Marketing Activities of Long Beach Seafood Restaurant - Essay Example

Critical Analysis on Marketing Activities of Long Beach Seafood Restaurant Introduction With the increasing growth of seafood restaurants, it can be stated that the Long Beach restaurant chain of Singapore plays a significant role by considering the interest of various regions globally. The Long Beach seafood restaurant is believed to be quite well known for its exceptional offerings of different seafood to its customers. The restaurant is located in the East Coast Parkway and the other divisions of it are located in different places including Marina, East Coast Seafood Centre along with IMM Building in Singapore. The restaurant was founded in the year 1946 with its earliest division at Bedok Resthouse and delivered various seafood items to the various customer segments of Singapore including both domestic and international customers. The Long Beach restaurant is known to be quite popular for its unique offering of black pepper crabs in Singapore and is also renowned for its exceptional seafood offerings of Drunken Prawns along with various types of uncooked seafood. Moreover, the BBQ Golden Phoenix fish, Crispy Duck along with the signature dishes such as Golden Stripe Lobster were few of the most well-liked dishes of Long Beach during the 1980s followed by House Speciality Prawn and other seafood items during the period of 1990s (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). The study intends to discuss the different information sources of analyzing the business environment of the food & beverage industry as well as situational analysis of Long Beach Restaurant to guide its strategic decision processes. Moreover, the paper will also include the 4Ps of marketing mix and effective market segmentation initiatives for Long Beach in the competitive restaurant business. In addition, the brand management of major products along with the effective strategies of product lifecycle has also been considered in the study. SWOT and PESTEL Analysis and Impacts of the Analysis upon Strategic Decisions SWOT Analysis Food chains or restaurants serving food and beverages to the customers entail certain strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Furthermore, these factors would be analyzed with the help of a SWOT analysis. Strengths Strengths of a restaurant are supposed to be those factors through which they attract customers and satisfy their respective demands related to food and beverages along with ensuring profit maximization. The foremost strength of the restaurant i.e. Long Beach is its kitchen which is usually managed by highly proficient chefs. Furthermore, the chefs also conduct brainstorming activities in order to innovate and introduce new dishes. Moreover, the restaurant is also known to serve every level of individuals such as eminent personalities along with normal individuals. The imperative factor which acts as a strength for the restaurant is the loyalty of its customers which is achieved by it through offering quality food items (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Weaknesses Problems of the restaurant can be identified as those factors which remain incapable of satisfying their customers. Thus, the problems can be stated to be lack of space which compels the customers to wait for extra hours in order to get a seat for enjoying the food. Furthermore, the restaurant is also found to engage less manpower which delays their service process. Additionally, the restaurant even fails to provide certain facilities related to food i.e. availability of cuisines of various countries such as India and Korea among others (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Opportunities According to the nature of the service offered by the restaurant it can be stated that it possesses a few definite opportunities to expand their business nationally and internationally. The various national and international awards won by the restaurant for its services provide it the opportunity to successfully branch out in other nations (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Threats The threats of Long Beach Seafood restaurant can be mentioned to be the competitive market trends for which the management requires developing innovative ideas frequently to remain ahead in the competition. New entrants are also considered to be a major threat for the restaurant because the new restaurants establishes its business with modern technologies and provides faster services to the customers which can gravely threaten the business of Long Beach. Generally, the restaurant witnesses an unique threat which relates to the actuality that local people rarely seek their services regularly except for certain occasions (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). With the help of the above analysis, Long Beach can plan or formulate effective strategies in order to operate its business nationally as well as internationally. The strengths will likely aid the restaurant to formulate systematic procedures for raising the degree of their performance or service by introducing various innovative dishes for the customers. Furthermore, the defined weaknesses will the restaurant chain to improve their performances by considering effective measures while making strategic plans. Moreover, the opportunity would assist the restaurant to recognize their strengths and expand their business further in the market by improving their weaknesses and making utmost utilization of the resources so as to earn increased profits. Additionally, the identified threats of the restaurant will help the management to formulate their future strategic plans in a definite manner to find effectual solutions to their problems without affecting their business and profit level (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). PESTEL Analysis PESTEL analysis is a widely used and important analytical model for an organization which assists to identify the conditions regarding the political, economic, social, technological, environmental as well as the legal factors of the country in order to develop the existing condition of an organization or for the reason of commencing its operational unit in a foreign destination (Lorat, 2009). In the context of Long Beach Seafood restaurant, the analysis will entail its various business strategies in relation to the different branches within Singapore. Political Factors Political factors can pose a major influence upon the business of an organization in terms of efficiently coordinating its several vital operations. These factors can create positive impacts upon an organization’s business by making its operations smoother, however political disturbances and imbalances, unsympathetic governmental regulations can also create obstructions for an organization to function efficiently within a nation (Oxford University Press, 2007). In the context of political influence, a dramatic development can be observed in the seafood industry of Singapore. The government of the country is found to be highly focused on developing the seafood industry through facilitating various initiatives. Economic Factor The economic factors as a part of the PESTEL analysis refer to the various aspects related to the economic stability of the host or operational country such as interest rates, taxation programs, exchange and inflation rates, economic growth according to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rates and other economic constraints (Chernev & Kotler, 2008). The recent economic condition of Singapore can be described as a highly globalized structure which grew by 4.9% during the year 2011. However, the economic growth rate during the year 2010 was considered to be 14.5%. Moreover, the increasing per capita GDP growth rate of the country can be observed to be one of the major aspects of Singapore in comparison to the other South Asian countries (Australian Government department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2012). Social Factors The social factors that can affect a business’s operations in a country encompass various social and cultural dimensions. The factors also involve changes in the social and cultural trends that can adversely influence the products or services of an organization. The social aspects of Long Beach Seafood restaurant significantly involve the support of various communities (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Technological Factors Technological factors in the PESTEL analysis include involvement of various Information Technology (IT) facilities within the business process. The factors comprise technological aspects in Research and Development (R&D), promotional activities along with other aspects related to catering services and their accessibility within Singapore. The restaurant has also developed certain promotional activities of its products through web facilities in order to collect a global response from its prospective consumers. Moreover, it can be observed that the restaurant has also indulged in promotional activities in various social networking media (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Environmental Factors According to the present day context, the environmental factors can be determined as one of the major aspects for the organizations in terms of gaining access to a new market or country. This particular factor refers to the environmental issues that can create an impact on the various business operations of the organization in a foreign market. With respect to the Long Beach Seafood restaurant, the organization has been playing a dominant role in the restaurant business over the past 66 years since its establishment. Singapore is one of the major tourism destinations which frequently attracts a large number of global tourists from various regions of the world and therefore makes it a feasible environment and an ideal destination for the business of Long Beach (Janaus Corporate Solutions, 2012). Legal Environment Discrimination law, employment law, consumer law along with health and safety law are the major legal factors for the organizations in terms of conducting trade within the country or other foreign locations (Oxford University Press, 2007). The legal environment of Singapore can be measured to be a feasible and effective framework especially for the restaurant business. There are various governmental approvals and licenses which are required to be obtained to commence the operations of a restaurant business within Singapore. The emerging rate of trade conferences along with increasing growth of the tourism sectors makes the legal environment of Singapore a flexible guideline to set up restaurant businesses (Janaus Corporate Solutions, 2012). Moreover, the country also offers low personal and corporate tax rates which are significantly feasible for Long Beach to sustain its leading position. Marketing Mix The marketing mix involves the study of 4Ps which includes product, price, place and promotion and can be considered as one of the effective tools for the marketers to attain a significant turnover with their offerings. With respect to the study of Long Beach Seafood restaurant, the marketing mix will be focused on the elements of product, price place and promotional practices of the organization (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Product Product or service of an organization can be determined as the fundamental factor to ensure growth. In the context of continuous advancement made in business activities, the organizations are learnt to be highly focusing on their offerings with respect to quality, affordability along with making certain of the fulfillment of customers’ desires from the specific product or service (Kotler and Keller, 2006). With respect to Long Beach, the products such as, black pepper crabs of Singapore, BBQ Golden Phoenix fish, Crispy Duck along with Drunken Prawn are quite well-known. Moreover, the restaurant is also famous for catering or serving uncooked seafood to its customers around the various regions (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Price Pricing of the products is also an important facet for the organizations which is correlated with the financial growth of the organizations. A feasible pricing strategy enables to derive value of the products or services from its respective buyers according to the market demand. The pricing strategy of any product/service is considered to be one of the major decisions for the organizations. However, it represents the financial growth structure of the enterprise along with acquiring new buyers and retaining the existing ones with it (Kotler and Keller, 2006). The pricing strategy of Long Beach can be regarded as feasible in relation to the various categories according to the cost of each item. Moreover, the restaurant still maintains an effective pricing policy which defends the aspect of affordability for both the domestic as well as international consumers of the restaurant. Additionally, it can also be stated that the restaurant maintains its pricing strategy for each of its item according to the cost of the seafood available within the Singaporean market along with the required process costs of the seafood dishes (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Place Place is also a significant part for the organizations to offer their products/services to the final consumers. According to the modern day’s selling perception, the place can be determined as a crucial factor to acquire the ultimate buyers for the products or services. However, the modern organizations are quite conscious about their source of offerings with regard to the availability of their services through e-commerce and non e-commerce approaches or both the concepts (Kotler and Keller, 2006). With respect to Long Beach, it has been observed that the restaurant is located in one of the busiest places that significantly attracts both the local people and tourists of the country (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Promotion Promotion of products and/or services is a major element of the marketing mix that relates to a practice of influencing the buyers by providing additional benefits with regard to the products/services rendered by the organizations (Kotler and Keller, 2006). According to the present promotional scheme of Long Beach Seafood restaurant, it can be observed that the restaurant offers a premier card “Long Beach Premier Card” to its customers to access certain facilities. The premier card of the restaurant provides the benefit of being acknowledged as a member by spending just $50 where they will be entitled to acquire 75 Long Beach Dollar which would be completely exchangeable with the dishes offered by the restaurant. The promotion offer of the restaurant significantly provides the advantage of free membership to the customers by spending an additional $25 (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Moreover, the other promotional activities such as, discount schemes on lunch packages, additional discount for the membership card holders, along with additional plans such as sending e-vouchers and other yearly occasional rebate schemes (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Describe the company's market segment(s). List how you believe the management has segmented the population and include how they target particular segment(s) The process of market segmentation can be considered as an essential and integral element of marketing strategy for the organizations to target certain markets or groups in which they need to invest their business efforts. The process by which the entire marketplace is subdivided into various target segments can be considered as the Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) process. The STP process includes several benefits for the marketers as it assists to identify the market and apply appropriate competitive strategies such as, advertising, new product development as well as brand differentiation (Rosscraig, 2007). According to the observation of Long Beach Seafood restaurant, it can be identified that the restaurant possesses effective marketing strategies according to the altering scenario of the marketplaces. During the period of 1980, the restaurant offered food products such as Bamboo Clam, Mouse Cowrie, Alaskan King Crab and Hokikai, Tiger Sea Mentis along with other seafood items to its consumers. As per the increasing demand, the innovative presentation of various seafood dishes include, ‘Ching Mun’ Thai Style White Curry Crab, Thai Bhin fresh baby squid in Vietnam style and several other dishes which attracted a large number of domestic and global consumers across the world (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). The main target of the restaurant can be considered to be the various countries within the Asia Pacific region, the local people along with other coastal regions. Moreover, the restaurant is known to significantly target its consumer segments through innovative styles of seafood dishes. According to the present day context, Long Beach significantly offers a range of seafood dishes along with other vegetarian dishes to its global consumers (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Describe how the products deliver superior value to the chosen market segments According to the wide assortment of seafood and other dishes, the products of Long Beach restaurant considerably engage a superior value with regard to its different market segments. For instance, the famous black pepper crab, BBQ live golden phoenix fish, crispy duck, live golden stripe lobster are few of the chief products of the restaurant which notably possesses a higher and superior value since the past 66 years (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Review Three Brands Long Beach Seafood restaurant offers various types of food and beverage products with which they serve the customers as well as gain profits. From the different category of dishes, three varieties have been selected for the discussion namely Classic White Pepper Live Alaskan King Crab, Live Australian King Crab and Popular Chilli Crab among others. Furthermore, Classic White Pepper Live Alaskan King Crab is best known for its chunk meat in the long legs along with being tenderly juicy and sweet flesh. Uncooked Australian King Crab is best known and prepared for its roe and steamed with chicken broth along with Chinese wine or the restaurant’s special white pepper sauce. Chilli Crab is another spicy and popular dish which is prepared with the help of chilly and tomato sauce along with egg, lemon juice and vinegar. It is also one of the special and well-liked food items in Singapore. These are a few dishes for which Long Beach is widely recognized (Long Beach Seafood Restaurant, 2012). Describe the brands with the elements of effective branding Brand elements can be defined as the image or unwritten distinct information which recognizes and differentiates a particular product and service from other similar ones. Moreover, there are certain brand elements among which position, promise and personality has been selected for discussing the three recognized brands of Long Beach restaurant. Furthermore, brand position can be stated to be the measure considered by the organization in order to build unique features for its products and services so that it can offer variations in terms of taste or satisfaction as compared to other similar products and services. In relation to the context it can be stated that Long Beach has created a different or unique feature of their products in the market which aided in attaining customer loyalty. Moreover, another distinct feature for which the restaurant and its dishes are well known is the white pepper sauce. With the help of the unique creation of the mentioned sauce, the restaurant is believed to be able to provide dishes with a different taste to its customer in comparison to other restaurants (Clark, 2006). Brand promise can be classified as the promise made by the organization to its customer for providing quality products and delivery those products timely when demanded by the individuals. Furthermore, in doing so, the organization should maintain a good relationship, so that it can identify the requirements of the customers and according to which they can manufacture the products or render services in the market. Contextually, in accordance with the context it is assumed that the restaurant shares a good relationship with the customers which can be ascertained from the loyalty that the customers’ display towards the restaurant (Clark, 2006). Brand personality can be described as the uniqueness of a product in which the organization deals. This is because with the help of the unique taste the organization will be able to acquire new customers as well as create a strong brand name. The brand personality can be created by unique taste, high quality and design along with pricing among others. With the help of these factors an organization would be able to present an unique character for the products and services. With reference to the context it can be stated that Long Beach restaurant also consider these elements in promoting their brand in the market. This can be observed with the help of their product presentation i.e. providing different dishes of a particular product such as Classic White Pepper Live Alaskan King Crab, Live Australian King Crab and Popular Chilli Crab among others (Clark, 2006). Product life cycle and the current stage of Long Beach’s products Product life cycle (PLC) act as a strategic tool for the business management because it helps to undertake certain measures in order to present a product in the market with attractive features. PLC can be defined as the process of controlling and managing the entire lifecycle of a product from designing to supply of the product along with the end of the product. Furthermore, PLC management helps the organizations to build a backbone for the products along with processing the data for business functions. Moreover, the factor with which PLC represents the lifecycle of a product includes introduction, growth and maturity along with the decline stage (Komninos, 2002). Introduction can be defined as the stage when an organization introduces its new product in the markets for the first time. This stage also explains the steps that an organization should undertake in order to launch its product i.e. advertisement and promotion among others. Moreover, growth can be stated as the stage where the demand for the products tends to increase in the market by satisfying the consumers as well as earning profits. Furthermore, in this stage the products are introduced in other markets and can be also referred as expanding the business nationally or internationally. Mature stage can be classified as the stage when a business achieves its primary objective i.e. gaining profits from the product and dominating every individual market segment with the product. Additionally, it is the stage where certain measures are also considered for enhancing the profit margin which includes redesigning and improving the product quality for competing with new rivals or substitute products. Declining stage refers to the phase when the demands of a particular product tend to decline. Fundamentally, in this stage the organization plans to withdraw the product from the market and introduce new products in order to satisfy the demand of the customers with new tastes and preferences (Vernon, 1966). With reference to the context and the food and beverage industry it can be stated that the restaurant also considered the aspect of PLC management in their business processes in order to serve the customers with different tastes of dishes along with measuring the lifecycle of their products. However, the business trends and the demand of the product reveal that the dishes of the restaurant appear to be in the growth stage. This is because of the actuality that the demands of the products are learnt to be rising owing to which Long Beach is expanding its business operations nationally and internationally. Furthermore, it was also observed that the restaurant also introduces new dishes in the market frequently which also significantly aids to trigger demands for its dishes (Vernon, 1966). Conclusion Long Beach restaurant started their business twenty years ago by serving customers and visitors with sea-foods such as Black Pepper Crab of Singapore. Slowly the demand for the restaurant’s dishes witnessed a rise within the local market. The restaurant won various awards nationally and internationally owing to the taste and quality of their dishes. A thorough external analysis i.e. PESTLE helped the restaurant to expand their businesses globally. This is because they possessed quite loyal customers owing to the popularity of their food items which are served in the restaurant. Generally, the restaurant’s target market was the tourists and eminent personalities especially rather than the local people as these people hardly availed the services of the restaurant regularly. Singapore is known to be one of the most popular cities which attract a large number of international tourists annually. Therefore, this particular aspect makes the city a perfect location for setting up restaurants. The Long Beach Seafood restaurant is found to be located in most of the most visible and busiest places in the city which effectively aids it to lure both national as well as international customers. Contextually, the restaurant serves food and beverages such as ‘Chiang Mun’ Thai Style White Curry Crab, ‘Jasin’ Style Pan Fried Rice, ‘Da Qian’ Canadian Dungeness Crab with Ramen in Claypot, ‘Thai Bhin’ Vietnamese Style Fresh Baby Squid, Deep Fried Flat Rice Noodles with ‘La La King', Fried Crispy Kang Kong with Cuttlefish, and 'Hiko' De-shelled Prawn with Orange Sauce, 'Chianjen' Hydrangea along with Claypot Yellow Roe Crab with vermicelli among others. A SWOT analysis of the organization i.e. Long Beach restaurant was also carried out in order to identify its strengths s well as drawbacks. Moreover, according to PLC stages it was identified that the products of the restaurant was currently in the growth stage as the demand for the products are found to be increasing. References Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2012). Singapore country brief. Retrieved from http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/singapore/singapore_country_brief.html Clark, K. (2006). Three essential elements of enduring brands. Retrieved from http://www.dmi.org/dmi/html/conference/branddesign06/Clark%20Brandscendence.pdf Chernev, A. & Kotler, P. (2008). Strategic marketing management, 3rd Edition. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Janaus Corporate Solutions. (2012). Guide to business licenses and permits in Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.guidemesingapore.com/incorporation/company/singapore-business-licenses-guide Komninos, I. (2002). 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