Tim Norvell, assistant professor of marketing, divides his class into three groups that give back to the community and grow student's skills through consulting services and marketing research.
For the past two years, a group of 11 Elon Business Fellows have taken their Consulting Capstone with a service-learning component, which provides the opportunity for these students to build professional work world relationships with real clients. The class is divided into three groups that work on different projects across the City of Graham, the Burlington Downtown Corp. and the Town of Elon.
Students have learned how to handle crisis management and balance the different perspectives of local businesses to find a compromise. Students present a final project of their findings to the client. They worked on projects ranging from new branding strategies, logos, strategic measurement tools, surveys of students and residents, and social media and sales representatives management to build business awareness.
Through the years, businesses have built a trust with the students after meeting over the course of two semesters. Students walk away from the course with a better understanding of how to be a consultant, problem-solver, project manager and clear communicator. Small businesses have the challenge of not being able to afford a consulting firm or resources to promote their business, so the students offer their services in exchange for real client experience. The biggest take away for students is their adaptability to new situations in the workplace, which will definitely be a future asset when looking for jobs.
One of this year’s students, Kailen Zorzi, worked with Graham’s city government and local Burlington business owners. The work involved “finding out how to use their experiences and input for our project solutions in the respective communities,” she says. “We’ve held town hall meetings, one-on-one meetings with business owners and community stakeholders, and presented our solutions to Graham city council throughout the process.”
This service-learning component creates a holistic academic experience to revitalize local businesses and learn important long-term sales and consulting skills. Norvell hopes to continue working with these local businesses and allowing students to progress these relationships.