Field Service Projects (FSPs) are required group component of the undergraduate honours programme. It is a prime opportunity to put classroom learning to practice, and a chance to see ideas and recommended solutions come to fruition. For Team Nitro, they managed to make a real difference in Wickeg Coffee’s market strategy and organisational structure.
The team comprising BBA students Constance Kua, Natasha Lau, Nathaniel Lim and Wee Qi Ying hit the ground running as Wickeg Coffee’s fresh-faced, savvy student consultants. Armed with strong market research skills and strategic concepts, was able to offer effective solutions to close various gaps in Wickeg’s strategy and processes within nine months. This earned them glowing reviews from the company’s management, who have eagerly embraced their recommendations and adopted their ideas.
“Team Nitro is EXCEPTIONAL! They demonstrated high adaptability to “unplanned” changes, extraordinary positive attitude, and proactiveness in “chasing” for clarifications and meeting dates. They have displayed a high level of maturity.” – Wickeg Coffee’s Senior Management Team
Recommendation #1: Repackaging
The first milestone of the project was recommending a new packaging design. A comprehensive research study through online surveys and focus groups revealed that potential buyers were apprehensive towards the product due to a lack of key information like the ingredient list, nutritional information and serving size. The proposed adjustments to the package design was quickly adopted, and recently released in late April.
Wickeg Coffee’s packaging transformation (New on the right, old on the left)
Recommendation #2: A shrewd pricing strategy
Team Nitro also discovered that Wickeg’s price point was above the industry average. Instead of proposing a lower price range, Team Nitro recommended they retain the current price point but encourage user adoption through discounts. This would enable Wickeg to retain their key product differentiators of novelty and premium innovation.
Recommendation #3: A revamped sales pitch deck
Due to the nature of its business, the Wickeg team had to pitch frequently to B2B2C (Business-to-Business-to-Consumer) partners and potential investors. Recognising this need, Team Nitro took it upon themselves to craft an end-to-end sales pitch deck and user guide. The Wickeg management and sales teams were so impressed with the deck that they started using it the day after submission!
Recommendation #4: A brand new creative kit
At the beginning of the FSP, Wickeg’s branding kit comprised only of some logos, product shots and website. Team Nitro found this to be glaringly insufficient to serve the marketing needs of the company. The team then set themselves to work and created a formal brand guide containing the company’s corporate identity, brand elements and formalities. This kit documented clearly to employees how the brand should be positioned and communicated to external parties.
The team also created branding templates for both internal and external communications, comprising a 1-page summary of the sales pitch deck, electronic direct mailer templates for B2B (Business-to-Business) partners and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) stakeholders, and digital advertising assets for the website and social media platforms. These were adopted wholesale by Wickeg’s marketing team. With the longer term in mind, Team Nitro went beyond the scope of their FSP to even create Public Relations, photography and videography briefs for future campaigns.
Team Nitro in full force
From left to right: Constance Kua, Wee Qi Ying (Xenia), Natasha Lau, Nathaniel Lim
Team Nitro’s Reflections
Looking back at their experience, Team Nitro found their FSP to be a great complement to in-class learning. They were able to apply theoretical concepts to real-life business problems and more importantly, make a meaningful impact. The team’s invaluable learning journey has helped a new business take off. Finally, the FSP experience also reminded the team to stay versatile. Throughout the process, the team had to remain steady in face of unexpected challenges, and problem-solve with creativity and agility in order to meet their clients’ requirements.
For example, midway through the project, the direction and scope shifted from B2C to B2B2C. In order not to let their previous efforts go to waste, they adapted their B2C findings to a B2B2C context. Another challenge the team faced was that most members were inexperienced in creative design and B2B2C strategy. While this knowledge gap resulted in a steep learning curve, the resourceful group did not hesitate to reach out to their project advisor and relevant personal contacts to bridge the gap and thrive.
The members of Team Nitro have in many ways proven their mettle through this demanding but enriching FSP. Having weathered the storms of the journey, they now enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done. On top of that, the team walks away with these learnings that will guide them in their career:
#1 Acquire transferable skills
Practical skills such as proficiency in using creative platforms, data processing tools and coding can add tremendous value to an organisation. This is particularly true for smaller businesses which tend to be tighter on resources.
#2 Be Agile
Be responsive rather than reactive, make decisions with a clear mind, and always be comfortable being uncomfortable.
#3 Have empathy
Put yourself in the shoes of the client in order to devise the best solutions. Appreciating the problems from their perspective will more efficiently address the main issue by accurately channeling relevant resources and capabilities.
