英国大学市场学dissertation：DFS的机遇与挑战

“领英(DFS)的使命是使弱势女性获得经济独立，通过提供专业的服装、提供网络支持和提供就业工具来帮助她们的工作和生活蒸蒸日上。” (领英，2013)
 

作为一个国际性的非营利组织，DFS为客户提供服务和支持来帮助其就业。领英可以为其客户提供一个合适的机会去面试，如果面试通过就有直接任职的机会。有些人热衷于帮助经济困难的女性，他们就会为她们捐款或捐衣服。
 

领英由Nancy Lublin创建于1997年的纽约，它说过“只做一个简单适宜的捐赠项目” (领英， 2011)。从那时起，DFS就转变成一个全球性的非盈利组织了，已为全球三大洲650000多个人服务过(领英，2013)。DFS的总部在纽约，总部管理国际客户程序并为所有子公司提供支持，包括DFS在旧金山的子公司(领英，n.d.)。领英的客户都是经济水平在贫困线以下的女性。有些客户是受到家庭暴力的，有些来自康复中心、移民中心。(领英，2013) 客户的年龄通常在18-60岁之间。（G. Barsi，个人沟通，2013年1月18日）
 

 “The mission of Dress for Success (DFS) is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development tools to help them thrive in work and in life” (Dress For Success, 2013).
 

As an international non-profit organization, DFS provides  services and support  to help its clients secure and maintain employment. Dress for Success clients are able to get suits when they have a job interview , and can return for a second suit  when they get employed. Individuals who are enthusiastic about helping  economically disadvantaged women can contribute finances and donate in-kind clothes.  
 

Dress for Success was founded in New York City in 1997 by Nancy Lublin “as a single suit donations program” (Dress for Success, 2011). Since then, DFS has transformed into a  global non-profit organization that has served more than 650,000 across three continents (Dress for Success, 2013). DFS headquarters in New York manage international client programs and provides regional support for all its affiliates, including DFS San Francisco (Dress for Success, n.d.). Dress for Success clients are economically  disadvantaged women who are living below the poverty level. Clients come from domestic violence, rehabilitation centers, immigration centers, educational programs and others. (Dress for Success, 2013).  Clients are typically between the age of 18-60 years (G. Barsi, personal communication, January 18, 2013).
 

Clients are given appointments on referral bases from partner programs and other government agencies. A client will receive a  professional suit and accessories appropriate for interview in a particular  industry.  After the client  acquires the job, she returns for an additional suit or mixed and matched separates that  lay  the foundation of a professional wardrobe. (Dress for Success, 2013)
 

DFS is not just a suiting program but also provides employment retention programs. While finding work is just the first step towards independence for a client, it is also important to sustain that job to build a better career and gain complete economic independence. (Dress for Success, 2013).
 

产品和服务———Products and Services
 

Dress for Success offers four different programs to assist women during their job search and after they have successfully entered the workforce (G. Barsi, personal communication, January 18, 2013).
 

1. 适应程序———1.  Suiting Program:
 

As mentioned above clients are given appointments based on  referrals from partner programs, such as Way Pass, Women’s Initiative, Freedom House, and others (G. Barsi, personal communication, January 18, 2013). When clients arrive for their appointment they are provided with a suit and appropriate accessories, footwear and cosmetics. If the client secures employment she can come back and receive a second suit. The suiting program is offered by all affiliates worldwide.   
 

2. 职业中心———2. Career Center:
 

The career center is a second key offering by Dress for Success. Clients can make appointments to get help with creating or modifying a resume or cover letter. Mock interviews are offered to clients who have already secured a job interview. All appointments are one-to-one and conducted by experienced volunteers (G. Barsi, personal communication, January 18, 2013).
 

3. 地方网络———3. Going Places Network (GPN):
 

Dress for Success launched the Going Places network in 2011 (Dress for Success, 2011). The program is sponsored and funded by Wal-Mart (Dress for Success, 2011). The program was launched to help clients gain and retain employment through an 8 to 12 week program, which offers classes such as resume writing, financial management, stress relief and others (G. Barsi, personal communication, January 18, 2013).  It provides a platform for the clients to network with the coaches and other clients in a supportive environment (G. Barsi, personal communication, January 18, 2013).
 

4. 职业妇女组织———4.Professional Women’s Group (PWG):
 

The weekly PWG program is aimed at clients, who are unfamiliar with their workplace and want to continue to develop their professional skills to further advance in their careers.  PWG provides a supportive network  and practical information of work experience to inspire  clients  to secure their jobs and continue to be self-sufficient  Therefore, PWG participants can successfully and comfortably transit  and thrive into a new  work environment  and in life through the support of the PWG program.
 

市场营销的挑战和机遇———Marketing Challenges and Opportunities (Micca)
 

Although DFS is trying hard to spread awareness of their ideas and services, they are facing major challenges. However, the market also offers several opportunities for them.
 

挑战———Challenges:
 

1. 招聘问题———1. Recruiting issues
 

- Advertising

Since Dress for Success is a non-profit organization, they only have a limited budget and limited ways of advertising. Their visibility in San Francisco is low, and they also have a lack of brand awarenesses in the market. Hence it’s hard to let their target clients get to know them, and there have been only few people going to their events.
 

- Computer skills

As the most important way for Dress for Success to advertise their events is by email, the requirement of their clients’ computer skills is too high. However, most of their clients don’t have high level education, so they even don’t know how to read or write emails. The result of this situation is that just a few people get informed about events.
 

2.合作伙伴计划/类似讨论会的问题———2. Partner programs/similar workshop issues
 

Dress for Success has some partner organizations which are also concentrating on philanthropies. Some of these partner organizations have some programs or workshops very similar as the events of Dress for Success. Most of the programs or workshops of these partners have more competitive power than the programs offered by Dress for Success, because these partners have already built  communities for their clients, which make the clients feel more comfortable to join in their programs or workshops.  
 

3.程序名称———3. Program name
 

The two main programs of Dress for Success are Going Places Network(GPN) and Professional Women’s Group(PWG). The names of the programs and their abbreviations are confusing to the volunteers and clients.
 

4.程序结构———4. Program structure
 

GPN is a program which is specifically for women who are seeking jobs, while PWG is for the clients who have already got jobs and want to make themselves more professional and maintain the jobs they have. GPN recruits new clients, and PWG is the way they keep their clients. But just because they separate these two kinds of clients, it’s hard for them to build up a community and let the people inspire each other.
 

机遇———Opportunities:
 

1.得到朋友的激励———1. Incentive for referring friends
 

As some of the partners of Dress for Success are retailers like Wal-Mart, they can use these channels to encourage those people who introduce their friends to Dress for Success by giving them incentives at Wal-Mart. This is an opportunity for Dress for Success to spread their brand very quickly.
 

2.在超市进行广告宣传活动———2. Running advertising campaign in supermarket
 

The main clients of Dress for Success are those people who have very low or even no income, they are the same group of people who will read the newspaper about discount information of supermarket. It’s a good opportunity for Dress for Success to run  advertisement campaign on this kind of newspaper.
 

3.建立关系/沟通———3. Build up relationship/community
 

Since the clients need  more close relationship with each other, Dress for Success can combine their two programs together and let people inspire themselves. If they can build up a strong community and everyone inside of this community can help each other, the brand of Dress for Success will become more powerful.
 

风险分析———Risk Analysis (Shahin)
 

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/g61ei3uigxvOpd0uYdg3DrZsZ7C20yIehKJJRUGkcORGe-k3ix9SvTLNFwCscd0j2OtupuexpUi7dCLg3aCIfgCAfe-IQ9CdK0_RaJYMlLr1n70FdEBlmNCw

The diagram above simply illustrates the DFS work system. Based on  each component of system, relationships and process flow we have four major categories for risks:
 

Risks associated with Referral Centers

Risks associated with DFS

Risks associated with Volunteers (Partners and Individuals)

Risk associated with Workforce
 

In first category we can mention that there is a big competition in society for clients. Also lots of referral centers have their own programs for their customers and most of these women are not comfortable with new environment and people in DFS.
 

In second category, risks are mostly about inside of the organization and are related to DFS process. There is lack of paid staff inside the company which may significantly decrease the work performance and shorten the time which staff can allocate for each customer and event.
 

For third category risks are associated with outside support. What will happen if donors stop their help or have difficulties within their companies? For instance, GPN program is funded by Wal-Mart   but what happens if Wal-Mart reduces or stops funding the program.  Other important supporters are individuals who donate their clothes and other services to DFS. We cannot predict how many volunteers  will come to DFS.
 

One of the most important risks regarding DFS is in the  fourth category, risk of outcome. If clients  from DFS GPN program gets a job but fails in her new career, DFS will lose reputation and credibility not only among the customers and referral centers but also between companies which would like to hire other DFS clients.
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商业模式:可持续性和独特性———Business Model: Sustainability and Uniqueness (Susanne)
 

“The Dress for Success (DFS) affiliate in San Francisco is part of the larger international non-profit organization DFS, which helps women in locations nationwide and  in 12 locations abroad.”(Dress for success, 2012).
 

Their mission lays way beyond just providing professional attire to women with difficult backgrounds. All affiliates share the same goal to help disadvantaged women to become economically independent, confident and responsible citizens. DFS business model describes a volunteer driven organization, which is dependent on donations, sponsors and supporters (Dress for Success, 2012).
 

DFS receives donations of new and almost new professional clothing from clothing drives conducted by banks, such as Bank of America, different kinds of offices, and other associations.  Well known brands such as Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Depend, Walmart, Macys, Loehmann’s are contributors to DFS and sponsors of DFS events.  Clients are given appointments based on referrals from partner programs which include a wide network of local non-profit and government agencies including homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, immigration centers, and educational programs to mention a few. Only with a recommendation can a client come to DFS and receive a first outfit for a job interview. This is how DFS ensures that only women who really need their assistance will be helped. Each affiliate operates independently and has the possibility to choose which programs are best suited for the location. DFS in San Francisco is focusing on two very important programs to help women get a job and how to retain the job, as well as to deal with challenges balancing  private and professional life. One of the programs is called Going Places Network (GPN) and is a program sponsored by Walmart. GPN is a program that aims at giving the clients professional skills and to help them in their job search. Weekly training and one to one to one sessions are offered to give the women the confidence they need to enter the workforce. Another program DFS San Francisco is focusing on is the Professional Women’s Group (PWG). PWG is a support system for women who have entered the workforce to help them with understanding corporate culture and to handle personal finances. When a client has obtained a job she can come back to DFS and receive another set of professional clothing. (Dress for Success, 2012).
 

In order to inspire the women and in order market the brand of DFS events such as fashion shows, power walking and galas are arranged. DFS San Francisco has two full-time, paid employees working on events and programs. Interns and volunteers are recruited on a rolling basis (Dress for Success, 2012). The uniqueness of DFS’ business model is that it is an organization that helps women that really needs support in making a great step out of a difficult situation. By helping these women DFS not only give them a better life, but they also contribute to building a safer and better society by making more people enter the workforce and contribute something to the city or community. DFS is dependent on donations, sponsorship, supporters and a large amount of volunteers  who make the business model sustainable. However, since DFS’s business is so unique and makes such a large contribution to society, donations, sponsorship or volunteers are not hesitant to help.
 

战略方向的意图———Strategic Direction Intention (Fabian)
 

Dress For Success is striving for a major expansion to become a truly global organization. The main objective is to step into markets that have been untouched by DFS so far, as well as to grow considerably in areas where DFS already has a strong presence. Currently, DFS is developing affiliates in four major African cities (Abuja, Lagos, Cape Town, and Johannesburg) to be able to help women in one of the poorest areas in the world to become a part of the workforce in their countries (Dress for Success, 2013). In addition, DFS is significantly developing its affiliates across the United States with new projects in 29 states (Dress for Success, 2013). A third major growth market for DFS is Europe with 12 affiliates that are currently awaiting approval or are in the process of starting operations. By increasing its operations on a global level, DFS will be able to achieve one of its main goals: raise awareness among people and establish DFS as a well-known non-profit organization. It is therefore essential for DFS to further continue on its way towards worldwide operations.DFS San Francisco....

 

竞争对手差异化和评估成功的因素———Competitor Differentiation and Evaluation factor of Success (Godavari)
 

Their central location with an office in Union Square and being the only Dress for Success affiliate in the bay area  are major factors for its success.Its uniqueness of being an organisation just for women has also proven to be successful.  From our research we learnt about Image for Success in Marin County- which could be seen as DFS’s direct competitor. Image for Success offers clothing for men , women and children. It is based in Marin county which is far from most of the halfway house and rehabilitation centers whereas DFS is based in San Francisco and is at a  convenient  location for clients and donors. If we look at Dress for Success as a whole the organisation has over 120 affiliates in over 6 different countries compared to Image for Successes one location  in Marin County. (Dress for Success, 2013).The clients at Image for Success come from selective programs whereas DFS is open to all women in need with over 250 partner programs. Another factor that aids in DFS being successful is that the organisation has over 75 big name corporate sponsors locally and nationally.(Dress for Success, 2013). DFS San Francisco’s Annual Fashion Show, Christmas Gala and Power Walk are eagerly awaited  events. Image for Success has one major event per year- Passion for Fashion.(Image for Success 2013,Dress for Success, 2013). With three major events and smaller ones during the year DFS San Francisco strives to be in the public eye. Offering professional development workshops and year round resume and interview assistant DFS is a one stop shop for any job seeker. All these factors help Dress for Success stand out from its competitors.#p#分页标题#e#