Marketing in Foodservice Operations

David Hayes, PhD, has taught hospitality courses at Purdue University, Texas Tech University, The University of Houston, and Lansing Community College. He has served as the Vice President of Broadcast and Video Training for the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute. Jack Ninemeier, PhD, is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University. He has many years’ experience developing and providing training and resource materials for commercial and non-commercial foodservice operations. He has also written several hundred articles for trade journals and created training monographs. Part of Wiley’s Foodservice Operations: The Essentials series.

• Preface ixAcknowledgments xiiiDedication xv1 Marketing for Foodservice Operations 1The Importance of Marketing 2Who 3What 4Where 4When 5How 5The 4 Ps of Marketing 5Product 6Place 7Price 8Promotion 9Operators’ Challenges in Marketing Products 11Quality 11Quantity 12Delivery Method 12Value Perception 13Operators’ Challenges in Marketing Services 14Intangibility 15Inseparability 15Consistency 16Limited Capacity 172 Target Market Identification 21The Importance of Target Market Identification 22Why Target Markets Must Be Identified 23How Target Markets Are Identified 24Identifying the Needs of a Target Market 29Internal Factors Affecting Target Markets 33Physical Facilities 33Staff Capabilities 35External Factors Affecting Target Markets 38The Economic Environment 38Legal Requirements 39Vendor and Product Availability 40The Competitive Environment 40The Social Environment 42Technology 433 Creating the Marketing Message 48The Marketing Message and Importance of Branding 49The Marketing Message 50Branding Defined 50Developing a Unique Brand 51Product-Focused Branding 54Service-Focused Branding 54Factors Affecting Product- Related Messages 55Product Quality 56Preparation Method 58Serving Size 58Price 59Convenience 61Location 62Service Offering Messages by Type of Operation 64Non-Commercial Operations 65Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) 66Fast Casual Restaurants 66Casual Service Restaurants 67Fine Dining/Upscale Restaurants 68Ghost Operations 694 Delivering the Marketing Message 72Assessing Marketing Channels 73Marketing Channel Options 73Assessing New Communication Channels 81Understanding Buyer Behavior 83The Four Buyer Types 83Buyer Behavior 86Operator Responsibilities in Target Market Messaging 88Legal Responsibilities 89Ethical Responsibilities 90Social Responsibilities 915 Creating the Marketing Plan 95The Need for a Written Marketing Plan 96Advantages of Developing a Formal Marketing Plan 98Challenges in Marketing Plan Development 99Creating the Marketing Plan 101Identification of Marketing Strategies 104Identification of Marketing Tactics 106Creation of Marketing Plan Cost Estimates 108Implementing the Marketing Plan 109Determining What Will Be Done 109Determining When It Will Be Done 110Determining Who Will Do It 110Importance of Staff Efforts to Implement Marketing Plans 111Evaluation of Marketing Plan Results 1156 The Importance of Price in Marketing Efforts 119Pricing for Profits 120The Importance of Pricing 121The Operator’s View of Price 121The Guest’s View of Price 122Factors Affecting Menu Pricing 124Economic Conditions 124Local Competition 125Level of Service 125Type of Guest 126Product Quality 126Portion Size 127Delivery Method 128Meal Period 129Location 129Bundling 130Methods of Food and Beverage Pricing 131Cost-Based Pricing 132Contribution Margin- Based Pricing 135Evaluation of Pricing Efforts 137Menu Engineering 137Menu Modifications 1417 The Menu as a Marketing Tool 145The Importance of the Menu 146The Menu as a Marketing Tool 147Types of Menus 147The Menu Development Team 149Legal Aspects of Menu Design 149Creating the Food Menu 151Identifying Menu Categories 152Selecting Individual Menu Items 153Writing Menu Copy 154Key Factors in Successful Food Menu Design 155Creating the Beverage Menu 157Beer Menus 157Wine Lists 158Spirit Menus 159Digital Display Menus 162On-site Digital Menus 162On-user Device Digital Menus 163Special Concerns for Off- Premise Menus 165Choosing Takeaway Menu Items 166Packaging Takeaway Menu Items 166Holding Takeaway Menu Items for Pickup or Delivery 1688 Importance of the Foodservice Marketing Mix 172Advertising 173The Purpose of Advertising 174Developing the Advertising Message 176Determining the Best Message Delivery Channel 178Personal Selling 179The Goals of In- person Selling 180On-Premise Personal Selling 181Off-Premise Personal Selling 182Promotions 183The Purpose of Promotions 183Promotions for All Customers 184Promotions for Loyal Customers 185Publicity 187Initiating Positive Publicity 187Addressing Negative Publicity 189Public Relations 191Media Affiliations and Successful Public Relations 191Community Relations and Successful Public Relations 192Employee Relations and Successful Public Relations 1939 Web- Based Marketing on Proprietary Sites 197Choosing the Primary Domain Name 198Choosing the Website Host 201The Proprietary Website 204Website Design 206Website Content 208Website Traffic Tracking 211Search Engine Optimization 212How Search Engines Work 213Choosing Keywords and Phrases 214Social Media Sites 216The Importance of Social Media 216Posting Content on Social Media Sites 21710 Web-Based Marketing on Third- Party Sites and Apps 222The Importance of Local Linkage 223Marketing on Third-Party-Operated Websites 226Partnering with Third-Party Delivery Apps 231Advantages of Third-Party Delivery App Partnerships 232Disadvantages of Third-Party Delivery App Partnerships 234Self-Delivery Options 23911 Marketing Management on User- Generated Content Sites 245The Importance of User-Generated Content (UGC) Sites 246Advertising on User-Generated Content (UGC) Sites 247Popularity of User-Generated Content (UGC) Sites Featuring Guest Reviews 249Historical Perspective 250Motivation of Reviewers 252Improving Scores on User-Generated Content (UGC) Review Sites 255Increasing the Number of User Reviews 256Increasing the Scores on User Reviews 259Responding to Negative User Reviews 26112 Assessment of Marketing Efforts 266The Importance of Evaluating Marketing Efforts 267Assessment of Marketing Strategies 269Assessment of Marketing Tactics 270Marketing Evaluation Tools 273Tools for Financial Evaluations 274Tools for Nonfinancial Evaluation 281Preparing Next-Period Marketing Plans 284SWOT Analysis 284Setting Next-Period Strategies and Goals 288Summary 289Glossary G-1Index I-1