SALES CONCEPTS
The
various sales concepts in use are:
1.
Advertising
2.
Public Relations
3.
Merchandising
4.
Sales Promotion
1. Advertising
Advertising is concerned
with contacting and informing a market of an operation’s product, away from the
point of sale and is involved with influencing the customers’ behavior and
attitude to the product before they enter the service operation.
Advertising has been defined by the American Marketing
Association as:
Any paid form of
non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an
identified sponsor.
Its purpose, as defined
by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) is:
To influence a person’s
knowledge, attitude and behavior in such a way as to meet the objectives of the
advertiser.
The aims and objectives
of an operation’s advertising policy should be contained within the marketing
plan. No advertising campaign ought to be undertaken unless it has been
properly organized and is going to be efficiently managed. Disorganized advertising
will not benefit an establishment; it may, in fact, do a great deal of harm. It
is; therefore, wrong to assume that any advertising is better than no
advertising.
The size of a food
services advertising budget is dependent on a number of factors:
1.
The nature of the
catering operation, whether it is commercial or non-commercial sector.
2.
The size of the operation.
Generally speaking, the larger the commercial operation, the larger the
advertising budget available.
3.
The ownership of
the catering facility. In a small, privately owned hotel or restaurant, the
responsibility for advertising may be in the hands of the owner or manager. In
a large multi-organization, the responsibility for advertising is either
assigned to a specialist department within the organization, or given to a
professional outside advertising agency.
4.
The number and
nature of the market segments being aimed at.
5.
The amount of
advertising each market segment requires to be adequately covered.
6.
The type of
advertising to be used. Peak time national television coverage will obviously
cost considerably more than a local radio broadcast.
In some sectors of the
industry advertising budgets are very large. The fast food sector, for Example
surpasses any others in the catering industry.
Of McDonald’s total of
$38.1m expenditure, a large percentage of this was spent on TV advertising,
promoting its brand image on national scale. Generally speaking, advertising
expenditure in this sector of the industry varies from 0.5 to 4.5% turnover.
Companies within the hotel industry are also increasing their advertising
budgets considerably.
Where small owner-managed
or small groups of hotels cannot afford to individually advertise their
properties and facilities to any great effect, they may group together to form
a marketing consortium to achieve greater advertising impact. In UK for
example, Prestige Hotels operates a marketing consortium with Scott Calder, its
American counterpart. Such organization professionally produce brochures,
leaflets and other sales literature which is distributed via all the
consortium’s establishments throughout the UK, and sometimes internationally.
By joining together with other small or similar operations, an individual
establishment benefits from being part of a large organization.
Whatever the size of the food service
facility, however, advertising done have relevance and importance. In order to
be effective, there must be a clear understanding of the purposes and
objectives of advertising. In a catering operation these would include the
following:
1.
To create
awareness of the product. Making the
maximum number of customers aware of an operation’s products, utilizing the
tools of advertising available to the particular operation.
2.
To create desire
for the product. Customers
purchase a product because of the benefits they feel they will gain from that
product. Advertising, therefore, needs to create a desire for and operation’s
product by stressing customer benefits. The benefits of take away meals, for
example, are that raw ingredients do not have to be purchased, stored, prepared
and cooked. The end product is ready to eat, time is saved and cleaning up
afterwards is minimal. These are some of the benefits that customers perceive
as important when they buy a take-away meal; they are not just buying food for
physiological needs.
3.
To influence
customers attitudes to the product.
This may be in the short or long term. Over a number of years, for example and
organization may wish to portray a caring image towards its customers. It may
choose to do this by using repetitive advertising reinforcing its caring
attitude.
4.
To create brand
loyalty. In order to do this, a
successful brand image must be created by the company, so that when customers
consider buying a certain type of meal, they immediately think of a certain
restaurant or fast-food operation.
5.
To persuade
customers to buy, this will only
be achieved if the advertising campaign has been directed at the appropriate
level of the market. For example, if and advertising campaign incorrectly
portrays an average spending power will not choose to visit the facility
because of the high-priced image portrayed, equally, customers with a high
average spending power may be appointed with their choice of restaurant. The
operation’s target markets must, therefore, be divided into clearly
identifiable market segments. The promotional features of the marketing side
can then be aimed specifically at these market segments.
6.
To persuade
customers to visit an operation in preference to a competitor’s. Competition may be direct to indirect. Direct
competition included those operations competing for the same target market. For
example, an outlet’s customer’s may have been identified as coming from an AB
middle class socio-economic group , aged between 50 to 60 years, with an
average spend of $20 per head for an evening meal; direct competitors would
include those establishments also aiming at this same target market. Indirect
competition includes other catering operations who, although not competing for
exactly the same market segment, are offering alternative catering facilities.
These operation may charge prices of between $10 to $12 per head, which the
identified AB middle class customers may visit occasionally for a variety of
reasons such as price convenience etc.
7.
To remind
customers to buy. The objectives
of and advertising campaign alter during the life cycle of the product. For
example, in the introductory phase of a product launch, creating awareness for
first-time buyers is an important objective of advertising. When the product
enters its growth and maturity stages and the company is heavily reliant on
repeat purchases, the main objective of the advertising campaign may then shift
to reminding existing and past customers to buy. This is equally applicable to
operations within both the commercial and non-commercial sectors. It has
particular reference in situations such as the work place where catering
facilities are usually in the same block of offices or factory, and where staff
may become accustomed to passing by the catering facilities and perhaps
choosing to eat elsewhere. An advertising campaign to attract and remind this
market segment is a particularly effective way of building up repeat business.
8.
To inform the
market about a product. For example,
some fast-food chains now produce nutritional guides about their products which
are available to customers of their restaurant and take –away outlets.
9.
To provide
reassurance about the product.
This is particularly relevant in the catering industry where a customer often
leaves a restaurant without any tangible evidence of a purchase. Customer’s
worries and anxieties about a product need to be allayed so that they feel they
made a good purchase and will therefore, feel disposed to make another. In the
example of the nutritional guides, as well as being informative, they also
reassure customers that the meals they are buying are nutritionally sound. This
is particularly important with the current interest in healthy eating and
diets.
10.
To be ethical. Form an ethical point of view, the operation’s
advertising must portray a truthful picture of the establishment. Customers may
quite rightfully be disillusioned and annoyed if they read that a particular
restaurant is offering a free glass of wine to every customer, or features some
specialty drinks, only to arrive and find that the establishment has ‘run out’
or ‘sold out’ of these items.
The following advertising
techniques are all applicable in some way to both commercial and non-commercial
operations. However, depending largely on the sector of the industry and the
size of the advertising budget available, the larger commercial organizations
are able to utilize may or all of these advertising tools, whereas smaller
non-commercial operations will be restricted to only a few, The major forms of
advertising that may be employed by food service facilities include the
following:
Direct Mail
Direct mail involves
communicating by post to specified customers; it may be directed at new and
potential customers or to past or well established customers. It involves the
direct mailing of personalized letters, brochures, pamphlets and leaflets, and
as a form of advertising offers a number of advantages:
1.
Specific customers
can be targeted. For example, members of a specific profession within a defined
area, members of a particular club or society, residents on a housing estate,
etc. Repeat business in particular can develop by mailing personalized
birthday, anniversary and Christmas cards, details of special promotions,
events and offers to regular and occasional customers.
2.
Direct mail is
easy to introduce. It can either be initiated by the organization itself by
producing its own mailing lists or an external mail service agency or list
broker may be used. It can be used by both small and large operations.
3.
The feedback from
targeted customers is relatively prompt and easy to appraise. Free post return
cards, freephone telephone calls are usually returned soon after the direct
mail shot has been received, or not at all. The use in a restricted period and
the uptake can be measured easily.
4.
It is a
cost-effective method of advertising to specifically targeted groups of
customers with very little’ wastage’.
However, direct mail also
has a number of disadvantages:
1.
The market must be
specifically targeted or the mail shots are a complete waste of money.
2.
The mail must be
received read and acted upon by the specific individual or group or all prior
advertising research has also been a waste.
3.
The production of
good-quality mailing literature can be costly. Personalized letters should
ideally be used as duplicated material has little impact and is often discarded
straight away. The envelope too must encourage the recipient to open it rather
than discarding it as a circular. Once the initial mail has been sent out,
careful monitoring of subsequent replies is necessary; often further
advertising material may need to be distributed to reinforce the initial sales
literature.
The identification of the
market segments to be aimed at is most important. A with marketing research,
the operation may find that through its own desk research – internal and
external- it can amass a considerable amount of information about its markets
through restaurant reservations, sales records, trade journals, local
newspaper, etc. If a restaurant is considering featuring special business
lunches, for example, it may consider writing to civic and business
associations and asking for their membership lists, as well as contacting any
other professional groups in the area. Alternatively, a catering operation may
consider using a professional mail service agency. Here again, it is important
to specify exactly the section of the market to be aimed at.
Large catering organizations
who have sufficient finance available are able to deal directly with
advertising agencies who will totally manage an organization’s advertising
campaign. They will study the product to be marketed, design appropriate
advertisements, and suggest possible outlets for distributing these adverts,
whether through the press, on posters, direct mailing or whatever.
For the smaller
organization, however, the use of a professional advertising agency for all the
operation’s requirements is not always feasible because of the costs involved.
For the smaller organization with a limited advertising budget it may be more
advantageous to identify where in the advertising campaign the operation would
most benefit from professional advice and to seek this advice when necessary.
The operator may decide for example, that the two most effective ways of
reaching potential markets are direct mailing and advertising in the local
newspaper. Having decided on the methods of advertising and the times at which
they should appear, the design of the advertisements themselves must be
undertaken. At this stage even the smallest operator should consider seeking
the help and advice of a professional designer.
The presentation of an
advertisement in the organization’s sales literature or in a local news-paper,
or the layout, photography and artwork in a restaurant brochure are critical to
the production of a professional piece of sales literature. When literature is
being sent to potential and existing customers it is important that it projects
the image of a catering operation that the owner or manager wishes to portray.
Therefore even if a catering operation’s financial allocation to advertising is
comparatively small, a percentage of this can be3 well spent on employing the
services of a professional designer in order to produce good –quality sales
literature for the catering facility.
Press Advertising
1.
Newspapers: Advertising
national and local newspapers and magazines is probable one of the most popular
forms or media used by catering operations. Because restaurant advertisements
are generally featured together in a newspaper, it is essential that the design
of an advertisement featuring a particular restaurant is such that it will
stand apart from the others. As with the previously described direct mailing,
advertising in the press must be properly planned and organized. If an
advertisement is placed in several newspapers, records must be kept of those
individuals or companies that respond to the advertisement and whether they are
from the type of market segments originally aimed at. Such information is
invaluable in forming a basis for planning future advertising campaigns.
2.
Magazines: The different
types of magazines in which a catering operation my choose to advertise include
professional journals and publications, business management magazines and the
‘social’ type magazines which are read by particular target market groups. The
advantaged of advertising in specific magazines are that response may be
measured, they have a longer ‘shelf life’ than newspapers and may be re-read
many times.
3.
Guides:
There are a number of ’Good Food Guides’ produced in which food service
facilities may wish to be included. Such well known guides are the AA and RAC
guides The Michelin Guide, The Egon Ronay
Guide, The Good Food Guide and the Tourist
Board Guides. To be featured in these guides will often be as a result of
passing a professional inspection by the particular organization and at times
having to pay a fee for inclusion. As a method of advertising these guides have
a special value in that they all have large circulation figures and are
purchased by interested and potential customers and are used regularly as
sources of reference of eating out occasions.
4.
Trade advertising: Trade or ‘wholesale’ advertising is the selling of
an operation’s catering facilities through ‘middle men’ such as travel agents,
package tour operators, etc. At present it is mainly the large hotel groups and
restaurant chains who have utilized this form of external selling although it
is also available to small restaurants that are privately owned. By approaching
local tour operators, for example, a country restaurant may be able to secure a
regular weekend lunch time trade of between twenty and thirty covers throughout
the summer months. Such an arrangement not only has the advantage of increased
sales for the operation, but also aids in the planning of menus, food costing
staffing levels, etc., for several months in advance. A commission fee is
charged by these middle men for the provision of their services; this may vary
between t and 12.5% depending on what functions and services they have provided
for the catering operation.
Broadcasting
1.
Radio: Advertising on
commercial radio is mainly limited to local radio stations that broadcast
within a specific radius. It may be used to advertise local take-aways,
restaurants, hotels, wine bars etc. Its main advantages are that it is a very
up-to-date form of advertising, not too costly and has the potential to reach a
large percentage of local custom-people art work, driving cars, using personal
stereos, people at home, etc.
2.
Television:
Television’s major advantage over radio is its visual impact. Its major
disadvantage is its high cost, particularly during peak receiving times. Its
national use is limited almost exclusively to the larger restaurant and
fast-food and popular restaurant chains and hotel groups, for example, KFC,
McDonald’s, Pizzaland. Some regional television advertising may be undertaken
but at present is very limited. The use of both video cassette recorders and
cable television are two further extensions of TV and their use in private
homes, clubs, hotels, shopping malls etc. is increasing annually.
3.
Cinema:
Cinema advertising is also highly visual but also very localized. Catering
facilities such as fast-food and popular restaurants etc. Open until late in
the evening are often featured, but are usually quite specific to a certain
area.
Signs and Posters
Signs and posters
advertising a catering facility may be positioned either very close to it or
some distance away. They are used along streets in towns and cities on
hoardings, in airport lounges, railway carriages and the underground subways.
External signs on main roads are particularly important for hotels, restaurants
and fast-food drive-in operation who relies heavily on transient trade and it
is therefore, important for these advertisements to be easily read and their
messages understood quickly. Traffic travelling at high speeds must also be
given adequate time to pull in. Posters displayed in the street, in railway
carriages etc. can afford to be more detailed because passengers and passersby
will have more time available t read them.
As with all other forms of advertising,
signs and posters must portray the type of image the restaurant is trying to
achieve. Fast-food and take-away outlets in high street location, for example,
who are attempting to attract as much transient traffic as possible , feature
large colourful signs with distinguishing
logos and colours, for example KFC McDonalds, Wimpy etc. An however,
would not need to use such obvious external signs, because a higher percentage
of the trade would already have made reservation and such a restaurant would,
therefore, display something smaller and more discreet.
Miscellaneous Advertising
Media
This includes other forms
of advertising media that may be used in addition to the major channels
discussed above. For example, door-to-door leaflet distribution, leisure centre
entrance tickets, theatre programmes, shops windows etc.
2. Public Relations
Public relations is a
communication and information process, either personal or non personal,
operation within an organization’s internal and external environment. It
involves the creations of a favourable environment in which an organization can
operate to the best of its advantage. An organization would typically be
involved internally in communication to its customers and employees, and
eventually to lists customers, suppliers, sales force, local community council
and government departments, etc. Public relations have two main functions:
1.
It has a
problem-solving or trouble-shooting function to deal with any publicity is
better than no publicity. As with advertising, it is wrong to assume that any
publicity is better than no publicity. Detrimental newspaper reports and
letters to column writers, bad word-of-mouth and radio news publicity can all
have a damaging effect public relations exercise a company’s desired corporate
image can be restored.
2.
It has a forward
looking function to creating positive publicity for the organization and may be
used at various stages during the life cycle of the facility. For example, if a
fast food unit is to be opened in a busy town centre a public relations
exercise would typically be to create a favourable environment and attitude
within the community before its opening. If this facility is specifically
aiming at a younger family market, the public relations function would include
informing the identified market segments of the benefits the facility has to
offer to them. For example children’s menus and portions will be available at
reduced prices, high chairs for babies are to be on certain day’s entertainment
for the children will be organized, a young members’ club will be available for
those wishing to join etc.
In institutional
catering, the role of public relations may be to explain to a staff committee
the need for certain price increases to be passed on the staff cafeteria, or
why different products have been bought to replace existing ones etc.
The
initiation of a public relations exercise should begin with the identification
of that sector of the organization’s environment that it wishes to communicate
with; it may, for example, be a particular segment of its market, the press,
local schools etc. An evaluation of the organization’s exisiting corporate
image with the sector will highlight that area it feels are unfavourable, and
would benefit from a public relations exercise. The organization may then
choose the most suitable channels for communicating its messages to help create
the type of environmental climate it feels would be favourable to its own
company’s objectives.
The choice of public
relations tools to be used depends largely on the taget audience, the
suitability of one media over another and the budget available. They would
include:
1.
Press media: Newspapers,
magazines, trade journals, brochures, leaflets, guides, press conferences,
press releases.
2.
Broadcasting media: Television, radio, cinema, promotional video and cassettes.
3.
Community media: Sponsorship of
local events, individual, companies, exhibitions, talks free gifts, samples.
Depending on the size of
the organization , the public relations function may be the responsibility of
the owner, or manager, it may be an individual’s task in a medium-sized
operation, a separate department within the organization consisting of a number
of employees, or an external public relations company may be used.
Public relations in the
hotel and catering industry has a real application whether the catering
facility is a small or large operation, is independent or part of a large
group, exists in the free market or captive. The importance of public relations
is the ability to communicate and infirmity is something that develops as a
result of the business activity; however whether it is advantageous or
disadvantageous to the organization can be greatly influence by public
relations.
3. Merchandising
The merchandising of
catering operations involves the point of sale promotion of their facilities using
non-personal media. Unlike advertising it is not a paid for form of
communication, but like sales promotion is more concerned with influencing
customer behavior in the short term.
Once customers are inside
a restaurant they have already made their decision as to the type of
establishment they wish to eat in; their subsequent decisions are concerned
with what particular aspects of the product they will now choose. Customers may
decide to eat at a restaurant because they have seen it advertised, and will
therefore bring to the restaurant preconceived ideas as to the standard of
food, level of service etc., that they will receive. It is important at this
stage that the point of sale merchandising of the restaurant should support its
advertising campaign in order to achieve a sense of consistency and totality.
For example, if the restaurant hs been advertising speciality dishes for a
particular week, these must be available when the customer arrives at the
restaurant.
The major types of
merchandising that may be employed by a catering operation include the
following:
Floor Stands
Floor stands or bulletin
boards are particularly effective if used in waiting and reception areas to
advertise special events,, forthcoming attractions, etc. In these areas in
hotels, restaurants and clubs, people may be waiting in a queue or for the
arrival of other guests and therefore have the time to read the notices on
these stands. In the work place they can be placed in areas with a high
throughput of pedestrian traffic, for example in corridors, and in general
locations where people congregate such as beside vending machines. The
announcements on these stands must be kept attractive and up to date or the
messages grow old and ineffective. Some self-service operations use floor
stands at the head of the waiting line to show the menu in advance and selected
specialities of the day.
Posters
Posters have a wide
circulation then the previously described floor stands, They may be displayed
in reception areas, elevators, cloakrooms, in the restaurant dining area
itself, in fact they may be placed in any strategic positions where people have
the time available to read their messages. Consideration must not only be given
to the area in which these advertisements should be placed, but also their
positions within these areas. In elevators for example they are often placed at
the back when the majority of people face forwards or look upwards as soon as
they enter a lift and therefore only give a poster at the back a momentary
glance. Similar thought should be given to the position of posters in reception
areas; for example, their height should be at eye level and they need to be
placed away from the entrance and exit doors which people tend to pass through
quickly.
Wall Displays
Illuminated wall displays
are used extensively by fast-food operations showing enlarged colour
photographs of the food and beverages available. They are also used by wine
bars, cocktail bars and lounges and look particularly attractive at night .
Blackboards are often found in pubs, bars, school cafeterias and theme
restaurants where the dish of the day and other specials can be changed
regularly along with their prices. Tent cards are often placed on restaurants
dining tables to promote special events, attractions, etc. They are a valuable
merchandising tool because guests will almost inevitably pick the card up and
read it at some point during the meal, and they may even take it away with
them. They may be used to advertise special dishes or wines, or announce
forthcoming events such as a Christmas Day menu or New Year party. Again these
cards should be changed regularly to hold interest and must always be up to
date and clean. In hotels or other operations which have a variety of catering
outlets, these tent cards are very useful in advertising the other facilities
within the same establishment. In a cocktail bar, for example, tent cards may
be used to advertise the a la carte restaurant, and in the restaurant the
customers’ attention may be drawn to special function arrangements the operation
offers. This type of merchandising can help to make customers aware of the
operation’s alternative facilities and hence boost sales in these areas.
Clip-Ons
Menu clip-ons are most
commonly used in restaurants to advertise speciality items plats dujour,
special table d’hote lunches offered in an a la carte restaurant and so on;
they may also be used on wine lists to promote a particular wine or region.
Both tent cards and clip-ons are useful tools for the hotel or restaurant to
feature the higher profit earning foods and beverages items. ‘loss leaders’ may
be placed towards the end of the menu selection.
Children’s Menus
Children’s menus and
portion sizes are particularly applicable to those catering operation who
attract family custom, for example resort hotels, fast-food units,
medium-priced restaurants etc. In the UK
the catering operations who offer this facility are generally those who
cater for the lower and middle markets of the population, with higher level
operation somewhat reluctant to offer this facility. In other countries in
Europe, and particularly in the USA , this is a more commonly found restaurant
service, and is a useful merchandising tool as few parents wish to pay the full
restaurant charge for a child when he or he eats less than half the meal.
Some restaurants offer a
reduced price for children’s portion sizes while others produce a separate
children’s menu which also contains
games and puzzles to keep the children occupied while the parents are having
their meal .This is particularly applicable to those operations who rely
heavily on family trade, and even if children’s menus are not offered
throughout the year, they may be worth. While considering during the busier
summer months
Visual food and beverage
display
It was once said that ‘We
eat with our eyes’ and in few other situations could this be more true than in
the actual cooking and presentation of the food to the customer. Visual selling
in a catering operation can be enhanced by the use of several techniques:
1.
Displays: A good display of
well- presented food can do much to increase sales. Impulse buying is the
purchasing of a product at a point of sale on the strength of its visual
presentation, with little or no preconceived thoughts of buying the product.
Good displays are necessary in any situation, customers may be encouraged to
purchase more when they actually see the food and beverages, for example at
self-service restaurant buffets, carvery operations and vending machines.
2.
Trolley or cart: The use of
trolleys or carts is another method of selling food and beverages by using
display techniques. In a restaurant there may be a variety of trolleys used for
hors d’oeuvres, desserts, hot and cold meat joints liqueurs and cigars.
3.
Gue’ridon cooker: A gue’ridon trolley in restaurant may be
used for ‘finishing off’ particular dish before being presented to the customer
, or it may be used to cook a complete dish, for example flambé’ desserts. This
particular type of action presentation often encourages other guests in the
restaurant to also try these types of dishes.
4.
Other display cookery: Some operations deliberately open up their kitchens so
that customers can see their food being cooked for example steak houses where
steaks are openly grilled on a charcoal grill, and other operations which roast
poultry and other meat on rotating spits. In these types of operation special
attention must be given to the balance between this type of display cookery and
the other items on the menu to ensure that any additional expenses, such as
staffing and food costs, are justified by the increase in custom.
5.
Beverage display: The display of
beverages , alcoholic and non-alcoholic, can also contribute to impulse
purchases, rather than being just a single coffee sale at the end of a meal. In
a self service cafeteria bottles and glasses of cooled fruit juices, and wine
can all look inviting; in a restaurant, full wine racks, or full bottles at the
side of the buffet or carvery table have a similar visual effect.
Audial
Audial merchandising has
fairly limited application, but can be used in situations with a ‘captive’
audience, for example to promote a coffee shop, pizza bar, ice-cream parlour in
a shopping mall, to focus attention on a hospital’s cafeteria via the hospital
radio, to inform exhibition visitors in a conference centre of the catering
facilities available.
Other sales tools
There is a variety of
other internal sales tools that may be used by a catering operation. These include
place mats, which in coffee shops may contain the breakfast menu with a
reminder that the operation is open throughout the day for snacks; napkins;
doilies; and proportioned condiments which all add to the opertion’s sales
message. In the bars giving away cocktail sticks, matches and drink mats also
enables a small part of their operation to be carried out of the establishment
and may act as a reminder to customers of their meal experience several days or
months later.
Through all aspects of an
organization’s merchandising approach, there is a very real need for it to
complement advertising campaign. Advertising the facilities will hopefully have
stimulated customr interest. The role of merchandising is to convert that
interest into purchases and increased sales.
4.
Sales Promotion
Sales promotion is a form
of temporary incentive highlighting aspects of a product that are non-inherent
to it. Sales promotion may be aimed at customers, distribution channels and
sales employees. It does not necessarily occur at the point of sale, although
in many instances it does.
Sales promotion is used
by operations for a number of reasons including the following:
1.
To increase the
average spen by customers and thereby increase the sales revenue.
2.
To promote a new
product or range of products being featured by the operation, for example
offering a new flavoured milk shake in a take away facility at a reduced price.
3.
To influence
impulse purchasers towards a certain product or range of products, for example
featuring Australian wine at a special discount price.
4.
To aid as a
reminder during a long-term advertising campaign for example on long
established main menu items.
5.
To help ‘level’
peak activities of business for example offering a free glass of wine to
customers during their meal before 18.30 hours.
6.
To celebrate a
special event for example the New Year, Thanksgiving Day Dinner etc.
7.
To ‘package’
together menu items at an attractive price, for example steak and strawberries.
Such ‘packages’ are seasonal in nature but aid in directing a high proportion
of customers’ choices towards items of a low preparation labour content.
8.
To clear slow
moving stock, for example pricing specific cocktails at two for the price of
one.
The types of sales
promotion used are influenced by the targets being aimed at:
1.
Customer: Sales promotion aimed directly at customers
include money-off coupons, discounts or special process during off-peak
periods, free chicken meals for families, a free bottle of wine for every two
adult meals ordered etc. Special events and promotions may be communicated to
the customer by advertising , by direct mail, by telephone or by posters and
tent cards.
2.
Distribution channels: Promotional techniques aimed at incentivating third
party agents include free restaurant meals, free gifts, competitions and the
use of hotel’s leisure facilities.
3.
Sales employees: Sales promotion incentives are similar to those
listed above and include commission related sales, competitions, token and
points systems occurring over an extended period to encourage an on-going sales
commitment by the sales force.
Sales promotion is a
marketing tool in its own right and should be planned, monitored and evaluated
as such. It can be initiated either by the operation itself or by an external
organization, and as with all other aspects of the marketing mix must be in
line with themarketing objectives of the organization.
Personal selling is a
paid form of promoting a facility on a personal basis. One of the main
characteristics of service industries is the increased contact time between
service staff and customers, and the attitudes and behavior of an operation’s
service employees are important parts of the total product the customer is
buying. As with the other aspects of the promotion mix, advertising , public
relations, merchandising and sales promotion, the objective, requirements, and techniques
of personal selling need to be fully integrated into the overall marketing
policy of the organization.
Service employees are one of the most
important assets of a catering operation. Too frequently waiters, bar staff,
counter assistants, are seen only as ‘order takers’ and not as sales people.
Particularly in large organizations, such as hotels which have their own sales
department, it is too easy for service staff to see themselves merely as
servers of the facilities’ foods and beverages. The fact that an establishment
may have a sales department does not relieve the catering department of its
sales functions and responsibilities.
When customers enter a restaurant their
first personal contact with the restaurant staff is usually the waiter who
shows them to their table. How often is that same customer presented with the
menu and then left to ponder for a considerable time without being asked if
they would like a drink while considering the menu . A potential drink sale is
lost immediately. When the waiter comes to take customers’ orders there is
another chance for the employee to promote the menu, perhaps the restaurant’s
speciality, a side salad, additional vegetables, wine to accompany the meal,
rather than simply being an order taker. At the end of the meal the
presentation of the dessert and liqueur trolleys can do much to revitalize a
customer’s palate, rather than the waiter merely asking if sweet or coffee are
required.
Some establishments operate training
programmes for service staff to help increase their awareness of the different
ways in which they personally can contribute to an operation’s sale. These
training programmes can include basic sales functions of the waiter, such as
asking customers if they would like a drink when they arrive at the restaurant
to more in depth sensitivity training.
Fast food chains such as Burger King and
McDonalds have highly standardized training programmes where service staff are
taught selling phrases and responses that may be used when taking a customer’s
order. Although these highly formalized responses and situational examples are
now being modified with the introduction of warmer and friendlier phrases such
as McDonald’s ‘we’ve got time for you’ suggesting that even in an efficiently
standardized operation such as their own, they will have time for individual,
personalized service.
At the other end of the catering
spectrum, where there is a much longer contact time between service staff and
customers, such as in haute cuisine or speciality restaurants, the ‘personal touch’ plays a
more important role in the total service product. Also at this level, the
technical knowledge of the service staff assumes greater importance.
Some operations encourage their staff to
sell by providing incentives. For example, a waiter may receive a sales related
bonus for every additional $5.00 spent by a customer over and above a pre-fixed
average spend; the additional sale indicating that the waiter sold more food
and beverages than the average for that restaurant. Incentivating service staff
in this way however, needs to be introduced with sensitivity so that the wrong
type of competitiveness between staff does not develop to the detriment of the
restaurant.
Whatever the level of catering operation
and the amount of sales training given, there is a need for service staff to
become more alert to customers’ needs by listening to and observing and
identifying what their need are for that particular meal; this information may
then be quantified by the management for possible future action. This aspect of
personal selling is discussed as part of the meal experience.
The marketing of a catering operation
must be effectively planned, organized and monitored throughout all its stages.
The successes and failures of its promotional campaigns and those of its
competitors, should be studied and
reviewed when possible.
Good advertising, merchandising, public
relations and sales promotion are difficult. They are areas of food and
beverages management that often require considerable financial outlay, but
which have no guarantee of success. Caterers are faced with a variety of
promotional tools and techniques and whichever they choose, so will have
others; they must compete therefore not only with the other facilities’
catering products but also with their marketing campaigns.
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