Marketing Strategies for Profitability in Small Independent Restaurants

The restaurant industry is the second largest employer in the United States; however, only 33% of restaurants are successful during the first 3 years of operation. The purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to determine what marketing strategies small independent restaurant owners need for profitability. Aaker\u27s brand equity model was the conceptual framework used to ground this study. Using a purposeful criterion sampling technique and semistructured interviews, 12 individuals (2 managers and 2 employees from 3 restaurants in Philadelphia) participated in the study. Data collected from interviews and archival business records were analyzed to generate themes, also allowing for triangulation. Five marketing strategy themes emerged from this study: word of mouth and social media marketing, limited financial resources, product differentiation and atmosphere, blogging and using the point of sale (POS) system, and employee engagement and upselling. Participants stated that word of mouth and social media marketing were powerful strategies that small independent restaurant owners should use to retain customers and gain new customers. Participants noted that product differentiation and atmosphere are unique characteristics that guide marketing strategies, brand positioning, and influence competitive advantage and profitability. Implications for positive social change include business development opportunities, opening resource centers for training programs, and free webinars associated with marketing and brand equity strategies. Communities, organizations, and new entrepreneurs will benefit from positive social change from the increase of social resources, community economic growth, employment opportunities, and sustainability

Implementing Revenue Management in Your Restaurants: A Case Study with Fairmont Raffles Hotels International

In 2015, Fairmont Raffles Hotels International implemented a system-wide revenue management program in its restaurants. Starting with an analysis of baseline data, Fairmont applied a five-step revenue management process to highlight potential revenue-enhancement opportunities. Restaurant managers and employees were invited to suggest tactics and strategies drawn from three categories: (1) all-purpose strategies, (2) strategies to use when a restaurant is busy (hot), and (3) strategies to use when a restaurant is not busy (cold). Appropriately chosen strategies were simple to implement in most cases, and guests often were pleased with the operational and menu changes. Within a year of implementation, Fairmont restaurants that implemented revenue management had generated five times more revenue growth than those not applying the program

Evaluating Restaurants’ Profitability of a Daily Deal Promotion

Although group buying daily deal sites are widely popular among consumers, it is unclear if deal promotions are profitable for merchants, especially for restaurants. The goal of this study is: (1) to investigate if restaurants make profit from a group buying deal, break even or make significant investment and (2) to find out what factors affect deal profitability. A model for calculating the short-term profitability of restaurant\u27s deal promotions is developed, and ten variables are identified and tested using linear regression analysis to find the once affecting deal profitability measured by return on investment. The research was conducted on the case of Grouper.mk, the leading deal platform in Macedonia. Findings show that deal promotions are profitable and effective tool for restaurants. Deal promotions that provide takeout are less profitable for restaurants, while those that offer additional discount on extra purchases are more profitable for restaurants. Employees effort to upsell have positive impact on deal profitability. However, profitability varies across restaurants category, from least profitable for fast food restaurants to most profitable for fine dining restaurants. Based on the findings of this research, recommendations for maximizing the deal profitability are provided

Extending CRM in the Retail Industry: An RFID-Based Personal Shopping Assistant System

This paper describes the research and development of a radio frequency identification (RFID)-based personal shopping assistant (PSA) system for retail stores. RFID technology was employed as the key enabler to build a PSA system to optimize operational efficiency and deliver a superior customer shopping experience in retail stores. We show that an RFID-based PSA system can deliver significant results to improve the customer shopping experience and retail store operational efficiency, by increasing customer convenience, providing flexibility in service delivery, enhancing promotional campaign efficiency, and increasing product cross selling and upselling through a customer relationship management (CRM) system. In this study, an RFID value grid for retail stores is proposed that allows managers to use RFID technology in stores to add value to the shopping experience of their customers. Four propositions are presented as the research agenda for examining the ability of RFID technology to improve the operations management of retail stores

Designing a food-as-a-service business: MK

Este projeto de mestrado tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um plano de negócios inovador que permitirá a criação de uma nova empresa, com o nome MK. A industria da restauração, como muitas outras, tem vindo a beneficiar da transformação digital que está a transformar a forma como as empresas entregam valor e a forma como os consumidores se relacionam com as marcas e os seus produtos. Com exposição profissional à constante transformação tecnológica e digital, decidimos analisar e projetar um plano que transforma a forma como os consumidores tratam a sua rotina diária e consomem as suas refeições. Combinando experiência, qualidade e sentido de oportunidade a MK consegue, de forma inovadora, ir ao encontro das expectativas dos jovens adultos residentes na grande Lisboa, uma geração que se distingue pelas suas exigência, hábitos de consumo e adaptabilidade digital. Com recurso ao conhecimento adquirido ao longo do mestrado em gestão de empresas, procurei aplicar conceitos chave e metodologias de referência de forma a analisar o mercado português e concorrentes existentes, que, combinado com a validação de mercado serviu o desenho de um plano de marketing capaz de suportar a criação deste novo negócio.This master's project aims to develop an innovative business plan that will allow the creation of a new company, named MK. The catering industry, like many others, has been benefiting from the digital transformation that is transforming the way companies deliver value and the way consumers relate to brands and their products. With professional exposure to the constant technological and digital transformation, we decided to analyze and design a plan that transforms the way consumers treat their daily routine and consume their meals. By combining experience, quality and a sense of opportunity, MK is able to innovatively meet the expectations of young adults living in Greater Lisbon, a generation that is distinguished by its demands, consumption habits and digital adaptability. Using the knowledge gained during my Master´s in Business Administration, we sought to apply key concepts and reference methodologies in order to analyze the Portuguese market and existing competitors, which, combined with market validation, served to design a marketing plan capable of to support the creation of this new business

Healthy families: the present and future role of the supermarket

In this report, we contend that the grocery industry must be accountable for their role in an obesogenic environment. The social context most likely to support making healthy behaviour changes is the family. For families, supermarkets represent more than merely places in which to spend their money. They establish the values that underpin the ways in which people conduct their lives

An Empirical Study on the Service Marketing Factors Influencing the Need of Consumer for an Online Food Ordering Delivery Using Subscription-Based Model

The online food delivery service was one of the major emerging businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the demand for online services increasing dramatically in many countries, especially Thailand. The core ideas of this paper are to empirically explore several service marketing factors influencing the needs of consumers regarding online food ordering and delivery services via use of a subscription-based model. A total of 1,049 respondents were surveyed using a quantitative survey and qualitative approach sampling 30 respondents via interview for confirmation of the results. Statistical analysis of all collected data via confirmative factor analysis (CFA) and a structural equation model (SEM) were used to conclude the influencing service marketing factors in Bangkok province. The results indicate that process and promotion perspectives have strong significant impacts on consumer needs for online food ordering and delivery services. The paper not only describes the essential service marketing factors respectively, but also identifies some challenging factors which have influence in this industry, additionally leading to a more precise understanding of consumer behavior

Designing an Integrated Education and Training Program for English Language Learners at a Community-Based Literacy Organization

Since the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) in 2014, adult education programs across the country began to plan and implement integrated education and training (IET) programs. IET programs combine adult basic education or ESL instruction with workforce preparation activities and training to not only help participants improve their basic skills or English language proficiency, but also help them advance in their educational or career paths. This model has been particularly challenging for community-based literacy organizations (CBLOs) to adopt, as IETs require additional funding streams, collaborative partnerships, and significant support services. In addition, literature regarding how to implement these programs in CBLOs is scarce. This materials development independent professional project aims to design a customer service IET program that not only meets state and federal guidelines, but also aligns with best practices in ESL for a CBLO in Virginia. Keywords: adult English language learners, integrated education and training, community-based literacy organization, curriculum design, materials developmen

Exploiting the Choice-Consumption Mismatch: A New Approach to Disentangle State Dependence and Heterogeneity

This paper offers a new identification strategy for disentangling structural state dependence from unobserved heterogeneity in preferences. Our strategy exploits market environments where there is a choice-consumption mismatch. We first demonstrate the effectiveness of our identification strategy in obtaining unbiased state dependence estimates via Monte Carlo analysis and highlight its superiority relative to the extant choice-set variation based approach. In an empirical application that uses data of repeat transactions from the car rental industry, we find evidence of structural state dependence, but show that state dependence effects may be overstated without exploiting the choice-consumption mismatches that materialize through free upgrades

The Freemium Effect: Why Consumers Perceive More Value with Free than with Premium Offers

Continuous evolution of digital technology not only changes the way people communicate, it also fundamentally alters how companies generate revenue. Services like Dropbox, Skype, LinkedIn or Spotify successfully implement the freemium business model of concurrent free and priced premium versions. This paper will investigate the consequences of offering basic features for free. Based on research complementing the relationship between quality and price, the following provides evidence for an inversed “freemium” effect. Free services provide more value than premium services, not less. Results from a set of experimental studies show that consumers perceive fewer sacrifices and more benefits with free rather than premium offers. Consequently, decision-making variables (value, intention, and willingness to pay) favor the free versions. Implications for practice and research are provided building upon these results