Agenda
As a target business, Frank’s All-American BarBeQue will be reviewed. This restaurant is a successful enterprise that has been in the market for about 40 years. A large customer base, high food quality, and affordable prices are the key factors of success. In the near future, Frank’s All-American BarBeQue management plans to expand the business and open a new restaurant that will be larger and include a wider range of products. This perspective is fraught with concerns about the success of the initiative, and relevant recommendations will be made regarding marketing, operations, and e-commerce and digital media aspects of work.
Marketing Needs
The relevance of strengthening the marketing development strategy is due to the upcoming changes in the Frank’s All-American BarBeQue network. Due to the emergence of the new line of sauces and a wider range of dishes, the new restaurant needs competent segmentation. In addition, to overcome the competitive barrier in a new region, effective promotion tactics are essential. By applying the existing marketing approaches, new products can gain acceptance, but the market analysis is a crucial activity to perform.
Operations Needs
The operational needs are, first of all, the requirements to establish sustainable and competent management of the new restaurant. The manager must understand the nuances of the business in the chosen region, distribute tasks among staff efficiently, control performance indicators during the pandemic, and monitor routine nuances, including the cooking of new dishes. Moreover, given that the Frank’s All-American BarBeQue network plans to take out a bank loan, managing financial assets is also an important part of the job and requires careful planning of all operational aspects.
E-Commerce and Digital Media Needs
Due to current COVID-19 social constraints, the new Frank’s All-American BarBeQue restaurant should optimize its online ordering system to provide convenience to customers and save income. In addition, buyers need to be able to leave feedback, and optimizing online accounts on popular social media sites can be a convenient solution. Website improvement is also an essential initiative as a measure to increase target customers’ loyalty and ease navigation. To control online financial transactions, building a reliable asset management system is critical in view of financial liabilities due to the bank loan.
Marketing Optimization
Despite the recognition of Frank’s All-American BarBeQue by the target audience, the opening of the new restaurant requires active promotion. According to Rampal (2018), several factors should be considered to ensure a successful market entry, including product specificity, location, and other criteria. Online advertising is an approach that allows spreading the word about the restaurant to a large number of potential clients in the shortest possible time. Therefore, the digital aspect of marketing policy requires strengthening, for instance, through a competent budget allocation, taking into account online promotion. Market segmentation could be one of Frank’s All-American BarBeQue’s approaches to successfully promoting the new restaurant. Rampal (2018) proposes to pay attention to the features of the planned location as a factor that largely affects the financial capabilities of the target audience. Cadden and Leuder (2012), in turn, note the potential value of reward programs designed to stimulate buying activity. Given the interests of different population groups, the restaurant will gain mass popularity.
As a topical recommendation for marketing optimization for Frank’s All-American BarBeQue, establishing reward programs is a potentially valuable step. If the new restaurant offers the target audience profitable promotions and discounts, this will help attract new customers and increase brand loyalty. Based on the current market needs, pricing can also be adjusted to avoid leaking customers to competitors. The retention system based on the price factor is an effective tool for maintaining sustainable demand (“Exploring business,” 2016). As a result, reward programs realized through promotional offers can become a feature of this restaurant. Another essential recommendation for enhancing the marketing aspect of the new restaurant is the implementation of digital marketing algorithms as an approach to expand the reach of the target audience. Dabas et al. (2021) highlight the value of this practice in terms of influencing buying behavior because offline and online incentives are integrated to create an inclusive promotional environment. Moreover, this initiative is an important decision to overcome the potential competitive barrier and spread the information about the new restaurant not only in its location but also outside it and even in other states.
Operations Optimization
Due to the current social constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the operations of the new restaurant need adapting. One of the important conditions for maintaining profit is to minimize costs, which, as Yost et al. (2021) note, can be implemented through negotiations with suppliers and revision of the price of partner services. Another critical initiative is the use of different methods of food delivery, including takeaway and remote delivery. Staff must be trained to work in such an environment, and customers should count on a variety of payment methods, such as discounts or gift vouchers and not only cash or card. Since the success of the new restaurant depends largely on the employees’ professionalism, the manager should promote rational selective and communication practices. By following the situational approach, the administrator can adjust operational aspects timely and flexibly. One of the recommendations is the introduction of technologies, for instance, digital methods for calculating the available resources, which, according to Kocaman (2021), eliminates possible errors and gaps. Productive communication involves employees’ access to goals and objectives so that each participant in the workflow could be aware of one’s personal role. Financial management is one of the central aspects of the planned restaurant’s success. According to Yost et al. (2021), a strategy based on short-term restructuring can help secure business assets and act as a crisis response initiative. Based on the financial performance of the first Frank’s All-American BarBeQue restaurant, an approximate cost-benefit ratio can be drawn. In addition, to avoid claims from the bank, the loan repayment algorithm needs to be worked out responsibly.
E-Commerce and Digital Media Optimization
As a recommendation for the new restaurant, the introduction of the online ordering system is a valuable option and a possible alternative to traditional on-site ordering. As Leung and Wen (2020) remark, according to their research, a large number of customers are favorable to this form of selling, which is particularly important in the context of the current pandemic. Moreover, by promoting this method of selling food, the restaurant can handle its electronic data conveniently to maintain stable reporting documentation. The initiative to introduce an online feedback program is a relevant solution that can help not only the management to track the views of buyers but also customers themselves. For the e-commerce field, this step is mandatory to maintain continuous interaction with the target audience remotely. As the program itself, different variations are possible, including both standard five-star systems and more advanced and deployed projects.
According to Fernandes et al. (2021), an executive should regulate sales through a feedback system because customers’ reviews take precedence. While taking into account the benefits of successful promotion on social media, Frank’s All-American BarBeQue should publish information about the opening of the new restaurant on popular sites. The business’s website also needs modernization so that users can see relevant opening information on the home page. Additional methods of grabbing attention, such as colorful logos and photos, can amplify the impact. In general, social media is a convenient platform for attracting sponsors and for increasing firm value (Uyar et al., 2018). One of the important recommendations for strengthening the e-commerce field is monitoring financial transactions with the help of relevant programs. For the convenience of customers, Esfahani and Ozturk (2019) propose to use the NFC technology, which is relevant to the restaurant business. The use of special digital programs is a convenient way of monitoring available assets and reporting to tax authorities. In addition, to keep abreast of modern changes in the financial market, the management of the new restaurant should study the existing tools and approaches to electronic forms of cash control.
Conclusion
While taking into account the proposed recommendations, Frank’s All-American BarBeQue’s new restaurant can become a successful venture with loyal customers and a stable income. The relevant factors of marketing, operations, and e-commerce and social media should be addressed responsibly to ensure a sustainable operation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing competition. The role of management is high, and productive and well-coordinated work of the entire team is the key to success.
References
Cadden, D., & Leuder, S. (2012). Small business management in the 21st century. Flat World Knowledge.
Dabas, S., Sharma, S., & Manaktola, K. (2021). Adoption of digital marketing tools in independent businesses: Experiences of restaurant entrepreneurs in India and the United Kingdom. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 13(2), 214-235. Web.
Esfahani, S. S., & Ozturk, A. B. (2019). The influence of individual differences on NFC-based mobile payment adoption in the restaurant industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 10(2), 219-232. Web.
Exploring business. (2016). University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Web.
Fernandes, E., Moro, S., Cortez, P., Batista, F., & Ribeiro, R. (2021). A data-driven approach to measure restaurant performance by combining online reviews with historical sales data. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 94, 102830. Web.
Kocaman, E. M. (2021). Operational effects of using restaurant management system: An assessment according to business features. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, 25, 100408. Web.
Leung, X. Y., & Wen, H. (2020). Chatbot usage in restaurant takeout orders: A comparison study of three ordering methods. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45, 377-386.
Rampal, P. (2018). Marketing mix strategies of restaurant [Unpublished master’s thesis]. JAMK University of Applied Science.
Uyar, A., Boyar, E., & Kuzey, C. (2018). Does social media enhance firm value? Evidence from Turkish firms using three social media metrics. Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, 21(2), 131-142.
Yost, E., Kizildag, M., & Ridderstaat, J. (2021). Financial recovery strategies for restaurants during COVID-19: Evidence from the US restaurant industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 47, 408-412. Web.