Internship report at Lam ceramic company limited

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY
ENGLISH FACULTY
------

INTERNSHIP REPORT
Company:

Lam Ceramic Company Limited

Student:

Nguyen Thu Trang

Class:

K55N5

Supervisor:

Nguyen Thi Tra My

Student code:

19D170329

Hanoi, 2023


INTRODUCTION
In the current trend of international economic integration, the expansion and
gradual adaptation of enterprises to domestic and foreign markets are objective

inevitable trend. This will pose many opportunities and challenges for businesses and
for the whole economy. Therefore, businesses have formed a dedicated sector to avoid
falling behind the global integration trend, which is the Marketing department. Hence,
enterprises always focus strongly on their marketing activities’development.
Integrating with the trend, Lam Pottery Enterprise has been established with the
aim of bringing cultural products to all parts of the country as well as to the
international market. By striving for economic development through worldwide trade
and diplomatic relations, Lam Pottery always prioritizes and focuses on marketing,
and English is an indispensable tool in that process. English is no longer a "plus"
factor but a criterion of primary concern, playing an increasingly important role in the
success of this ceramic firm.
Understanding that close connection and the urgency of applying English in
business, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to put my knowledge into practice.
After nearly 1 month of experience at Lam Ceramic, thanks to the board of Directors
and the Marketing department, I have been able to research specific situations to
construct this report.
Once again, I would like to sincerely thank the teachers of the English Faculty of
Thuongmai University as well as the staff of Lam Pottery for supporting me to
complete this report. However, due to the limited actual working time as well as my
diminished knowledge, the report is not immune to errors. For that reason, I am
willing to receive suggestions and opinions from teachers to make my report perfect.
Hanoi, January 15th, 2023
Student
Trang
Nguyen Thu Trang

i


TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i
LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS, PICTURES------------------------------------------iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS----------------------------------------------------------------iv
PART 1: OVERVIEW OF LAM CERAMIC COMPANY LIMITED---------------1
1.1.

General information about Lam Ceramic Company Limited------------------1
1.1.1.Information--------------------------------------------------------------------------1
1.1.2.Establishment and development------------------------------------------------1
1.1.3.Mission – Vision--------------------------------------------------------------------2
1.1.4. Company’s organizational structure------------------------------------------2

1.2 Information about the Internship Department.-------------------------------------5
1.2.1. Marketing activities of Ceramic Lam Enterprise---------------------------5
1.2.2 Evaluation of marketing activities of Lam Ceramic Enterprise----------9
PART 2: INTERNSHIP PROCESS IN LAM CERAMIC COMPANY LIMITED
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11
2.1 Details of actual works assigned during the internship period------------------11
2.1.1 Assigned work---------------------------------------------------------------------11
2.1.2 Details of main work performed-----------------------------------------------12
2.2 The difficulties and learned lessons during the internship------------------------13
2.2.1 Difficulties--------------------------------------------------------------------------13
2.2.2 Personal experiences and learned lessons------------------------------------15
PART 3: THE REAL SITUATION OF USING ENGLISH AT LAM CERAMIC
COMPANY LIMITED-----------------------------------------------------------------------17
3.1 Describe the real situation of using English at Lam Ceramic Compay Limited
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17
3.2. Suggesting solutions to the problems of using English in Lam Ceramic------18
PART 4: SUGGESTED THESIS TOPIC-------------------------------------------------19

CONCLUSION--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

ii


LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS, PICTURES

No.

Tables, diagrams, pictures

Page

1

Picture 1

Lam Ceramic's official Facebook fanpage

6

2

Picture 2

Media publication of the program "Khai Xuan Nhu Y”

10

3

Picture 3

Rank Lam Ceramic's visibility by keywords on Google

10

4

Picture 4

Lam Ceramic's website interface

11

5

Picture 5

6

Chart 1

Lam Ceramic’s organizational structure

12

7

Table 1

Assigned work by week

15

8

Table 2

Lam Ceramic Store in Hoang Mai

The process of posting on the media

iii

11

16


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

No.

Abbreviations

English Meaning

1

CEO

Chief Executive Officer Giám đốc điều hành

2

HR Staff

Human Resources Staff Nhân viên quản trị nhân lực

3

Ads

Advertising

Quảng cáo

4

Co.Ltd

Company Limited

Công ty trách nhiệm hữu
hạn

iv

Vietnamese Meaning

PART 1: OVERVIEW OF LAM CERAMIC COMPANY
LIMITED
1.1.General information about Lam Ceramic Company Limited
1.1.1. Information
- Company name: Lam Ceramic Company Limited
- Address: 46/232 Tran Dien, Dinh Cong, Hoang Mai, Hanoi
- Telephone: 0961 55 40 50
- Email:
- Fanpage: />- Tax identification number: 0107618374
- Website:
1.1.2. Establishment and development
Lam Ceramic Limited Liability Company, which is known as Lam Pottery, was
established in 2016, stemming from the passion of Vietnamese people to bring the
quintessence of the homeland to all parts of the country as well as to the international
market. For that reason, Ms. Lam Thu Huyen (CEO), together with her fortifications,
came up with the decision to establish Lam Ceramic Co., Ltd.
After 7 years of establishment and development, the company's products have
been widely sold through e-commerce platforms and showrooms in Hanoi. In
particular, with the trust of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, on 27/02
Ceramic Lam was honored to be selected as the visiting unit of Brunei Commerce
Minister, Lim Jock Seng after the ending of the First Meeting of the Vietnam - Brunei
Bilateral Cooperation Committee at the Government guest house. Therefore, despite
arising from "empty hands", Lam Pottery is always proud to be the manufacturer and
supplier of high-quality Bat Trang ceramics to Vietnamese consumers and
international ones.

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1.1.3. Mission – Vision
- Mission: Lam Pottery always carries with it the mission of developing and
preserving the beauty of the country's traditional culture as well as bringing perfect
products to domestic and international customers. At the same time, it always upholds
the motto "A pottery market day is not equal to 30 minutes visiting Ceramic Lam" and
excellently implements 5 motifs: Top Beautiful porcelain top 1 – Generating large
orders – Completing products as fast as possible – Quality as desired – The best price
in the market. The company will continuously creates new values, new unique goods
without losing the traditional beauty, all because of the vision to become a leading
company in preserving and replicating the value of Vietnamese traditional products to
the international market, contributing to the development of the domestic economy as
well as that of the world.
- Vision: In the next 5 years, Lam Ceramic is aiming to connect 20 million
domestic and international customers and become a favorite brand of Vietnamese
consumers.
1.1.4. Company’s organizational structure

CEO

Marketing
Department

Sales

Business
Department

Warehouse –
Logistics

Department

Customer
Service
Department

Administration
– Accouting
Department

E – Commerce

Chart 1. Lam Ceramic’s organizational structure
(Source: Administration – Accouting Department)

2


Lam Pottery Company is operated according to a functional organizational
structure, that is, the company is divided into departments based on their functions.
Specifically, there are 4 main departments including Marketing Department, Business
Department, Warehouse – Logistics Department, Customer Service Department and
Administration – Accounting Department. Each of these is guaranteed and operated by
the head functional manager and the employees grouped according to their roles.

 Roles and functions of each department in the company:
 Marketing Department:
- In charge of marketing while managing activities such as targeting, customer
segmentation, research, market forecasting and brand positioning, then setting out
plans or marketing strategies and advertising ceramic products in the media to convey

product information, attract potential customers, promote customer buying behavior
and improve sales efficiency.
- Participating in researching market trends, consuming trends of domestic and
foreign customers in order to develop ceramic products as well as draw assessments,
conclusions and promptly come up with appropriate marketing strategies for products,
meeting the needs of customers as well as the market.
- Helping build good relations with domestic and foreign press and media.
 Business Department:
In charge of directly approaching customers as well as introducing and
promoting ceramic products to customers. The Business Department is divided into 2
sectors: Sales unit (specializing in sales on social media channels: Facebook, Zalo,
Tiktok and Website) and E-commerce unit (specializing in sales on e-commerce
platforms including: Shopee, Lazada, Tiki).
- Sales unit:
 Developing strategic plans to reach and exploit potential customers.
 Organizing and carrying out business activities such as: consulting, answering
questions about parameters related to products
 Announcing costs and payment methods, shipping units and creating orders
for customers when they want to transact.
 Taking care of the problems arising with the post-sale order such as: return,
refund, ect.

3


- E-commerce unit:
 Tracking number of visits and purchases as well as customer feedbacks on
products and services to be able to change products and strategies, thereby handling
problems arising from customers when buying through e-commerce platforms.
 Updating daily news and reports to understand important indicators, evaluate

market trends, competitors as well as consuming behavior on e-commerce platforms,
which helps the company come up with suitable adjustments and plans for its ceramic
products.

 Administration – Accounting Department:
- Carrying out activities related to financial management while developing plans
for business activities, including tracking document books and preparing financial
statements at the end of each accounting period.
- Checking revenue and expenditure activities, paying the state budget, ensuring
and being responsible of the company's financial situation, drawing up the inventory of
the company's assets and capital sources to provide timely and accurate solutions
- Storing, preserving accounting books and securing accounting data.

 Warehouse – Logistics Department:
- Researching market, selecting partners that provide quality ceramic materials.
- Ensuring that goods are well co-ordinated, circulated and preserved without
cracking, chipping and streamlined when transported to warehouses, which helps
facilitate inventory and import – export of goods.
- Inventory data must always be updated to ensure a smooth sales process and to
manage the delivery in accordance with fast, complete and accurate delivery criteria.

 Customer Service Department:
- Actively communicating with customers who have purchased products, asking
for feedbacks, receiving information about customer complaints to be able to answer,
understanding how customers feel about the products as well as giving directions to
handle customer problems.
- Coordinating with the Marketing Department to create promotions for
customers and give discount codes to guests on special occasions to increase the
percentage of consumers returning to the company, which helps it sell more products.

4


- Monitoring the feedbacks of customers to understand the strengths and
weaknesses of the products, thereby proposing better solutions to improve.
1.2 Information about the Internship Department.
The marketing department always plays an important role in operating the
company’s business activities because it has a direct influence on consumers and
determines the success or failure of Lam Ceramic in generating the company's
revenue. Specifically, that important role is shown through advertising products and
increasing sales, as well as promoting brand, thereby creating an image for Lam
Ceramic in the eyes of domestic and international customers.
Furthermore, the explosion of social networks and the high application of 4.0
technology in life have contributed to the development of marketing in general and
online marketing in particular. Therefore, I chose the marketing department as an
internship unit according to my major and future goals after graduation.
1.2.1. Marketing activities of Ceramic Lam Enterprise
In order to bring Vietnamese values to all parts of the country as well as to the
competitive international market, the marketing team in charge of Lam Ceramic
always actively promotes communication activities for the brand and products to make
them known by a large number of international consumers. These activities are
integrated between popular communication tools such as Online Marketing (via
Facebook platforms, Facebook Ads, Website, Email,…) and Offline Marketing at the
store.
Online Marketing:

 Facebook and Facebook Ads
- Official Fanpage: of Lam Pottery
currently has 17,000 likes and 17,000 followers until January 2023.
- Facebook stays on top of every survey about the most popular social network

for every generation. It has the advantage of sharing contents and images. It also has
strict policies as well as copyright issues on online business. Therefore, the company's
products sold through the official fanpage on Facebook can be trusted and easily
reached thanks to some Facebook sales tools.

5


Picture 1: Lam Ceramic's official Facebook fanpage
For posted contents, the marketing team has a variety of articles, videos and
images to increase interaction and interest for users. In particular, the firm's Facebook
Ads directly use these posts or create new posts dedicated to advertising content to be
able to increase the number of visitors as well as easily reach the target audience.
In addition, sales promotion activities through Facebook are also promoted by the
enterprise quite often through the annual festivals at the beginning of the year. There
are a number of programs, such as "Khai Xuan Nhu Y" giving gifts of up to 200k to
customers when buying goods at Lam Pottery from 27/1 to 5/2/2023.

Picture 2: Media publication of the program "Khai Xuan Nhu Y”
 Website
For the number of customers who do not use Facebook or do not want to
purchase through Facebook, Lam Ceramic also has another platform, which is the

6


website with the link: Currently, Lam Ceramic is ranked
No.1 in the number of search results on Google with the keyword "Bat Trang Lam
Ceramic".

Picture 3: Rank Lam Ceramic's visibility by keywords on Google
The websie is delicately designed with harmonious colors based on the main
colors of the logo. Product samples are arranged specifically into each category and
each content, which makes it easy for customers to find and choose. Many best-seller
products and promotions are highlighted in the middle of the website. All of these
above contributes to attracting users and embracing the psychology of consumers in
order to boost revenue for the company.

Picture 4: Lam Ceramic's website interface

 Email (Gmail)
Not only serving Vietnamese people, Lam Ceramic is also honored to bring
products to countries around the world. For foreign partners, marketing via email is
both inexpensive and also in line with their regular email checking habits. Therefore,

7


this is a great opportunity for Lam Ceramic to bring its products and services to the
international market.
Customers can contact via official email: The
company's marketing staff will use email to market their products using gmail sources
or online email data taken from the information of users logged into the Website.
Besides, Lam Ceramic can collect data through the order list or landing page.
Specifically, the staff will use Mailchimp, which is a free and automated email
creation software, to create online email marketing campaigns. The content once
generated is automatically sent to a list of available leads. The marketing department
will then check the engagement through clicks, opens, email responses and opening
links leading to the Official Website in emails. As a result, marketing staff will send
emails to these customers whenever there is a product launch or promotion, which

helps the firm expand the foreign leads file and increase sales revenue in foreign
markets.
Offline Marketing:
Like other companies, Lam Ceramic implements offline advertising at its own
points of sale. The fact that the company opened 2 showrooms in Hanoi, concentrating
the central districts, broadcasts strongly and increases brand awareness to customers.
In addition, the decoration inside the stores follows the main color tone of the brand
identity, which is blue - white - yellow. Lam Pottery is also creative when leverage its
logo design into the decoration of walls, display tables and shelves.

Picture 5: Lam Ceramic Store in Hoang Mai

8


In order to promote sales, the marketing team also implements strategies, such as
15 – 20% discount for customers who buy directly at the store during major holidays
of the year, or 1-for-1 purchase programs for the first customers as well as patrons of
the store.
1.2.2 Evaluation of marketing activities of Lam Ceramic Enterprise
Strengths
To bring Vietnamese products to all parts of the country as well as international
customers, Lam Ceramic has been promoting some significant intensities of media
power in its operation. They can be mentioned as follows:
 Firstly, the company has been taking advantage of the Facebook platform. The
official fanpage of Lam Ceramic is an online marketing form built on customers'
favorite ceramic products. As a result, the firm can reach customers using Facebook
anytime, anywhere. This platform is easy to access and control with a simple and easyto-use interface. Besides, updating the analytics of likes and interactions is also
uncomplicated without spending as much as other offline marketing activities.
 Secondly, the company always enhances the use of email for foreign partners

to market products. Currently, when automated mail writing software such as
Mailchimp is growing, the form of email marketing is more and more flexibly applied
by Lam Ceramic. This form increases the ability to reach customers quickly without
spending a lot of manpower.
 Keeping the lead files but consulting and customer care are still highly valued
is how Lam Ceramic promotes its marketing power. Just by visiting the website with
easy-to-find link, searching keywords simply and quickly, the firm has caused great
sympathy for fastidious customers.
 The company has reached a maximum number of customers with little or no
use of social networks through banners or trade promotion discounts.
Weaknesses
Although Lam Ceramic has taken steps in marketing its products, this activity is
still incomplete in many aspects.
For online marketing, despite building a brand for 7 years, the number of
interactions and customers that the company has reached on social networking sites is

9


limited. The article content has not had a breakthrough and creation to capture the
trend of the market and potential customers.
In addition, the fact that social networks are becoming more and more diverse,
customers are also becoming more fastidious to shop and facebook's policies are
increasingly restrictive is making it more difficult for the enterprise to access the
market as well as the consumers.
Responding to customers through websites and emails is still unprofessional,
emails are easily spammed and annoying due to the amount of spam emails spreading
in the media, which can easily mislead customers.
Among a large number of competitors in the market, especially brands from
abroad, spending high costs and efforts to maintain the ranking of the website has not

made Lam Pottery's products stand out and convince customers.
Offline marketing such as banners or posters are still quite sketchy, while gifts
are not diverse. These issues happen due to the lack of human resources and the
limited sources of the company.

10


PART

2:

INTERNSHIP

PROCESS

IN

LAM

CERAMIC

COMPANY LIMITED
2.1 Details of actual works assigned during the internship period
2.1.1 Assigned work
Working time: Monday to Saturday
• Morning shift: 8:30 – 11:30
• Afternoon shift: 13:00 – 17:30
Address: 232 Dinh Cong, Hoang Mai
During my internship at Lam Pottery, I was facilitated to develop basic skills,

learn new knowledge and skills. My duties are arranged and evenly divided over a
month of internship as follows:
Table 1: Assigned work by week
Week

Time

Activities
- Contact the company's HR staff and start the internship

December 19,
1

2022 to
December 24,
2022

process.
- Discuss the internship schedule with management, learn
the rules and culture of the company.
- Get acquainted and observe how the departments work,
especially the marketing department.
- Research and learn the way the department works.

- Write advertising articles on Facebook in Vietnamese

2

December 26,

and English.

2022 to

- Edit and create eye-catching product images.

December 31,

- Collect data of the users accessing the company's

2022

website, then translate into Vietnamese and respond to
customers’ feedbacks or aspirations in English.

11


- Continue to create articles on Facebook fanpage in both
Vietnamese and English, make it clear for customers about
products for sales as well as convey the values that the
January 3,
3

2023 to
January 7,
2023

company aims.
- Take photos of new product samples to post on

Facebook to run ads
- Learn how to do email marketing in English for foreign
partners.
- Participate in weekly meetings of the Marketing
department to hear suggestions from other employees as
well as propose other marketing solutions.
- Research and use Mailchimp, which is a free and
automated email marketing software).

January 9,
4

2023 to
January 14,
2023

- Write and translate gmail marketing content for potential
customers, translate some English emails and answer some
customer questions about the company's products.
- Translate some marketing-related documents from
English to Vietnamese to help create suitable marketing
strategies for the department.
- Join weekly meetings of the Marketing department.

2.1.2 Details of main work performed
Table 2: The process of posting on the media

Preparation

Create posts in

English about
ceramic
products on
Facebook.

-Theme: Promote new products.
-Category: Images, articles.
-Content: Provide product characteristics;
update the economic market situation in
general and the ceramic market in particular.

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Planning and
Checking

Create posts
about ceramic
products on the
website.

- Bring information about existing products
at the store as well as best seller ones and
available promo codes.

Make a
weekly post
schedule

- According to posting timelines: 8:00 am,
3:00 pm, and 9:00 pm.

Send the draft to
the marketing
manager for
approval before
posting

- Send the finished draft to the manager by
5:30 PM the day before.

Post as planned

- 8:00 AM: Post economic market updates
- 3:00 PM: Post articles for promoting
products

Reply to
feedback on
fanpage

- Collect closed orders and send the data to the
manager by 5 PM.

Posting
Process

Follow-up
after posting

Make weekly
report

- Make engagements and purchase statistics
on two main platforms: Facebook and
Website.
- Compare with last week's report.

2.2 The difficulties and learned lessons during the internship
2.2.1 Difficulties

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Trying my hand at economics for the first time after learning the knowledge in
school, the internship was a great process for me to put what I learned into practice.
Besides, the process also helps me discover my strengths and weaknesses, acquire new
knowledge and experience new tasks, with the dedicated support of colleagues.
However, difficulties are always an integral part of the process of learning and
growing. It can be said that difficulties are challenges, catalysts and a necessary and
sufficient condition for me to explore and adapt during the internship. Here are some
obstacles that I encountered in the month of internship at Lam Pottery:
Firstly, there is a lack of office information technology capabilities such as Word,
PowerPoint, Excel. Despite learning and testing computer skills at school, I realize that
the skills I have are lacking a lot after applying them in practice. The ability to use
word and excel is limited in making weekly reports. I also have to learn basic image
editing skills through popular photo editing software such as Canvas and Photoshop,…
Secondly, I do not have enough knowledge of the market economy and encounter
hazards in applying English skills to work. Marketing inherently requires specific

knowledge, but the fact that I have a limited vocabulary and a lack of up-to-date
information has made it hard to write reports and posts on media platforms. Moreover,
with no practical experience, it is difficult for me to be flexible to handle some sort of
situations.
Thirdly, initial communication is a sizable barrier to communicate with and
persuade customers. However, I realize that good communication at the workplace can
help me get to know my colleagues better and receive support from them.
Last but not least, my time arrangement is not reasonable. Some jobs require me
to work faster to meet deadlines and at the same time, I still have to ensure quality.
Therefore, I have to organize my time properly as I am given multiple tasks in a day.
At first, I made some mistakes when spending a lot of time editing, organizing, and
creating logic for a report, but gradually as I got used to the job, those things became
easier.
Overall, each challenge during the internship was a new experience and an
opportunity to learn for every undergraduate like me. Importantly, through this
internship, I had many opportunities to look back and achieve the missing expertise

14


related to language and economics as well as the soft skills applied. Those are all
valuable lessons that I have been taught.
2.2.2 Personal experiences and learned lessons
After the internship process, there are some valuable lessons I have acquired over
the past 4 weeks:
 First and foremost, the internship gave me the opportunity to improve my
English and apply my knowledge of economics that I gained at university. I used them
in writing and communicating with foreigners in real-life situations. My interpreting
skills also improved significantly through weekly translations. As a result, I discover
that using English in practice like this contributes to a significant improvement in my

language ability.
 For marketing, lack of economic knowledge is a major difficulty. What I
absorbed in the university is not enough, which means the amount of knowledge needs
to be constantly updated. Therefore, I realize that I need agility and ingenuity to keep
up with trends to capture customer psychology better. Moreover, it is not advisable to
rigidly apply only metrics for analysis, but also based on the psychology of target
customers to make appropriate marketing proposals.
 Furthermore, through the internship process with the work of marketing on
popular social networking platforms and websites today, I have understood how to use
supporting software such as Mailchimp, manage fanpages or design contents to attract
viewers.
 I realize that the most important thing about content creation is the content
need to be posted on social networks or websites. Especially in the competitive
environment of marketing, each individual needs to understand unique ways of
creating content to compete with others. Instead of applying a standard formula, I
learned to be proactive at work, actively ask questions and research materials to
explore many other aspects of creativity. In addition, everyone in the department is
dedicated to supporting and allowing me to find and create new contents and new
methods to serve the company's online marketing segment. Therefore, I understand
more about SEO, Youtube, Facebook Ads,... which I have not previously approached
and used directly.
 Besides, I also learned how to arrange my time properly after my internship.

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