Threats
Government legislation will be an issue which will have to be strongly addressed before the play area could be opened to the public, Charlys needs to make sure they have all the relevant laws covered for example child safety, Charlys needs to make sure there will be no nasty accidents within the play area as it could lead to not only the lost of one customer but could damage the reputation of the business. Inflation could also be a factor as people might not have as much disposable income to spend on luxury items such as eating our on a regular bases. The cost of insurance could be an issue as it could be a high cost to the business.
Competitor’s analysis
There are a number of different types of competitors for the service which I am introducing into Charly’s.
Firstly, restaurants within the local area of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart would be all in some way or another a competitor for example in the local town of Coleraine there is nothing offering a play area for children or a family American dinning experience, but some do have the option of a children’s menu and are therefore a competitor as family’s may feel that having a children’s menu is enough and there is no need for a play area to entertain there children. Charlys will overcome these competitors by offering a friendly and fun service for not only parents but for the children to enjoy dinning out as well, also with having a frequently changing menu continually adding new ideas for example the restaurant has recently added some Chinese dishes to the menu with help from a Chinese chef to perfect the dishes. New ideas such as this will give Charlys a competitive edge over its competitors. Within Coleraine itself there are only a small number of competitors, some examples of these are a well established Chinese restaurant which invite families of all ages, and of course the likes of McDonalds and Pizza hut which are well known for children’s birthday parties and being family friendly as well as being a pleasing option for children. The prices within McDonalds, burger king and pizza hut are very low for children for example a happy meal in McDonalds costs £1.99 were as children’s kids meals in Charlys (appendix 1) cost a little more at £4.50, these competitors have a good reputation for family fun and parties there has become the building pressure of healthy eating this is were Charly’s can add a healthier option then pizzas or high fat burgers. Along with more entertainment and fun for all ages.
Secondly Within the near by towns of Portrush and Portstewart there are a number of sea front restaurants with the option for children’s meals for example the harbour bar which is along standing restaurant and has just been named as one of the best restaurants in northern Ireland. These restaurants also have the added value of being near the sea and other attractions which children would find entertaining and could spend there time. A disadvantage to this for these restaurants is the growing concern about child safety and Charlys would offer a safe environment for children to play in.
Finally there is also the competition of parents staying at home with there children and ordering in food for example pizza hut, although this is not a major threat to Charlys they still need to recognise it as a option for parents, Charlys can compete with this in that they can offer an all round dinning experience providing a high level of customer service, another advantage Charlys has other ordering in food such as pizza of Chinese is doing dishes after the meal, when going to a meal in Charlys there is no cleaning up afterwards as everything is taken care of.
Pestle analysis
A pestle is a useful tool which is used within a business to assess and evaluate external influences on a situation within a business during the decision making possess.
Political
There are a number of political issues which could affect Charlys as a business, some can be from central government to local government.
The district or town councils could effect the working of my market plan because if there is an outdoor play area for children the people living in the sounding area could complain to the council on noise pollution , a way around this would be to place the outdoor area as for away from housing as possible.
As the image shows there is a large unused space which was once a house which the owners lived on is now only used for overflow parking, which could not be used for the children’s play area, the land is surrounded by privately owned farm land.
On a national level the main political issues would be on child protection. As we are introducing a children’s play area there will be a number of factors which will need to be taking into account by the business, the employees will need to be retrained on how to run and deal with the children in the play area. Charly's will need to follow all the health and safety laws which are put down to ensure total safety for the children and all there customers. There are high risks included in taking care of children as one wrong move could involve not only an unhappy customer but legal involvement which would not only be costly for the business to resolve but will most definitely destroy the reputation of the business as a safe fun family restaurant, and customers may wish to go to another restaurant.
Economic
The economic issues are normally affected by inflation, interest rates exchange rates etc… A rise in inflation could mean a higher cost to buy in produce to cook for the customers, this will mean Charly’s will need to find cheaper ways to produce there produce there products.
A change in exchange rates could be an advantage or a disadvantage to the business if the value of the pound rise goods will be cheaper to impact therefore goods will be cheaper to import helping the restaurant try new foods and bring in new exciting ideas to get children into health eating and enjoying it. Although of the value of the pound goes down the produce will be more expensive to the restaurant will need to take advantage of the local produce and develop a local homemade feel to the menu getting children excited about eating home-grown fresh local foods.
A rise in interest rates makes borrowing money more expensive for the business and its customers. This will affect the business in two ways. Firstly, if the business is hoping to introduce a children’s play area and will the training and development of new staff the business may need to borrow money to invest in the development of the marketing plan to active it to the highest standard. As the interest rates are high it will affect the amount of interest the business will have to pay back on the loan. The business may have to cut back on the marketing plans.
Secondly, if the customers have to repay more money they will have less disposable income to spend on luxury’s like eating out. Although it has been writing in reports (appendix 3) that people are beginning to see eating out as a day to day thing not as a luxury.
Sociological
The behaviour and attitude that people have towards a business can have a strong effect on the success of the business. This does not only include how people feel towards the business but family size, lifestyles, and structure.
This could be an advantage for the business as the attitude people have towards eating out is changing, as I have said before in the economic part people are going out for dinner more and more and seeing it as a day to day way of life. This is an advantage for the business because there will be more and more returning customers coming more frequently to the restaurant, and including eating out in there weekly family life.
There could be a disadvantage as family sizes are becoming smaller and the average amount of children per family is falling each year, therefore there could not be as much need for a children’s party area within the restaurant, although this will not be a large concern as families with smaller numbers of children will still enjoy coming to the restaurant as a way of there children to make new friends and socialize with other children in the local community.
Introducing a children’s play area to the restaurant will add a lot to the local community as it will be some were children will enjoy going and have there birthdays, but it will also add jobs.
Technological
This includes issues surrounding the application of scientific development to products and the market place which also includes actual and new or emerging technologies. The technologies which will need to be take into account will be child safety within the play area, to make sure that the children and staff employed are working and playing in a safe controlled environment. Some parents may wish to entertain there children at home as it would be less hassle then taking the family out so they may order in food for example pizza, I service like this would not work in a business like Charlys so this would be a competitive threat to the business.
Environmental
This is becoming a more widely known issue and quickly becoming a part of day to day life with recycling and cutting down on waste is standing out more and more in the media and areas around us. This means that is has to be taking into account when the play area is being added, Charlys will need to make sure they are not adding to the problem and seen to the customers as not environmentally friendly or caring for the environment. This could also be a way of attacking customers, as introducing a help the environment program for the children who use the play area could make Charlys a good place for family’s to bring there children.
Legal
This includes how existing or forthcoming legislation is likely to affect the play area being added to the restaurant. This will affect the safety of children who are playing in the area, to make sure there is enough staff to watch and ensure safety at all times. Along side this Charlys will need to make sure they keep up to date with the legal issues already in place within Charlys. The smoking ban which came into place in April 2007 would not have been a problem for the business as the restaurant had already become a totally non smoking restaurant in June 2005, this was in the best interests of the business as it is aiming to be a family restaurant and with the increasing amount of interest in the dangers of smoking and second hand smoke for children and adults.
The Marketing Mix
Each business has to remember that marketing is about how they provide the correct benefits to the customer or end user of the produce or service, how they add value to the product or service is very important. “Marketing is not about providing products or services it is essentially about providing changing needs and demands for the customers (P.Tailor 2000)
The Marketing Mix has 4 main principles and 3 lesser known but still are important factors each business will need to take into consideration. Businesses use these tools to assist them in achieving there objectives. The marketing mix remains a large part of the organisation planning process and consists of analysing a number of different areas within the business when considering a project, an example of these are:
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How you will design the image the product will have and who you will add value to the project.
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What pricing strategy is appropriate to use
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The placing of the project
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The promotion of the product.
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The people attached to the project
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The processes which will go into the project
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The physical evidence of the project
Each of these elements play an important role within the business and the business needs to make sure they know the best and more effective way of using this marking tool.
Product
When a business is introducing a product or service in the case of my business they will need to ask themselves a number of questions.
- Who is the product or service aimed at?
- What benefit should be expected?
- How do they plan to position the product or service within the market place?
- What differential advantage will the product offer over their competitors
The product will need to meet the customer’s needs and the business will need to understand what there customers want and need out of the product or service, this can be found by doing relevant primary and secondly research into the demand for the product.
As Charlys has been a part of the local community for 18 years and has reminded over that time has become a central point of Coleraine for not only tourists but the locals, they are in touch with there customers and know personally a lot of the people within Coleraine, this is a large advantage to the business as they can get feedback and comments from the people who matter the most to the business, the local community. Although the business can not only relay on what the customers feedback is, they will need to carry out there own research in many different ways for example a comment card or questionnaire.
Price
Price can be seen as one of the most important elements of the marketing mix, finding the right price for your product or service could be make or break for the business. There are many different pricing strategies which a business could take on board when pricing there product or service for example penetration pricing, price skimming and economy pricing.
Although this will not be as much of an issue for Charlys as there customers do not have to pay to use the play area although the children will have to have a meal within the restaurant. The service is adding value to the restaurant. Although the play area can be rented out for children’s parties which would have to be paid for by the parents. The restaurant may have to increase there prices to pay for the cost of the building of the play area but this would be a last resort for the restaurant as value for money is also a key objective.
Place
This is also a very important part of the marketing mix, customers need to k now were they can buy the product. If the customer does not know how to access the product or service there will not be a demand for it. Research will have to be done into were customers want this product or service.
Charlys will have the children’s play area places within the grounds of Charlys on a plot of unused land, because of this place will not be a problem for the business as there customers will have easy access to the service and know were they can find it.
Promotion
There are many many ways in which a business can promoted its products or services and each can be effective in its own way for the business. I business needs to find out and understand were its promotion will be seen by its target market and focus in on what those areas are, this is so the advertisement will be seen by the people who are likely to use the product or service in the case of Charlys this will be families.
An example of some of these are personal selling, sales promotion and direct mail.
Charlys already advertises in a number of ways so it would be easy for the business to introduce the adverting for the children’s play area. Charlys already advertise in the local newspapers and tourist magazines and websites, sponsor the local youth football team and use direct mail by sending out flyers to houses in the local area as well as handing out flyers on the main high street.
People
The people within a business are the most important part of any service or experience. Services customer service has always been a large part of any business, backing up the saying people buy from people that they like, so the attitude, skills and appearance of all staff needs to be first class and at a top level, the business need to add value with its staff by focusing on training and personal selling as well as customer service.
Charlys will need to train its staff to be able to cope with the children within the play area. Parents will not want to leave there children with grumpy lazy staff therefore they will have to be enthusiastic about there job and enjoy spending time with the children. This will also apply to the restaurant staff as a friendly face when coming into the restaurant and servicing at the tables is always enjoyable and important for all the customers.
Processes
Customers must have a range of ways in which they can pay and enjoy the services within the restaurant, this is also an advantage to the restaurant as well as the customer as it does not single out a certain way to pay. Within Charlys there are a number of ways to pay for the meal, the customer can choose to pay by cash, credit or debit card. At Charlys they feel this satisfy’s there customers need.
Physical evidence
This is the processes which the customers will experience when they go into the restaurant. This is from when they first drive into the car park to when they are paying the bill the service when there experience should be to the highest standard so they are happy with the restaurant and want to return and the most important fact of all, that they tell there friends and family about there experience to attract more customers.
Questions
1. Product/ service
“If this service was introduced into Charlys restaurant would it attract you to use the service more often?”
-Yes
-No
Why?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This question will outline the demand for the product and if the customers of Charlys will find this service useful, and will display the demand for the product.
“This service will be aimed at bringing more fun to the restaurant for children do you feel you child would benefit from this service?”
This question will display how the parents would feel about there kids coming to the play area if they feel the children will benefit from the play area because it’s the parents which have to bring there children to the restaurant.
“When do you feel your children would benefit from the play area?”
- Before eating the meal
- Between courses
- After the mean
- Never
This question will help the business to see when the children will use the play area and if the parents feel they will have time to use the play area.
2. Price
“Do you feel that Charlys is good value for money?”
-Yes
-No
This question will help me to find out if people would go to Charlys for based on price. As my service is not something that can be directly paid for by the customers so weather or not the customer feels they are getting value for money will decide weather or not they will return to the restaurant.
3. Place
“Charlys is based just outside of Coleraine on the busy main road to Belfast, would you and your family travel to use this service?”
-Yes
-No
This question is to see weather or not people would want to travel to the restaurant to eat with there children and if the matter of the busy road would bother them.
4. Promotion
“Charlys advertise in a number of ways have you ever seen any of these adverts, if so have they influenced you to bring your children to visit the restaurant”
-Yes
- No
This question will help me find out if the adverts which Charlys have placed in the past will have been to an advantage to the restaurant and if there worth continuing on with in the future, the question will also help me to see if the adverts are attracted at the right target audience for example family’s with children.
5. People
“When visiting Charlys restaurant do you feel there is a family friendly attitude from each staff member?”
-extremely
- Very
-not very
- Not at all
This question will help the restaurant to build upon its customer service to attract more family’s to use the play area within the restaurant to come for a meal or a children’s party.
“Do you have any children in your family?”
This question will help the business to find out the number of children per family would be using this service, and if there would be a large demand for the service.
6. Processes
“Which method of paying would you use most frequently when dining out in a restaurant?”
-Cash
-Credit or debit card
- Cheque
Within this question it will help the restaurant find out which is the most popular way to pay and which way the customers which use the restaurant what to pay.
7. Physical evidence
“Have do you feel your children you enjoy there time at Charlys more if there was a children’s play area for them to use?”
This is a very important question it will find out if people would want a children’s play area within the restaurant and if they feel there children would use it and enjoy using it.
Questionnaire
Please can you take a short time and answer these few questions, the questions are revenant to a new children’s play area which we are hoping to add to the restaurant in the summer of 2008.
1. Do you live within the local community? If not where are you from?
- Yes
- No __________________________________________
2. Do you have any children in your family?
- Yes (How many ________________________)
- No
3. “When do you feel your children would benefit from the play area?”
- Before eating the meal
- After the mean
- Never
4. Do you feel that Charlys is good value for money?
-Yes
-No
5. Charlys advertise in a number of ways have you ever seen any of these adverts, if so have they influenced you to bring your children to visit the restaurant?
-Yes
- No
6. When visiting Charlys restaurant do you feel there is a family friendly attitude from each staff member?
-extremely
- Very
-not very
- Not at all
7. This service will be aimed at bringing more fun to the restaurant for children do you feel you child would benefit from this service?
-Yes
- No
8. Charlys is based just outside of Coleraine on the busy main road to Belfast, would you and your family travel to use this service?
-Yes
-No
9. Which method of paying would you use most frequently when dining out in a restaurant?
-Cash
-Credit or debit card
- Cheque
Thank you for taking the time for complete this short questionnaire!!
Questionnaire evaluation
Product/service
The service which I am introducing into Charlys is a Children’s play area. This consists of adding a newly build area outside of the restaurant were parents can feel safe in letting there children play before and after meals. To find out if this would be a popular idea I developed a questionnaire which would be primary research, this questionnaire was given out to customers of Charlys and people living within the local area.
The first question which I asked that was in the marketing mix of Product/service was
“When do you feel your children would benefit from the play area?”
- Before eating the meal
- Between courses
- After the mean
- Never
The results were:
This showed that over 90% of the person asked feel there children would benefit from this service being added at some point within there time dinning in Charlys. This shows the demand for the product giving the impression that adding a play area would be a good idea for Charlys as a lot of people feel there children would benefit from this service after the meal, meaning there parents would spend more time in the restaurant therefore spending more money on tea, coffee or drinks.
The next question which was asked was:
“This service will be aimed at bringing more fun to the restaurant for children do you feel you child would benefit from this service?”
This question identified that 80% of people feel there children would benefit from the service. This is a strong figure and suggests that yes there is a market for the service and people would be willing to bring there children to Charlys to play in the new play area.
Place
As the service I am adding will be a part of the Charlys restaurant which has been open for business for over 17 years the area which the play area is added will be important. People need to feel it is a safe environment for there children, as well as wanting to bring there children to Charlys
The first Question which I asked that was in the marketing mix of Place was:
“Do you live within the local community? If not where are you from?”
- Yes
- No __________________________________________
The results of this were :
This shows that 70% of the people which go to Charlys live within the local community and could be returning customers to the restaurant. Although this is a good thing for the restaurant it is still important to have a wider customer base. The questionnaire displays that people travel from a number of places including Belfast and Ballymena to go to the restaurant, showing popularity and the need for this kind of family restaurant in the market place, this popularity will be increased when the play area is added as there will be more for there families children to enjoy.
The second question which was asked was:
Charlys is based just outside of Coleraine on the busy main road to Belfast, would you and your family travel to use this service?
-Yes
-No
The results of this question were:
This shows that people would travel to use the service of a play area, displaying the gap in the market place for this service.
People
People are the most important part of any business which made these questions very important, as it is important to know as much about your customers and the people who work within the business as possible. These questions are designed to help get information about the people who visit Charlys and customer service they get when in Charlys.
The First question I asked that was a part of the marketing mix of people was :
Do you have any children in your family?
- Yes (How many ________________________)
- No
The results for this were:
This question displays the number of children and as each person asked had at lest one child in there family the service will be useful to a large number of people using Charlys. The question also asked how many children was in each family the results were:
This shows that the most common number of children in each family are 4 which takes up 40% of the people asked, this displays that larger families come into Charlys would be able to take advantage of this service and each child would have something to entertain them in the restaurant.
The second question which I asked was :
. When visiting Charlys restaurant do you feel there is a family friendly attitude from each staff member?
-extremely
- Very
-not very
- Not at all
The results of this were:
this shows that all of the people asked through the service within Charlys was extremely good of very good, this is good for the restaurant as they know they are satisfying the needs of the parents not only the children coming to Charlys.
Promotion
The way a business is adverted is important as the business will need to get as many people as possible interested and aware of the service which is being introduced.
The first question I asked in the area of promotion within the marketing mix was:
. Charlys advertise in a number of ways have you ever seen any of these adverts, if so have they influenced you to bring your children to visit the restaurant?
-Yes
- No
The results of this question are:
This results show that 60% of the people asked have seen and been influenced by an advertisement which has already been sent out by Charlys, as 40% of people have not seen an advert from Charlys this shows that there will have to be a more wide spared advertisement campaign put in place.
Price
As the customers of Charlys are not directly paying for the service being introduced there dinning experience still needs to be value for money for them to want to return to the restaurant.
The first question which I asked in the marketing mix area of price was:
. Do you feel that Charlys is good value for money?
-Yes
-No
The results were:
The results show that most people coming into Charlys feel it is good value for money, this displays that Charlys has not for a lot to change when it comes to value for money as they are pleasing most people who come into the restaurant.
Physical evidence
The processes are very important when going into any business within Charlys the main process if the ways a customer can pay the question which was asked was:
. Which method of paying would you use most frequently when dining out in a restaurant?
-Cash
-Credit or debit card
- Cheque
The results were:
This shows that cash is the most popular way to pay and as Charlys already cover this and the other ways to pay it is coving all the requirements of there customers.
Secondary research
Every business needs to not only carry out primary research but needs to take advantage of any secondary research which is available to them. This information can come in many different forms:
- Published statistics
- Published texts
- Media
- Personal documents
As with any method of research there are a number of advantages and disadvantages which range from this method being cheap and accessible using local library’s to the information becoming out of date or not relevant to the particular business.
For me to fully understand the restaurant industry as well as target market surrounding Charlys in Coleraine. By using keynote and mentel reports I can find our information on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats effecting restaurants and also focus in on the forecasts for the catering industry. ( all this information can be found in the appendix 3 )
Strengths
- the economy in the UK are still spending money, meaning people are still able to spend money on luxury products such as eating out, this is important for Charlys as bringing the whole family out for a meal together could be seen as a luxury for many people. Charlys needs to remain good value for money for its customers and needs to provide a service which customers will enjoy and be encouraged to return to again and again.
- Within Europe eating out has always been a way of life this has not always been the case within the UK, although this trend is changing as eating out is becoming a consumer lifestyle in the UK, this in turn means a larger regular customers base for Charlys, therefore adding a children’s play area would be a worth while service for many families.
- More and more families within the UK are working parents with busy lifestyles, this has in turn added to the number of people eating out at the expense of home cooking. This is a big advantage for Charlys as it states that more and more families are eating out together.
Weaknesses
- Weather conditions can affect Charlys in that families may not be willing to venture out if the weather is bad, this may also be more effected by weather as the children’s play area will be outside with a cover for wet weather it may make it unpopular in cold or wet weather.
Opportunities
- There are potential for growth within the restaurant industry as the market is going to continue to grow and develop more and more interest.
- As we are living in a generation which are in constant contact with fast food, takeaways and celebrity chefs people are becoming less and less confident about home cooking boosting the market for eating out as a family.
Threats
- Competition is growing day by day for any business and this is more prominent in restaurants as more restaurants are bringing in meal offers for example buy one get one free.
- With added legislation based around food and child protection it means Charlys will need to carefully take into account these rules and legislation.
- Rowdy behaviour in town centres late at night can put of families going out.
(See keynote report on strengths weaknesses opportunities and threats appendix 3 of this work)
Product Life cycle
Every Product or service which is introduced into the market place has a product life cycle. This is based upon that product or services limited life, which could be from years to decades, depending on not only the success of the product but the way in which it is marketing and kept alive and up to date by the business.
A Product or services life cycle can be split up into a number of areas, these areas help the business to decide what action they want to take next in the life of there product. The life cycle below displays the 4 main areas of a product or services life cycle, although there are other areas such as development and saturation which also need to be taking into consideration.
Research and development
Within this stage of the product life cycle the business will be doing primary and secondary research into the product and the market it will be going into. This is were the business makes sure it knows everything about its customers wants and needs for the product, so they can not only get the product right for the customers but do the right marketing for the product. This would be done by finding out if there will be any competitors in the market place and if there is room on the market for the product.
The research and development stage within Charlys will be finding out if the people within the local community would use the service and were to advertise the service being introduced. From doing primary research through questionnaires I have discovered there would be a demand for the service not only from families living in the local area but from people living in other towns and cities for example Belfast. By undergoing secondary research from mintel reports and customer figures from within Charlys it can be seen that going out for dinner as a family is becoming a more popular event for many families therefore displaying that there is a large gap on the market for my service.
Introduction
This is the stage were a product or service enters the market place, and is being introduced to customers for the first time. This sale at this time will be negative as the product or service will have only been introduced therefore not yet breaking even within the business. Few customers will know about the product as it is only been introduced into the market place, therefore the aim of the business is to get the product know within the market place by advertising the product or service in places were it will be seen by the business target market.
As Charlys in Coleraine already have a large customer base they will have the opportunity to advertise within the restaurant to there regular customers, as Coleraine is a medium size town word of mouth will help the business also. Charlys will also have the advertise in other areas to attract new customers. As the service being introduced into Charlys is a long lasting service it will also the introduction period to be longer and slower as they will have more time to introduce and build on there service. The Owners of Charlys could also use Charlys Coleraine as a test market for there other Charlys Restaurant which is in Bangor, if the play area in Coleraine goes well it could then be brought to Bangor.
Growth
At the stage customers have become aware of the product or service and have started buying or using the product or service, because of the sales begin to rise quickly and profits begin to peak. This may bring competitors into the market as the popularity of the product or service is noticeable by other businesses. Therefore the business will have to develop a plan to fight off the competitors of the new product or service, this can be done in a number of ways, encouraging customer loyalty, distributing the product in a wider area, cutting selling price and many more. As competitors are entering the market at a later stage they can not afford or do not have the time to fight back to these statures.
As Charlys is not a product or service which can be paid for by its customers Charlys will have to introduce a way to add value to there service the introduction of a Loyalty Card or promotion methods for example when a child visits the play area a certain amount of times they get a prize or free meal. Another way could be introducing games and quizzes to the play area were the children can win prizes. Charlys will have to be continually coming up with innovative ideas to keep children coming back to the play area and not becoming bored with coming to the same attractions time and time again. Charlys will have to be continually reinventing the play area.
Maturity
This is the stage were profits being to peak and profits and sales will start to plateau and then will begin to decline. By this stage many customers will be aware of the product or service and there will be a number of competitors in the market place. The advertising of the product or service will begin to be reduced giving competitors the opportunity to attract more customers increasing there customers base.
Charlys will have to add new ideas and focus on not only attracting children to the play area but focus on adding value to the restaurant, as family will come to enjoy there meal within the restaurant therefore will be looking to excellent food, fantastic service and value for money. This will give Charlys a competitive edge over there competitors as the whole family will be enjoying there experience in Charlys not only going for the play area but going to experience the food and atmosphere.
Decline
Within the decline stage there is little customer demand and each competitors is considering removing there product or service from the market place. This is where introducing a new product is ready to be placed on the market place.
As Charlys will be keeping the play area as a long lasting part of the restaurant, they may wish to introduce Charlys Parties into the play area, were parents can rent out the play area for there children’s Birthday Parties, this is an example of one direction which Charlys could take the service so it has a everlasting life cycle. Along side this the introduction of a play area into other branches of Charlys in Bangor will spread the popularity of the service.
Boston matrix
The matrix itself categorizes opportunities into four main groups, shown on axes of market growth and market share:
Dogs: low market share/ low market growth
In there areas, your market presence is weak, so it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get noticed. Also, you won’t enjoy the scale economics of the larger players, so its going to be difficult to make a profit
Cash cows: High market share / low market growth
Here your well- established, so its easy to get attention and exploit new opportunities. However its only worth expending a certain amount of effort because the market isn’t growing and your opportunities are limited.
Stars: high market share / high market growth
Here you’re well established, and growth is exciting, there are fantastic opportunities and you should work hard to achieve them.
Question marks (problem child): low market share / high market growth
There are the opportunities no one knows what to do with. They aren’t generating much revenue right now because you don’t have a large market share, but they are in high growth markets so the potential to make money is still there.
The service which is being introduced into Charly’s will begin trading as a question mark as it will not create a large amount of revenue at the beginning of trade as customers do not have to directly pay for the service but the service will begin to attract new customers and more returning customers to the restaurant therefore becoming a star within the Boston matrix. At the point when the business becomes a star there will be returning customers alone with new customers with continually rising sales for the business each year.
Ansoff’s Matrix
The ansoff growth matrix is a tool that helps a business to decide on their product and the market growth strategy. Ansoffs products/ market growth matrix suggests that a business attempts to grow depending on whether its market is new or has existing products in new or existing markets.
Market penetration
This is the name given to a growth strategy which the business focuses on selling existing products into existing markets. Market penetration covers four main areas :
- Maintain or increase the market share of current products – this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and even more resources dedicated to personal selling
- Secure dominance of growth markets
- Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors, this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors
- Increase usage by existing customers- for example by introducing loyalty schemes.
Market development
This is the name given to a growth strategy where the business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including:
- New geographical markets: for example exporting the products to a new county
- New product dimensions or packaging
- New distribution channels
Product development
Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. This strategy may require the development of new competencies and requires the business to develop modified products which can appeal to existing markets.
Diversification
Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an honest assessment of the risks.
Charly’s is within the area of product development as it is a new product which is being introduced into the market place, this product will hopefully spark new interest in the restaurant attracting new customers to the restaurant.
Presentation information
The presentation which I have produced is filled within information which clearly lays out all the information for customers which I have been developing the marketing plan for. The presentation covers a number of areas:
- The proposed service
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Product
- Place
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Promotion
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People
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Price
- Process
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Physical evidence
Within each of these areas I take the customer through each area of the marketing plan I have produced for them making sure they fully understand all the research and ideas I have come up with when completing this task. The presentation helps the customer fully understand were the new service could take the business in terms of sales and growth within the market.
Within the presentation it lays out the marketing plan for the service along with the price and the process which will go into developing the service and most importantly will display where the business is now and where the service is going to take the business in the near future.
The presentation will give me the opportunity to add to the ideas I have placed within the assignment and fully explain the marketing plan I have for Charlys Restaurant.
Conclusion
In conclusion I would hope that the introduction of a children’s play area on the site of Charlys restaurant, this is a unique service which Charlys is bringing into the local area along with the popularity of the restaurant and the excellent location on a busy and residential area of the north coast, the service could only be but a success for the business.
Charlys is committee to providing a excellent customer service alongside a fun family experience for every age young and old, also providing value for money. Charlys are committed to continuing this excellent service and branch out bringing this service to the new Charlys restaurant which is in Bangor.
Charlys offer an all round excellent service for each person who visits Charlys Restaurant, Charlys provide a fun friendly down to earth interest in each customer who comes into Charlys and this service will continue for years to come with the fun experience being enhanced by the play area for children.
I feel that with the introduction of the play area into Charlys Restaurant it will help Charlys to become a local household name and a attraction for tourists helping the business go from strength to strength.
