Maui Wowi_Final

21
Colorado State University Strategic Management May 1, 2015 Ellie Penland Chis Paffett Ashley Devers Shaun Cullerton Robin Carrera

Transcript of Maui Wowi_Final

Page 1: Maui Wowi_Final

Colorado State University

Strategic Management

May 1, 2015

Ellie PenlandChis Paffett

Ashley DeversShaun CullertonRobin Carrera

Page 2: Maui Wowi_Final

Table of ContentsExecutive Summary.................................................................................................................................................. 1

Company Profile......................................................................................................................................................... 2

Situation Analysis...................................................................................................................................................... 2

Strengths....................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Weaknesses.................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Opportunities.............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Threats........................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Strategic Alternatives.............................................................................................................................................. 7

Alternative Evaluations........................................................................................................................................ 10

Strategy Implementation.....................................................................................................................................11

References.................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Page 3: Maui Wowi_Final

Executive Summary

Maui Wowi is the world's largest mobile franchising concessionaire as well as the world’s largest retailer of Hawaiian coffee and smoothies. Maui Wowi operates 450 locations nationwide and attempts to add twenty to thirty new locations per year. Despite increasing the number of franchisees, Maui Wowi's corporate sales have struggled sustain growth and have consistently come in just below $5 million.

After conducting an extensive SWOT analysis on the company, we have identified Maui Wowi's greatest weakness as their lack of brand awareness, which is a huge roadblock for sales growth. We analyzed each category of the SWOT and developed many alternative strategies that align Maui Wowi's growth objectives with their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Once evaluating each alternative, we recommended that Maui Wowi pursue a strategy to develop a greater online presence through social media. In addition, we recommend that the company increases their opportunity development efforts to help build a stronger national brand. These combined strategies will solidify the Maui Wowi brand and in turn, help facilitate growth.

The following report contains a detailed analysis of Maui Wowi's internal and external environment and discusses each of our proposed strategies to help Maui Wowi achieve their growth and brand awareness goals. Lastly, the report will provide recommendations for Maui Wowi on how to implement these strategies.

1

Page 4: Maui Wowi_Final

Company Profile

Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffee & Smoothies (Maui Wowi 2015) is an internationally and nationally ranked franchise company famous for selling its Hawaiian fruit smoothies, ground coffee, and ‘aloha spirit’. Founded in 1982, Jeff and Jill Summerhays wanted to provide a healthy beverage alternative to sugary or artificial snacks sold at events, and thus created a non-fat, gluten-free fruit smoothie. In addition to creating a delicious and healthy product, Jeff and Jill sparked a fun, mobile business model to further sell their product, which later turned into a franchise concept in 1997.

Since then, Maui Wowi has held a strong vision of providing healthy alternative beverage options, incorporating the Hawaiian ‘aloha spirit,’ and providing a friendly and flexible franchise model. In order to promote their vision, Maui Wowi has strategically trained and selected their franchisees to truly embrace the company’s spirit while rocking a floral print shirt and sharing Maui Wowi’s smoothies and coffee around the world. This has resulted in over 450 selling locations for Maui Wowi today.

Through Maui Wowi’s strategic management, the company has continuously added to their mission of becoming a top franchise model in the world, as well as a favorite beverage choice among consumers. Ranked 85th in America’s Top Global Franchises during 2014 and consecutively ranked within the Franchise 500 since 2012, Maui Wowi continues to compete among other franchise models (Entrpreneur.com). The different franchisees have also received product reviews among events, such as, “Great service, amazing smoothies, and blended coffees. Very yummy!” (Yelp Inc. 2015).

These raves are a result of the company’s core competencies, which include their smoothie blend and recipe, mobile franchise model, and ‘aloha spirit.’ Maui Wowi’s current CEO, Mike Weinberger, has been leading the company in the direction of their mission, while embracing their vision and performing via the company’s core competencies. Overall, Mike Weinberger has proven to be a strategic leader in managing Maui Wowi.

Situation AnalysisGeneral EnvironmentMaui Wowi’s unique business model has enabled the company to expand nationally and internationally, while presenting additional opportunities for further growth. The mobile business model of the company allows their franchisees to reach a wide demographic of consumers varying from every event. Permitting the franchisees flexibility of attending their own events and setting their own prices helps drive the business as a whole. Maui Wowi provides extensive training to these franchisees to support them through their venture while promoting the ‘aloha spirit’ everywhere they operate. “The ‘aloha spirit’ is contagious. It is all about creating happy energy and helping people enjoy life!” (MauiWowi.com). This attitude is shared from cart to cart building the ‘ohana’ family one customer at a time.

2

Page 5: Maui Wowi_Final

Along with their culture and mobility, Maui Wowi fulfills various consumer needs while remaining current with socio-cultural movements. Appealing to consumers who are gluten free and health conscious, Maui Wowi continues to compete with growing health trends through their unique smoothie product that can serve as a healthy snack, meal replacement, or refreshing beverage. The company also gives back to their community with ‘fun-raising activities’ and their team karma outreach. This attracts consumers as the company gets involved in their local areas and shows concern about their environment.

Heavily reliant of physical resources, such as their equipment, smoothie blend, and popular coffee, Maui Wowi has to keep up with their suppliers and account for any change that may happen along the supply chain. Perishable products can be difficult to predict, however their unique frozen blend holds a shelf life of about 2 years, which benefits Maui Wowi when competing against other mobile carts at venues. This way they have everything they need with the cart and do not have to carry a bunch of fruit and other ingredients.

Industry analysisExternally Maui Wowi competes with a high threat of new entrants. Smoothies and coffee drinks are widely available around the world and Maui Wowi is able to differentiate themselves with their Hawaiian culture, flexible mobility, and quality product. The ‘aloha spirit’ grabs attention at venues and drives consumers to the Maui Wowi carts. Smoothie products are caught between beverage competitors and food vendors forcing the threat of substitute products to become high. In order to keep all the franchisees uniform, Maui Wowi Corporate has high bargaining power with suppliers when the franchisees need to purchase their product directly from them. This leverages the company with consistent resources, income, and high demand.

Competitor analysisIn order to stay current and generate further sales, Maui Wowi needs to assess their competitors and future trends. Currently, Maui Wowi competes within multiple industries including the franchise industry, the concession food/street vendor industry, and the smoothie and coffee industries. This causes Maui Wowi to compete among numerous and different companies of all sizes ranging from Starbucks Coffee to a one-person hot dog stand. Maui Wowi has thus mastered its core competencies in order to have a competitive advantage against these different competitors and to allow their product, business model, and company to stand out. Maui Wowi has a positive attitude towards taking risks with growing opportunities to generate and create new products and ideas. Building a competitive strategy to support change in the competitive industry will enable Maui Wowi to continue increasing sales. The company needs to start analyzing growing opportunities, such as trending national events and social media outlets to build brand awareness among competing brands.

Internal AnalysisMaui Wowi utilizes its resources, capabilities, and core competencies in order to manage and perform as a well-oiled company internally. Such resources include, franchisee equipment, human capital, and financial capital. Franchisees can purchase mobile carts, kiosks, or retail storefronts, which come with menu boards, Vitamix blenders, coffee machines, etc. Franchisee equipment provides adequate tools for the company to sell products and attract customers.

3

Page 6: Maui Wowi_Final

Human capital includes the company’s franchisees as well as its corporate staff. Both groups work hard to sell products and franchises in order to increase sales.

Maui Wowi holds exclusive financial capital where the company generates three separate revenue streams. In 2014, 50% of the company’s revenue was generated through consumable sales. This was derived from a markup on the smoothie blend and ingredients franchisees purchase in order to keep adequate inventory to sell. Franchisee sales generate 30% of revenue, this can be an upfront purchase for a new franchise license, and 20% of revenue comes from equipment sales via current franchisees purchasing carts, menu boards, blenders, etc. Over the past three years, Maui Wowi’s total revenue has remained around $4 million each year leading to healthy yet stationary profit margins around 15%. The company’s largest expenses include payroll and marketing, as they spend about $300,000 a year alone on marketing their franchise model and smoothie products. Fortunately, the company is debt free and does not have an extensive need for external funding, thus they are never strapped for cash. Maui Wowi generates most of their revenue during the summer, however still remains competitive in the off-season in areas such as Minnesota during hockey season.

Maui Wowi’s mainly focuses on selling franchise models and smoothies. They have increased their marketing capabilities and outsource the manufacturing of their smoothie blend and equipment. Maui Wowi’s core competencies include their smoothie blend and recipe, mobile franchise model, and ‘‘aloha spirit’’. Their smoothie blend is made of rich, creamy fruit blends that are 100% natural, with no artificial flavoring, sweeteners, or coloring. The blend is also low fat, gluten-free, and kosher certified. Made in Utah, the blend is packaged in half-gallon cartons and shipped to distribution centers then onto franchisees upon request. Once packaged, the product has a shelf life of about two years, allowing it to be properly managed when in inventory. Maui Wowi’s mobile franchise model allows the company to sell at any event around nationally at any time. Finally, Maui Wowi’s ‘‘aloha spirit’’ provides a unique experience for customers and gives the company a competitive advantage over other vendors at events.

Firm's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

StrengthsSmoothie Blend (Core Competency)Maui Wowi’s smoothie blend is possibly its biggest strength. The smoothie blend is an all-natural, gluten free blend that allows franchisees to make fast delicious smoothies. The only thing you add to the smoothie blend is ice and a banana. The smoothies come in many flavors and can even have coffee or alcohol added for an extra kick. This blend is what keeps customers coming back for more; it is delicious and refreshing especially on hot days. FinancialsMaui Wowi has very strong financials; this includes no debt and access to capital if necessary. They have seen a significant increase in their consumable sales over the last two years totaling 20%. Although the company’s growth has begun to level off, we believe that Maui Wowi is still in great financial health!

4

Page 7: Maui Wowi_Final

Aloha SpiritMaui Wowi encompasses the aloha spirit and family values, whether that be the experience you get on the carts, or when you step into the corporate office. When you are greeted at a cart the employee welcomes you with an aloha, and when you are done with your purchase you are sent on your way with mahalo. This makes you feel welcome and truly makes you feel that Hawaiian sprit that the company tries to provide. In the corporate office you can see this from the pictures on the wall to the laid back atmosphere. Everyone at headquarters wears jeans and Hawaiian shirts to work everyday, and this goes along with that Hawaiian culture. Mobile Franchise Model (Core Competency)The mobile franchise model is especially key to Maui Wowi since they are the largest mobile franchisee vendor in the world. This allows Maui Wowi to travel with their customers and be at a number of different events. This is a great strength because they are not tied down to a single location, and can travel wherever their customer base and events will be. The is something very unique that Maui Wowi does and it helps attract new franchisee’s and keep old ones happy. Franchisees really have a lot of freedom to choose events, whether that be from a rodeo to a high school volleyball tournament. They have the freedom to go wherever whenever they want to. Franchisee Applicants Maui Wowi gets thousands of applicants for franchises per year and funnels it down to 15-30 accepted. Supply ChainThe supply chain for Maui Wowi is set up very well, and is currently a great strength. Their entire smoothie blend is manufactured in Utah and shipped to distribution centers around the United States. From these centers, franchisees can order the mix for whatever events they want. Another great thing about this smoothie blend is it’s shelf life, it last on average 2 years. This is great when it comes to product spoilage and waste. Franchise Relationship/Training Maui Wowi has great franchisee training and strives to establish a great relationship with each of them. Someone from the corporate office calls every franchisee every month, to try and help them get into new events and see what they need help on, and what they are doing a great job at. This allows the franchisees to feel connected to the company and lets them know that they are truly valued. The franchisees are also required to attend an intensive weeklong training at the corporate headquarters, where they are required to review a case and present at the end of the week.

Weaknesses

Franchise ModelAlthough the franchise model is unique to Maui Wowi it is also a weakness. Franchise’s tend to have less control over franchisee’s. With Maui Wowi this can damage the brand because the

5

Page 8: Maui Wowi_Final

same goal is not being pursued and different franchisee’s may see the “Aloha Spirit” differently and may choose to represent it differently than how it is intended to be.

Brand AwarenessMaui Wowi is at all sorts of events but many if it’s consumers are one time customers that don’t make the effort to associate the brand with anything and make an effort to choose the Maui Wowi brand over it’s competitors.

Word of MouthIn addition to the brand awareness there is little to no Word-of-Mouth advertising. By attending more events and making Maui Wowi more noticeable word-of-mouth should become more prevalent and mentionable.

Social MediaCurrently Maui Wowi’s social media is outdated and not being maintained. Also, there are too many ways to find Maui Wowi and its franchisee’s this makes it difficult for consumers to find exactly which Maui Wowi to follow.

Franchisee Effort/Retention/Loss of profitsFranchisee commitment is hard to maintain and it is difficult for them to stay focused and motivated to grow their individual businesses and returning the growth back to the corporate Maui Wowi.

Outdated EquipmentIn order to keep Maui Wowi up to date with its appearances new cart items need to be redesigned, manufactured, then distributed to the franchisee’s. This takes time and it makes it difficult for Maui Wowi to stay current and keep its customers satisfied.

Opportunities

Partnership with other companiesMaui Wowi has the opportunity, like many other companies in this day and age to partner with another company that shares its values. With a partnership like this, Maui Wowi could expand its brand recognition while selling a product that is comparable to the partner company. For example, Maui Wowi could partner with Voodoo Doughnuts and sell their smoothies and coffee alongside Voodoo’s product. College Entrepreneurship ProgramsMaui Wowi could get into colleges and sponsor entrepreneurship programs within these colleges. Many colleges these days are doing these programs where they partner with students and help them learn the ins and outs of business. This would not only be a great community involvement thing for Maui Wowi, but also would allow for greater brand recognition in a very lucrative target demographic. This would allow students to learn how to run an efficient business, while promoting the delicious Maui Wowi brand on campus.

6

Page 9: Maui Wowi_Final

National EventsWith the growing number of national traveling events such as the tough mudder, spring break destinations, as well as stock shows, Maui Wowi has the potential to cash in on a huge opportunity that fits in well with its mobile business model. The potential for profits in this area is huge! Social MediaWith the advent of social media, the opportunity to connect with customers has increased exponentially. Maui Wowi has the opportunity to connect with their customers via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Maui Wowi can get their brand into peoples heads with these social media posts and show customers what the company is all about!

Threats

Alcohol LicensesMaui Wowi currently makes a lot of sales when alcohol is included in their products. Unfortunately acquiring alcohol licenses is a lengthy process and not every franchise is qualified to serve alcohol to its customers.

Suppliers and DemandWhen prices for certain fruits and juices increase Maui Wowi has to immediately adjust it’s budget and suffer a loss in it’s profit margin. For example, when pineapple juice increases in price less profit is made due to increasing cost of goods.

Barriers to EntrySports complexes and venues are a great place for Maui Wowi to gain awareness but due to sponsorship fees and royalties franchisees are discouraged to enter into places with a lot of events. These venues take a large part of the franchises profits and after all of the fees are paid it does not make fiscal sense to enter these events because franchisees can potentially lose money although they are in a popular location with a lot of traffic year round.

Substitutable ProductMaui Wowi faces a lot of competitors with similar and substitutable products. Since smoothies are used as a meal replacement in some cases Maui Wowi does not only compete with beverage distributors at events but also and food and snack vendors. This makes their competition increase significantly and Maui Wowi needs to find ways to make their smoothies seem more appealing than simple foods you can commonly find at the kinds of events that they find.

Strategic AlternativesRetail Stores

7

Page 10: Maui Wowi_Final

Increase retail stores, this will be a fixated store that customers can come to more than once. This will decrease the number of one-time customers and hopefully increase brand awareness in locations with retail shops.

Customer Loyalty ProgramMaui Wowi could create a Loyalty program to encourage customers to come back. This will include customer to sign up via email for monthly deals and discounts. Also a simple promotional punch card will be given to all customers. The punch cards will be very similar to what coffee shops have to where customers can “buy 9 drinks and get the 10th drink free!”. These programs are promotional items that are primarily for customer retention and acquisition.

Apparel and ClothingSince Maui Wowi is a Hawaiian themed company we suggest Hawaiian shirts and other items be sold at carts and retail stores. The shirts will be an assortment of traditional Hawaiian t-shirts with the Maui Wowi logo on it. Hawaiian t-shirts are great for people looking to have a good time and normally they are not easy to find. Maui Wowi can provide an item that consumers enjoy and benefit from t-shirt sales as well as smoothie and coffee sales. Maui Wowi can also sell lei’s, hats, koozies, and so on to help promote the Maui Wowi brand.

Reconstructing Team KarmaTeam Karma is currently Maui Wowi’s charity program. Maui Wowi takes time to give back to the community by donating goods and volunteering in the community. the term Karma is defined as “the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.” This term is Buddhist and doesn’t reflect the 'Aloha Spirit'. Although it is used in a positive way we suggest renaming Team Karma to Team Ohana. Ohana is a Hawaiian word meaning family. Team Ohana will be a similar program that gives back to the community but the Maui Wowi brand will be closely associated with it. Whenever Team Ohana participates and gives back to the community it can be put on their social media pages and used as a tool to build the brand.

Franchise IncentivesTo better improve brand recognition Maui Wowi’s franchisees are encouraged to grow the corporate Maui Wowi’s social media pages and submit pictures, stories, quotes, etc. that reflect the 'Aloha Spirit'. Each month a winner will be selected and their item will be posted throughout all of Maui Wowi’s social media platforms. In addition, that franchisee will get a discounted shipment of products on their next order. This will encourage franchisee’s to be proactive on social media and ultimately grow the Maui Wowi brand online.

National and Trending EventsA major market that Maui Wowi can enter is trending and popular events made for people to have fun and be active. These events include 5K’s, marathons, fun-runs, festivals, concerts, spring break locations, and other events where people come together to relax and have fun.

Event such as 5K’s, marathons, and festivals are always popular and draw large crowds. A popular event that is currently growing in the United States is the Tough Mudder (Tough Mudder). This intense obstacle course draws 10-15 thousand people per event and 1.3 million

8

Page 11: Maui Wowi_Final

people have participated in total since the event has been created. If Maui Wowi was able to capture only 10% of this market of runners and sell drinks at $10 each Maui Wowi has the potential to make $15,000 per event. Events such as these travel all across the country and a partnership with one of them can be very promising and profitable for Maui Wowi. There are also many more events including The Color Run, The Electric Run, Slide the City, The Zombie Run, and many more that draw very large crowds that present opportunity for sales to grow.

Spring break and music festivals draw crowds of over 100 thousand people over the course of a few days to a few weeks. These crowds are people looking to have fun and enjoy the moment. These large events are a perfect opportunity for Maui Wowi to set up carts and sell their product with alcohol in it. With the addition of alcohol Maui Wowi can charge a premium for alcoholic beverages. Alcohol consumption at music festivals and spring break locations is typically high and Maui Wowi can capitalize their sales by reaching out to spring breakers and music lover at events who are looking to have fun and relax.

College PartnershipsMaui Wowi should pursue partnerships with college business programs. Maui Wowi can provide students with a cart and supplies to run a franchise and the students can use the opportunity to gain experience as an entrepreneur. Students will have to coordinate and create a strategy to grow brand awareness and manage and operate the cart as a franchise. This could also be used as an internship program for students in order to earn credit and get paid as well. Student Brand Ambassadors will also be key in business program partnerships. Their primary task will be to grow awareness of Maui Wowi by attending school events and handing out free drinks to potential customers.

Sporting EventsSporting events vary from high school to the professional level broadening Maui Wowi’s demographic. The high school level alone brings in around 336 million fans nationwide with basketball leading at 170 million fans (Howard 2014). These events propose a great opportunity to gain more exposure especially with a younger crowd. Club level sporting events are usually multi day tournaments, which will help overcome their “one time customers”. Professional sports are another opportunity to tap into as popular players and sports teams could back the Maui Wowi product and utilize social media to build brand awareness.

Social MediaMaui Wowi should consolidate their corporate and franchisee social media accounts like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook in order to increase brand awareness and search engine optimization for users. This would allow Maui Wowi to direct customers to one single account that consists of branded content reflecting the company’s 'aloha spirit'. Through consolidated accounts, Maui Wowi could have more control over what content is posted and the branding consistency in these accounts. In order to do so, Maui Wowi would need a Social Media Analyst to monitor and manage these posts and the various accounts. Examples of branded social media posts are listed in Appendix (A).

Opportunity Development PositionCurrently Maui Wowi has a part time Opportunity Development Manager position that seeks new events to enter and grow sales. Maui Wowi should extend this position to full-time in order

9

Page 12: Maui Wowi_Final

find more opportunities for both corporate and franchisee carts to enter. The overall goal for this position is to improve sales through brand awareness and customer retention. Eventually a team of Opportunity Development Managers should be implemented and each manager can work regionally and be a support system for franchise owners to utilize. Interns can also be implemented in college towns as a cheap effective way to find events and assist the Opportunity Development Manager in his/her search. This position is vital for Maui Wowi, as this position succeeds so does Maui Wowi in terms of sales and as a brand reflecting the aloha spirit.

Alternative Evaluations

Retail StoresMaui Wowi should not pursue the retail stores option because their franchise is built off the mobile model. Maui Wowi also has not had success in the past with these stores. Franchisees must have at least $250,000 to open a store and this just is not feasible for their current operations. Customer Loyalty ProgramMaui Wowi has a great opportunity for customer retention and brand awareness with this program. This program would really help create more brand awareness because customers would want to come back again and again for the rewards. Apparel and Clothing Maui Wowi should pursue the apparel and clothing because it fits with the brand and can really capitalize on the Hawaiian culture. If they sold clothing, it would not only increase brand awareness because people would be wearing the products, but also increase the profits for corporate. The clothing and apparel could be a unique market to go into and get the buzz going around the brand. Reconstructing Team KarmaMaui Wowi should not reconstruct team Karma, because this team already does such great things in the community, and changing the name would not do much for the customer base. Team Karma is mainly an internal name that the company has come up with, so the customers really never interact with Team Karma. Maui Wowi should not waste time on this venture, because how it is currently structured is working great. Franchise IncentivesMaui Wowi should pursue the opportunity to partner more closely with franchises and really get their name out there through social media messages and special deals that corporate could go in on. The corporate could sponsor these contests and special deals so that Maui Wowi as a brand could gain more customers and get people to buy smoothies with these special deals. National and Trending EventsThis is a huge opportunity for Maui Wowi to increase not only brand awareness, but also to increase sales. With these national events you have a target market that is mobile with the events so it fits perfectly with the mobile franchise model that Maui Wowi has adopted. These events

10

Page 13: Maui Wowi_Final

will allow customers to come back more than one time since they know Maui Wowi will be onsite year after year. The profit potential in these national events is huge, if spring break brings in over 200,000 people across the U.S., that is a huge audience reached and many happy customers that will come back year after year.

College PartnershipsNow a days, colleges sponsoring company’s is becoming more of a thing, and especially when that company can contribute to students education like Maui Wowi can. Maui Wowi should partner with a school to do an entrepreneurial class where students learn the ins and outs of the business and gain real world knowledge about what it takes to become a successful business owner. If the carts are on campus this will increase brand awareness and sales to the perfect target market. Social MediaMaui Wowi should defiantly revamp their social media pages and consolidate their Facebook page to make it easier for customers to find them. Social media is such an integral part of the way the younger generation communicates and Maui Wowi could really capitalize on this with cool posts and pictures of things that fit with the aloha spirit of the brand. Opportunity Development PositionMaui Wowi has a great position already set up and just needs to support the position more. Giving franchisees events and places to sell helps both them and the corporate team to grow the business. Having just one part time person is not enough to find the most beneficial events to be in. Maui Wowi should expand the team and allow this position to fully develop and gain many national event partners to increase sales and gain brand awareness.

Strategy Implementation

To bring our strategy into action, Maui Wowi must invest in a full time opportunity development manager as well as develop a social media analyst role for the company. These two positions will significantly grow Maui Wowi's brand awareness which will facilitate revenue growth.

Maui Wowi currently has one part-time person working in opportunity development so we see room for growth in this department. The company should start by hiring a full time manager as well as multiple interns that will work on identifying opportunities for franchisees. In doing this, Maui Wowi can better identify and take advantage of new and existing markets and provide better support their franchisees. Since half of Maui’s revenue comes from selling their smoothie blend to franchisees, more events for them will turn into more corporate profits.

Currently, Maui Wowi gives their franchisees unlimited freedom to conduct business wherever they like, as long as they do not interfere with the brand or the product. This is attractive for franchisees but can become a problem when franchisees become lazy or discouraged. The strategy to increase opportunity development is not to do the franchisees work for them. The goal

11

Page 14: Maui Wowi_Final

is to increase brand awareness by developing some consistency with nationwide events. Franchisees will still be responsible for identifying business opportunities but if they see that corporate has their back then they will be motivated to work harder.

With a social media analyst, Maui Wowi can not only increase buzz around the company, they can better inform customers about the location of their carts as well as more effectively leverage their unique Hawaiian brand. The first step for this analyst would be to create corporate Facebook and Instagram profiles and consolidate accounts that are currently operated by franchisees. Once the corporate social media accounts have developed a strong following, Maui Wowi can then promote regional accounts that will target more specific target markets.

To help promote Maui's corporate social media accounts the company can connect with their event partners or seek out individuals to tweet at them. For example, Maui Wowi is currently working on a deal with Red Rocks Amphitheatre so part of the agreement could be for Red Rocks to tweet at or post a picture of Maui Wowi. Additionally, Maui Wowi can endorse a well-known athlete or celebrity to promote them via social media.

The most critical responsibility for the social media analyst role is to determine the type of content to be posted online. Content should be primarily focused on the location of carts and the Hawaiian lifestyle. The information that is posted to Maui Wowi's social media accounts will eventually define their brand and will be a huge factor for increasing brand awareness. As a team we believe these two strategies will allow Maui Wowi to achieve the brand awareness required to spark new growth for the company. If implemented successfully these strategies have the potential to turn Maui Wowi into a growth machine and possibly become a globally renowned brand.

12

Page 15: Maui Wowi_Final

References

Howard. 2014. "Attendance at High School Sporting Events Tops 500 Million." National Federation of State High School Associations, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <http://old.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=5732>.

"Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffee and Smoothies." Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 2014. Web. 1 May 2015. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/mauiwowihawaiiancoffeesandsmoothies/282565-0.html>.

Maui Wowi Coffee and Smoothies, 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <http://www.mauiwowi.com>.

Tough Mudder, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. <https://toughmudder.com>.

Yelp Inc., 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. <http://www.yelp.com/biz/maui-wowi-hawaiian-coffees-and-smoothies-san-francisco>

13