Tranquil post Essay Example

Tranquil post Essay I would like to open a African restaurant, food from all over the continent Africa. My aim is to have different races come and try what real African food and try food from that side of the world .I believe that a restaurant is a place of relaxation and comfort ability both environmentally and in the catering. I want the restaurant to be a home away from home. I want there to be a tropical feeling and where it feels like the world has been condensed into one place.Restaurants generally provide a service. The provide food. All restaurants all different, it may be Chinese, Indian, English or ItalianRestaurant patrons want to be delighted, but not necessarily surprised. If theyre anticipating a family-style steakhouse but find themselves in a more formal environment with a bewildering gourmet menu, the surprise alone may keep them from enjoying the restaurant. Concepts give restaurateurs a way to let patrons know what to expect and also provide some structure for operation. Some of the m ore popular restaurant concepts include: Casual-dining restaurants, Family-style restaurants, Ethnic restaurants, Seafood and SteakhousesFamily- style establishments offer speedy service and menus appealing to a broad range of customers, from children to seniors. Family-style restaurants have prices slightly higher than those at fast-food restaurants, yet still provide table service.Quick-service seafood restaurants generally offer a `limited range of choices, often restricted to fried fish and shrimp. Miscalled and upscale restaurants offer a wider selection of seafood items, prepared in ways other than fried, including baked, broiled and grilled. Seafood can be risky, as seafood prices are always changing and many kinds of seafood are seasonal. Beware: Quality can vary tremendously.Steakhouses are part of the miscalled and upscale markets. Miscalled steakhouses are typically family-oriented, offering a casual environment with meals perceived as good values. Comfort is emphasized, and Western themes are popular. Upscale steakhouses offer a more formal atmosphere and may serve larger cuts of meat of better quality than those served in miscalled restaurants. Upscale establishments offer guests more privacy and focus more on adult patrons than on families.I want to create a casual dining restaurant serving Ghanaian food. Casual-dining restaurants appeal to a wide audience, ranging from baby boomers to kids to Gen Hers to seniors, and they provide a variety of food items. Many successful casual-dining restaurants centre on a theme thats incorporated into their menus and dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cor.Step 2: Set Up Your FacilityLayout and design are major factors in your restaurants success. Ill need to take into account the size and layout of the dining room, kitchen space, storage space and office. Typically, restaurants allot 40 to 60 percent of their space to the dining area, approximately 30 percent to the kitchen and prep area and the remainder to storage and office spac e.Dining areaThis is where Ill be making the bulk of your money, so I dont cut corners when designing your dining room. I will visit restaurants in your area and analyze the dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cor, watch the diners whether they react positively to the dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cor or not.Are it comfortable, or are people shifting in their seats throughout their meals.I will note what works well and what doesnt. The space required per seat varies. For a small, casual-dining restaurant, youll need about 15 to 18 square feet per seat to assure comfortable seating and enough aisle space so servers have room to move between the tables.Production area: Too often, the production area in a restaurant is inefficiently designed, and the result is a poorly organized kitchen and less than top-notch service. Keep your menu in mind as you determine each element in the production area. Ill need to include space for receiving, storage, food preparation, cooking, baking, dishwashing, production aisles, trash storage, employee facilities and an area for a small office where I can perform daily management duties. I will arrange my food production area so that everything is just a few steps away from the cook. My design should also allow two or more cooks to work side by side during my busiest hours.Step 3: Plan Your InventoryBefore I open my restaurant, you need to make sure it will be adequately stocked. To calculate basic stock accurately, review actual sales during an appropriate time period, such as a full year of business. Of course, during my start-up, I wont have previous sales and stocking figures to guide me, so Ill project my first years stock requirements based on my business plan.Depending on the size and type of my restaurant, during my first year I can expect to spend anywhere from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30000 on food, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9000 on beverages, and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½200 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500 on paper products.My employees will help define my restaurants reput ation. There are several categories of personnel in the restaurant business: manager, cooks, servers, busboys, dishwashers, hosts and bartenders. When my restaurant is still new, some of the duties may cross over from one category to another. For example, I the manager may double as the host, and servers may also bus tables. I will be sure to hire people who are willing to be flexible in their duties. My payroll costs, including my salary and that of your co- managers, should be about 24 to 35 percent of your total gross sales.Step 4: Hire Your StaffFor the Manager the most important employee in most restaurants is the manager. My best candidate will have already managed a restaurant in your area and will be familiar with local buying sources, suppliers and methods. My also want a manager with leadership skills and the ability to supervise personnel while reflecting the style and character of your restaurant.To get the quality of manager I want, youll have to pay well. Depending on your location, expect to pay a seasoned manager à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30,000 a year, plus a percentage of sales. An entry-level manager will earn à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12,000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000 but wont have the skills of a more experienced candidate. If I cant offer a high salary, work out a profit-sharing arrangementits an excellent way to hire good people and motivate them to build a successful restaurant. Hire a manager a month before you open so he or she can help me set up my restaurant. Once the business is running, the manager can anticipate slower times of the day or week to schedule his or her off-hours.Marketing StrategyA marketing strategy identifies customer groups which a particular business can better serve than its target competitors, and tailors product offerings, prices, distribution, promotional efforts, and services toward those market segments. Ideally, the strategy should address unmet customer needs that offer adequate potential profitability. A good stra tegy helps a business focus on the target markets it can serve best.Target MarketingOwners of small businesses usually have limited resources to spend on marketing. Concentrating their efforts on one or a few key market segments target marketing gets the most return from small investments. There are two methods used to segment a market:Geographical segmentation Specializing in serving the needs of customers in a particular geographical area. For example, a neighbourhood convenience store may send advertisements only to people living within one-half mile of the store.Customer segmentation Identifying those people most likely to buy the product or service and targeting those groups.Managing the Market MixEvery marketing program contains four key components:Products and ServicesPromotionDistributionPricingThese are combined into an overall marketing program.Products and ServicesProduct strategies may include concentrating on a narrow product line, developing a highly specialized pr oduct or service, or providing a product-service package containing unusually high-quality service.PromotionPromotion strategies include advertising and direct customer interaction. Good salesmanship is essential for small businesses because of their limited ability to spend on advertising. Good telephone book advertising is also important. Direct mail is an effective, low-cost medium available to small business.PriceThe right price is crucial for maximizing total revenue. Generally, higher prices mean lower volume and vice-versa; however, small businesses can often command higher prices because of their personalized service.DistributionThe manufacturer and wholesaler must decide how to distribute their products. Working through established distributors or manufacturers agents generally is easiest for small manufacturers. Small retailers should consider cost and traffic flow in site selection, especially since advertising and rent can be reciprocal: A low-cost, low-traffic location means spending more on advertising to build traffic.The nature of the product or service is also important in sitting decisions. If purchases are based largely on impulse, then high traffic and visibility are critical. On the other hand, location is less a concern for products or services that customers are willing to go out of their way to find. The recent availability of highly segmented mailing lists, purchased from list brokers, magazines, or other companies, has enabled certain small businesses to operate from any location yet serve national or international markets.Marketing PerformanceAfter implementing a marketing program, entrepreneurs must evaluate its performance. Every program should have performance standards to compare with actual results. Researching industry norms and past performance will help to develop appropriate standards.Entrepreneurs should audit their companys performance at least quarterly. The key questions are:Is the company doing all it can to be customer -oriented?Do employees ensure the customers are satisfied and leave wanting to come back?Is it easy for the customer to find what he or she wants at a competitive price?Some Marketing IdeasMarketing is all about satisfying customer needs. The following represents a comprehensive list of marketing ideas. Use the list of marketing ideas to help better understand customer needs and ways to satisfy those needs.A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals, and serves as your firms resume. The basic components include a current and pro forma balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow analysis. It helps you allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make good business decisions. Because it provides specific and organized information about your company and how you will repay borrowed money, a good business plan is a crucial part of any loan application. Additionally, it informs sales personnel, suppliers, and others about your operat ions and goals.Using the PlanA business plan is a tool with three basic purposes: communication, management, and planning.As a communication tool, it is used to attract investment capital, secure loans, convince workers to hire on, and assist in attracting strategic business partners. The development of a comprehensive business plan shows whether or not a business has the potential to make a profit. It requires a realistic look at almost every phase of business and allows you to show that you have worked out all the problems and decided on potential alternatives before actually launching your business.As a management tool, the business plan helps you track, monitor and evaluate your progress. The business plan is a living document that you will modify as you gain knowledge and experience. By using your business plan to establish timelines and milestones, you can gauge your progress and compare your projections to actual accomplishments.As a planning tool, the business plan guides yo u through the various phases of your business. A thoughtful plan will help identify roadblocks and obstacles so that you can avoid them and establish alternatives. Many business owners share their business plans with their employees to foster a broader understanding of where the business is going.These are a few ways to promote a restaurantPublicity stunts Stunt is a word with negative connotations for restaurant owners, but I wanted to use a word that conjured up images that are different than traditional press relations efforts. Sending a standard press release about a new menu may result in a small write-up. To cut through the clutter and generate extensive exposure, you need a newsworthy angle. Something likes a celebrity chef cook-off, really unique contest or other major event. Think beyond typical events like golf tournaments and simple fundraisers. Challenge your staff or marketing firm to think what youd have to do to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Challe nge them to think much bigger and come up with ideas that tie in to what your club stands for but also have potential for national exposure. If you create events that have only local appeal, youll be limited with your media exposure potential and may not even make the local paper. If you think much larger, you wont have to worry about getting coverage. A well-constructed publicity stunt can be worth its weight in gold in terms of positive exposure for your restaurant.Public relations Public relations has been called advertising that you dont have to pay for. If you have a successful public and media relations program, youll get increased exposure and prestige without spending a fortune. For this to work; though, youll need to create and publicize newsworthy stories. Hiring a new chef isnt always enough to garner the kind of attention you deserve. Create other angles that are unique and make your restaurant stand out. Also, review your restaurants marketing and advertising expenses over the last three years. Then determine the percentage that was spent on traditional advertising compared to public relations. Its worthwhile to spend 15-30 percent of your budget on a solid public relations program. Find a firm that has creativity and excitement about your restaurant. If that firm doesnt seem genuinely curious and interested in your restaurant and what it has to offer, itll have a hard time creating interest with the media.Bounce backs This is an underutilized tool that bounces guests from peak times to off-peak times and can also work to encourage frequency in your food and beverage operations. While simple in theory and execution, this tactic can produce far more in revenues per dollar invested than traditional advertising. All you do is offer incentives at the point of purchase on popular services to encourage the guest to try your restaurant another time. For instance, if youre busy for lunch and need to drive sales for dinner, offer bounces back certificate s that can only be redeemed during dinner hours.Stop discounting Discounting tells your customers and prospective customers, We dont deserve full price, so well be happy to lower our rates to make up for the difference. This point was driven home to me during my tenure with The Breakers of Palm Beach, a lavish resort whose guests spend a small fortune to walk the halls. Discounting the price would be to discount the 105 years spent building a brand. Instead of discounting, consider no strings offers that do not rely on percentages. Examples include value-added perks such as free valet parking, complimentary services, merchandise, etc. And, in a related topic, never offer coupons, only offer certificates.Business socials some restaurant owners are unreceptive or apathetic to hosting business socials with outside organizations at their establishment. However, if they select the right group to partner with, you can leverage their resources to promote your restaurant, and you can also target your core audience. Host socials where the food is centre stage. Arrange photo opportunities that include your displays in the background and submit to local media. Partnering with a business or charitable organization works on many levels and can help you stretch your marketing budget while still delivering higher returns on investment than can be achieved with traditional advertising.Sampling Tasting believes and if you would grade your food a B minus or above, you need to get it in potential customers mouths. Thats the best way to build recognition and it is more effective and less expensive than advertising. Every public event that draws your core audience is an opportunity to offer samples of your product. Pick the best 2-3 items on your menu that can be easily transported and get some solid representatives of your restaurant out to meet and greet at these off-property functionsHost food events Hosting food events such as the Taste of Caribbean is a great way to posit ion your restaurant as a centre of the food scene in your market. It allows you to leverage the reputation, profile and credibility of all of the other participants, and it can also help you share the expense of holding the event. Hosting an event also provides your restaurant with the opportunity to recruit additional manpower and resources for promoting the event and gives that added edge with garnering local publicity.Toss up days Promote this program through your next newsletter and other internal marketing vehicles to your existing customer base. Pick a day which is the slowest food day and flip for the food tab. Guests will have a 50 percent chance of getting their food bill paid by the restaurant. This attracts your guests attention much more than a buy one get one free restaurant promotion. Guests are also more likely to have higher check averages than normal because there is a chance they wont have to pay. It creates a tremendous attention among your core guest base.Menu B ingo This is a great tactic for encouraging frequency and getting members to try different items on the menu. You simply create bingo cards that have different menu items in boxes. Have the cards designed with five columns and five rows. You can also promote other non-food items such as merchandise, cookbooks, and gift certificates. Guests have an allotted period of time 60 days for example to complete a connection just as they would with a bingo card. Once they try five items in any direction, they receive a free gift basket or other incentives that are roughly equal to one of the items purchased.Birthday program Research shows that 40 percent of all Ghanaian eat out on their birthday. This presents an opportunity for establishments with solid birthday programs. So restaurants should take more advantage of this. It does offer a chance for you to swoop in and capture your increased share of the market. A birthday program can be executed through new automated tools like those tha t are available through e-mail marketing service providers. You simply plug in the birthday and e-mail address of your members, and a secure and nicely designed e-mail is sent to them at a time you determine in advance. The system knows who and when to send the e-mail to and also tracks view rates for reporting that allows you to know how well your program is working. You can also have the e-mail include a redemption code that will allow you to track what percentages of the e-mails are bringing in guests and calculate a return on investment. Recent research has shown that retention based e-mail marketing is 300 to 400 percent higher than traditional vehicles such as direct mail and faxes. Its a great way to communicate and manage your clubs birthday program.Market researchMarket research aims to helps an organisation make effective marketing decisions by providing information that can inform the decision making process. Its is concerned with the data in order help the producer bette r understand their costumer. I will be carrying out a market research, I will do this because it can help an organisation to achieve it overall objective because it can identify market opportunities for example move from sitting on wooding chairs to cushioned chairs. It can be used to asses and improve marketing activity for example improves the service offered in a restaurant. It helps improve the quality of marketing being undertaken by revealing important costumer information such as, what the costumer wants, what they prefer, how often they eat out or what type of food they prefer. I will use primary research because primary research obtains new information and helps you keep on top pf competition. It helps to know the costumer that uses their products it also helps organisation to know what improve on. It is cheap and brings a lot of information.Secondary research makes use of research already carried out by someone else for another project. I will also use secondary research b ecause it helps me have a broader view of the were restaurants are positioned in the market. Secondary information comes from the television, magazines, internet, news and current affairs. Access to secondary information can be easy and cheap to accessDun Bradstreet- this research publishes a number of directories such as comprehensive financial reports on companies and on the trading prospects in a particular industry this is often used by suppliers and other creditor to determine companys credit worthiness.Mintel standing for market intelligence is one of the leading sources of secondary marketing information. Every month mintel analyses the consumers, producers, advertising and distribution within a range of market.Company report is a legal requirement for a public limited is to publish data about it activities in the previous.Observation is watching and recording the activities of a business or individual to identify actions.Back data is existing company information which can u sed to make a decision of forecast future trends.Annual abstract of statistics are data collected by the government on all areas of public and business life.Trial air when a product is used and opinions and views are recorded on the experiencePilots- a preliminary stage in market research in which a small number of interview are conducted to see whether the questionnaire, advert or product achieves the research objectivesField trials- testing a new or improved product on costumers within you target market.Consumer panel-a group of consumers within a firms target market used on a regular basis for market research exercises.Test marketing- the launch of a new or improved product within a tightly defined area, older to measure actual sales potential.Concept testing- to test the accepting of a concept by target consumersDemand is a desire to own or a service. It is affected by consumer taste, price, incomes, advertising and the popularity of other products.P3Form the market research vid eo I watched, I found out that before a research is done, the company has to find out from their clients, what the aims and objectives of what they want for example, their buying habits, information about their competition in order to keep on top of competition.The market research survey is good and is an advantage to the company because is save money. The market research identifies the costumer needs and wants. The company needs to understand its competitors and I identify the aims and objectives.The system that the company does when they enter their questions is coded. Their questionnaires are pre-tested before they go out to costumers. Some questionnaires are open ended other are closed ended questions.The advantages of closed questions are that it is easier and quicker for respondents to answer, the answers of different respondents are easier to compare, answers are easier to code and statistically analyse, the response choices can clarify question meaning for respondents, respo ndents are more likely to answer about sensitive topics, there are fewer irrelevant or confused answers to questions, less articulate or less literate respondents are not at a disadvantage and replication is easier.The disadvantages are that they can suggest ideas that the respondent would not otherwise have, respondents with no opinion or no knowledge can answer anyway, respondents can be frustrated because their desired answer is not a choice, it is confusing if many response choices are offered, misinterpretation of a question can go unnoticed, distinctions between respondent answers may be blurred, clerical mistakes or marking the wrong response is possible, they force respondents to give simplistic responses to complex issues and they force people to make choices they would not make in the real world.However open ended questions can be useful because they permit an unlimited number of possible answers, respondents can answer in detail and can qualify and clarify responses, unan ticipated findings can be discovered, they permit adequate answers to complex issues, they permit creativity, self-expression, and richness of detail and they reveal a respondents logic, thinking process, and frame of reference, yet it also has some disadvantages, open ended questions could be different respondents give different degrees of detail in answers, responses may be irrelevant or buried in useless detail, comparisons and statistical analysis become difficult, coding responses is difficultà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ articulate and highly literate respondents have an advantage, questions may be too general for respondents who lose direction, a greater amount of respondent time, thought, and effort is necessary, respondents can be intimidated by questions and answers take up a lot of space in the questionnaire.