The Management of the Rainforest Cafe - Research Paper Example

Marketing Strategy Rainforest Café attracts s by positioning itself as a ‘wild place to shop and eat’ (Rainforest Café, . The s of the café can experience the adventure and thrill of the Amazon rain forests in a safe environment. The Rainforest Café offers a vast array of food items that can satiate the taste buds of both children and adults. The guests can spend quality time at the expansive retail area and can purchase items ranging from sauces to clothing. Since many of the products are sold under the Rainforest Café brand name, the customers pick them up as gifts and souvenirs (Rainforest Cafe, 2013). The management of the Rainforest Café has an astute marketing plan. It adopts multiple and varied marketing strategies for new outlets. At the same time, it runs separate promotional campaigns for the mature outlets (EDGAR Online, 2013). Market Segment Analysis Rainforest Café, owned by Landrys Inc., Houston, Texas, is a themed restaurant chain and offers something for all demographic profiles (Dulen, 1998). The ambience of Rainforest Café stimulates the mind and emotions and appeals to the children as well as adults. Since inception, the café has strived to deliver high quality proprietary entertainment to its clients and has earned a name in the marketplace. At present, the Rainforest Café is a well-recognized family-oriented restaurant. The ensuing discussion profiles three target markets for the Rainforest Café located in London. 1st Target Market: Children The Rainforest Café is an ideal place for the stimulus-hungry children. The sprawling interiors with a pulsing beat tend to leave the children in a state of awe. The sporadic thunder and lightening add to the ecstasy. Children can have a gala time at the café as the elephants trumpet and chimpanzees chatter. The overall theme of the Rainforest Café provides children a fun and frolic filled time. The special menu for kids adds to the craze. Trends Parents tend to spend a lot on kids. They do not mind shelling out more money for a pleasurable experience for their offspring. Children always have that extra pestering power which tends to result in repeat visits and heightened spending at the café. There is an increasing trend of celebrating birthday parties at restaurants. The Rainforest Café is in an enviable position to cash in on this trend. The total population of UK is 63.4 million. 17 percent of the population is less than 14 years old. This section of the society will obviously be dependent on their parents so far as any social outing is concerned. 41 percent of the population is in the age bracket of 25-54 years. This section of the society will have young children and therefore it represents a huge target market for the Rainforest Café. Advantage to the Business The advantage of targeting children is that the Rainforest Café will invariably have the entire family visiting the restaurant. This aspect will consolidate Rainforest Café’s position of being a family-oriented restaurant. A larger number of guests will add to the revenue of the café. In addition to this, the guests will pick up diverse items from the shopping arena. Primary Geographic Markets Rainforest Café is located at 20 Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly Circus in London. It will cater to local children and families. The restaurant, one of the largest family restaurants in London, can accommodate more customers on weekends and other holidays. Lead Sources Rainforest Café can send pamphlets with newspapers highlighting its adventure theme and the special attractions for children. The company can offer some discounts on birthday parties. The word-of-mouth will thereafter play a vital role in attracting future business. The parents will recommend the restaurants to others if they do not face any hassles in during the birthday party. Likewise, if children have fun, they too would insist their parents to visit the Rainforest café again. 2nd Target Market: Corporate Events/Bulk Orders The Rainforest Café will benefit tremendously if it targets corporate events. Corporate houses have deep pockets and they tend to spend a lot on conferences, high profile meetings and other parties. Rainforest Café can tie up with leading corporate houses including Abbey, Alliance Boots, Babcock International, and United Biscuits that are based in London. Hosting big names like BBC, British Airways and Cadbury will provide a huge boost to the restaurant. Trends Various organizations operating in different industries realize that the employees feel stressed due to the present day competitive scenario. An individual is also stressed as he strives to balance professional and personal life. The companies therefore organize parties and functions which can act as stress busters for the employees. The Rainforest Café is an ideal destination for such events. Advantage to the Business Corporate houses generally tend to have long lasting relationships with business partners. The corporate events will thus generate high revenue for the Rainforest Café over a sustained period. Many times, corporate events get reported in the media. Such coverage can also provide positive publicity to the Rainforest Café. Segment Needs Hosting corporate events may require the Rainforest café to provide wide ranging services. The corporate houses are willing to spend money but they also expect a high level of professionalism from the service provider. In terms of infrastructure, the needs may vary. Big events may require massive halls where a few hundred people can fit in. Smaller meeting can however be arranged in privately hired small halls. The Rainforest Café will also have to ensure that it has sufficient number of service personnel to cater to big corporate events. In case the space is limited in a particular Rainforest Café restaurant, it can host small business meetings or family functions. Primary Geographic Markets The ability to host corporate events or bag bulk orders will depend on the resources of a Rainforest Café irrespective of the geographic location of the client. The Rainforest Café restaurant can also organize special events like a Christmas Party, celebrate New Years Eve. In such instances, there will be no geographic constraints. The Rainforest Café based in London can accommodate more than 300 guests seated. The capacity of this restaurant can go up to 650 guests for a standing function. Rainforest Café London houses the Butterfly Room with a seating capacity of 25-30 guests and the Forest Floor with a seating capacity of 85-100 guests (Rainforest Café, 2013). Both these halls can be used for functions that are held on a relatively smaller scale. 3rd Target Market: Tourists Rainforest Café has, as a strategic measure, decided to expand its restaurants in areas that have a large tourist potential. Its restaurant located in London is no exception. Trends In addition to the Buckingham Palace, London Eye, the National Gallery and the Tower of London are major tourist attractions. An estimated 30 million visitors from other countries come to London every year (London’s Economic Plan, 2013). Advantage to the Business The overall theme of the Rainforest Café has the potency to exert the magnetic pull on the tourist. The concept of having good food, opportunity to buy at the retail village within the restaurant premises while enjoying the ambience of the Amazon rain forest becomes a must watch for the tourists. If the tourist return satisfied, they will spread a positive message about the restaurant back home. The restaurant would thus become a recognizable brand in the international market well before its entry into that country. Furthermore, if the Rainforest Café becomes a popular tourist destination, it will be held in high esteem by the locals as well. Segment Needs One of the most important needs of a tourist is to have a pleasurable experience. While in alien land, the tourist expects to be treated fairly and not be fleeced by people in the foreign country. The Rainforest Café would definitely provide a unique experience to the tourists. The ambience of the restaurant will be a visual treat for the guests who would get to see huge snakes hanging from the canopys branches amid thunderous sound of the lightening. Tourists can take back souvenirs and gifts from the retail outlets in the restaurant. Cha!Cha!, the red eyed tree frog sells like hot cakes. The shoppers can also pick up from plush toys like chimpanzees, lions, tigers and leopards (Rainforest Café, 2013). The Rainforest Café also sells gift certificates which provide the proverbial ‘something for everybody’ at the restaurant. Primary Geographic Markets The Rainforest Café would be an attraction for the tourist irrespective of their home country. The restaurant should ensure that promotes its rainforest theme and lives up to the expectations (Walkup, 1997). Lead Sources Tourists generally rely on word-of-mouth of locals or on tourist guides. The Rainforest Café has good reputation in the local market and therefore would be referred by the local citizens. In addition to this, the café can tie up with tour and travel operators to make a visit to the restaurant a permanent feature of the tourist’s itinerary. Works Cited Dulen, Jacqueline. "The Next Wave." Restaurants & institutions 108.2 (1998): 42-55. ProQuest. Web. 31 Oct. 2013. EDGAR Online. Rainforest Café-Annual Report (10K) Part I. Web. 02 Nov. 2013 London’s Economic Plan. Impact on Major Industries. Web. 02 Nov. 2013 Rainforest Cafe. Rainforest Cafe. 2013. Web. 01 Nov. 2013. Walkup, Carolyn. "Rainforest Cafe: Its a Jungle in there." Nations Restaurant News 31.19 (1997): 129-30. ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. Read More