Small, but MIGHTY; Client Discovery Interview with Caudle's Catch Seafood

“If I won the lottery I would open the best seafood store in the world.” – Ron Caudle, Caudles Catch

In his family, Caudle’s Catch owner Ron Caudle, is lovingly referred to as The Cod Father.

Monica Caudle (youngest daughter of owners Ron and Sylvia) recalls a story about making a reservation at a local restaurant for a family function. Naturally, she made the reservation under the name Caudle and the person on the other end of the telephone responded, “Caudle? Like Caudle’s Catch? As in the Cod Father!?”

Despite it being the hottest day of the summer, SparX Agency’s six student members donned our best dress shirts and dress pants as we prepared to meet our client, Caudle’s Catch, for the first time.

When our student agency was first introduced to the team at Caudle’s Catch, we immediately understood how family-oriented this business is.

One by one, seven members of the Caudle family made their way into the DISC classroom at Wilfrid Laurier University. Matt Caudle, Ron Caudle, Michelle Caudle, Monica Caudle, Tom Adams, Syliva Caudle, and Brian Holtom, along with six DISC students squished around a small table to prepare for a customer interview.

Our goal in conducting this interview was to gain insights around the jobs to be done for this small business client. You could feel (and hear) the energy in the room as five other student groups were also eagerly interviewing their respective business clients.

Within two minutes of interviewing the Caudles, we started to understand the magnitude of their aspirations. When the Caudles began to talk about the wholesale aspect of their business; being the seafood supplier of 82 Loblaws stores in Ontario on top of being the supplier to Red Lobster restaurants, we realized we were dealing with a small, but prominent seafood empire.

The business has truly become a local institution that this community knows and trusts. Our job as a DISC student agency will be to bring their world-class products, service and knowledge to the digital marketplace.The e-commerce project with the DISC Program could very well result in a lasting impact that has the potential to make this local family run institution the largest online retail supplier of seafood in Canada.

Our agency has been matched with an inspiring local business and they’re ready to sea change in their digital growth with this 4 week capstone project.

Click to see article on the Digital Innovation Skills Certificate Blog