A team of second and third year marketing students from the Davis Campus delivered their workshop on Relationship Marketing to Small Businesses at the Small Business Enterprise Center in Brampton on November 17th.  It was the culmination of many practices and much planning. This was the 5^th time that a Marketing workshop has been prepared and delivered to Brampton Small Businesses over the last three years, each time improving the content and delivery.  Returning this fall from last year’s team were Bhavandeep Aulakh and Armando Toossi who provided the team with leadership and seasoned presentation skills. 

There are many unique aspects to the Small Business Workshop leadership experience which is an initiative of the Sheridan Business School’s Business Council (Student Council for Business Students).  The program prepares and delivers two workshops each fall and winter; marketing and an HR workshop. For the students It promotes the development of individual presentation styles and “real business experience” within a professional workshop environment.   “Participants have an opportunity to put their Sheridan Education and life experience to work; to help small businesses improve their business” said John MacRae, their Faculty Advisor.

This Relationship Marketing Workshop provided some of the foundations of good marketing to help businesses focus their marketing to improve their efforts.  Students covered a range of topics from Positioning to Customer Retention, Loyalty to Databases and Sales to the Internet.   For example Kevin Peplow and Abhey Sharma helped the businesses develop a Sales Plan designed to work through their apprehensions and to handle potential rejection.  They were animated with examples of how to turn sales into a game instead of a struggle for the Small business person who is overwhelmed by the challenges of making contacts and converting interest to sales.

Khali James and Demarco Harris helped several businesses focus on building loyal customers.    They connected with a range of Businesses including travel, education, Bookkeeping, IT, Small Business Services, Senior Services and more.  Tenachi emphasized the importance of building a strong image for your business.  Micheaux Spencer and Paras Ahuja opened the eyes of small businesses to see the benefits of “Social Marketing” and to the need for a strong web presence.   Daud Irfani and Jonathan Lim had a chance to bring out the needs of many of the Small Businesses present to show how good marketing does not have to cost an arm and a leg.  They shared what approaches some of the businesses had been using effectively and demonstrated new concepts such as customer relationship management that can make the most of existing customers  by engaging them effectively.  These students demonstrated how business curriculum when combined with an evolving business sense can make a significant contribution to business.  Both the Small Business workshop participants and the Enterprise Center were quite impressed with the abilities of these Sheridan marketing students.  It was very clear by the quality of their workshop that all their project work and applications of theory from Sheridan were preparing them for successful business careers.  The Workshop leadership experience was just the place to solidify their education.  A practical real business experience that demonstrates publically just how strong they can be in business! 

At the end of the workshop the Small Business Owners showed their appreciation with a round of applause.  They were satisfied that these young experts had delivered a professional marketing workshop.  They even showed their trust and confidence in these business student leaders by staying at the end to ask them for more advice on their business.  

Our Sheridan Business Students rose to the challenge and have made us all proud.  They have individually and as a team demonstrated that with commitment you can achieve personal success and build your leadership!  We wouldn’t want it any other way…