan .......................................................................................................................................... 16
Financials .................................................................................................................................................... 18
Next Steps ................................................................................................................................................... 19
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................. 20
References ................................................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix A - Marketing Intelligence Report ............................................................................................. 22
Appendix B - Focus Group ......................................................................................................................... 39
Transcription of Focus Group ................................................................................................................. 39
Focus Group Participant Handout ........................................................................................................... 46
Focus Group Participant A Written Responses ....................................................................................... 51
Focus Group Participant B Written Responses ....................................................................................... 55
Focus Group Participant Waiver Release Form ...................................................................................... 59
Appendix C - Survey .................................................................................................................................. 60
Images of Survey Created ....................................................................................................................... 60
Appendix D - Tacoma Entrepreneur Network Business Plan Competition 2015 ....................................... 64
EnVia Retail Business Plan Content ....................................................................................................... 64
Business Plan Feedback .......................................................................................................................... 78
Appendix E - Financial (Destinations of Sales Dollars) ............................................................................. 80
Appendix F – Survey Responses ................................................................................................................. 0
Appendix G - Expanded SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................... 3
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Executive Summary This report evaluates and prescribes some marketing strategies for moving the non-profit
organization EnVia based in Oaxaca, Mexico into the for-profit retail sector in the United States
by selling artisan goods from members of their network who have benefited from micro-finance
loans. In order to configure a target market and marketing strategies for this unique organization
and market, we conducted a focus group, survey, as well as competitor analysis for marketing
research. Our recommendations include creating social media presence on Facebook, Twitter,
and YouTube to increase visibility for the target market as well as to continue to import under
the EnVia name to promote consistency throughout the brand and organization mission.
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General Market/Situation Analysis
Client and Service Description
EnVia is an organization that is dedicated to supporting the community of Oaxaca
through three major programs: microfinance, responsible tourism, and education. What separates
EnVia from other non-profits that sell artisan goods from various places around the world is that
EnVia focuses on first and foremost educating and empowering these women. Through the
microfinance program, EnVia partners with women in the Oaxaca community by helping to
support their business ventures, some of which include creating handmade goods, such as purses,
wallets, and coin purses. It is important to note that EnVia does not just provide the financial
support for these women, but also provides educational components for the women. The courses
allow the women benefiting from EnVia’s programs to learn how to properly manage their
personal and business-related finances. The final element offered by EnVia is the responsible
tourism. These tours offer not only the opportunity to see where these women of Oaxaca produce
their goods, but also the tourists to buy the products and hear directly from the women that made
them. This current model is great for engaging Oaxacan visitors with the entire EnVia
organization and some of the beautiful artisan goods that are produced from these microfinance
loan options. However, the stories of the women in Oaxaca and the beautiful handmade goods
they create should be accessible to others that may not be able to go to Mexico. Our mission is to
expand EnVia into the U.S. retail marketplace by selling these artisan goods made by the women
that participate in EnVia’s program.
Situation Analysis
Following is an analysis of where EnVia stands in terms of internal strengths, internal
weakness, external opportunities, and external threats (SWOT). Also included are possible
strategies EnVia can incorporate into their organizations to overcome their challenges and take
advantages of their strengths.
Strengths:
A primary strength for EnVia is the founder and director Carlos Topete. Carlos worked in
corporate America for the company 3-M and has the experiences and education to operate an
exporting program for artisans of EnVia’s products to neighboring countries.
Next, nonprofit organizations are a continuing trend in the U.S. as millennials further
integrate going green and focusing on bettering mankind. Microfinance is a small sector of the
nonprofit industry and EnVia offers a unique experience for customers to not only purchase
handmade, organic products in Mexico, but to meet the person who made the product(s). A
relationship with TripAdvisor and the positive reviews from customers also help in spreading the
word of such a distinctive experience by posting Oaxaca and EnVia’s tours on their site.
A third strength for the organization is their geographic location on the map for a climate
that supports the natural resources artisans use to dye and create their products. Artisans are able
to grow natural materials and use coloring techniques passed down from their indigenous
ancestors to create final products that embrace Oaxaca’s rich culture, history, and natural
landscape.
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Weaknesses:
Although shipping to the U.S. is expensive, having EnVia sponsored sales at various
farmers markets around the country could cut administrative costs while selling products for a
higher price than they would be sold in Mexico. The opportunity to export products not only
benefits EnVia with increased profits, but the artisan can receive more business, and the
organization’s name will become better known.
As a nonprofit organization, EnVia faces financial challenges and limits for-profit firms
don’t have to consider. EnVia relies heavily on volunteers, donations, and tourists with as few
administrative costs as possible for paid employees. With these financial limitations, EnVia has
to be careful on who their loans are given to, the training programs, and operations that go into
keeping this organization running.
A final weakness for EnVia is awareness of the organization in the United States. All
firms choose how much they want to invest in advertising and EnVia primarily focuses on word
of mouth and is rated on TripAdvisor, but in the long run, if EnVia wants to expand, these alone
will not suffice.
Opportunities:
In relation to strengths from an external point of view are opportunities for EnVia, to not
only strengthen their current business model, but to expand their business and support base
outside of Mexico. Similar to the weakness of international knowledge is the opportunity for
EnVia to expand its loans outside of Oaxaca and to the United States. Part of this organization’s
success is staying close to its roots in Mexico, however expanding out to neighboring areas in
need as well as expanding marketing/advertising campaigns outside the country can only present
benefits for EnVia.
Marketing to schools to embed fundraising and traveling into a student’s education can
offer ways for students to further their understanding in nonprofit, and involvement in a different
community. EnVia can also reach out to various universities in the U.S. that offer non-profit
areas of study to collaborate with professors on student projects. Types of projects can include
selling artisan products at schools for an EnVia fundraisers, or raise money to visit Oaxaca for
spring break, similar to Pacific Lutheran University’s Living Water project that raises funds to
build wells in Nicaragua. A primary target market will include seasonal promotion to tourists.
Also, during the northern hemisphere’s winter, many snowbirds and retirees are seeking a warm,
new experience. Reaching out to this population can greatly benefit profit and word of mouth
advertising by continuing to bring new consumers to Oaxaca at times tourism is slow.
Threats:
From an external perspective there are numerous threats that can impact EnVia from
outside the organization. Even though Mexico is progressing economically, political unrest plays
a role in how the rest of the world views the country. There is a lot of negative attention to
Mexico in the news (drug cartels and shootings of tourists) causing views of unsafe travelling to
anywhere in Mexico instead of just where the problems are arising. Because of so much negative
media attention, corruption and other unrest will continue to play a role in tourist’s thoughts
when choosing where to travel. A similar threat that is out of EnVia’s control is a natural disaster
such as a flood, or drought. These types of events will drastically impact the production of
artisans and therefore decreasing potential for revenue and business.
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The ability to mass produce products can threaten the success of exporting to consumers.
Not being able to produce an identical product each time can turn consumers away and be seen
as less attractive. Pricing also plays a role in how often consumers will think to purchase
products from EnVia artisans via e-commerce. If pricing is too high, some consumers do not
connect pricing with shipping and quality of the product. The threat for this situation is cheap
Chinese labor. Many American, European, and Asian companies manufacture and mass produce
in China because it is so cheap and therefore making products less expensive for consumers. If
EnVia chooses to export goods, constantly emphasizing product quality (and being able to tell
customers where the materials come from) is a key factor in creating a demand for such unique,
expensive products.
Another important threat to EnVia as a nonprofit organization is competition between
other impoverished areas of Central America such as Honduras and Nicaragua. Many nonprofits
in the U.S. travel to Central America for volunteer work. EnVia must continue to position
Oaxaca as a “better” city to visit and support over established programs for other big cities. Both
the suppliers and the distributors are the artisan woman. Each artisan is supplied with a loan from
EnVia, but it is the women themselves that make and sell their products. To become a part of the
EnVia group, women have to have a business proposal, take education classes, and pay back
their loans before they can get approved for another one later down the road. EnVia can target a
fairly large market of people, but we would like to focus most of our efforts on the age range
between 25 and 50 year old females.
Market Research
Marketing Intelligence:
As stated, there are a number of different other organizations that are similar to EnVia,
but we chose to focus on one in particular called Serrv. Serrv is actively working in over 36
countries highlighting the work of their sponsored artisans. Both EnVia and Serrv offer an
emotional connection with each individual consumer considering an investment in products or
the organization all together. This is derived through their influential message. Serrv works with
a variety of different artisans from different countries all around the world and operates through
both online as well as brick and mortar stores to sell the products of the artisans they work with.
Serrv’s online store is clean, organized, informative, has a good design, and is user
friendly. Their online store is broken down in multiple sections making it easy to navigate the
site and find what exactly what you’re looking for; home decor, kitchen, food, women, apparel,
garden, gifts & collections, sales, and holiday. These major categories are then further broken
down into even smaller sections making Serrv’s website that much more organized and clean.
Within each product description the location and specific organization that made it is listed as
well as how it was made. Serrv’s online store not only highlights the products their artisans
produce, but also the artisans and the organizations they belong to. All of these different products
come from over 36 different countries from around the world; Bangladesh, Bosnia, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Chile, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatamala, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia,
Israel, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines,
Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Uganda, Vietnam, and the West Bank. Each of the
different countries has its own page within the website further detailing each of the organizations
and what they do within their community. Serrv’s own personal mission is also located on their
site as well as ways one can get involved either through volunteer work, donations, or working at
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one of their national locations. Aside from their online store, Serrv also has two physical
locations- one in Maryland and two in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin locations are open 7 days a
week and the store in Maryland is open Thursday through Saturday. Serrv products are also
located at other retail locations across the country.
From the logistical side of things, SERRV only ships to the U.S., its territories and
Canada. SERRV uses FedEx ground service as well as the U.S. Postal Service, and clearly states
that SERRV is not responsible for delivery delays on the carrier’s end. As SERRV markets
unique, artisan hand made products, they also struggle with backordering. SERRV attributes
their backorders due to extenuating circumstances such as floods, cyclones, power outages and
lack of raw materials, making it seem like SERRV never is at fault for a backorder. SERRV will
allow you to backorder for products over $10. SERRV’s return policy is quite extensive, and it
is clear that it is used often as each product order comes with a Returns Form. A product may be
returned within 30 days of receipt, but an exchange for the same item is only offered for a
different size. Damaged items are returnable for another product, a refund check or even a credit
on an account. On top of all of this, if a customer has a question they can call customer care at
SERRV or can send an email for help. Overall, the website is easy to use and their policies for
shipping and returns make it simple to get the one of a kind product a consumer is looking for.
Using Serrv’s international model we believe that EnVia could successfully branch out into the
U.S. market.
Focus Group:
We conducted a focus group in order to get a better grasp of what consumer’s in our
target market were looking for. From that hour we learned a couple different things, but one of
the most important things obviously for a non-profit is to be known for the good work that it
does. Through social media EnVia can not only spread awareness about their organization, but
by including specific stories of the women helped through their programs they will be able to
build on their brand image.
Our participants particularly like giving to organizations like EnVia, ones that give out
loans and education, as opposed to organizations that they perceive to give out “hand-outs.” The
different respondents stated that they were more attracted to these organization’s because they
felt like their money was actually contributing to the betterment of the recipients lives; “you can
give a man and feed him for a day or you can teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”
When showed some examples of what types of products EnVia would be distributing we
got a gage on what kinds of locations the items should be sold at and at what prices. What we
gathered from the responses is that if say one of the pencil pouch type bags were to be sold in a
Target type store than they would not pay more than $5 or so for it. However if the location was
to be changed to either a venue like World Market or an auction, there could be a significant
price increase because of the perceived value.
Survey:
As a means to enhance the data and insights our group received from our focus group, we
developed a survey regarding EnVia Retail. The questions within the survey expanded upon some of the
same types of insights we looked for within our focus group as well as expanded into new categories.
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Some of the similar areas with the focus group included showing example items and asking about what
stores the participants would like to see this type of product in as well as how willing they would be to
purchase something of that type. Different areas of information that were embodied in our survey that
were not so in the focus group included demographic information about what year the participant was
born as well as what they preferred to see in a decision between two logos for EnVia Retail.
The survey was conducted online and received participants through how the survey was shared by
our marketing team’s membership online. In total, the survey was approximately ten questions long and
took less than five minutes for a participant to complete.
For further information about the survey, please reference appendix C and F
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Marketing Management and Strategy
Target Market Overview
The primary target market for EnVia’s retail market in the United States will be
Millennials (born 1981-1997) and Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964). Between both segments,
younger consumers demonstrate more environmental consciousness and desire to help others
while Boomers are in the beginning states to retire out of the workforce with more discretionary
income. EnVia can primarily target Millennials in the U.S. market relying on the habits of the
younger generation including environmental consciousness, where products are made, how they
are made, supporting local communities, and desires to help others. Boomers hold power in the
market by having “more discretionary income than any other age group,” and “account for a
dramatic 40% of total consumer demand,” (Olenski, 2012) meaning EnVia can target this age
group for traveling to Oaxaca in addition to the retailing options in the U.S.
According to Roger J. Best’s book Market-Based Management millennials “exert
enormous influence over the global demand… [and] also influences younger and older age-based
segments,” (Best, 2013). With a world population of about 840 million and a tech-savvy global
focus, Millennials hold the power to grow the market for products like EnVia’s as well as
influence awareness of microfinance loans and non-profit causes. In a fast shifting world of
engineering new agriculture and farming products for consumption, many Americans have
grown weary of many food chain retailers. Trust is diminishing as many ingredients are
imported, genetically modified, or filled with high-fructose corn syrup. An alternative to
concerned consumers is shopping at local farmers markets. Mostly these markets comprise of
fresh, organic, and certified produce, dairy products such as eggs, seafood, and handcrafts. Since
these markets vary by size (based on the location) and bring a sense of community to locals and
tourists, stimulating the local economy and supporting local farmers and business.
EnVia will benefit from these types of markets as they are consistent, across the country
in large cities, and continue to fulfil needs with Millennials seeking to support local as well as
global initiatives to end issues such as poverty. With a growing amount of Baby Boomers, this
segment will continue to fulfill EnVia’s travel aspect as their awareness to travel and do
something different rises. As mentioned below, those born between 1946-1964, have the highest
means of wealth and therefore higher averages of discretionary income. Demographics are not as
efficient to describe the target market for Millennials as well as habits and moral/ethical
attributes. These include environmentally friendly products, organic, locally sourced foods,
purchasing from local stores instead of chains, contributing to awareness of global issues
(including poverty, hunger, disease), supporting transparent, straight forward organizations and
good causes. Boomers however control a majority of the nation’s wealth and can be more
defined for a market segment. Characteristics include a focus on healthy aging, increased
activity, retired, and moderate to high discretionary income levels. As stated on metlife.com in
reference to a culture boomers grew up in, “Their changing attitudes and their social activism
helped redefine the American cultural, economic, political, and social landscape,” (Metlife,
2015). This helps us to understand Boomers and Millennials are not as different as we think.
Both generations are mentally tuned into social change, advocating for cultural shifts, and
willingness to support others. By targeting these segments for EnVia products, Millennials will
spread the word of EnVia by technology (social media, word-of-mouth) while more Boomers
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will be informed about what EnVia offers in terms of travel to Oaxaca and how they can
continue to support the local economy and contribute to the cause of ending poverty in Mexico.
Initial education about EnVia and the products EnVia offers will be the biggest challenge
as few consumers will know about the organization and fewer will understand the concept of
microloans and financing. However the customer need created is a way to support a cause bigger
than the individual (EnVia/Oaxaca) while supporting their local community and economy (local
retailers) with understanding their product, the artisan’s story, and the opportunity to experience
how the consumer’s purchase will benefit EnVia’s vision.
Identity and Branding
EnVia’s retail market expansion should keep its organization’s name. Since the U.S.
market has a large Hispanic segment, it would be perfectly acceptable to market products in
English as well as Spanish. The biggest aspect of EnVia’s differentiation is the opportunity for
consumers to travel to Oaxaca, tour the area, and meet artisans that have been supported and
educated by EnVia. American consumerism has been taken over by low quality, mass quantity
goods from countries such as China and India. The opportunity to meet a woman that has created
and crafted a purchased product every step of the way is an experience of a life time that many
American consumers would not expect. If EnVia begins in one region of the United States then
expands across the country, using the same logos, color schemes, and images will begin to create
brand recognition. Chain stores such as Pier One Imports are one example of a retail outlet that
will bring the pieces together for consistency in the brand and organization across the nation.
Maintaining continuity in name and design schemes emphasizes “The importance of brand
reputation to many target customers enhances the companies’ positioning and differentiation
advantage,” (Best, 2013). Producers of EnVia products understand the quality of what they
create, however many consumers can be apprehensive when experiencing a product for the first
time. By selling EnVia’s products at farmers markets and co-ops, trust and confidence is already
associated with that local distributor leading the consumer to trust any brand that outlet caries.
When a customer sees an EnVia product, their first experiences will be sight and touch
and what the consumer associates with the specific product. If there is a positive association
(such as a pink pencil pouch that associates with a positive childhood memory), the consumer
will continue to observe the product. Having information about EnVia and the artisan on a tag or
shelf the product is placed on will capture the consumer and then determine whether or not to
make the purchase.
Supply Chain and Timing
While in Mexico the women sell their goods through their homes or little shops and even
through retailing in the U.S., a goal is to continue the personal connections made through these
products. EnVia will initially partner with national home goods stores such as Pier One Imports,
then contact large city farmers markets. These cities would include Seattle, San Francisco,
Miami, and New York. Consumers at small, local markets seek organic, pure products and shop
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with an established higher willingness to pay for products that advertise sustainable and organic
production.
The pricing strategy that would best fit EnVia for expanding into the retail marketing in
the United States would be value pricing. Value pricing based on the market instead of cost-
based pricing which risks overpricing and therefore lower profits. Within value pricing are five
strategies and the best strategy for EnVia would be performance-based pricing. According to
Roger J. Best’s Market-Based Management performance-based pricing refers to a “price is set on
the basis of customer preferences for different levels of price and performance and taking into
consideration how the company and competitors are positioned with respect to delivering both
price and performance,” (Best, 2013). The artisans supported by EnVia are producing quality
goods that will be sold at a premium price. Due to the organic, handwork, and time that goes into
each individual product, consumers will have a higher willingness to pay for product quality. The
relationship management between EnVia and the artisans also gives EnVia the opportunity to
include an experience with each product sold. Consumers are given details of products that are
rare to come by such as the artisan that made the product, that artisan’s story, and information to
visit EnVia’s webpage for further involvement.
Around the turn of the century, the consumer preference for local products increased and
the price premium followed with that demand (Adams & Salois, 2010). A study in 2009 showed
that “South Carolina consumers were willing to pay an average of 27% more for local produce
and 23% more for local animal products,” (Carpio & Isengildina-Massa, 2009) supporting that
communities that demand local supplies have a higher willingness to pay. This higher
willingness to pay will also increase as inflation continues and more information about negative
attributes of non-organic farmed products becomes more readily available to consumers.
Using a performance-based strategy consumers will heavily weigh price as a factor in
their decision making process to purchase the product. For products sold at public markets it will
be up to the seller to explain the story and purpose of EnVia and ensure the quality and standards
of the product. The initial sales process will be challenging as consumers do not currently
associate organic, handmade products with EnVia, but consumer experiencing the product will
instill more confidence in the consumer to buy the product. According to research conducted in
2006 on millennials, “The research demonstrates 83 percent of Millenials will place more trust in
organizations that are socially and environmentally responsible,” (Hoffman, 2009). With this
information, products and organizations that ethical and responsible have an increasing demand.
Consumers (population density varies by region) want to trust brands while knowing exactly
what they are buying and where it came from. EnVia offers a product that consumers can see,
feel, and experience the quality and sustainable process any purchased product went through.
Shipping products can also be done through EnVia so all products go from the artisan to
EnVia then to the consumer. This method would create a time opportunity cost, however EnVia
could better track what products are in demand, the most popular geographic location for
ordering, and base their shipping costs by customer location. EnVia can also set a fixed shipping
cost for products sold anywhere in the United States. By creating categories of small, medium,
and large products, each category can have a standard rate. Then, any difference in amount
charged and actual rate can be reinvested into EnVia. The differences in costs can also go toward
an account to make up for underestimated or unexpected charges.
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Shipping and handling costs are the major variable cost that EnVia would face with an
eventual online store. There are flat rate shipping options available with multiple mailing
organizations such as FedEx, however EnVia would need to determine whether their
organization or the consumer carries that cost burden. The average cost for a small item such as a
necklace will cost about $8 USD (120 pesos). An example of the price distribution could be if we
were to sell a handmade purse at $27, $2 (8%) would go to shipping and handling the product,
another $6 (24%) would go to administration and sales fees, $8.50 (34%) would go back to
EnVia, another $8.50 (34%) goes to the artisan who handmade the product and lastly the
remaining $3 (12%) would go back to reinvesting into the venture. This breakdown is for only
one product, but this model can apply to almost any item EnVia would want to retail in the U.S.
marketplace.
Timing for shipments will present its biggest challenges during the holiday months as
well as peak travel seasons for local markets. Extended research will need to be done to
understand the tourism fluctuations across the country throughout the year. For larger shipments
that will go to retail chains, orders will need to be placed three to six months in advance.
Established firms will need to report to EnVia their projections for peak seasons. Due to
international shipping costs, it will be most cost effective for EnVia to ship products in as big of
batches as possible, lowering the price per unit. Demand will expect to exceed supply during
holiday seasons, November-December, slow January-March, and increase through spring and
summer. The increase in spring and summer months will be attributed to school break trips,
travel season growth, and summer months when more consumers between the ages of 18-24
have summer jobs and thus higher discretionary income.
Retail Support
In order for the consumer to best understand the story of not only the product, but the
artisan women themselves, EnVia needs to help the consumer understand the richness of the
product past its appearance and applicability to their lives. Rather into the emotion that was put
into each and every woven string of naturally colored yarn.
Product Tags:
One of the possible aids to selling these handmade goods is the tags that are placed on the
products for sale. Many consumers use these tags to identify many things about products,
ranging from price to materials to backstory. These tags are incredibly useful, especially when
trying to convey the story of the artisans through the creation of a product. By having the story
of each artisan who created the product right on the tag attached to product this would be helpful
in educating consumers and selling these products. When a consumer can readily identify that
their purchase of a product goes to support the organization helping those in need, as well as
directly supporting the artisans, it would help them be more confident in their purchase, while
also increasing the chance of the consumer to buy the product. Also a picture of the artisan who
made the good would be helpful to the sale, when a consumer has a good idea of who is
supported through the sale of the product, they may be more inclined to purchase.
Another aspect that should be advertised on the tags would be the materials that went into
making this product. “Green” features of this product should be highlighted, such as the
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sustainable method of creating dyes, as well as the organic materials and the lack of synthetic
materials. EnVia must be careful; however, as too much emphasis on the sustainability of a
product may actually have an adverse effect on the consumer and possibly be seen as a form of
greenwashing. We believe that the materials that went into the creation of the product should be
included on the tags, as well as how to wash the items safely. This shows transparency within
the products as well as the caring for the length of the life of the product.
An additional aspect that could be used on the product tags would be to possibly print QR
codes on the tag. Once scanned, the QR code would send the customer to the EnVia website to
learn more about the organization as a whole. Then if the EnVia website also expands, there can
be specific links connected to QR codes that reflect information about the specific artisan that the
particular product originated from. The use of QR codes on the product tag can allow for more
knowledge about the entirety of the EnVia organization as well as the opportunity to learn more
about the particular artisan connected to the product.
Display Aids:
As mentioned previously, having a display of who made the product as well as where the
benefits go from the product would help a consumer make a decision to buy an artisan-made
product. Display aids can range from hanging signs to shelf displays to flyers in grocery bags.
These aids help consumers understand the product further than just the tags on the product. We
believe that small Point-of-Purchase displays within retail settings such as Pier One Imports or
World Market would help stimulate interest in these handmade goods. These Point-of-Purchase
displays would be very simple, things such as banners or ads in the front window of the store, or
possibly a flyer at the front door in baskets.
Another possible idea is to have a life-size cutout of an artisan woman holding her
product, with shelves for the product on the front side. This helps customers relate the purchase
of the product to directly supporting this woman and her family, as well as the organization who
made this support possible. These displays should show that the purchases of these products
directly support those in need, either through pictures or short video clips, to help build brand
recognition. Another possible option is to use hanging banners within these retailers, but each
store has its own set of rules and regulations as to where a brand can advertise so it would be
beneficial to check with the retailers to see if this is even a viable option.
Through use of these displays, consumers of these handmade goods would be more likely
to purchase and support than if there were no displays associated with the products. A balance
must be achieved by displaying just the right amount of information, while providing a way for
the consumer to do more research into the subject if they choose to do so.
Storylines:
When tasked with describing the story of the product our team has concluded that it is
important to highlight the perspectives of the buyer. This will instill the notion that they are
actually contributing to a larger movement, rather than highlighting the artisan women.
However, there must be a combination of the two. The artisan women deserve credit for their
work. They need to be highlighted more on the level of their name in efforts to create a sense of
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emotional connection with the buyer, but our research highlighted that more emphasis should be
on the entirety of the EnVia organization rather than the variety of individual stories.
Purchasing these products through a retail setting with proper story telling of the product,
organization, and artisan women, will allow the buyer to feel as though they are actually making
a difference in these communities. In order to frame the story of the product, it is best to illustrate
the track on which it came. By that I mean start by talking about the yarn with naturally made
dyes, going onto the creation of the product, all the way to the retailer. This is something that is
everyday common sense from the perspective of the artisan woman, but she is not the one selling
the product. The buyers need to understand where it came from, who made it, how it got to the
shelves, and most importantly who specifically is benefitting from their money spent of the
product itself. There is a much larger picture when looking past the finished product and by
illustrating the life of the product along with its creator the buyer will fully understand the cause
in which they are supporting.
Programming:
Selling artisan made goods via retail is a tricky task. Sure, selling the goods is the ultimate goal.
But nothing will attain success without proper launch of a new product line. There needs to be
notification after notification for buyers everywhere to feel drawn to the product because even if
external advertisement brings them to the store, distraction is imminent once they set foot inside
retail outlet locations.
One possible idea of marketing visuals that would be great is a free artisan-made bracelet
upon entry of the retail store. This is something that would only be logical as a limited time offer
because of the costs it would require in order to pay the artisan woman to make all of these. The
benefit would be an authentic connection between the buyer and the artisan woman without
being able to meet in person. This would be a low cost introduction to these products for a
consumer. If they are not interested, maybe someone will see them wearing the bracelet and
inquire about where they got it and will want to see for themselves.
Additionally, a variation on the previous example would be to provide the same type of
promotional item (such as the bracelet) as a free gift with a minimum EnVia purchase for a
limited time only. This creates greater value for the consumer and can help promote EnVia
further and introduce the consumer to possibly the larger range of product offerings from EnVia
retail.
Another marketing visual that will help with the launch of a new product line is a stand-
up display upon entry of the store. Ideally, there would be a life size poster or cardboard cutout
of an artisan woman assembling a product that is sold in store. A poster would be more powerful
because there would be able to be a background in which the artisan is living, this would cause
awareness on its own because of the depressed community. It is evocative. This poster has the
ability to generate sales from any consumer walking in the store because of the emotional
connection they will obtain.
With the launch of a new product line, if all else fails, putting a flyer in one grocery bag
of each customer at the retail store will be a last ditch effort of instilling awareness and creating
demand for their artisan made products. A simple amount of information would be featured on
14
here which would be similar to what we put on the tag of the products. This is a very wise
investment for EnVia because they can create a large amount of demand for a relatively small
price. Standard advertisement is very expensive and flyers would only be a fraction of the cost.
When the buyer brings their purchased goods home, their families will be exposed to EnVia as
well. All in all this has the ability to reach out to many people successfully.
“Closing the Loop” – Connecting Customers to the Artisans
While we conducted our focus group, it was apparent that these tours are a beneficial
cause for both EnVia and these artisan women. Meeting these artisan women first hand allows
the consumer to see directly where their money is going and who it is helping. Not allowing
tours of Oaxaca, Mexico would be a detriment to the organization. Although not every consumer
will be able to go on one of these tours, there is the potential of word of mouth spreading via
people who took these tours to consumers everywhere. This strengthens the views of those
already aware of the organization. Not allowing tours would yield a considerable drop in demand
for artisan made products because there would be far less emotional connection involved
amongst the consumers. Physically meeting these women instills a sense of empathy in these
tourists enabling them to consider investing in the microfinance loans or distribution of the
artisan made products themselves.
Our feedback via the focus group itself varied from good and bad viewpoints. When our
moderator asked if any of the participants would consider going on a tour of Oaxaca, Mexico
facilitated by EnVia, three of them appeared to be very interested (Appendix B). Participant three
said “I’d definitely go on one of the tours. It sounds interesting”, however when asked if he
would ever consider going on one of these tours to meet the artisan women and observe the
community in which they live, participant four said “I mean, if it was a place that I was planning
on going anyways then I suppose I’d probably do it. But if it was inconvenient or I wasn’t
planning on going there in the first place I probably wouldn’t even think about it”. These
comments display the two opposite ends of the spectrum in regards to the responses received
about these tours. As previously stated, majority did not hesitate at the thought of investing time
and money to go on one of these tours. When brainstorming why two did not seem all that
interested, it is clear that their focus was less on the cause in which they are supporting and more
about the destination in which they were going to be staying at.
Our research leads us to strongly believe there is an overwhelming majority of people
that would be more than willing to attend a tour if they can afford the plane trip, which brings us
to our next point. There needs to be a justification for the consumer. Their interest needs to be
stimulated enough to convince them to invest their time and money into traveling to this part of
the world and witnessing the underprivileged communities first hand.
This could be promoted by looking into partnering with travel companies and websites to
provide discounts on food and travel in the Oaxaca region. Even though they may not be saving
all that much money, physically holding a coupon while making a transaction makes the
consumer feel like they are getting a much better deal. Alongside these coupons, it would be
wise to partner with corporations interested in supporting EnVia’s cause. A logical deal would be
to offer free tours to their executives in return for financial investment. With executives
attending tours, this would make subordinates of their respective companies to be more inclined
15
to make the trip as an incentive to further themselves within their own industries. What better
way to differentiate yourself as an employee than to sit on a plane with an executive at your
company for several hours.
In the end, having the ability to actually meet the artisan woman is something that would
resonate greatly with the consumers who are in fact interested in attending this type of tour. The
empathy and compassion these people will feel when they see the life struggles first hand of this
community is more powerful than any advertisement could ever be.
Social Media and Outreach
Social media platforms are crucial for nonprofits such as EnVia to differentiate
themselves from their competitors. However most importantly, it provides an additional platform
form telling the stories of the artisan women and their products. Given the impact EnVia has in
these third-world communities, raising awareness in the popular industry of social media is
bound for success. On social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, the key
to raising awareness and ultimately demand is creating a story with the traits of to become viral
throughout society.
Our team suggests that EnVia creates a YouTube channel including videos highlighting
the quality of life these artisan women endure on a daily basis. The layout of the video series
should begin with a visual of the communities and living situations to hook the viewers because
of how foreign this is to middle-class America and the EnVia Retail logo consistently appearing
throughout the video in the corner. Immediately following that, an optical timeline of the artisan
made products beginning with the coloring of the yarn with naturally made dyes and leading to
the finished product being shipped to retail is ideal. The ending of the video should illustrate the
overall mission of EnVia with visuals of the community being benefited by the microfinance
loans they receive. This gives consumers an eye opening perspective upon the cause in which
EnVia strives to work which naturally will yield higher awareness. Naturally this will generate
business if all goes as planned.
The trick of course is getting this to go viral throughout the web. It is crucial that EnVia
creates both Facebook and Twitter accounts in order to promote the videos as well as to in
general cross-promote all social media efforts. One way to start additional recognition online is
by following very well-known celebrities and organizations that are already very well established
both foreign and domestically. From there begin posting on their pages to simply put EnVia’s
name out there and continuously post on both Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis about what
the organization is currently doing. This will gain consistent followers through the usage of
social proof. Once there is a solid follower/friend base, EnVia needs to re-post the video a few
times a day. This will make the video reappear at the top of each follower’s newsfeed every time.
In today’s world, any organization is capable of gaining millions of followers in merely a few
weeks. Although it is a long shot, such goals should be striven for because of course the ultimate
goal is maximum awareness and interest in buying artisan made goods.
The power of influence will assist EnVia in developing both awareness and demand for
their artisan products. Although social media is very beneficial, EnVia needs to hook the
audience to follow their profiles. This can be rather tricky. Due to the good spirited nature of the
16
organization, along with the target audience being people in the 20-30’s range, a celebrity
endorsement with someone such as Oprah Winfrey would be perfect to promote their product
merely through sponsorships. If celebrities were to be spotted having artisan-made goods
regularly, consumers would flock to the organization. EnVia can post pictures of Oprah Winfrey
holding an artisan made purse or wearing an artisan made coat. With this circulating on social
media, that alone will go viral, while their YouTube video of the cause EnVia is trying to
promote will then be immersed throughout the web.
In addition to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Buzzfeed is another important online
platform that could be very beneficial to EnVia. Buzzfeed is an internet news media company
that releases numerous videos and articles to the public in the realm of numerous categories such
as entertainment, social news, conspiracy, as well as just about anything one could imagine. This
is a website many people in the target audience of 20-30 year olds commonly view from time to
time. Recently, Augusta Falletta of Buzzfeed posted an article about the “Wear Your Label”
organization in Canada that has created a clothing line prompting to increase the conversations
revolving around mental health. This article on Buzzfeed is an example of something that could
possibly be written about EnVia. “Wear Your Label” has seen much success from this post on
Buzzfeed through both the casual Buzzfeed reader’s shares to their personal social networking
websites in addition to eventual pick-up in formal U.S. press channels, including People
Magazine, MTV, and NBC’s “The Today Show”. Strengthening of brand identity is what is
going to catapult EnVia into the level of awareness and demand they are currently looking for,
which is something that could be done somewhat like “Wear Your Label” did through exposure
on Buzzfeed.
Selling goods out of retail is another valuable resource in efforts to utilize social media.
An example of a retail outlet that would be perfect for selling artisan made products is World
Market. The amount of people who shop here is extensive enough to ensure heightened
awareness even if the customers do not actually buy the product. It all comes down to in-store
advertisement. Starting with the products themselves, when they are on the shelves EnVia can
have a small tag of some sort attached. This should have price, small description, and the newly
created Twitter username. Another tactic would be to not show the price on the tag, rather only
show the description of the product and where it came from, with a small note stating “follow us
on Twitter/Facebook”. Not showing the price is viable because it should be marked on the
shelves in which the products are sitting on. Finally, the checkout stand should be utilized for
social media advertisement. At every checkout stand it would be wise to have similar flyers or
stickers offered that raise awareness of their social media accounts. The ultimate goal is to obtain
as many followers as possible because along with that will come more likes, shares, and posts
regarding EnVia and their artisan made products. This will in turn raise both awareness and
demand.
Business Plan
As a group, we participated in the Tacoma Entrepreneur Network Business Plan
Competition on Tuesday, April 14th
at the University of Puget presenting a business plan for
implementing EnVia Retail. Please reference Appendix D for content from our business plan
17
submitted for this competition. Additionally, judges from the competition provided our group
with feedback regarding our plan which can be seen in Appendix D.
18
Financials There are many different products and each product is unique, thus we chose to describe
our plan through percentages of the price, as Appendix E and the following example illustrate.
If we were to sell a handmade purse at $27, $2 (8%) would go to shipping and handling
the product, another $6 (24%) would go to administration and sales fees, $8.50 (34%) would go
back to EnVia, another $8.50 (34%) goes to the artisan who handmade the product and lastly the
remaining $3 (12%) would go back to reinvesting into the venture. This breakdown is for only
one product, but this model can apply to almost any item EnVia would want to retail here in the
U.S.
To find the break-even point for recovery of investment capital, we used the formula
X=FC/(p-v), where FC are fixed costs, p is sales price per unit and v is variable cost per unit.
For these calculations, we used the pencil pouch figures to find the breakeven point, as pencil
pouches are in the middle of the price range of the artisan products. We calculated our fixed
costs to amount to $18,000 ($10,000 startup cost plus 8,000 annual fixed costs. Also the sale
price of a pencil pouch is $24 and the variable cost per unit was found to be $12. Using this
formula, we calculated our breakeven point is 1,500 units sold.
When we conducted our focus group, we also brought an array of items produced by the
women in Oaxaca, ranging from the smaller leather wallets and pencil pouches, to the more
midsized pouches and purses. We wanted to get a better understanding of what a consumer
might pay for handmade items such as these, and most of our participants noted that if we were
to retail this in the correct setting, such as a World Market or Pier One Imports, these items may
fetch anywhere from $15 to $30.
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Next Steps
Within the first month (Days #1-#30), EnVia should try to attain these benchmarks:
Connect and plan with artisans to schedule production of goods
Create Connections with fine-goods retailers (such as World Market and Pier One
Imports)
Launch social media marketing on the following platforms
o Facebook
o Twitter
o YouTube
Verify logistical connections to distribute products within the U.S.
Within the second month (Days #31-#60), EnVia should try to attain these benchmarks:
Start planning for peak seasons for merchandise with the artisans
Work with retailers to determine amount of products needed for first wave of production
Determine amount of traffic generated from social media marketing
o Metrics: click-through rate, number of shares from posts, any additional sharing
on non-social media sources (such as television, radio, and print press)
Within the third month (Days #61-#90), EnVia should try to attain these benchmarks:
Initiate second round of social media marketing campaign and making necessary changes
(in reflection from first round)
Distribute first wave of products for retailing
Consult with retailers to gage sales and plan for future production
Evaluate the components of the supply chain and fix any redundancies or bottlenecks in
the process
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Conclusion Through this plan, we hope that EnVia will be able to help not only itself to retail the
products their artisans make into the U.S. market, but to also enhance the work EnVia is
currently doing through the tourism aspect of the organization. Using the research that we have
conducted, EnVia can launch a retail program to help support themselves financially, as well as
helping the women that they serve. Handmade goods are a virtually untapped market segment,
and as such with the products that the artisans make, we believe that these goods would fetch a
very fair price at a specialty goods store.
We would like to extend a warm thank you to Carlos, as well as the entire EnVia team for
this excellent opportunity to apply our learning from our education at Pacific Lutheran
University to a very relevant, beneficial cause. It was incredibly helpful for us learning to take
on this project and to help reinforce all of the subjects we learned, not only in this marketing
management course, but to encompass concepts from our other business courses. It was a great
challenge to take these handmade goods from artisans in Oaxaca, to trying to identify a market to
sell these products to, to then trying to price said items where it remains profitable for everyone
including the artisan, EnVia, as well as the retailer selling the product in store. This challenge
helps us be further prepared for the working world once we graduate through real world
examples, with decisions impacting real people’s lives and families. We learned a great deal
about EnVia as an organization, we learned many things about marketing management as well as
things about ourselves, and we hope that EnVia can take this marketing plan, in combination
with the business plan, and create a program that will continuously provide support to itself and
the women that they empower.
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References Adams, D. C., & Salois, M. J. (2010). Local versus organic: A turn in consumer preferences and
willingness-to-pay. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 25(4), 331-341.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1742170510000219
Best, R. (2013). Market-Based Management: Strategies for Growing Customer Value and
Profitability (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Carpio, C. E., & Isengildina-Massa, O. (2009). Consumer willingness to pay for locally grown
products: The case of South Carolina. Agribusiness, 25(3), 412-426.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/agr.20210
Demographic Profile: America's Older Boomers. (2013). Retrieved May 15, 2015.
Hoffman, P. J. (2009). Making the change to sustainability: Building green builds a better
education. Techniques, 84(4), 16-20. Retrieved from
https://ezproxy.plu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/216142672?accoun
tid=2130
Long, J., Sounny-Slitine, M., Castles, K., Curran, J., Glaser, H., Hoyer, E., . . . Parafina, B.
(2013). Toward an applied methodology for price comparison studies of farmers' markets
and competing retailers at the local scale. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and
Community Development, 3(3), 95-119. Retrieved from
https://ezproxy.plu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1419520922?accou
ntid=2130
Olenski, S. (2012, June 25). Marketers And Advertisers, Are You Keeping An Eye On The Baby
Boomers? Forbes.
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Appendix A - Marketing Intelligence Report
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OVERVIEW
After careful analysis of the operations of both EnVia and Serrv, it is apparent that for
both the primary goal is to increase the greater good of society on a global scale. Serrv is a
competitor to EnVia who works in a similar market. Though it is difficult to claim the two as
true competitors because they are both merely stimulating economies by helping artisans,
farmers, and prospective students attain their business goals. However, they are comparable in
regards to what they are working to accomplish. Serrv is actively working in over 36 countries
highlighting the work of their sponsored artisans. These goods are sold at reasonable prices but
with premium quality. Due to the location of this organization (they have stores located in
Wisconsin and Maryland) we were unfortunately not able to physically visit them in person.
Dialogue with employees was conducted via email as well as telephone to get an accurate scope
of their response time, as well as overall helpfulness and knowledge of products and operations.
It is quite enticing to speak to the organizations this way from the perspective of college students
because their marketing tactics as well as business models are very educating to observe.
Portrayal of Serrv as well as EnVia on their websites is very accessible to the consumer
with several links to products or in EnVia’s case, tours. They both offer information about their
organization’s history as well as mission. Examples of website layout can be seen in the
appendices. Again due to the geographical location of their stores and our inability to visit them
in person, the virtual interaction was the key. A story of their products appeared to be told
through their mission statements as it accurately portrayed the goals and aspirations of their
entire product line or service.
After analyzing Serrv, reading the organizations intentions allows some insight into the
back story to each individual product as they were made by artisan women in most cases. Both
organizations offer an emotional connection with each individual consumer considering an
investment in products or the organization all together. This is derived through their influential
message. Operations of both EnVia and Serrv are beneficial to many parties and this analysis
proves it.
PLACE
Serrv
Serrv works with a variety of different artisans from different countries all around the
world and operates through both online as well as brick and mortar stores to sell the products of
the artisans they work with. Serrv’s online store is clean, organized, informative, has a good
design, and is user friendly. Their online store is broken down in multiple sections making it easy
to navigate the site and find what exactly what you’re looking for. The sections included on the
site are home decor, kitchen, food, women, apparel, garden, gifts & collections, sales, and
holiday. These major categories are then further broken down into even smaller sections making
Serrv’s website extremely organized and clean. Within each product description, the location and
specific organization that made it is listed as well as how it was made. Serrv’s online store not
only highlights the products their artisans produce, but also the artisans and the organizations
they belong to. All of these different products come from over 36 different countries from around
the world including Bangladesh, Bosnia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Guatamala, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico,
Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland,
24
Uganda, Vietnam, and the West Bank. Each of the different countries has its own page within the
website further detailing each of the organizations (see Appendix #1) and what they do within
their community. Serrv’s own personal mission is also located on their site as well as ways one
can get involved either through volunteer work, donations, or working at one of their national
locations.
Aside from their online store, Serrv also has two geographical locations in the U.S., with
one in store New Winsdor, Maryland and two stores in Madison, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin
locations are open 7 days a week and the store in Maryland is open Thursday through Saturday
(see Appendix #2). Serrv products are also located at other retail locations across the country, the
closest to us being in Olympia called Traditions Fair Trade. (see Appendix #3). Additionally,
Serrv has an interactive online catalog as well as the option to request a print copy of their
catalog to be mailed to you for additional ways to interact and see their product offerings. Since
we were not able to actually visit any Serrv retail locations, the best methods for us to contact
representatives with Serrv were through e-mail and phone calls.
EnVia
EnVia is located in Oaxaca, Mexico and provides microfinance loans to women of that
area. The EnVia website is clean, organized, and helpful in understanding their mission and
intent as an organization.
PEOPLE
Serrv
In efforts to research Serrv undercover, dialogue over the telephone gave interesting
insight upon the organization as a whole. A phone call conversation was conducted on Friday,
February 20th
at 9:45am (PST). The staff member on the other line was a very helpful individual
who accurately portrayed the designated product and their organization as a whole. The product
inquired about was their artisan made scarves. The first question asked was simply to educate
briefly on the manufacturing of the scarves, and where this occurs. She proceeded to say they are
made by artisans “all over the world really” most notably offering names of countries such as
Mexico, Vietnam, and India. She was a very friendly individual who appeared to have a genuine
interest in speaking upon their organization without being asked. This is where the success of
their business is built upon, informing the consumer about their mission as well as value within
their product. The staff member proceeded to inform in regards to the nature in which the scarves
were made, as if knowledge about artisan work was not known on our part. If not an undercover
analysis call, being a potential consumer would make it easy to purchase from this organization.
Customer service was top quality from this outlet.
Serrv was also e-mailed with a number of questions in order to gauge how
knowledgeable their staff are about their products and their company (see Appendix #4). It took
them over 5 days to respond to email and they were not particularly helpful—the woman simply
copied links instead of directly answering questions.
25
EnVia
Inquiries for researching EnVia undercover began with an email sent to a general email
for the company found on their website on Friday February 20th
at 3:00pm. A reply was sent on
February 25th
at 8:45am. The initial impression of how this mission would be accomplished was
off to a positive start as finding contact information on the EnVia website was simple to find and
very clear the email would be sent to a general organization email. Although there was a five day
response lapse, two of those days were weekends and a very concise email with questions was
sent, and it was therefore expected to wait a couple days for a reply.
The primary focus of the email was to learn more about how EnVia monitors the artisans
as well as goals for the organization in terms of growth in marketing. The respondent “Kim”
gave a concise and professional response to not only all the questions asked but more about the
organization as well as how to be involved. She began with a brief introduction of who the
organization is and what they do, then clearly transitions to answering the questions asked
previously. EnVia hosts tours of Oaxaca weekly and makes this a clear point in the selling of
success of the organization. According to Kim, TripAdvisor lists an EnVia hosted tour as one of
the top things to do in Oaxaca. It was also mentioned EnVia was featured in the New York Times.
A question asked in the original email regarded the expansion of selling goods in markets
outside of Oaxaca. Appreciated, clear honesty went into the answer that,
We do not currently have a goal to set up a party or market for selling the products of the
women. We work with women who have many diferent types of businesses, from
artesans, to tortillas makers, bakers and farmers. Our goal is to provide the tools of
microfinance and education. We encourage the women through our educational program
to consider marketing strategies for their own businesses. (Kim, EnVia)
As an undercover potential client of this organization, honesty as well as adhering to part
of the organization’s mission, was the only way to respond to a random email full of detailed
questions about the organization’s operations and marketing. Especially in a non-profit sector, it
would question a firm’s ethical standard to not only express a mission and goal on the worldwide
web, but to prove on an individual level the importance to the organization and its workers the
meaning of the organization.
Overall this singular email to a “real person” (not a simple computerized response) has
furthered my positive opinion of this organization. To ask questions as if the respondent was
known personally and be given clear feedback and more about what I can do to be involved was
a great experience. It is important for organizations to give the perfect first impression without
being too pushy or too lazy to give answers as a first impression can only be given once.
PROCEDURES
Looking at Serrv’s website, it is very easy to use and straightforward. Navigating the site
is very simple, each product line is easy to find and Serrv also has many backstories and other
information about their company. Serrv markets products ranging from home decor to garden
furnishings to holiday items. Each product is well displayed through multiple pictures and
thorough description below the pictures, so customers know what they are getting. Along with
the description and pictures, lower down the page is a short paragraph about who exactly made
the product and where it was made, along with a link to read more about the group (see
26
Appendix #5). Many products are very clearly described as being unique and handmade with no
color choices, as each one made is unique.
From the logistical side of things, Serrv only ships to the U.S., its territories and
Canada. Serrv uses FedEx ground service as well as the U.S. Postal Service, and clearly states
that Serrv is not responsible for delivery delays on the carrier’s end. As Serrv markets unique,
artisan hand made products, they also struggle with backordering. Serrv attributes their
backorders due to extenuating circumstances such as floods, cyclones, power outages and lack of
raw materials, making it seem like SERRV never is at fault for a backorder. Serrv will allow you
to backorder for products over $10. Serrv’s return policy is quite extensive, and it is clear that it
is used often as each product order comes with a Returns Form. A product may be returned
within 30 days of receipt, but an exchange for the same item is only offered for a different
size. Damaged items are returnable for another product, a refund check or even a credit on an
account. On top of all of this, if a customer has a question they can call customer care at Serrv or
can send an email for help. Overall, the website is easy to use and their policies for shipping and
returns make it simple to get the one of a kind product a consumer is looking for.
PROMOTION
Serrv International as a competitor uses social media as its central avenue for promoting
their site. Serrv utilizes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest to promote their
products. Additionally, Serrv has a LinkedIn page which focuses more on the general purpose of
the organization rather than just their store (see Appendix #7).
With Serrv’s extensive social media presence, their reach is pretty extensive. They utilize
many different outlets which each reach different interests and types of consumers that check
those outlets. The use of Pinterest was interesting and very strategic since many users of
Pinterest use the site as a way to mark items that they would like to purchase as well as use it to
find gifts for friends and family (see Appendix #8). Additionally, Serrv’s content on their
YouTube channel is also very extensive. They have six different playlists with multiple videos
on each playlists. The different playlists include “Artisan & Impact Stories” (12 videos),
“SERRV Store Madison” (3 videos), “Fair Trade Favorites” (11 videos), “Creating Global
Crafts” (17 videos), “SERRV’s Handmade Products” (11 videos), and “Behind the Scenes at
SERRV” (9 videos). Even though Serrv has created this strong baseline in videos available on
their channel, they have unfortunately have not updated this page lately; all of their content is at
least one year old. While Serrv has created an extensive online presence through various social
media platforms, not all of the platforms have received the same attention and seen similar levels
of content generation.
In addition to the social media presence, Serrv also does use some paid advertisement on
Google to promote their site. They are not necessarily the first on the list when searching key
words such as “fair trade gifts” or “international artisan goods”, but they do appear in the search
pages on occasion. An illustration of this includes some of the first times searching “Serrv” on
Google, the first ad on the page was for another fair trade artisan good store while on later
searches, Serrv was then the featured ad on the page. Reference Appendix #6 for an illustration
of an example of the various paid advertisements featured.
27
Serrv does use some partnerships to further showcase their product offerings. In addition
to their retail outlets, direct mailings, and online site, their products are additionally featured in
some other stores that feature fair trade products and are promoted through religious
organizations. On the Serrv website it is described how they offer the opportunity to partake in
home sales and community sales, which can extend the reach of the Serrv brand and offerings.
The connections to religious organizations are typically seen through the community sales.
Through their website, Serrv is working to achieve an emotional connection based around
the idea that you are supporting handmade products from around the world and really
emphasizing the broad reach that their company has to companies around the world. The website
has a global perspective and draws upon the imagery of various places around the world and not
specifically drawing you into one area of the world.
CONCLUSION
To conclude this organizational analysis, it is worth highlighting some key takeaway
points that illustrate Serrv as a successful non-profit business. From the perspective of students,
much has been learned even in the early stages of research upon them. Contacting Serrv via
email and telephone offered valuable insight upon their organization. Serving as undercover
consumers, our team learned about the mission in which they operate by in addition to the
unnoticed details about the artisan creation of their products.
They operate in over 36 different countries around the world where artisans hand craft
premium quality products at a reasonable price. Revenue from these sales go straight into
helping finance these businesses because of the trouble artisans face to fully support their
families. There are some places in the world where this is the only opportunity these women
have to support their family. Serrv’s non-profit approach benefits them in a very ethical way. In a
logistical sense, Serrv only ships their products to the United States and their territories, also
Canada as well. This is the case because of the financial stability of this region of the world.
Overall, Serrv is very compatible with the consumer. Their website is very user friendly
and staff members are always available for customer help via the telephone during their business
hours of 8:00am-5:00pm. This organization’s efforts to help communities and artisans across the
globe are truly remarkable. Their business strategy allows the consumer to feel like they are
actually helping make a positive difference in the lives of underprivileged people while receiving
quality handmade artisan products at the same time.
28
References
About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, from https://www.serrv.org/category/about-us
Backorders/Returns. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2015, from
https://www.serrv.org/category/backorders-returns.
Groves, K. (2015, February 28). EnVia Intelligence [E-mail interview].
SERRV's Channel. (2011, May 13). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
https://www.youtube.com/user/SERRVTube?feature=watch
Serrv International. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from
https://www.linkedin.com/company/serrv-international
Serrv International (serrv). (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from https://www.pinterest.com/serrv/
Swartzendruber, S. (2015, March 1). Serr Email [E-mail interview].
29
Appendix #1 – Serrv Artisan Stories from Around the World
This is an image of the “Artisan Stories” section of the Serrv site which lists the various
countries that are associated with Serrv products.
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Appendix #2 – Serrv Store Locations
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Appendix #3 – Serrv Map Indicating Locations of Retailers Selling Serrv Products
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Appendix #4 – E-mail to Serrv
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Appendix #5 – Example Serrv Product Offering
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Appendix #6 – Serrv Online Searches
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Appendix #7 – Serrv International on LinkedIn
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Appendix #8 – Serrv International on Pinterest
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Appendix #9 – Serrv on YouTube
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Appendix B - Focus Group
Transcription of Focus Group
Monday, April 6th
, 2015 @ 7:00pm
Moderator #1: This is a focus group and we’re going to try to get you out of here as soon as
possible. We can go ahead and turn to the first page. And we’ll just start with the first question
and go around in a circle with your responses. So the first one, what’s your general attitude
towards non-profits and why is that? And by general attitude, we mean, do you think it’s a smart
way to do business or if you think they actually make an impact or if they’re a waste of time or
whatever you think really.
Participant #4: I’ll generally go as long as the money’s not going to corrupt places.
Participant #3: Like I think I have a positive attitude towards them it just depends on, cause like
I know some non-profits pay their employees so then a lot of money than just goes to paying the
employees. I guess it just depends on how much actually goes to charity.
Participant #2: Due to often lack of transparency, they’re too likely to be corrupt for my liking.
And that they shouldn’t exist unless they’re willing to show exactly where they’re money is
going
Participant #1: Yeah I think the current regulations on non-profits are way too lenient and there
is a lot of room for corruption and they can be very good organizations.
Moderator #1: where would you guys say what the corruption would be. Are you thinking
where the money comes in goes to employees or…
Participant #1: Yes, that. Particularly executives.
Participant #5: I think they’re generally good as long as it’s for a good cause.
Moderator #1: Alright, now for the next question. Have you ever donated or volunteered with
or for a non-profit and which one? If not why do you think that is?
Participant #5: The Salvation Army, a place that I know that donates to a lot of charities and I
support them.
Moderator #1: Where did you hear of them?
Participant #5: They’re well known and seeing them out especially around holidays and when I
have cash on me, I try to give them a couple of bucks.
Participant #1: Umm… I suppose I’ve donated just in the boxes at grocery stores or fast food
joints. They generally seem like good causes. But I’ve never volunteered for one.
Participant #2: Basically the same as the other two as far as Salvation Army donations. I
haven’t joined to do anything for a non-profit.
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Participant #3: Umm… in high school I helped with the bell ringing for the Salvation Army and
I’ve donated to them too. And then every birthday and Christmas half my present from my
grandparents goes to charity so I get to choose a charity of my choice, either like the Share
House or the Humane Society or something like that.
Participant #4: I’d say I’m more like the first three. If there’s a donation box or something I go
ahead and do that, but otherwise I don’t really pay attention to it.
Moderator #1: Good, good. Alright now we’re going to move to number two. And the topic of
this is the perception of non-profit microfinance loans. If you know what that is or not we’ll get
to that. Start with the first one. In general do you perceive non-profits to be a successful way of
raising money and state why you believe your opinion.
Participant #4: Yeah, umm… definitely. I mean Wikipedia is like a perfect non-profit and they
generated $60 million in revenue.
Moderator #1: That’s a good one.
[Participant #3 nods.]
Participant #3: I think it’s effective because people want to feel like they’re doing something
important. So whenever there’s an opportunity to donate I feel like it’s effective. Works out.
Participant #2: I think a lot of it is effective. Not only in that it can attract those that are seeking
to help but it’s a convenient way for people who aren’t looking to basically feel like they’ve
done something. So they bring in that basically as extra rather than waiting for people to find
them.
[Participant #1 nods.]
Participant #1: Yeah, I think it’s an effective way. Because simply people perceive it as a
humanity-type organization.
Participant #5: Mostly the same as everyone else.
Moderator #1: Alright. Now to the next question. Do you know what a microfinance loan is?
Let’s just start with that. Does anyone here know what a microfinance loan is?
[Participant #3 shakes head no.]
Moderator #1: Okay, well it’s basically an interest-free loan to and we’ll get to how this is
relevant. For the specific company we’re doing this entire focus group for, they’re called EnVia.
And we’ll get to that too. But uh, they offer loans that range from $100 to $500 that are interest
free to people in poverty-stricken communities that need it for things like education or own
business like homemade food, tortillas, bread, or handmade bags or you know things like that. So
anyways, that’s what a microfinance loan is. It’s usually an interest-free loan. Do you think this
is an effective way to help those struggling in poverty, offering interest-free loans. What do you
think? Or would you believe it to be best for them to have interest, sort of like incentive for them
to pay it back?
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Participant #5: I think it depends if they’re actually going to use it for what they say they are. I
think if they stick to I, it is fine without the interest. But if they’re going to go off and use it for
something they’re not supposed to I think it should have interest. I think it’s a fine line of which
to use and which not to use.
Participant #1: Yeah, and if there is no interest payment you do need to have more oversight.
But I think that it’s a definite more effective for helping those people since there’s a lot of people
in poverty that get into those vicious interest circles and are just paying off interest over and over
and it ends up hurting them.
Participant #2: If interest rates are higher than an absolute minimum that they feel is absolutely
necessary then it essentially makes them a version of a loan shark and I don’t see how that would
change their situation since they were stuck that way anyways.
Participant #3: Umm.,. I think it’s risky not to have interest ‘cause if there’s no interest there’s
no motivation to pay it back so they could just not ever pay it back and end up dying before it
gets paid back. So I think it’s pretty risky not to have interest.
Participant #4: I think that it’s a good way to alleviate power and with these loans you also
partner it with regulation, rules. You know, not only give them the money but also educate them
about money.
Moderator #1: do you think it’d be smart to, for you say the company we’re working with,
EnVia, for them to partner with, say with a government or say make a legal contract that would
legally bind them to that agreement? Or do you think it’s just worth honor code, offering the loan
interest-free? ‘Cause that’s where it is right now
Participant #4: I think they should have to sign some sort of contract.
[Participants #2 and #3 both nod yes.]
Moderator #1: On to the next one. Alright. Doing pretty good on time. We have a scenario here.
I’ll go ahead and read it. Imagine you were living in Oaxaca, Mexico creating homemade
tortillas in your backyard. Depending on the revenue from these own sales to provide for your
own family’s survival. All of a sudden, there’s been a famine and you have lost the ability to
purchase the amount of corn you need to make the tortillas necessary to provide for your family
so you can’t get enough corn to make the amount you need to sell. If you were in this situation,
would you seek out financial assistance via a bank loan or just a loan from a friend or something,
or how would you react in this situation. If you were in this poverty-stricken area.
Participant #4: I suppose I’d try to seek out financial assistance. If there’s no way I can make
up the money myself, it’s gonna have to come from somewhere.
Participant #3: Yeah I agree with that and I’d definitely seek out a bank loan.
Participant #2: I’d temporarily try to change professions. Because a loan that you don’t know
that you can’t pay back is a dangerous thing.
Participant #1: Yeah, yeah. I would certainly seek out a loan that first if I had friends that could
help me out that would be great. If not, I’d go to a bank.
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Participant #5: I would try to find a different job and get the money myself or I’d talk to family
and see if they’d help and if those two don’t work, then I’d go to a bank.
Moderator #1: Umm… how likely would you be to seek out a non-profit for help? Assuming
you know about as much about non-profits as you do right now in America. Would you guys
reach out?
Participant #5: I would, yeah. I think they would be more helpful in helping me try to get back
on my feet and where I needed to be.
Participant #1: yeah I think in general I think I would trust a non-profit more than a regular
bank loan to provide lower interest rate loans.
Participant #2: I’d have to be pretty desperate before I sought out help from any organization.
Participant #3: yeah I would trust a non-profit more than a bank because I feel like they’d be
more compassionate towards the people they are trying to help
Participant #4: I’d suppose I’d agree with him [points to Participant #3].
Moderator #1: So we have a variation of that first scenario. I’ll go ahead and read it again. The
first paragraph there is exactly what I just read so I’ll go ahead and skip it. So we’re in the exact
same situation but we’re just going to tack this next part on. So then imagine that you receive
notification that a non-profit has reached out to your community and is willing to offer you an
interest-free loan worth enough to pay for all the corn you need in addition to increasing the
quality of your equipment to make the food that you need to make. So you’re only other options
are to take out a loan with the government and in Mexico would be roughly 150% interest or
starve. So the first question is, would you feel compelled to pay the loan back as soon as you can
because of their generosity?
Participant #5: I would, yeah. Just because they would help me out so much that I’d feel like I’d
want to pay them back just so they’d help someone else. Like pay it forward.
Participant #1: Yeah I guess I would pay it back as soon as I possibly could cause I wouldn’t
try to live on zero money the entire time. But I certainly wouldn’t let it ride forever. As long as I
was on my feet and felt somewhat comfortable with my situation then I’d pay it back as soon as
possible.
Participant #2: Yeah as soon as it’s, you can remotely be able to pay off the debt because it’s
not good to keep any debt lying around.
Participant #3: Yeah I’d agree. I’d pay it off as soon as I can.
Participant #4: I would also pay it off as soon as I can.
Moderator #1: Alright so the next question. How likely would you be to spread the word about
this non-profit, that again in this situation, reached out to your community?
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Moderator #4: Uhh… I mean it depends on my experience with them. Very lovely to not very
lovely. Because then not very at all. But if I had a positive experience and I saw someone in a
similar scenario I’d probably tell them about it.
[Participant #3 nods.]
Participant #3: yeah pretty much the same thing. If I’d ever had a good experience with them
I’d definitely tell other people in the same situation.
Participant #2: Same as the other two.
Participant #1: [nodding] Same.
Participant #5: Same, yeah.
Moderator #1: So now we’re gonna get into the actual organization that we’re working with.
EnVia, they actually give out interest-free loans up to $500USD and they go to support artisan
women in need of financial assistance for both school/education and business operations. They
fund this, they get their funds through the tours of the local Oaxaca, community from tours,
obviously. And then of course donations; people investing in their company. So first off, have
any of you heard of EnVia before?
[all participants shaking heads no.]
Participant #4: No, but I think I remember hearing of a similar company that might have
converted this into a similar model.
Moderator #1: Would you guys consider going on one of their tours and if you knew 100% of
the money that you paid to go on this tour, 5 days/4 nights their tours. If you knew 100% of the
money spent through them went to their microfinance loans and there was no sort of corruption.
Start with you [Moderator in reference to Participant #5].
Participant #5: Yeah I would. Just cause I know it’s going towards a good cause to help them
out.
Moderator #1: Would you be willing to pay more than what you think you could just fly down
there and stay at a hotel for 4 nights yourself and if you knew that it was all going to a good
cause?
Participant #5: If it was all going to be a very good tour I could see it being that possibly yeah
instead of just trying to be touristy by myself I could see myself doing that
Participant #1: Yeah if it was more expensive than a regular ticket, than no. I’d really have to
just have some extra money to spend. Certainly not in my current situation I wouldn’t do that.
But I’d consider it if I had extra money lying around.
Participant #2: Yeah to add, it not to be too difficult to but my reason not to would be the
restriction of my own funds
Participant #3: Yeah I’d definitely go on one of the tours. It sounds interesting
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Participant #4: I mean, if was a place that I was planning on going anyways then I suppose I’d
probably do it. But if it was inconvenient or I wasn’t planning on going there in the first place I
probably wouldn’t even think about it.
Moderator #1: Alright, do any of you have questions for us? Or about anything that we
discussed? Or something that you didn’t understand?
[Pause.]
Moderator #2: Okay before you all take off, these are some of the products the artisans make
outside of Oaxaca. I would just be curious to look at some of these products and tell me what you
think this might fetch in a retail setting. So maybe a TJ Maxx, possibly maybe Khols, what just.
Maybe we’ll start with the blue purse that participant 3 is holding right there. I mean, and keep in
mind that these are all handmade one-of-a-kind items, the artisans can’t make the same one twice
honestly. And they’re all sustainably made, without using any artificial dyes or products. So
what do you think a bag like that would fetch?
Moderator #3: I think it depends where you’re going to sell it at. Because like if I saw this in a
typical Target or something like that I’d probably not pay more than $5 for it but if I was going
to a gallery where they sold or auctioned off products, like I know my grandparents are willing to
go and auction off Indian Tribal stuff that people make and they’d probably be willing to pay a
lot more for it. I don’t know. $25 or $30.
Moderator #2: Yeah, sure. So if we were to retail this we would most likely have a tag on there
that would have a little story or something that says this bag was handmade by so-and-so artisan
from OX, Mexico. So it’s not the China $5 bag where’s there’s a million of them out there and
walk down the street and find someone else with it. That’s not gonna happen with that bag. So
knowing that it’s unique bag, I guess I’m just looking for your guy’s thoughts. Not all of us are
doing that kind of bag shopping, especially us guys, which we have four of right here. So p3
threw the number 25-30 as possibly on the higher end, maybe if you didn’t know what it was
made of you’d pay $5. So is that pretty much a consensus?
[All participants nodding heads ‘yes’.]
Moderator #2: Does anyone think anything different? Please speak up.
Participant #2: I really think the marketing makes the price. Cause convenient information is
much more likely to be learned than something you’d have to figure out yourself. Especially if
you run into it at some giant retailer like Target or something. Everything is presumed to be
cheap crap out of China.
Moderator #2: Anybody else? Care to chime in?
Participant #1: I would say no more than $30
Participant #4: I would lower it. $10-$15. If you marketed it well, maybe $20.
Moderator #1: One more thing, do you think you’d be more inclined to pay more if you say you
were in Mexico and some lady at a stand on the side of the street and it’s obvious that she made
this or would you pay $20 for that there as opposed to if it sitting in Target, marked at $20 but
45
they would have the description. Do you think the placement in terms of corporate store or a
street stand in Mexico would make an impact.
[All participants saying ‘yes’ and are nodding.]
Moderator #2: In your opinions in what kinds of places. And I know you’re all not going to go
out and buy that bag. Where would you go to buy that bag for someone that might need it?
Where…what kind of store would you buy that from? And what kinds of stores would you not
buy that from?
Participant#2: The first places I’d probably look would be…I mean I guess.
Moderator #2: There’s no right or wrong answer man. There’s no right or wrong answer.
Participant #2: basically the less I know about the store the more likely I think I’d find
something like this. Cause the bigger it goes, the more it can be ordered in bulk and that’s not
something that you get in handcrafted goods.
Participant #1: Yeah I really wouldn’t know where to go. Besides Someplace that’s known for
imports like WorldMarket, some place like that.
[Participant #2 nods ‘yes’.]
Moderator #2: I guess I was just going for big names that you wouldn’t go for, like the obvious
one, Wal-Mart.
[All participants laugh and smile.]
Participant #1: Yeah.
Moderator #2: Yeah, I guess, just yeah. Generally what kind of store would this be best sold in?
Participant #3: Like I said earlier, I think it’d be best in auctions and people also like being able
to show off how much they are able to spend. And in an environment like that, like if they held
an auction a few times a year for these handmade products and crafts I think they’d make a lot
more because people like being able to show off how much money they can spend.
Participant #1: Good point.
Participant #2: To combine that maybe with a small business model maybe. That way they can
consistently sell and then have periods during the year where they do the auction kind of thing
and that gives more of a stream of profits
[Participant #3 nodding ‘yes’.]
Moderator #2: Maybe during holidays or something?
[Participants #2 and #3 nodding ‘yes’.]
Moderator #2: We’re all about wrapped up. Thank you for your time.
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Focus Group Participant Handout
Handouts
Please do not open or review until instructed
47
1 General Attitude towards Non-Profits
What is your general attitude towards non-profits? Why?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
Have you ever donated or volunteered for a non-profit? Which? If not, why?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
2 Perception of Non-Profit Microfinance loans
In general, do you perceive non-profits to be a successful way of raising money? Why?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
Do you know what a microfinance loan is? If so, why do you think this is an effective way of helping those struggling in poverty?
(please answer with in complete sentences)
48
3aPoverty: A Scenario
Imagine you were living in Oaxaca, Mexico, creating homemade tortillas in your backyard, depending on revenue from these sales to provide for your family. All of the sudden, there is a famine in your hometown. You have lost the ability to purchase the amount of corn needed to make enough tortillas necessary to provide for your family.
Would you seek out financial assistance via bank loans?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
How likely would you be to seek out a non-profit for help?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
49
3b A Second Chance: A Scenario
Imagine you were living in Oaxaca, Mexico, creating homemade tortillas in your backyard, depending on revenue from these sales to provide for your family. All of the sudden, there is a famine in your hometown. You have lost the ability to purchase the amount of corn needed to make enough tortillas necessary to provide for your family.
Then, imagine you received notification that a non-profit is willing to offer you an interest free loan worth enough to pay for all the corn you need in addition to increasing the quality of your equipment. Your only other options are to take out a loan with the government with 150% interest, or starve.
Would you feel compelled to pay the loan back in full as soon as you can?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
How likely would you be to spread the word about this nonprofit?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
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4 EnVia in Action
EnVia offers interest free loans ranging up to 500 US dollars to artisan
women in need of financial assistance for both school and business operations. They fund this via tours and donations.
Have you ever heard of EnVia?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
Would you consider attending one of their tours if you knew 100% of your monetary investment was going to helping these artisan women?
(please answer with one brief sentence)
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Focus Group Participant A Written Responses
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53
54
55
Focus Group Participant B Written Responses
56
57
58
Note: Not all the questions received written responses from this participant, thus questions with no
written answer were omitted from this report.
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Focus Group Participant Waiver Release Form
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Appendix C - Survey
Images of Survey Created
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62
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Appendix D - Tacoma Entrepreneur Network Business Plan
Competition 2015
EnVia Retail Business Plan Content
Executive Summary
EnVia is an organization that is dedicated to supporting the community of Oaxaca,
Mexico through three major programs: microfinance, responsible tourism, and education.
Through the microfinance program, EnVia partners with women in the Oaxaca community in
helping support their business ventures, some of which include creating artisan goods, such as
purses, wallets, coin purses, and jewelry. It is important to note that EnVia does not just provide
the financial support for these women. The organization also includes educational components
for the women receiving loans from EnVia helping manage personal and business-related
finances. The final component offered by EnVia is the responsible tourism. EnVia provides tours
for visitors to Oaxaca to see the work of women entrepreneurs. These tours also offer the
opportunity for the visitors to visit the stores that these women created and be able to purchase
artisan goods. This current model is great for engaging Oaxacan visitors with the entire EnVia
organization and some of the beautiful crafted and sustainably made artisan goods that are
produced from microfinance. However, the stories of the women in Oaxaca and the beautiful,
environmentally friendly artisan goods they create should be accessible to others that may not be
able to visit Oaxaca. Therefore, we seek to expand EnVia into the U.S. retail marketplace by
selling artisan goods made by the women participants of the EnVia microfinance program.
Bringing the artisan goods created from the women that have the connection to EnVia is
unique in comparison to other similar non-profit organizations. What really separates EnVia
from other nonprofits that sell artisan goods from various places around the world is that EnVia
focuses on educating and empowering these women. Further, EnVia offers the ability for anyone
to be able to go on a tour in Oaxaca and meet the women that created the artisan good purchased
in a retail store.
This is a start-up organization that is working in conjunction with EnVia’s current
operations to bring a portion of this non-profit into the for-profit market of retail artisan goods.
While doing this, we will be supporting the base of the EnVia’s operations as bringing microfinance
to the community of Oaxaca, Mexico.
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Product/Service Description
It is important to note that the core of EnVia’s operations is steered towards helping
people out of poverty. Their primary service is to offer microfinance loans for education as well
as support for artisan women in the Oaxaca region. They are centralized in Oaxaca, Mexico
where they also offer tours. These tours are one of the highest sources of revenue for EnVia. In
fact, TripAdvisor lists an EnVia hosted tour as one of the top tourist attractions in the city of
Oaxaca. Their organization describes their tours as “a special glimpse into Oaxacan life, and an
incredible, authentic cultural experience” (Appendices 4). Duration is roughly five days and four
nights of influence on the native culture. Lasting connections are often built between the artisan
women and the tourists as they can see the power of microfinance. All funds from these non-
profit tours are used to help assist artisan women with loans.
EnVia was derived by the idea that microfinance can provide interest free loans to artisan
women seeking a path away from poverty on a daily basis. These loans give borrowers the
ability develop effective, long lasting businesses. One primary issue these artisan women face is
an increasingly difficult ability to access fair credit. Interest rates in Mexico average around 70%
for standard microfinance loans, which is nearly impossible for borrowers to pay back. EnVia
has taken initiative and offered interest free loans which are virtually unheard of in these parts of
the world. It is worth noting that they offer these loans to artisan women worldwide. EnVia
essentially offers hope for a better future for these women and their families as they are merely
trying to put food on the table for their loved ones and this work is the only way they can do so.
EnVia works with over 250 women who provide goods such as handicrafts, bread, cheese,
vegetables, tortillas within their local communities in addition to artisans, farmers and much
more. Supporting these women stimulates the local community.
What makes this business idea unique is its innate ability to impact numerous lives. Since
2008, they have given over 1,500 interest free loans to over 400 women in the Oaxaca region.
EnVia could easily require interest of a mere 5 percent and profit exponentially however their
vision is not solely in the realm of profits, rather generating business and a sustained healthy
lifestyle for these women and their communities. The benefits of the customer are thriving
business and an ability to provide for their families when they would normally not be able to
without this generous assistance.
When relating the operations of EnVia to their competition, their service is superior
largely because they are actually offering financial assistance to these artisan women. One of
their largest competitors, Serrv, focuses on the distribution and selling numbers of the artisan
made goods in well-established economies such as the United States. Serrv does give these
women the profits of their sales, however EnVia is at an advantage because without them, not
nearly the volume of production could possibly be attained. EnVia essentially stimulates the
local economies of these artisan women as opposed to simply selling some of their goods for
them. It is worth noting some environmental concerns that require assessment. All of the
materials used are fully natural. Some problems that come with that include possible drought,
resulting in scarcity of materials used to produce yarn as well as the dyes made from flowers.
Another problem is the risk of artisan women not being fully capable of paying back their loans.
When we spoke with the founder of EnVia via Skype, he said that they fully understand the risks
involved with offering these interest free loans. However they actually do not have a very
significant problem with this occurring because the people receiving these loans are so thankful
for the assistance that they feel obligated to pay back whenever they are able to. It is a very rare
occurrence for someone to not repay their loans.
66
The microfinance loans in addition to the Oaxacan tours are very developed. EnVia
currently has set dates for their next two tours this calendar year with an exact blueprint as to
where and what the tourists are going to experience. It is clearly stated that 100 percent of
income from these tours goes directly into the microfinance loans, so people fully understand
where their money is going. When it comes to the loans themselves, it is a fairly straight forward
concept. The recipient of the loan is in full communication with EnVia and they are not expected
to pay back the loan until they are capable of doing so. This is a very efficient, and and simple
way of operating business which has led to very positive results over past years.
After extensive research in this industry, the best way for EnVia to distribute their
services is to contract with retail chains such as World Market, Pier One Imports, and farmers
markets in larger cities across the country. EnVia needs to reach out to these retailers in each
region of the country; more on this will be explained in the market analysis section.
In order to sell these artisan products, EnVia cannot expect artisan women to reach out to
them because they are not a very large organization when it comes to brand recognition.
Therefore it is up to them to get their name out there. Strategies to expand revenue opportunities
will also be discussed in our market analysis. As EnVia contracts with retailers, one of the first
steps is to create a new brand logo that is easily recognizable (Appendix #1) as opposed to the
existing logo which appears to look somewhat like the recycling logo here in the United States.
Creation of a new logo will help revenue across retail locations in the United States. Ideally, the
new EnVia logo can tell consumers that it is a handmade product rather than a cheap article of
clothing made in a factory. This is why we do not advise EnVia to sell artisan goods through
corporate retailers such as Walmart. A high standard on their brand is crucial to successful
revenue.
When it comes to their tours, they need to advertise extensively to the general public in
well-established economies in order to fully grasp the potential income they could possibly
receive. All of which will go directly into their microfinance loans.
67
Market Analysis
EnVia is a two-fold industry; microfinance and the creation of naturally made artisan
products. The microfinance portion allows the women to start up their own businesses. The
actual products are handmade and produced from organic, natural materials from the Oaxaca
region of Mexico. Cultural awareness, global awareness, consciousness of the environment, and
tourism are all things that drive the selling of these products. Innovation and independence are
what are important to the actual production of the products.
The two major segments of EnVia’s market are Baby Boomers and Millennials. Baby
boomers have a higher discretionary income and can afford to buy higher quality items.
Millennials are more environmentally aware and tend to seek organic, local products to support
local communities and sustainable living. Having useful products available from local retailers
can also help satisfy the desire to support non-profit organizations with meaning. have really
helped invest and push the green movement. These generations are becoming more aware of
where their items come from and want to make a positive impact with their purchases and buy
from reputable producers.
One of the biggest competitors would be a company called SERVV, that is an
overarching company that houses multiple non-profit organizations like EnVia. SERVV offers a
variety of products from all around the world. They offer products online and in two retail
locations in the United States, and in the villages that SERVV supports. Local competitors for
EnVia would be any of the other tourist attractions in that area and other small business around
the village that produce the same types of products.
A threat that EnVia experiences is cheaply made products that look similar to the high
quality items that the women of EnVia produce. Sometimes the price distracts from the actual
product and people prefer the cheaper alternative of something. Microfinance isn’t a huge
industry in the type of setting that EnVia is yet so there is a ton of potential for growth there.
EnVia could increase the number of locations they service, educating and providing opportunity
for women in a variety of areas outside of Oaxaca.
Handmade and natural products are an attractive and growing industry with many
different people trying to get into it. With a growing market of consumers that care about where
their products come from and where and who their money is going to again, indicating a large
growth potential.
To find out more about how these handmade products would sell in the U.S., we
conducted a focus group consisting of consumers ages 20-23. Our initial assumptions were that
a consumer would pay more for a product if it was handmade and unique, a consumer would also
pay more for a handmade good depending on where the products were sold, and the consumer
would be further motivated to buy these products if the consumer knew exactly how the product
was made and how the purchase of the product would benefit the artisan.
The focus group confirmed our assumptions about the positioning of the product as well
as the pricing. One consumer mentioned that if the product was sold at Target or Wal-Mart that
the consumer would not pay as much for the product if it were found at a handmade good store
such as a World Market or Pier One Imports. Also the general consensus was that having the
story of the product alongside the product during sale would help a consumer want to buy the
product more than not having any backstory. Although we received valuable information from
our focus group, we think it would be beneficial to conduct more focus groups to gain more
insight into consumers’ thought processes when purchasing goods.
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Expanded SWOT Analysis
The following pages analyze where EnVia stands in terms of internal strengths, internal
weakness, external opportunities, and external threats (SWOT). Also included are possible
strategies EnVia can incorporate into their organizations to overcome challenges and take
advantages of strengths.
Strengths: A primary strength for EnVia is the founder and director Carlos Topete.
Carlos worked in corporate America for the company 3-M and has the experiences and education
to operate an exporting program for artisans of EnVia’s products to neighboring countries.
Next, nonprofit organizations are a continuing trend in the U.S. as millennials further
integrate going green and focusing on bettering mankind. Microfinance is a small sector of the
nonprofit industry and EnVia offers a unique experience for customers to not only purchase
handmade, organic products in Mexico, but to meet the person who made the product(s). A
relationship with TripAdvisor and the positive reviews from customers also help in spreading the
word of such a distinctive experience by posting Oaxaca and EnVia’s tours on their site.
A third strength for the organization is their geographic location on the map for a climate
that supports the natural resources artisans use to dye and create their products. Artisans are able
to grow natural materials and use coloring techniques passed down from their indigenous
ancestors to create final products that embrace Oaxaca’s rich culture, history, and natural
landscape.
Weaknesses: Although shipping to the U.S. is expensive, having EnVia sponsored sales
at various farmers markets around the country could cut administrative costs while selling
products for a higher price than they would be sold in Mexico. The opportunity to export
products not only benefits EnVia with increased profits, but the artisan can receive more
business, and the organization’s name will become better known.
As a nonprofit organization, EnVia faces financial challenges and limits for-profit firms
don’t have to consider. EnVia relies heavily on volunteers, donations, and tourists with as few
administrative costs as possible for paid employees. With these financial limitations, EnVia has
to be careful on who their loans are given to, the training programs, and operations that go into
keeping this organization running.
A final weakness for EnVia is awareness of the organization in the United States. All
firms choose how much they want to invest in advertising and EnVia primarily focuses on word
of mouth and is rated on TripAdvisor, but in the long run, if EnVia wants to expand, these alone
will not suffice.
Opportunities: In relation to strengths from an external point of view are opportunities
for EnVia, to not only strengthen their current business model, but to expand their business and
support base outside of Mexico. Similar to the weakness of international knowledge is the
opportunity for EnVia to expand its loans outside of Oaxaca and to the United States. Part of this
organization’s success is staying close to its roots in Mexico, however expanding out to
neighboring areas in need as well as expanding marketing/advertising campaigns outside the
country can only present benefits for EnVia.
Marketing to schools to embed fundraising and traveling into a student’s education can
offer ways for students to further their understanding in nonprofit, and involvement in a different
community. EnVia can also reach out to various universities in the U.S. that offer non-profit
areas of study to collaborate with professors on student projects. Types of projects can include
selling artisan products at schools for an EnVia fundraisers, or raise money to visit Oaxaca for
spring break, similar to Pacific Lutheran University’s Living Water project that raises funds to
69
build wells in Nicaragua. A primary target market will include seasonal promotion to tourists.
Also, during the northern hemisphere’s winter, many snowbirds and retirees are seeking a warm,
new experience. Reaching out to this population can greatly benefit profit and word of mouth
advertising by continuing to bring new consumers to Oaxaca at times tourism is slow.
Threats: From an external perspective there are numerous threats that can impact EnVia
from outside the organization. Even though Mexico is progressing economically, political unrest
plays a role in how the rest of the world views the country. There is a lot of negative attention to
Mexico in the news (drug cartels and shootings of tourists) causing views of unsafe travelling to
anywhere in Mexico instead of just where the problems are arising. Because of so much negative
media attention, corruption and other unrest will continue to play a role in tourist’s thoughts
when choosing where to travel. A similar threat that is out of EnVia’s control is a natural disaster
such as a flood, or drought. These types of events will drastically impact the production of
artisans and therefore decreasing potential for revenue and business.
The ability to mass produce products can threaten the success of exporting to consumers.
Not being able to produce an identical product each time can turn consumers away and be seen
as less attractive. Pricing also plays a role in how often consumers will think to purchase
products from EnVia artisans via e-commerce. If pricing is too high, some consumers do not
connect pricing with shipping and quality of the product. The threat for this situation is cheap
Chinese labor. Many American, European, and Asian companies manufacture and mass produce
in China because it is so cheap and therefore making products less expensive for consumers. If
EnVia chooses to export goods, constantly emphasizing product quality (and being able to tell
customers where the materials come from) is a key factor in creating a demand for such unique,
expensive products.
Another important threat to EnVia as a nonprofit organization is competition between
other impoverished areas of Central America such as Honduras and Nicaragua. Many nonprofits
in the U.S. travel to Central America for volunteer work. EnVia must continue to position
Oaxaca as a “better” city to visit and support over established programs for other big cities. Both
the suppliers and the distributors are the artisan woman. Each artisan is supplied with a loan from
EnVia, but it is the women themselves that make and sell their products. To become a part of the
EnVia group, women have to have a business proposal, take education classes, and pay back
their loans before they can get approved for another one later down the road. EnVia can target a
fairly large market of people, but we would like to focus most of our efforts on the age range
between 25 and 50 year old females.
Our job is to help develop a way in which EnVia can reach customers on an international
scale. They are a microfinance group that encourages women of Oaxaca, Mexico to be
entrepreneurs. Purchasers of products made by these women are usually interested in natural,
handmade products. It seems that the biggest target market would be women between the ages of
25 and say 50, however we think that EnVia’s market could extend further. Men of the same age
could also be customers, although there is a smaller selection of options for men specifically,
they could still be interested in other products for the women in their lives. Children of both
genders are also possible consumers, but it is the adults that are the primary focus.
70
Marketing and Sales Plan
Our goal is to build revenue and increase the amount of microfinance loans available to
the women of Oaxaca. Giving them a product that they know is all natural and handmade and
they have the option to actually meet the artisan that constructed their item and see just how
much their dollars were put to work. Our current goal is to reach customers in the United States
and plan to do so through an online store. But first would like to test a market, possibly with U.S.
partner in order to generate experience and double check demand. Because of the uniqueness of
each item this is going to be a little difficult, however the plan is to give a general description of
the type of product they would be purchasing while emphasizing that no two purchases would be
the same. EnVia currently does a lot of promotion through word of mouth, but since we’re trying
to expand with an online store we discussed pushing social media campaigns to spread
awareness and generate traffic.
Products will continue to be sold locally in Oaxaca, Mexico and also online throughout the
United States. While in Mexico the women sell their goods through their homes or little shops
and want to continue that personal connection. EnVia will initially partner with national home
goods stores such as Pier One Imports, then contact large city farmers markets. These cities
would include Seattle, San Francisco, Miami, and New York. Consumers at small, local markets
seek organic, pure products and shop with an established higher willingness to pay for products
that advertise sustainable and organic production.
The prices for our products would be more expensive than similar items because of their
high quality and individuality. The Oaxacan artisans determine the prices of the products they
make in order to support their families and pay back their loans. Since orders can take weeks or
months for the artisans to fulfil, EnVia will contract a 50% down payment for each order to make
sure artisans can recover for supplies (crops, dye materials, etc). For smaller items (key chain or
jewelry),we can estimate a price range of $5-10. From there EnVia will add shipping costs for
the retailer's price as well as a fee of 5% of order cost to cover organization fees. We will
recommend a 200-250% markup for an MSRP, however final retail prices will be determined by
each retailer.
EnVia produces such a wide array of different products ranging from purses to pastries so
the cost to produce really varies from woman to woman. Costs to produce will vary by artisan.
Newer producers have an initial higher cost and higher risk compared to more experienced
artisans that have invested in their own assets and have already paid back loans. Since products
are made from natural resources costs are based on local economic prices set by farmers of each
community. All prices will be advertised in USD to be easier for the consumer to understand.
Prices will slowly increase based on the current rate of inflation as well as increasing
demand. The supply of products by producers will increase at a steady rate as more artisans can
be financed and afford more machines to increase production, therefore as exports increase,
demand increases at a higher rate than supply giving the opportunity to increase prices. We
expect sales in exporting for retail to grow 10-15% annually compounded. Growth will steadily
increase as locations will expand.
Shipping and handling costs are the major variable cost that EnVia would face with an
online store. There are flat rate shipping options available with multiple mailing organizations
such as FedEx or UPS. EnVia will include shipping costs in the total price for retailer's orders.
Products would not come with a conditional warranty for customers should a defective product
arrive or break. EnVia will offer a one for one trade in option for customers to ship their broken
or defective product back in exchange for a new one within the first six months of the order
71
placement. Envia will incur the shipping cost for the exchange. This will be a short-term expense
as the product will be returned to the artisan to fix and resell. By simply modifying the product, a
new product would not have to be made and there would be no additional monetary costs, only
opportunity cost for time spent to make a new product.
72
Management Team
The mission of EnVia is to “support the growth and creation of income-generating
businesses, and encourage personal development through participatory programs that promote
the empowerment of women, the well-being of their families, and the strengthening of
community,” (http://www.EnVia.org/about.html). This mission drives the management
philosophy that we plan to further incorporate as we move the artisan goods that are made
through the opportunities provided through EnVia’s microfinance programs. Key components to
EnVia’s vision and mission include learning and empowerment. Therefore, the corporate culture
we desire with the transition into the retail settings includes furthering the learning and
empowering aspects to a larger market of EnVia stakeholders.
The founding team for EnVia includes the following: Carlos Hernandez Topete, EnVia’s
Founder and Director; Emily Berens, Co-Founder; Samantha Wattson, Managing Director;
Yanet Bazan, Administrative Coordinator; and Kim Groves, Responsible Tourism Program
Manager. Carlos Hernandez Topete, the founder of EnVia, is a native of Oaxaca, Mexico where
there are many artisan women currently working. Being the founder, his knowledge of EnVia is
second to none. Our team had the privilege of Skyping with Carlos during a class session where
we obtained a grasp on the logistics of the company. This was a mixture of operational and
financial information which ended up being very helpful for our research. He made it apparent
for us to feel free to contact him via email if we formulated any important questions that needed
answering. Emily Berens, co-founder of EnVia, worked for ten years fighting human rights in
the United States before moving to Oaxaca to partner up with Carlos Topete and create the
organization. She is an expert in management and recruitment. Samantha Watson, the managing
director of EnVia, She developed a complex marketing strategy of a startup company in Seattle
where she brought them international recognition. Yanet Bazan, Administrative Coordinator of
EnVia, was actually a former borrower of EnVia’s microfinance loan program. She needed her
loan to help pay for an education where she graduated with a degree in accounting. Her goal is to
help provide women in her community the same opportunity she had. Yanet is a positive
advocate for EnVia. Next is Kim Groves, the tourism program manager. Kim is a native of
Australia who “has a strong passion for seeing women participate in their own empowerment”.
The management team of EnVia is well qualified with a diverse mix of backgrounds (See
Appendix #3).
Additionally, all of the women that EnVia works with provide the foundation for the
organization and the creation of the businesses that create the artisan goods that we hope to bring
to the U.S. markets. EnVia also has a handful of other supporters and volunteers that help with
the operations of this organization.
EnVia being a non-profit organization has an important reliance on the donations
supporters and volunteers provide. Our group presenting this business plan falls into the category
of supporters/volunteers. We are interested in furthering the mission of EnVia and helping create
and develop retail markets in the United States for the beautiful artisan goods that are created in
Oaxaca, Mexico and share the stories of the artists to a greater market. Knowing about the stories
of the women that create these artisan goods and the great work that EnVia does, we want to
share those stories with others and expand the mission of EnVia to a larger market which we
hope will in turn help the primary base of microfinance within the EnVia organization.
73
Advisory Board
In efforts to create a successful business plan for EnVia, there have been a number of
people who have given us advice in addition to their educated opinions of matter deemed
relevant to our research. This list comprises our advisory board. As a team, common consensus
derived the fact that our research has been done properly; credibility is apparent. We have
consulted only people whose opinions we respect because of either their experience in the field,
expertise on the given topic, or a distinguished educational background and occupation.
The most influential member of our advisory board is professor Mark Mulder, PhD, of
Pacific Lutheran University. He meets all of the qualifications in being a credible resource
because his life studies are geared in the marketing realm. He is an expert in the field, in addition
to the fact he is our professor in the highest ranked marketing course offered for undergraduate
students. His guidance has been a valuable asset for this marketing project.
While creating this business plan for EnVia, we consulted with VSG. They are a group of
marketers focused towards assisting innovative marketing for numerous companies. While
meeting with a large group of their employees, two that were the most helpful for us was the
president of the company, Doug Burton, and the graphic designer, Jules Ruckle. Doug gave us
valuable insight as to how to further benefit our team’s presentation techniques, and offered us
insight as to how we should focus our business plan in a less narrow approach. Originally, our
target market was very small and specific. Doug gave us the real-world knowledge he has gained
through experience in the field. With that information, our target market grew to a more
reasonable size with different demographics in mind. VSG graphic designer Jules Ruckle
physically created our logo prototypes (Reference Appendix #2) after we pitched our thoughts
and idea to the VSG team. These prototypes are exactly what we envisioned.
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Organization Plan
EnVia has been in business for a handful of years already, but we believe there are strides
the organization can take in their marketing techniques to improve retail growth. The vision of
EnVia is as follows: “We support the growth and creation of income-generating businesses, and
encourage personal development through participatory programs that promote the empowerment
of women, the well-being of their families, and the strengthening of their community”. The
overall strategy is to generate significant revenue through selling artisan goods in the United
States retail market. These funds will provide both higher capital to continue the support of
EnVia’s microfinance loan system, and to expand the artisan products into more retail chains. In
terms of company size, EnVia will not need to expand their number of employees significantly
because they will be outsourcing all operations involving shipping and product sales in retail.
One position they will need to hire into their core group of executives is a director of retail
operations and supply chain management. The duties of this employee would be to assure that all
shipments go smoothly and the transfer of artisan made products from EnVia to the retail
locations are all managed properly.
Their organization is comprised of a dedicated group of individuals from all over the
globe. Tied along with the company vision, each member of EnVia is dedicated to supporting
these poverty stricken communities. By expanding operations into retail, they should be able to
significantly increase overall effectiveness of their company vision.
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Operation and Control Plan
EnVia has been a microfinance company supporting women’s entrepreneurship for years
and now we would like to see these artisan quality products retailed here in the United
States. The startup of the retail side would further benefit EnVia as a company as well as
benefiting the artisans who created these fine products. As most of these products that we will
be retailing are apparel items, there may be on hand inventory
The first order of business for EnVia retail is to develop a reliable and efficient supply
chain for transporting these products from the place of creation in Mexico to our holding sites
here in the U.S. This is key to the survival and prosperity of the retail side of EnVia. This
includes the creation of the product by the artisan in Mexico, the placement of an order from a
retailer in the U.S., then delivery via ground logistics to a local warehouse near the retailers or
directly to the retailer.
The budget will be monitored closely through EnVia’s finance department as well as the
team responsible for shipping and retailing these products in the retail market. All costs of
inventory will be incurred by the EnVia retail team and shipping costs will be incurred by the
retailer.
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Financial Plan
There are many different products and each product is unique, thus we chose to describe
our plan through percentages of the price, as Appendix 3 and the example show. If we were to
sell a handmade purse at $25, $2 (8%) would go to shipping and handling the product, another
$6 (24%) would go to administration and sales fees, $8.50 (34%) would go back to EnVia,
another $8.50 (34%) goes to the artisan who handmade the product and lastly the remaining $3
(12%) would go back to reinvesting into the venture. This breakdown is for only one product,
but this model can apply to almost any item EnVia would want to retail here in the U.S.
(Reference Appendix 3 for cost allocation).
To find the break-even point, we used the formula X=FC/(p-v), where FC are fixed costs,
p is sales price per unit and v is variable cost per unit. For these calculations, we used the pencil
pouch figures to find the breakeven point, as pencil pouches are in the middle of the price range
of the artisan products (Appendix #6). We calculated our fixed costs to amount to $18,000
($10,000 start-up cost plus $8,000 annual fixed costs. Also the sale price of a pencil pouch is
$24 and the variable cost per unit was found to be $12. Using this formula, we calculated our
breakeven point is 1,500 units sold. We anticipate the break-even point to be after our second
year of sales, as the price of logistics to get the products to their retailers is quite costly.
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Launch and Growth
The intent of retail side of EnVia is that these sales will continually give back to the non-
profit as well as the artisans and families that EnVia supports. The longevity of the retail side
depends on its success, but the intention is to have this retailing to provide significant support to
EnVia. The start-up funds ($10,000) will either be acquired through help of EnVia through a
kick start campaign or through various family members and friends. These funds would be paid
off within the next year.
The next step to move forward was to further analyze the market value of the various
products using a focus group of consumers. This focus group was conducted on April 6th, 2015,
and the results are discussed in the market research section. This was useful to help determine
what the various products coming in from Mexico may fetch at a retail store as the prices in
Oaxaca may be less than the product’s actual worth and costs are incurred as well when shipping
products.
The growth of our business depends on the amount of retailers that would carry
handmade goods and the demand of consumers spending at such retailers. Some potential
partners who would carry these products may include World Market, Pier One Imports, and local
farmers markets. Using this model that we have displayed, EnVia may continue to develop more
retail connections and sell their artisans’ goods not only here locally in the Pacific Northwest, but
throughout the West Coast and further.
April 2015 - Business Plan Completed
- Conduct Focus Group Analysis
May 2015 - Conduct further focus group analyses on different target markets (i.e. 30-50, 50 and up age
brackets)
- Construct payment system for handling sales and inventory to retailers
- Distribute test set of products to various retailers
July-August 2015 - Receive test set of products to be retailed in the Pacific Northwest Test Market
- Test Markets include Pier One Imports, World Market, and County level Fairs such as
Snohomish, King, Thurston and Pierce Counties.
September 2015 - Analyze test markets
- Place order to Artisans for holiday season from retailers
December 2015 - Receive products for holiday season
- Distribute products throughout the states
2016 - Strive to attain 15% increase in sales of handmade goods across the U.S. compared to
2015 sales
2017 - Work to attain an additional 10% in sales
2018 - Once more, try to increase sales by 15%
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Business Plan Feedback
Judge A:
“I enjoyed reading the plan and find your social mission inspiring. I also appreciate how much
effort went into market study and the associated appendix’s. The financial component of the plan
felt lacking. I would hope to see a more detailed business model demonstrating the costs of
product development and operations as you scale the business. With the detail included, it’s hard
to tell if the organization truly can scale.”
Judge B:
Significant strengths:
- Established mission and model with a clear story and purpose - Significant relationships and operations
in Oaxaca already - Dedicated to truth and transparency - Life-changing and socially-driven business
model - Learning as much as they can from SERVV, who currently leads this space
Areas for improvement:
Suggestion/Criticism/Concern: Please make the relationship clearer from the beginning. Was this
written for Envia, or do you plan on starting a business capitalizing on Envia's current programs
leveraging them as a partner and brand voice?
Suggestion/Criticism/Concern: Be wary of confusing a logo with a brand. Having a new logo
doesn't mean/cause/do anything. The logo is the icing on the cake to a deep and rich understanding of the
values, ethos, and purpose underlying everything that a company aims to live for and do. You clearly
have a mission-driven vision for why this needs to happen, so avoid sentences like "Creation of a new
logo will help revenue across retail locations in the United States." Think more about the vast well of
emotion you are drawing from. A legacy rich with a purpose of empowering women artisans to lift
themselves out of poverty. Sure, people want to buy handmade goods, but they will feel compelled to
purchase purpose, empowerment, and beauty in a multi-faceted form. The story, purpose, and values are
what will turn customers into brand evangelists. Not a logo. (Though, I do prefer Logo Prototype #1 to #2
;) ) Question: What's the roadmap out of Oaxaca?
Suggestion/Criticism/Concern: Go back and do a more robust set of financial considerations and
projections. I think they are a little underdeveloped and could be more ambitious.
Judge C:
“This plan is a fabulous idea to support microfinance in Oaxaca, Mexico. Great idea to give back
to EnVia, the women, and invest in venture. The pie chart in Appendix 6 would benefit from
having the %s included. I see where you are going with this plan but it would have been very
helpful to have the financials you presented flowed into a spreadsheet. How you planned to scale
up wasn't clear. I see how you would like sales to increase each year, but what would it take to
79
happen? Also, if I were a potential investor, I would need a quantitative analysis of what the
$10,000 in start up funds would be going towards. If I understand the plan correctly, you would
be a for-profit subsidiary of EnVia, EnVia in Motion. Not sure if your logo is clear about that.
What will be the organizational structure for EnVia in Motion? # of employees? I assume the
new position at EnVia would be the interface with your company? While I have lots of questions,
I think your plan is feasible and a great idea. It would be helpful to have your bios included.
Work needs to be done on financials. I wish you luck!”
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Appendix E - Financial (Destinations of Sales Dollars)
Appendix F – Survey Responses Participan
t Number
Which
form of
social
media do
you use
most
often?
Are you
willing
to pay
more for
a one of
a kind
product
?
(on a
scale of
1 = not
very
likely
5 = very
likely)
Do natural
or
sustainabl
e
ingredient
s in a
product
affect your
purchase
decisions?
(on a scale
of 1 =
never 5
= always)
In the past
12 months,
how many
times have
you donated
to a non-
profit
organization
?
If you made
a donation
to a non-
profit
organizatio
n in the past
12 months,
how
confident
were you
that the
funds you
donated
were going
to make a
real
difference?
(options of
not
confident;
confident;
very
confident,
N/A)
Of the
two
logos
below,
which
do you
prefer
?
If a
product
was
proven to
not only
help the
artisan
who
made the
unique
product,
but to
help
other
artisans
and
businesse
s to
thrive,
would
this make
a
difference
in your
purchase
decisions
?
(on a
scale of 1
= not at
all 5 =
definitely)
If the
product
mentione
d above
was
priced
higher
than a
mass
produced
item of
the same
nature,
would you
still
purchase
the
unique
product if
you knew
where the
money
you were
spending
was
going?
(on a scale
of 1 = not
at all 5
=
definitely)
What is
your
gender
?
In
what
year
were
you
born
?
Age
in
201
5
1 Facebook 5 2 0 N/A Design 5 5 Male 1993 22
81
1
B
2 Facebook 4 4 0 N/A Design
B
4 3 Female 1994 21
3 Facebook 3 4 1 Confident Design
A
4 3 Female 1991 24
4 Facebook 2 2 3 Confident Design
A
4 2 Female 1994 21
5 Instagra
m
4 3 0 N/A Design
A
3 4 Female 1995 20
6 Facebook 3 4 2 Confident Design
B
3 4 Female 1993 22
7 Facebook 4 4 1 Confident Design
B
5 5 Male 1992 23
8 Facebook 4 4 1 Confident Design
B
4 5 Female 1994 21
9 Facebook 4 4 2 Very
Confident
Design
B
5 3 Female 1995 20
10 Tumblr 2 3 - N/A Design
B
4 4 Female 1993 22
11 Facebook 2 2 4 Confident Design
B
4 2 Male 1990 25
12 Facebook 2 4 7 Confident Design
B
5 5 Female 1993 22
13 Instagra
m
5 4 0 N/A Design
B
5 5 Female 1992 23
14 Facebook 1 2 1 Very
Confident
Design
B
2 3 Female 1992 23
15 Twitter 4 4 3 N/A Design
B
4 5 Male 1993 22
16 Facebook 4 5 6 Very
Confident
Design
B
2 2 Female 1992 23
82
2
What stores would you like to see this product sold at?
Store Number of Responses
World Market 2
Target 2
Local Markets 1
Partnerships with Clothing Stores 1
Whole Foods 1
Some kind of specialty retailer 1
Fireworks Gallery 1
Journeys 1
Fuego 1
Garfield Bookstore 1
Michaels 1
Local Business 1
Bookstore 1
Nordstrom 1
Small Boutiques 1
Design A =
Design B =
83
3
Appendix G - Expanded SWOT Analysis
Internal Strengths (S)
- Carlos has a strong business
background o Knowledge about exporting
- Green products - Unique industry/market
- Availability of natural resources
Internal Weaknesses (W)
- Never exported - Limited funding - No ability to mass product
- Awareness internationally
- Number of employees vs. volunteers
External Threats (T) - Political unrest
- Geographical - Developing country - Competition nationally
- Cheaper alternatives
INTERNAL
FACTORS
(IFAS)
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
(EFAS)
S/O Based Strategies Generate strategies here that use strengths
to take advantage of opportunities
- Seasonal tours
- Exportation
- Giving more money to a wider area
W/O Based Strategies Generate strategies here that take advantage
of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses
- Use Carlos’s product management
experience for exportation
- Social media donation campaigns - Joint forces with other non-profits to
expand funds and workers
S/T Based Strategies Generate strategies here that use strengths
to avoid threats
- Carlos background to create a
strategy for a competitive advantage
- Natural resources to advocate against
cheaper alternatives - Knowledge about exporting
counterattacks against developing
country
External Opportunities (O) - International expansion
- Exportation - Social media
- Tourism
- Growth in non-profit
W/T Based Strategies Generate strategies here that minimize
weaknesses and avoid threats
- Highlight uniqueness of product
experience
- Emphasizes community culture and
involvement - Short-term campaign with medium to
large scale U.S. firm to donate time or
money for 3 month project—
awareness project
