Getting to know us and one of our recent clients....
Accenture is a small consulting firm based in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban. The firm was founded by Prishani Govender and Mandisa Makhasi in 2015. We specialize in consulting, advertising, skills development but more importantly we focus on ensuring that your brand is successful in the business industry.
We chose the name Accenture for our firm because it is unique and simple. The word “Accenture” means to be more prominent or more noticeable and that is exactly what we stand for, to give you the honest truth about your business by showing you and guiding you on the areas you can improve on to be triumphant in the business industry. By keeping our name short and simple, it is easier to remember by our clients and other consumers. Before starting up our firm, we thought of what our name should be, we first decided on naming the firm after our first names by using our initials, for example, PM Consulting, but after reading an article by Phillip Davis who is the president of Tungsten Branding (the article can be found under resources) we were informed that a name like PM Consulting can easily be forgotten and that it will be difficult if we plan on expanding our business or later on if we plan on selling our firm. Thereafter, we followed Phillip Davis’s 3 strategies for naming a consulting firm (Davis, 2011):
Strategy 1: Build the company name on a key attribute
We thought about what we wanted our firm to stand for and what message we convey on what we do and how we go about doing it. The word “accenture” fitted this strategy well.
Strategy 2: Base the business name on positive connotations
This strategy involves having a name with a positive meaning or positive sound as stated in the article and the more we researched the word “Accenture” we realized that it fitted Phillip Davis’s two strategies.
Strategy 3: Choose a metaphor to develop a new company name
We found that this strategy did not appeal to the word “Accenture” but we still used it due to it being unique and fulfilling the other two strategies.
The logo for our firm is kept quite basic as it is just our name. The lettering however, is what makes it unique. From the first letter, every alternate letter is bigger which creates a similar view to that of a 3D effect. We wanted this effect as 3D is known to be noticeable and that is what our name stands for. Our logo was designed by a creative, third year graphic design student from Design School Southern Africa.
Our values of honesty, integrity, commitment and delivery are important to us. We are honest and straightforward in all our dealings with our clients. We are committed to growing our business through, developing strong partnerships and by placing the emphasis on providing high levels of customer satisfaction.
Our mission statement is to ensure that we provide the right resources at the right time to maximise our clients’ business potential. We don’t want to be the biggest but we do want to be the best. As our business continues to grow we work hard to keep these values at the core of our operation. We are a company that values individuals and teamwork, where people care about each other and share their knowledge freely.
We strive for excellence and aim to exceed expectations. We work hard to achieve our goals. We constantly reward and celebrate individual and team success. Retaining our competitive edge through innovation is central to the way we operate and we are always looking to improve our business processes and services.
We are currently working with a business called Four15. Four15 is a Mexican restaurant based in Durban. We chose to work with this business because it is proudly South African and it is relatively new to the business industry, however, they are quickly trending amongst the college students as a new hang out spot.
The word Burrito stems from the Spanish word for donkey, ‘burro’. Legend has it, that in the early 1900’s, a man named Juan Mendez used his donkey to haul his food cart around the Bella Vista neighborhood in Chihuahua, Mexico. In an effort to keep his food warm, he wrapped the food up in homemade flour tortillas. These bundles of goodness turned out to be a huge hit, and so the burrito was born! What makes the Mission Burrito so special is its large size, and its unique blend of meat, rice, cheese and other ingredients. Its custom to forgo utensils when eating a Burrito, therefore Four15 encourages you to use your hands. (La Familia - FOUR15, 2017)
Four15 is a passionately South African Burrito Bar, which offers the community wholesome and fresh Mexican food in a unique, and unpretentious setting. At Four15, we believe that ‘a house divided cannot stand’, which is why we not only work hard to house the perfect blend of flavours and textures inside each and every one of our handcrafted tortillas, but also, encourage integration of ‘mixed ingredients’ within our society. In our house, exchanging stories, sharing ideas and enjoying good company over a tasty meal, is what counts. Choose from our selection of tried & tested burrito favorites, or, master the art with your own unique combination of fillings, to get everything you crave and nothing you don’t want. Guests are invited to enjoy a bottomless soda with their meal, a pre- or post dinner cocktail, or even a shot of Tequila at the bar. (La Familia - FOUR15, 2017)
Building happy and healthy relationships with our staff, customers and suppliers is at the heart of our business model. Familia (means family) and inclusiveness are all part of Mexican culture, which is why creating an authentic experience and valuable interactions with our stakeholders, is a priority. Apart from that, we value food and concepts that are fresh. Four15 fosters a culture of innovation. Our aim is to become pioneers in the food industry, not only by creating a unique dining experience for locals, but also, by striving towards positive social and environmental change.
Every business has its failures. At Four15, they had low start-up capital so they had to pay off their debits when the business was becoming successful. Four15 considers their location to be a failure as not many people know where they are located or for some it is too far. Another failure, there is insufficient parking and some customers do not come back due to this problem.
With failure comes success, Four15 has a simple yet delicious menu. Their marketing is excellent as it reaches the correct target market through the correct media channels. They have great customer service as they respond to customer needs and wants as soon as possible and they are a unique brand with little to no competition in the Mexican restaurant industry.
Business organogram for Four15 can be found under resources.
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References:
Davis, P. (2011). Successful Naming Strategies for Consulting Companies | Tungsten. [online] Tungstenbranding.com. Available at: http://tungstenbranding.com/2011/07/14/naming-strategies-for-consulting-companies/ [Accessed 12 Feb. 2017].
