University Market
There is a problem because Kathy Kelleher,
manager of Bentley’s wanted to keep
the market open to everyone. But
everything seemed to be targeted toward the
student and faculty at the
University of Arizona. What is the critical question?
The critical
question is if she wanted to provide a facility that would appeal
to all why
is Kathy Kelleher putting so much effort into exposing the University
market
to Bentley’s. This is the basis for the problem because Kelleher
had
neglected to offer specials or other promotional items to attract people
other
than the university crowd. What are the critical factors? 1) Pleased to
see many
students seated throughout the restaurant due to a current
advertisement in the
local newspaper. 2) Promoted a University of Arizona
student/faculty dinner for
$5.95 from 4:00 to 6:00 daily. 3) Students
dismissed Bentley’s in the past
because it was out of their price range. 4)
Kelleher wanted everyone to feel
comfortable in her establishment, and
thought it was time to expose the
university market to the restaurant. 5) The
overall sales mix was 80 percent
food and 20 percent alcoholic beverages. 6)
Kelleher made her mission statement
very clear. "We offer a little bit of
everything for everyone. The last thing
I want to do is limit the market
to one particular group." 7) Kelleher decided
to offer two separate menus
beginning in August of 1988. 8) The dinner check
average was $17.00 including
beverages. 9) Front-of –the house employees were
unhappy because they had to
serve more customers to make the same amount of
money. 10) The chef and cooks
were less enthusiastic since they considered the
lower price additions to the
dinner menu to be incompatible with the overall
concept and not worthy of
their attention. 11) Lunch service was discontinued on
weekdays in early 1989
after covers plummeted by 75%. 12) Management blamed the
decrease on the
construction on a former parking lot, which had previously been
used by the
restaurant guests. 13) Lunch customers were unable to park and
went
elsewhere. 14) Kelleher eliminated significant overhead by closing
during the
day. 15) Averaged 100 covers Monday to Wednesday. Averaged 125
covers Thursday
and Friday Averaged 200 covers Saturday and Sunday. Averaged
300 covers for
Sunday brunch. 16) Management attempted to fill the slow
periods by offering
dinner for two for $11.95 on Monday. 17) Advertising was
directed toward
different markets during different seasons. 18) Tucson
television channel 13 has
awarded the establishment with 4 stars. 19)
Kelleher spent a lot of time
visiting competitors in order to identify new
ideas and trends to implement at
her restaurant. 20) Comment cards were
distributed as a means of monitoring the
Bentley’s experience and
comparing it to the competition. 21) As an incentive
to complete the comment
card a random drawing awarded a complimentary Sunday
brunch for two. 22)
Results from the comment cards rated the menu and service
very high. 23)
Customers requested less expensive menu items. 24) Spends a
considerable
amount of money on a large arrangement of flowers for the
entranceway and
fresh flowers for each table. The flowers confused customers
since they
assumed that the restaurant was out of their price range. 25)
Originally
initiated the cut-rate specials as a means of reaching the price
sensitive
market. 26) First time customers were surprised they could
afford
Bentley’s if they timed it correctly. The conditions for solution
1) If they
invest in a parking lot then they would attract more lunch
customers. 2) If they
advertised their outside bar to the surrounding
businesses then they could
attract people after work for a drink at the end
of the day. 3) If Kelleher
offered $5.95 specials to all customers during off
peak times then they would
attract more people outside the university. 4) If
they invested in artificial
flowers they would have money to put somewhere
else. She could increase wages
for the angry workers that have to work twice
as hard. 5) If she is really
trying to attract tourists then she could offer
a discount for persons who show
an out of state ID card. 6) If she chose a
particular market to target then
there would more likely be a higher rate of
success. 7) If they continue to
offer specials then they will more likely
develop an ongoing relationship with
customers. 8) If they continue to have
good food and service then people will
refer their friends and family. 9) If
Bentley’s had a new concept with light
meals, relatively low prices, good
service and informal atmosphere then students
would be more likely to go
there. Situation analysis Strengths a) received a
four star rating b)
Corporation opened several establishments in the southwest
region and offered
high quality at a good value. c) Offered on and off premise
catering. d)
Bentley’s was located in the historic part of town. This is how
they can
attract tourist. e) Committed to aggressive promotion to keep the
public
talking (offering a $5.95 special to students/faculty). f) Comment
cards
rated the menu and service very high. g) Gave the customer a choice
of
customizing their own menu for parties of twenty or more. h) The only 70
seat
outdoor patio in the area where you could just order drinks. Weaknesses
a)
Lowering prices to get the student and faculty to come in and dine
during off
peak time. b) Not having enough parking for lunch customers and
discontinuing
lunch service on weekdays. c) Specials were limited to certain
entrées.
Opportunities a) As an incentive for customers to fill out
comment cards they
selected one from a random drawing for a free brunch. b)
By opening the only
outdoor patio with a bar in town she is allowing the
people to stop by just for
a drink without the obligation of ordering food.
Lots of people would like to
stop in for a drink this would attract a whole
new crowd. c) By lowering the
prices they could attract more people who eat
at McDonald’s by giving more
affordable prices. Threats a) Not having enough
parking will force people to go
somewhere else. b) Having a formal décor like
this restaurant has may make some
informal customers feel uncomfortable. Even
though they say this is a casual
place. c) Competition, if they can not
provide what the customer wants they will
go elsewhere. d) Offering too low
prices could attract more customers but it
might give a negative result.
Assumptions a) I assume fresh flower arrangements
cost a lot and if Kelleher
got rid of them she would be able to lower prices for
everyone. She would
more likely attract more customers from the university
because the touches of
flowers give a formal atmosphere rather than an informal
one. b) I assume
investing in a parking lot will attract more customers because
they wouldn’t
have to search for a parking space. I assume this will also
allow them to
reopen for lunch. c) I assume that if they don’t invest in a
parking lot they
will lose more customers during the hours between 4:00 to
6:00pm when
people are still at work and parking spaces are not available. d) I
assume
that if Kelleher keeps her customers happy they will return and also
refer
friends and family. Conclusion In conclusion I see that Kelleher need
to
focus on one particular market. You can please most of the people most of
the
time but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. If she cut
out
the flower arrangements which makes people think this is a formal
environment
more students would come in and dine because they are looking for
something
casual. Basically Kelleher needs to give the students what they
want for a price
that they can afford or they will take their business
elsewhere. By offering
lower prices she will be able to bring in more of the
university population
which will result in compensation for lower check
averages.