Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Prepared for: Chipmunk Coffee, Schenectady, New York, Asi-Yahola Boutelle & Chenique
Boutelle
October 25th, 2020
Prepared by: Mykala Ashline, Richard Myers, Abigail Palmer, Lindsey Rosania, & Dylan Wit
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary…………………………………………………………..3
Introduction………………………………………………………………...…4
Client Background…………………………………………………………....5
Competitive Analysis…………………………………………………..……..9
S.W.O.T. Analysis…………….…………………………...…………...…...12
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..17
Reference Page……………………………………………………………...18
Appendices……………………………………………………………...…..19
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Executive Summary
The executive summary provides a brief, concise snapshot about what the social media
strategy plan is.
Chipmunk Coffee will have an increase in sales and customer interest after following
through with the strategic media strategy plan. The strategic media strategy plan involves
creating different ideas that can be implemented through the use of utilizing the social media
platform accounts and advancing the company’s website. Ideas such as rewards, discounts,
contests, and events to intrigue new customers in and keep up the morale of current customers,
ensuring that they always want to return for more.
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Introduction
The introduction outlines the particular industry that the client is involved in. For
Chipmunk Coffee, the industry involved is the coffee industry. Chipmunk Coffee is a small
business, and small businesses have been impacted by COVID-19 in specific ways, separate
from other industries.
Chipmunk Coffee, owned by Asi and family, founded in 2016, is a family-run business,
located in Schenectady, New York. Chipmunk Coffee is a friendly place where families and
friends can go to rest, relax, and enjoy a nice cup of coffee or meal. COVID-19 has definitely
had an impact on this family-run business, but Chipmunk Coffee is not the only small business
that has been negatively affected by this virus. According to Pew Research, “The typical
American Business is small. The ones covered in this analysis employed 11 workers on average
in 2016, the latest year for which data is available. The workers earned an average of $40,194.
Nearly three-fourths of businesses (74%) had annual sales of less than $1 million, and about a
third (34%) had been in business for five years or less” (Kochhar 2020), showing how hard it is
and was for businesses during this global pandemic. The ability for small businesses like
Chipmunk Coffee to adapt is essential for success, so that this virus does not hurt them as much.
Social media and Uber Eats are very popular for small businesses. Currently the minimum wage
in Schenectady, New York is $14.50.
Currently, Chipmunk Coffee is in stage five of opening, which allows them to give their
customers the option to dine in. However, it is still difficult for them, as they are located inside
of a mall, and obviously, there are not as many customers due to COVID-19. Chipmunk Coffee
relies heavily on foot traffic. Coffee will always be a consistent part of consumer behavior;
however, Chipmunk Coffee needs to find other ways to bring in consumers, such as improving
their outreach on social media and their website, rather than relying on the mall to bring in more
foot traffic.
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Client Background
The client background outlines the history of the client, the main personnel, as well as the
goals, missions, and overall values and purposes of the client. This information is extracted from
the owners themselves, along with research of the client’s website and Internet presence.
Asi-Yahola Boutelle and his wife, Chenique, the parents of a newborn baby, were
motivated to bring in some more income for their new family. Asi and Chenique are both
involved in social work, and Asi is on his way to gaining his medical degree. The Boutelle
Family decided to purchase a coffee shop, Chipmunk Coffee, in Schenectady, New York at the
VIA | Port Rotterdam Mall. The previous owners established Chipmunk Coffee in 2016.
Purchased by the Boutelles on May 6th, 2020 and opened on July 8th, 2020, they have had
success with the shop, but are looking for more. This location has a small staff of three people.
The hours of operation vary. On Monday through Saturday, the store is open from 10:00am to
5:00pm. On Sunday, the store is open from 11:00am to 5:00pm. During the time of COVID-19,
sales have decreased. The majority of sales came from foot traffic within the mall, but those have
decreased with the closures due to the pandemic.
Chipmunk Coffee’s vision is to ensure that every customer is guaranteed a positive start
to the day with a cup of their coffee in their hand. Chipmunk Coffee also has three community
partners, Things of My Very Own, Barefoot College, and Alex’s Way at the Schuyler Inn.
Things of My Very Own is an intervention service meant to help children who experienced
neglect. Barefoot College is a non-profit organization meant to uplift and support indigenous
women. Alex’s Way is a transitional housing program for children. These organizations are
important to the Boutelle Family because of their caring nature and newborn child. These
companies are all friends of the Boutelle family, and a percentage of Chipmunk Coffee’s sales
goes towards these companies when possible for Chipmunk Coffee. Specifically, with Alex’s
Way at the Schuyler Inn, $5.00 per bag of coffee has been donated to this company in the past.
A second business is also underway in Albany, New York. The new coffee shop, which
will be called Ground Up, is not open for business yet, but is in the process of preparing for an
opening by getting the word out there through the media.
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good job of informing people; Chipmunk Coffee needs to post more frequently, though the last
post was almost a month ago. On their page, the tab menu for all of the information is working
properly and informative. Yelp is another website that Chipmunk Coffee uses, which shows
reviews, the menu, contact information, and directions. Grubhub has very good reviews for the
company; Chipmunk Coffee has 100% delivery time, orders being correct, and satisfaction on
Grubhub. A flaw with Grubhub is that it says that Chipmunk Coffee is not taking online orders,
so this should be fixed. If Chipmunk Coffee is not using Grubhub, Chipmunk Coffee should be
taken off of Grubhub, or it should be fixed if Chipmunk Coffee is present on the app. Chipmunk
Coffee’s Instagram page has a decent follower ratio of 1,047 followers and following 114
people, with 228 posts. The contact page is very useful and works; Chipmunk Coffee does not
post that much on it, the last post was on September 29th, 2020. Some suggestions include
putting a stronger biography, the highlights should have different covers and vibrant colors, and
to have a highlight of reviews. Also, add people into Chipmunk Coffee’s photos and have higher
quality photos. Other than those suggestions, the page seems to be working nicely. The
Instagram page should be more of a focus channel because of the client base; if Chipmunk
Coffee wants students, Instagram is definitely the way to get more in touch with them. There
were no imposter accounts and all the websites were working properly besides Grubhub.
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Competitive Analysis
The competitive analysis examines a few top competitors of the client and gives a short
summary of the competitors’ information and status. This includes which social media platforms
the competitors utilize and what types of strategies they are executing.
When “Coffee Shops in Schenectady, NY” is searched in Google, plenty of shops appear
on the generated list before Chipmunk Coffee. Square One Cafe, Ambition Coffee and Eatery,
and Moon and River Cafe are the most popular.
Direct Competitors
Ambition Coffee and Eatery: Ambition Coffee and Eatery connects with the theatre district, and
prides itself on being involved with the arts, along with being a stop for celebrities.
Hours of Operation:
○ Sunday: 9:00am-2:00pm
○ Monday-Friday: 8:00am-3:00pm
○ Saturday: 9:00am-3:00pm
● Address: 154 Jay Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
Facebook: @ambitionbistro
● Page Likes: 3,084
● Followers: 3,223
● Check-Ins: 4,535
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Ambition Coffee and Eatery does not seem to be active on Instagram or Twitter.
Moon and River Cafe: Moon and River Cafe is a coffee shop that has live performances.
● Hours of Operation:
○ Sunday- Saturday: 9:00am-9:00pm
● Address: 155 S Ferry Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
Facebook: @TheMoonAndRiverCafe
● Page Likes: 1,244
● Followers: 1,304
● Check-Ins: 1,023
Instagram: @moonandrivercafe
● Followers: 106
● Following: 98
● Posts: 17 as of September 5th, 2020
Moon and River Cafe does not seem to be active on Twitter.
Ambition Coffee and Eatery and Moon and River Cafe focus on the generic coffee shop
that comes along with performing. Both cafes go for the “coffee house” vibe, so the competition
is not as high for Chipmunk Coffee with these two. Square One Cafe focuses more on food. All
coffee shops challenge Chipmunk Coffee in the sense that they are their own store on the street,
versus Chipmunk Coffee being located within a mall. For Chipmunk Coffee to be successful, the
focus needs to be on the drinks. If the attention is on the actual coffee, sales could increase. The
engagement does not seem too high for any of the three shops because they seem to go for the
face to face advertisement. Word of mouth is heavy for them. This could be an advantage for
Chipmunk Coffee because if the media is professional and impressive, it will stand out compared
to the other social media.
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S.W.O.T. Analysis
The S.W.O.T. analysis, or the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis,
summarizes the client brand voice analysis, social media analysis, competitive analysis, and the
target market/target audience to understand a snapshot of which areas the client is performing
well in and in which areas the client needs to improve. This further defines the feasibility,
strength, and direction of the client.
Overview
The overview of the S.W.O.T. analysis is a summary of the client’s future strategic
communication based on research.
There are plenty of strengths for Chipmunk Coffee. It is a well-run company with plenty
to offer. Weaknesses and threats do exist, such as their social media production and a limited
budget. However, the opportunities within Chipmunk Coffee are endless, as coffee is a drink
everyone loves and consumes.
Strengths
The strengths outline the potential of the client’s strengths based upon future internal
factors of the company. The strengths at Chipmunk Coffee give Chipmunk Coffee an edge over
its competitors.
a. Chipmunk Coffee’s website and social media pages are well organized and easy to
navigate.
b. The feature that allows customers to buy Chipmunk Coffee in bulk online increases
revenue and activity.
c. The location is great, as it is near multiple universities and has potential for prospective
customers to be introduced every day.
Weaknesses
The weaknesses outline the potential of strategic communication and social media
weaknesses based upon future internal factors of the client. These weaknesses outline what
Chipmunk Coffee lacks as a company.
Opportunities
The opportunities are strategic communication opportunities based upon factors that are
external to the client. These can include opportunities among social media, community outreach
and engagement, fundraising, events, and trends, among other opportunities. The opportunities
outline what could assist in growing Chipmunk Coffee.
a. Social media promotions or discounts for buying gift cards could be implemented.
b. Good relationships with surrounding universities could increase sales and could possibly
lead to opening a shop at a university’s location in the future.
c. Everyone loves coffee, and everyone loves following trends. If Chipmunk Coffee can
become a trendy, well-known coffee shop, that could do wonders for sales.
d. Schenectady Community College and Union College, along with other local universities
can provide younger business.
e. State workers can come from the mall when they return to work.
f. Families from the aquarium in the mall could be potential business.
Threats
The threats are strategic communication, public relations, advertising, social media, et
cetera threats based upon factors that are external to the client. These trends or events could
possibly hurt the company.
Conclusion
The conclusion is overview thoughts on how the company will perform regarding the
perception of strategic communication activity, social media activity, and practice within the
sector. Overall, Chipmunk Coffee, if they make the proper adjustments, is in a good place based
on everything that has happened during the pandemic. We have the right plans to create a good
social media product that will increase activity and overall customers.
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Goal
● The goal for Chipmunk Coffee to accomplish is to update the social media platform
accounts and the brand using strategies and tactics to bring in a wider online audience
and help increase social media engagement.
Vision
● Chipmunk Coffee wants to gain more growth through their social media. To engage with
the customers more, there will be new growth on the social media platforms where they
will have the chance to be engaged in the company themselves.
Objective
The objective outlines the time specific and measurable outcomes for the client. SMART
goals, or specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely goals, are included.
Strategies outline the statement of action plan and the explanation of why. The tactics
outline the specific actions to carry out the objective, or the strategy.
○ Tactic 1.1.1 - Have products of importance for what the winner of the contest
will receive. Use the most popular products to bring in more people. For the
contest, have contestant take picture with uber eats driver or with their food
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.1.1.1 - Evaluate the reach of the Instagram stories,
which can be checked using Instagram Insights.
Evaluative Tactic 1.1.1.1.1 - Evaluate how many people find the post
from tags and hashtags through Instagram Insights.
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.1.1.2 - Post the contest on the Instagram page and
Instagram stories. Make an end date and time that people will stop
being able to enter the contest. Encourage the contestants to repost the
contest on their stories and to tag three people on their posts to increase
the outreach of the contest.
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.1.1.2.1 - Evaluate how many people find the post
from tags and hashtags through Instagram Insight.
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.1.1.2.2 - Provide hints of what contestants will win
and evaluate how many contestants join a day.
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.1.1.2.3 - Create posts every day to remind
customers that the contest is going on and evaluate how many people
enter the contest after these posts are seen.
● Strategy 1.2 - Picking a coffee flavor of the month.
○ Tactic 1.3.1 - make a poll on the Facebook page with two different flavor
coffees
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.2.1.1 - pick two different flavors and use the poll to
have the customers engage and be able to vote for what flavor it will be
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.2.2.1 - To increase engagements, post on Instagram
livestreams and stories to promote.
○ Tactic 1.3.2 - Create intriguing pictures of Chipmunk Coffee’s products and
advertisement posts for all of the social media platforms.
■ Evaluative Tactic 1.2.3.1 - Post pictures of the coffee options to help
engage the audience. Make the content bright and clear to look
professional.
○ Tactic 1.3.3 - Post on Instagram Stories about the new flavor of the month to
increase engagements.
● Strategy 1.4 - Partner and affiliate Chipmunk Coffee with organizations over social
media.
○ Tactic 1.4.1 - The organization to partner with is Alex’s Way at the Schuyler
Inn.
○ Tactic 1.4.2 - Put a Facebook post on the website about the affiliation, and
vice versa.
○ Tactic 1.4.3 - Ask the organization to post on Facebook about how the
proceeds are helping to increase engagement and broaden the audience.
Chipmunk Coffee needs to have certain ideas on how to accomplish these goals and to
upgrade the social media brand. With these three strategies it will engage a customer base and
potentially bring more people in.
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Budget
The budget for small businesses is very crucial to their business since Corona Virus
started in March income and where to spend the money needed to be budgeted especially. For
the budget there should be money spent on Instagram posting about the contests and advertising
this should be budgeted at $.30 a post. If there is promotion fundraising through ads, then the
money is spent for the advertising. For the cost of the contest the budget should be $50 worth of
products that the business itself sells. For the budget you also need to make sure you budget
some money into the coffee flavor of the month that customers pick out. For the promotion of
organizations there also must be some money the business is going to spend on the organization
if they are promoting the business, that should be $2 for every post that they post that you give to
the organization.
Timeline
The timeline is the time frame in which the social media campaign will be researched,
planned, implemented, and evaluated to be started as soon as possible.
● Have the contest for the coffee of the month start at the beginning of December.
● Start promoting the coffee of the month the last week of November.
● Start by spending money on Instagram posts to see how many engagements and followers
are acquired, as promotions begin.
● Talk to Alex’s Way at the Schuyler Inn to see when to start partnering up.
As followers and the fan base start to increase, Chipmunk Coffee start to get the audience
more involved. This helps to increase the engagements and audience, especially if the customers
are helping with the advertising. The budget should be used mostly on Facebook and Instagram
because that is where the fan base is the largest and could even have promotions affiliated with
the aquarium in the mall. Chipmunk Coffee could do some promotions with a coffee of the
month, or if the app is a success, do a 10% off a coffee one day, et cetera.
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Conclusion
The conclusion is a synthesized paragraph summarizing the strategic media strategy
proposal and why the strategic media strategy proposal should be implemented.
The client market for Chipmunk Coffee should grow. Foot traffic is definitely important;
however, Chipmunk Coffee should grow more via social media. Creating a social media plan to
increase sales and customers through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other apps is beneficial.
Growing Chipmunk Coffee’s name in the VIA | Port Rotterdam Mall is also an important part of
the strategic media proposal plan. For social media posts, editing photos, increasing the number
of posts, and making them look professional and attractive while using the proper hashtag is very
important. Engagements can then be tracked to see if these strategies have been successful.
Promotional giveaways and competitions for products are also possible. The sooner the plan is
followed through with, the better, and the quicker it is possible to build a relationship with
surrounding universities for Chipmunk Coffee, the better.
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Reference Page
The reference page includes a list of credible references of courses cited.
Kochhar, R. (2020, July 27). The financial risk to U.S. business owners posed by COVID-19
outbreak varies by demographic group. Retrieved from
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/23/the-financial-risk-to-u-s-business-
owners-posed-by-covid-19-outbreak-varies-by-demographic-group/.
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Appendices
The appendices include items previously mentioned to support claims.
Research Protocols
Chipmunk Coffee’s website and Instagram will both give the most data on engagement
and activity from customers and proposed customers. While it is hard to compete with stores like
Dunkin’ and Starbucks because they offer drive through service, Chipmunk Coffee needs to take
advantage of the passing mall shopper, as well as create a service online to meet everyone’s
needs.
Research Results
Exact numbers are not provided for Chipmunk Coffee’s website and Instagram analytics,
but on Instagram, Chipmunk Coffee has 1,046 followers and is only following 114 people. In
order to increase engagement, Chipmunk Coffee needs to increase its social media presence. Gift
cards, as well as other discounts, have been offered in the past and should continue in the future.
Contents should also be utilized to create new engagement.
Chipmunk Coffee is a black-owned business. Given the current social climate, black-
owned businesses are encouraged to be supported more than ever. Chipmunk Coffee using this to
their advantage. When it comes to Uber Eats, delivery fees are waived for black-owned
businesses. This can be emphasized to persuade people to use Uber Eats, while supporting a
good social cause.
Because Chipmunk Coffee is located near a college, the company is attempting to get
access to allowing students' dining dollars to be applicable at the coffee shop. This means that
the money used for meal plans can be used and spent at Chipmunk Coffee. Along with that,
student discounts and potential award programs are being considered. With the holiday season
around the corner, people are looking for any place to save money, even if it is just on a simple
cup of morning coffee.
Timeline/Calendar