Get your research thinking caps on this morning!
Please comment on the following statement by the owner of a restaurant:
“I see customers every day whom I know on a first-name basis. I understand their likes and dislikes. If I put something on the menu and it doesn’t sell, I know that they didn’t like it. I also read the magazine Modern Restaurant to keep up with industry trends. That is all the advertising research I need to do.”
QUESTION
What are your thoughts on the restaurant owner’s type of market and customer research? Is he doing enough for the success of his restaurant?
“I see customers every day whom I know on a first-name basis. I understand their likes and dislikes. If I put something on the menu and it doesn’t sell, I know that they didn’t like it. I also read the magazine Modern Restaurant to keep up with industry trends. That is all the advertising research I need to do.”
QUESTION
What are your thoughts on the restaurant owner’s type of market and customer research? Is he doing enough for the success of his restaurant?
Hello everyone! Please re-post your comments. They are not showing up on my end.
ReplyDeletecan u read this?
ReplyDeleteIf a business has been around for a long time and is small than knowing peoples likes and dislikes on a first name basis is valuable. However today it is important to do more than read a magazine to stay current . The owner should still gather all information available on restaurants in his category to stay ahead.
ReplyDeleteabout time this works, i had already posted a few times and it just says i need to wait for approval
ReplyDeleteI basically agree with what Correne said. I don't know what the owner's busness model looks like or what his goals are but if he feels that hes getting enough business from his regulars then thats fine
ReplyDeleteThanks for reposting your comments. I had "comment moderation" on accidentally which prevented me from seeing your posts.
ReplyDeleteAriel, any thoughts on the opening question?
As the advertising researcher working with this client, what suggestions would you have for improving the depth of his research?
i've been to a few diners here in town that operate almost exclusively on regulars- they're not expanding any time soon but they weem to operate on fairly steady business
ReplyDeleteit seems to me that he doesn't mind his operation. however, if i were on his marketing team and he did want to further his business i would recommend traditional media
ReplyDeletehis method of deciding how to run his business is purely based off of personal opinions based on a few customers and the magazine he reads. this is not enough to run a business. if he wants to know how to creat a successful business he should hirer a professional that can review his menu and the presenation and taste of the food as well as the presentation of the restaurant.
ReplyDeleteyou can't win over all of the people that walk in, but you can obtain and maintain a steady loyal guests that can be considered regulars. not everyone will like what he has to offer and he needs to come to terms with that. if he chose to go at this alone to obtain information via word of mouth, he should take it the next level up and ask them to write their opinions of his restaurant and what could be improved. over a period of time, collect the information then make a decision.
its good to keep a constant update and refreshing change to his menu, but to much change will disappoint his regulars that might have liked that meal choice.
tv ads work wonders for small diners. depending on his theme which i'd guess at being "family oriented" i'd probably just recommend a small commercial featuring a few choice customers
ReplyDeleteAriel - let's simply discuss research methods and not advertising/creative methods.
ReplyDeleteFrom a researcher's point of view, what would be the benefits to the owner for doing greater market research?
I would tell him to subscribe to restaurant information sources,online research on the subject, possibly attend seminars, forums or talks. He could also place comment cards on his tables requesting anonymous customer feed back. He could also research his competition and other restaurants in his area to get more of the market share.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas Correne. Anyone else?
ReplyDeletei'd also contact a food critic at the local newspaper for a spotlight on the diner in question- a lot of people read these articles for recommendations on eateries they'd never heard of and would like to try
ReplyDeleteis anyone else having server problems?
ReplyDeletei have to repost everything
ReplyDeletei like the anonymous customer feedback idea
ReplyDeleteSeems like you all have your research caps on this morning! As you can see, the possibilities for this restaurant owner with regards to doing market research are endless.
ReplyDeleteMoving on, please take notes where you feel appropriate as we begin the "lecture" portion.
Why is advertising research important to advertising practitioners (people working in the advertising industry)?
Those sound like advertising suggestions Areil
ReplyDeletei agree with correne if he wanted to do a hands on research gathering method, those seem to be the best bet since it is not costly, its informative, and he needs to know who else he is dealing with for competition reasons. and also what ariel said was a good idea. a local food critic does wonders for business but its also a risk considering they can write what they want and not what the owner wants
ReplyDeletethey are suggestions
ReplyDeletethats a risk he'll have to take. but poblicity is publicity and besides- how often have u read a horrible review? so long as he doesn't have roaches crawling all over the place the food should attract some client
ReplyDeleteOkay everyone...
ReplyDeleteMoving on, please take notes where you feel appropriate as we begin the "lecture" portion.
Why is advertising research important to advertising practitioners (people working in the advertising industry)?
It allows them to stay current and competitive. Ultimately is offers more company stability to ensure you have a better chance of staying in business.
ReplyDeletehe should be careful not to alienate his regulas though
ReplyDeleteAnyone else? Why is advertising research important for our industry?
ReplyDeleteresearch is very important! its allows the advertising practitioner to understand the market and how to make it grow or how to make it become more known by others. an affective ad through research will gain a persons attention and will either make them think or make them want to go and buy that product or service. a well gathered advertising situation would leave the final piece appealing and something that can stand on its own against the other types of competition out there.
ReplyDeleteAriel- a tip- you may have constantly refresh your page to view updated comments in these chat rooms.
ReplyDeleteconsumer's tastes change all the time, u have to reasearch their tastes and adapt to them if u hope to stay in business
ReplyDeletethanks correne
ReplyDeleteSo, what you are saying is that advertising research is important as it gives practitioners additional information on which to make decisions.
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case, then what are some of the decisions that advertising research is used for?
keep up with consumer trends, lifestyles, tastes. socially accepted norms which are constantly changing. remember a few years ago everyone was going crazy over the adkins diet and the healthy lifestyle trend? just about every fast food restaurant provided a salad or healthy food alternative at that time
ReplyDeleteThey may need to change the product or offer an additional product that others are going elsewhere for. They may need to adjust prices in order to stay competitive. They may also just need to have a reopening with refreshing or remolding to remind people about their company.
ReplyDeleteGreat, Ariel. Anyone else?
ReplyDeletethey were in danger of losing business because of society's enlightenment about food's darker side. they provided a healthy alternative and stayed in business
ReplyDeleteFrankie, any thoughts on the various ways advertising research is used in our field?
ReplyDeleteSome ways research is used include: trends in the marketplace, customer attitudes toward products/services and advertising efforts, helps predicts the results of a campaign, and what effect changing or adding an element to the advertising mix would have on sales.
Research is often used to evaluate the 4Ps, store personnel and consumers
REVIEW QUESTION: What are the 4Ps again?
with the economy plunging lately and consumers growing weary about spending, i've noticed a lot of low cost alternatives in retail
ReplyDeletemaybe he got a headstart on the other blog?
ReplyDeleteEveryone, please answer the question at hand. (We are no longer discussing the opening question re: restaurant.)
ReplyDeleteQuestion at hand is "What are the 4Ps?"
I don't recall taking notes on the 4ps
ReplyDeletenor do i
ReplyDeletealthough they sound familiar
ReplyDeleteis practice 1 of them? lol
ReplyDeletepatience maybe
ReplyDeleteThe 4Ps are: price, product, promotion and place. In conjunction with these 4Ps, research also examines retail personnel and consumers.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone give me some examples of the research objectives for the 4Ps, personnel and customers. For example: what price will customers pay for this product or service?
product, place, price, promotion...
ReplyDeleteI looked it up but before i did i had 3 out or 4 memorized..
price can be elusive on target markets and their perception of products. considering the consumers background and finances not to mention tastes and their ability to follow trends
ReplyDeleteand taxes depending on their "place"
ReplyDeleteProduct: how does our product look in reference to competitive products in it's category.
ReplyDeletePromotion: what promotion to use in order to ignite the largest response form our target.
Place: where will our target be most apt to be responsive to our product and promotion.
Ariel, can you elaborate?
ReplyDeletea trendy bag one woman would pay hundreds of dollars for in one area could be nothing more than a piece of materials with a hole and handles to another
ReplyDeletethe 4p's will overall affect who is in the target market. for example, a womans sports drink that is designed to affect the womans body more than lets say poweraid or gatoraid. the product is the sports drink, the pricing might be a little more than its competitors if not close to equal but it does more so it'll be a better alternative to any other drink out there.
ReplyDeletethe location of the drink will be determined on where it is sold. if its next to the other sport drinks it might be effective, but if it is more towards the diet and health area, it might even more more successful there.
promotion is how to get the drink recognized. maybe a well known celebrity icon to endorce the product?
Good start, Correne. Some other items include:
ReplyDeletePrice
- What response should we make to a competitor’s price change?
Product
- Should we keep the current name of the product/service or change it?
Place
- In what type of store would people expect to buy this product?
Promotion
- How well remembered is our commercial?
Research also examines retail personnel and consumers.
ReplyDeleteWhat are some research objectives for these two areas?
For example: what do people think about our salespeople?
do consumers usually give researchers a second's thought?
ReplyDeleteif you're asking about direct sales, people usually tend to trust the salesmen who are most open and jovial with them
ReplyDeleteConsumers: what are they buying most of? Is it all year? What times do they shop? What do they need out of our store both product and service wise?
ReplyDeleteRetail personal: What service suggestions do our customers have? Are we meeting all the consumer's needs with information and prompt customer care?
sales people have a major impact on whether a person decides to buy a product. if we talk about the benefits and features to them in a friendly knowledgable manner, they might get interested and go forth with the product but that is only if they fit in the target group. also, i just want to add, the pricing of an item is selected through who is targeted. if its a higher ended product it will be higher priced because it is targeting people in the higher income if not having a lot of disposible income in general.
ReplyDeleteGreat, Correne. Some others include:
ReplyDeletePersonnel:
- What do our customers think of our salespeople?
Consumers:
- Looking at consumers' lifestyle, attitudes, opinion, behavior, demographics
a sales person's charm has a huge impact on the customer's choice of purchase- it all depends on whether that sales person is trustworthy in their eyes
ReplyDeleteOkay, we spent this morning discussing some of the areas that advertising research examines (i.e. 4Ps).
ReplyDeleteLast question:
Are there any instances when doing advertising research is not feasible or justifiable?
Not that I can think of at the moment- well- within reason anyway
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely not. research is always valuable,and often cheap.
ReplyDeleteAriel, I'm sure you can think of a reason why research may not be feasible. What about whether or not a company can afford to pay for research?
ReplyDeleteThe web is always free, surveys are cheap too. Both can provide valuable info.
ReplyDeletei think research is also a gain, even if it a negative gain, it is a gain to put forth in the research. I don't think a gain in knowledge is every a bad thing in most situations. why would it if it will have some affect on the product or service
ReplyDeleteCorrene, it depends on the research. Some studies are very costly. If the client cannot afford to pay for the research, this would be an area where research is not feasible.
ReplyDeleteSome others include: the client cannot make up their mind what they want to research in the marketplace.
I didn't realize you were asking for a response on whether the research could be conducted in the first place
ReplyDeleteBetween now and Thursday, think about that question: are there instances when research is not feasible?
ReplyDeleteHOMEWORK REMINDER FOR THURSDAY'S RES. CLASS:
-Chapter 1 + 2 for Thursday, Feb. 5th
-Answer questions #2, 9, 10, 13 on page 19 and email to me by Wed. Feb. 4th
-Read Sirius case study and answer questions #1-3 for Thursday, Feb. 5th
- Ariel: you are presenting an advertising research current event item. Please contact me via email since you weren't in class last week to discuss.
Do we move on to ethics??
ReplyDeleteLet's move onto the Ethics blog...
ReplyDeleteis this for the blog or class?
ReplyDeleteFor class presentation ariel on thur
ReplyDeleteThe homework listed above is for Thursday's research class.
ReplyDeleteAt 11am, we hold our Ethics online discussion at http://advertisingethics-tacdc.blogspot.com/
Everyone, please move onto the Ethics blog. Thanks!!
ReplyDelete