After evaluating the local area of Moseley, I have realised there is a serious lack in exquisite restaurants. Moseley is a very respectable area, therefore I feel this has given me the opportunity to open a respectable restaurant
Introduction
After evaluating the local area of Moseley, I have realised there is a serious lack in exquisite restaurants. Moseley is a very respectable area, therefore I feel this has given me the opportunity to open a respectable restaurant. The nearest restaurant is approximately a 15 minute drive from my chosen location. Therefore I intend to open a restaurant in this region. I plan to call my restaurant Makou, I have chosen this name because the cookery type in Sri Lanka and Southern Indian areas is called Makou.
The restaurant will be located near the main High Street which lengthens from Moseley through Kings Heath. I feel that if I choose to locate my business here I will attract not only customers from the area of Moseley but also customers from the area of Kings Heath. The High Street is a very busy place both day and night, this I feel is also an advantage because I will be attracting customers and a lot of attention, this can be great for my businesses publicity.
I feel that this location will allow me to gain most of the market as my business is very unique amongst the High Street shops, as for the shoppers it is almost a treat because they can enjoy something which has never been offered.
Aims & Objectives
I have many aims to start my business and to keep it running, in order to preserve and keep my business running I must conduct market research and gain the most out of the market.
I must take into account the 4 P's, pricing, promotion, product and place. I will research into my target audience in order to obtain crucial information about what my potential customers actually want.
After my research has been conducted I must analyse my findings and I will present them in pie charts, these will clearly allow me to see which decisions must be made by my business.
One of my main aims for my business is to make a lot of profit, maximum if possible. I must also make my business known through means of advertisement - leaflets, brochures radio and televised advertising.
An adequate business plan is vital for my company, this will allow me to gain financial support form banks in order to provide me with the start-up capital I need. In order to conduct my research I must create a marketing strategy to conduct my marketing research. I will be using combinations of researches, desk and field are both applicable in my case, field research is very time consuming therefore I aim to combine both types of researches.
A niche is important for any company in its desired market, this is also one of my aims. I have proposed a target to reach customer satisfaction, this will allow customers to trust my company and what we provide, thus allowing my customers to become a form of advertisement, they tell friends and family about my business; attracting again more customers.
Market Research
There are two main types of research, these are known as desk and field research. Field research is very expensive and time consuming, but the information gained is eye witnessed and is not a secondary resource. Desk research is done by using information through secondary sources, the information therefore is not always correct or accurate, but it doesn't consume a lot of time. Therefore, both types are applicable to my research, I need accurate information which doesn't take a lot of time.
I will create a questionnaire with both quantitative and qualitative questions, I will also interview someone from another market quite similar to that which is mine. Once done, I will present my findings and apply my results in order to make key decisions regarding my business.
Pricing is a key factor as part of the 4 P's, I must take into account the different types of pricing strategies:
* Penetration Pricing: This is where a firm charges a very low price when the product is new to attract customers. Once the product has established, the firm will increase the price. This helps to get brand loyalty. In relevance to my business, this would be a very effective pricing strategy due to the fact that I would be able to attract customers with my low price and hopefully keep them interested in the snooker hall after increasing the price.
* Skimming: This is the opposite of penetration pricing. Firms charge a high price to begin with. ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
* Penetration Pricing: This is where a firm charges a very low price when the product is new to attract customers. Once the product has established, the firm will increase the price. This helps to get brand loyalty. In relevance to my business, this would be a very effective pricing strategy due to the fact that I would be able to attract customers with my low price and hopefully keep them interested in the snooker hall after increasing the price.
* Skimming: This is the opposite of penetration pricing. Firms charge a high price to begin with. This helps the product to seem desirable to people with large incomes. When the product has established the firm will lower the price to help it become a mass-market product. In relevance to my business, this wouldn't be an effective means of pricing my services due to people not being interested if the price is very high. If the price is very high, I feel that the customers will feel that going to my hall wouldn't be worth it.
* Destroyer Pricing: This is where firms charge low prices that they know are unprofitable for their competitors. Once they have driven their competitors out of the market they will raise prices. This is illegal. This wouldn't be very effective for my business mainly because its illegal. Also, there is limited competition therefore there would be no need to try to drive the customers out of the market.
* Price Discrimination: This is where firms charge different prices to different consumers for the same product. I wouldn't charge different prices to different people instead I would charge different prices at different times. So, playing late at night the prices would decrease so the place could become more social. I would concentrate more on discounts and membership in order to attract customers.
* Competition Pricing: This is where the firm has to charge similar prices to other firms. It happens when there is lots of choice and not much product differentiation. As stated before, there is limited competition in the area so there would be no need to charge prices the same as competitors as the nearest competitor is miles away.
I find that penetration pricing is very applicable to my situation, if I start off at a low price I will be calling the customers in, customers are often more likely to head for the lower prices.
As though for terms of promotion, I will be looking at a lot of different types of advertising media:
* Television: Advertisements can reach millions can target people who watch particular programmes. It is very expensive. Due to the limited budget I have, I see no need to use television to advertise my business, seeing as there's only my hall and I don't operate as a franchise, there would be no sense in advertising to people in other cities. Also, it is way too expensive and not sensible
* Radio: Radio is cheaper and listeners of particular programmes can be targeted, but its sound only and the audience is usually smaller. Radio can be an effective means of targeting local customers. It would be more suitable to use local radio to promote my business rather than using national radio.
* Newspaper and Magazines: Its easy to target audience effectively using newspaper and magazines. They'll often be read more than once, but they are often not in colour and silent. Local newspapers and magazines would be a very effective means of advertising my business because they are not so expensive and there is a high audience for newspapers and magazines.
* Posters and Billboards: These have a high visual impact, stay in place for a long time and can be seen daily by lots of people. But they are often near roads and drivers only see them for a few seconds so they cant contain too much information. Posters would be useful for promoting my business as they can be seen all over walls but billboards wouldn't be as effective because it would take too long to read them if the customer is a driver.
* Cinemas: These have a very high visual and sound impact and particular films can be targeted. Unlike all other media audience can be captivated. They're very expensive. I feel that this wouldn't be an effective means to advertise my business because I have a limited budget and this would cost way too much. Also, I'm intending to attract local customers and not customers nationwide.
* Leaflets and Junk Mail: These are cheap to produce and distribute and junk mails good for targeting. They're easy to ignore. Leaflets would be a very effective means of advertising as long is it's targeted at the right audience. Also, it's not expensive and it can be useful to use these.
Internet: Websites can have a high visual impact, be interactive and link directly to buying the product. But the advert is competing wit a lot of other stuff on the net so it has to really grab people. Internet would be effective because it can make people aware of my company. It doesn't cost too much either.
Only a few of the methods of advertising would be cost-effective and good to target audience. They are local radio, newspapers, posters, leaflets and the internet. I feel that using as much as I can in accordance to my budget will help me get the publicity that I wish to attract.
The 4 P's also known as the marketing mix must also be included:
* Product: A firm must come up with a product that people will want to buy. It must fulfil some of the customer's needs or wants. I feel that by opening this snooker hall I am appealing to many of the citizens who live In the Yardley Area. Opening a pool hall will enable people of the area to enjoy a game of pool whenever they like without having to travel a long distance to play.
* Price: he price must be one that the customer thinks is good value for money. This is not the same as being cheap. I feel that by researching the different pricing strategies I will find the certain types of price I wish to charge. I am intending to charge a low price so that it will not deter people visiting the hall.
* Promotion: The product must be promoted so that the potential customers are aware that it exists. I am intending to use the most effective means of advertising in such a local area. Research of advertising strategies will help to influence my idea.
4 Place: The product must be available for sale in a place that the customer will find convenient. I have proposed to open my hall on the main road in Yardley thus l leading to the conclusion that it wont be out of the way or hard to find while being convenient.
There is also another factor which involves segmentation, here are the types that have been segmented:
* Age: The teenage Market or over 55's etc. I am intending for this snooker hall to be open to people of all ages thus leading to age not being a variable.
* Social Class: Class A professions down to Class E the unemployed. The hall is intended to be open for anybody who enjoys the game whether they are employed or not is not a matter.
Culture or Religion: Different groups have their own unique beliefs. Taking into consideration that there will be a bar and consuming alcohol is prohibited in some religions, the bar will be open so whoever wishes to have a drink can purchase one and there will be many non-alcoholic beverages included.
In order to obtain information about what my customers want, I have devised a questionnaire, this will allow to me to get information from customers I need.
Questionnaire
Hello there, I am intending to open a exquisite restaurant around this area, would you mind filling out this questionnaire please?
) What age group do you belong to?
[5-16] [17-30] [31-50] [50+]
2) Do you enjoy a night out on the local high street?
[Yes/No]
3) How often do you go out for a meal?
[Once a Week] [Once a Month] if other please specify ..................
4) What price do you normally tend to pay for a meal?
Please specify.......................
5) Would you be interested if there was a new restaurant to be opened up in
this local area?
[Yes/No]
6) Would secure car parking be a vital asset?
[Yes/No]
7) Would social things such as bars etc. make the place more exciting? [Yes/No]
Thankyou for your time.
I also took this time to interview a ex owner of a very well appreciated and respected restaurant in the local area.
Me - What was the core influence for you to open a restaurant?
Manager - Well, I love to eat out, it's one of the things I just love to do, and my wife and I love to go out to eat, but a lot of local fish and chip shops just did not tickle our fancy. This heavily influenced me to open the business
Me: During your launching period which types of media did you find most effective taking into consideration the limit of budget?
Manager: I considered all types of media but it was only that I found the major ways of advertising are generally more expensive and not worth it. I felt that flyers, newspapers and radio were the best way to promote the business without compromising on finance.
Me: Once your company was flowing, which pricing strategy was used and which was used at the launch stage?
Manager: At the launch stage, the most effective pricing strategy was the Penetration pricing. It seemed to attract more customers due to its low price. Once we were flowing and known, we began using increasing the price in order to make more profit to put back into the business.
Me: What other features did you find attracted customers?
Manager: Hmm I would have to say that the secure car park and the bar helped much. People generally like the idea that their car is safe and also the bar helps much due to it being a social attraction.
Thanks a lot for your supper, I appreciate this dearly.
From the interview I can see that pricing and promotion were very important for a well run well respected business, therefore I intend to follow but differ along the way in order to reach this status.
Findings Analysis
From the questionnaires that were filled in, the results have been placed in a easy-to-view pie chart. This will allow me to make future decisions concerning my business.
What Age Group?
This pie chart generally shows us that the majority of people who are interested in the business are 17-30 years old. A staggering 65 percent of them were. This shows me the age group and general habits of drinking etc at these ages.
Do you enjoy a night out?
74% of the people asked enjoyed going out for a meal. This shows me that it can be profitable and not a waste of time. Hopefully I am hoping to get more people interested.
How often do you tend to go out?
From studying this chart, it shows us that the majority of people hardly go out, I think that's due to the fact there are no restaurants near enough. Hopefully with the right means of advertising and the right features it will help attract more customers therefore they will tend to go out more.
Would you be interested in a restaurant located here?
The majority of the people would be interested in a resaurant located within the specified area. This makes the whole project worth while. I'm hoping to make the business seam appealing in order to get others interested.
7) Would secure car parking be a vital asset? [Yes/No]
This chart has implied that the need for car park is definitely vital in order to attract customers therefore I am intending to include a car park with the restaurant.
Would social things such as bars etc. make the place more exciting? [Yes/No]
This chart suggests that social features aren't necessarily vital but would help towards the effort of attracting customers; therefore I am going to include these features.
My findings analysis has opened a whole new door of enlightenment for me, it has shown me what my customers want and is now allowing me to make important decisions towards becoming a well known business.
Marketing Campaign
Here are the decisions I have made, after all of my research I have conducted and all of my findings I have obtained, I feel these are the companies vital decisions regarding the marketing mix( 4 P's)
Price - I have chosen to take up penetration pricing, but as I gain more customers and attention I will slowly increase the price, I will do this because as I tart off with a low price I am increasing the customer rate entering my restaurant, and I know that once I achieve customer satisfaction my customers will want to return to my restaurant, increasing the price therefore does not affect anyone.
Promotion - As for means of advertising, I feel that this is the best way to promote my business, I can make a website for people to access and come and enjoy this experience, a local newspaper which is often read and found in all shops on the High Street can be used, if I place an ad in the newspaper it will broaden and let almost every shopper now about my restaurant. Other successful ways which I hope to try out are radio, its not very expensive but happens to be very effective.
Place - The location I have chosen is just off the High Street, this proves ideal because t is a very suitable location, I already have a lot of people passing by, groups are bound to take a look. I have also chosen this area because there is a lack of competition, this I hope will make my business successful.
Product - I am hoping to introduce a exquisite unique restaurant as a new experience for shoppers on the High Street stretching through Moseley and Kings Heath, there will be a lot of events taking place here and I hope to bring along celebrities to up my business and increase my popularity along with publicity.
Evaluation
After conducing my research and after clear analysis of my findings it has been made clear what my customers actually do want and what it takes to make a successful business start and to keep it up and running. Preservation is a key factor here.
First of all I realised that a car park would be important as people are often willing to travel to enjoy a meal, but I never realised what capacity of people wanted a secure car park.
I have also realised that the research I conducted was thorough and precise.
If I was to do this whole project over, I would have spent more time on my interview and questionnaire as this has helped me a lot, and I would analyze my findings more thoroughly.
I feel that if I had enough capital I could then engage in more serious ways of promoting my business and maybe disperse nationwide becoming well known.
Contents:
- Introduction
2 - Aims and Objectives
3 - 6 - Market Research
7 - Questionnaire
8 - Interview
9 - 14 - Findings Analysis
5 - Marketing Campaign
6 - Evaluation
Sajid Ali Business CW 11.C2
