What's Next?

Existing Market

In the market for products and services with social causes, I think there is a lot to come as a result of growth. I feel as though the next wave of social entrepreneurship will find a way to involve society's technological innovations -- perhaps funding for programming and coding education in third world countries, the growth of technology fueled by clean energy to promote environmental causes, apps that can detect whether or not water is safe to drink, etc. The possibilities of this growing market are endless.

Interviews 
As usual, I interviewed local university students that would make up the majority of my targeted customers. The responses that I received mainly suggested that we cater to worldwide expansion as globalization of the coffee market continues its growth trends. People advocated for partnerships with rural, low-income coffee farmers in developing nations -- however, I felt as though that would take away from my businesses' goal of helping out the local agriculture.

Other responses suggested that the business should cater to technological advancements in society, as I had mentioned previously. An interesting idea could be to develop an app -- similarly to the Starbucks app -- that could keep track of a rewards system, or perhaps some sort of "points" that need to be collected in order to participate in the sustainable agriculture trip abroad. To summarize, businesses are gaining the ability to become more consumer-interactive, much of which is derived from technological development -- therefore my social enterprise would greatly benefit from adhering to these progressive changes.

Reflection
After gaining these new insights about what the future of my socially-conscious coffee shop should be, I began to vision a viable plan to take in order to develop and improve my idea into something greater. I think it makes a lot of sense to incorporate technological elements into my business in order to enhance the overall customer experience and satisfaction. The business-to-consumer interaction that is growing in marketing and frequency is definitely something very important, and something that consumers want, given its rising popularity in the business world. We see businesses interacting directly with customers over social media, and this fosters a stronger bond between buyer and seller.

The ways in which I would develop these new methods of creating growth in my existing market would be through incorporating technology into the experience. I would probably hire a developer to create an app, one preferably with a feasible and beautiful design interface to enhance the user experience. I think it would include something similar to the rewards system, alongside express ordering so that people wouldn't have to wait in lines. Either way, this shows how consumers really look for feasibility and quick convenience in a business -- both of which are made possible by incorporating technological advancements.


New Market

A completely different market for my business -- which currently targets a market of younger people, mainly university students -- I could completely change things by targeting perhaps an older audience.

I think my venture concept can create value for the older age demographic similarly to how I created value for my original market -- by marketing the importance of the environmental cause that is the heart of my business. Also, I would work to maintain a friendly, warm customer experience ranging from the helpful service to the satisfaction post-purchase. The atmosphere of the local shop would remain a little more traditional and peaceful in order to cater to the older audience.

Interviews 

The responses that I received were very similar in nature, regarding the customer demands this new demographic market. They would like a place that keeps a more traditional atmosphere -- perhaps the decor, product names, colors, and overall arrangements wouldn't have such youthful notes, like what you'd find at a university locale. The shop would have to be more classic in design, and perhaps not promote such a social and crowded atmosphere that the younger market would prefer.

The responses also emphasized the importance of warmth and tranquility of the place itself, which must then reflect the actual coffee products themselves. So it would be perhaps a quiet place so that people could unwind after long working days.

Reflection 

I wasn't too surprised by the difference in interview responses that I received for the existing and new market ideas. My assumptions regarding the new market were confirmed as the responses highlighted the importance of a calm and comfortable experience. I assumed that targeting an older audience for my coffee shop would incorporate more traditional elements of coffee shops, such as timeless decor and warm atmospheres.

I think both markets are very attractive for my business, everyone has similar demands for a high quality product enhanced by the experience from entering and leaving the coffee shop. Though I think a younger audience would, on average, be more inclined to the social entrepreneurship idea of environmental causes for sustainability in the future, I think it's still something that concerns all people regardless of demographics. Therefore, I learned that I could benefit greatly from placing my venture concept in a market for all people -- though I would still maintain the innovative "millennial" aspects of social media marketing, technological developments, etc.