Marketing Mix - Le Bistort Pierre Restaurant - Assignment Example

MARKETING MIX ANALYSIS Le BISTORT PIERRE Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts Saturday, November6th, 2010 MARKETING MIX ANALYSIS Le BISTORT PIERRE RESTAURANT TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Marketing Mix ---------------------------------------------------------- 4 Product ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Price ------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Place and Physical Evidence ---------------------------------------- 5 Promotion -------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Process ----------------------------------------------------------------- 6 People ------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 Recommendation ------------------------------------------------------ 8 Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Bibliography ----------------------------------------------------------- 10 INTRODUCTION Le Bistort Pierre; a chain of midland based French restaurants in United Kingdom, is to be analyzed on the basis of extended marketing mix. It includes the 7ps namely; product, price, place, promotion, process, people and physical experience. The recommendations to improve the most important mix i.e. the product are given in the end. Le BISTROT PIERRE: Le Bistrot Pierre is a French midland based, great, bustling and popular restaurant chain in the United Kingdom. It’s a family of individual restaurants. MARKETING MIX: The marketing mix is one of the most famous marketing terms. Its contents are the basic, strategic components of a marketing plan. Also known as the Seven Ps, the marketing mix elements are price, place, product or service, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. Choosing the right blend of mix is like creating a good team, experience. Making sure that your marketing efforts are complementary and working together in synergy is essential to the restaurants success. (Isabelle Szmigin, (1998:14.) (Paul Herbig, Bradley O’Hara, Frederick A. Palumbo. (1998). 20-21) PRODUCT: Le bistort Pierre’s business is that of a restaurant, thus, the marketing efforts should center on the uniqueness, appeal and high quality of services that the restaurant offers. Le Bistort Pierre’s products include both vegetarian and non vegetarian items, ranging from fresh salads, to French breads, soups, burgers and steaks. The restaurant serves a variety of items in variety of sizes for different meal times. These include freshly baked pastries, breads, and whole wheat items in breakfast, while steaks, burgers, soups for lunch and dinner. Besides the food, wine is also available in various forms. They include red, white, rose, sparkling and champagne. Variety of items ensures the management’s concern about differences in tastes. The restaurant also revises its menu often. The revised menu available to customers on almost every visit provides plenty of choice, and taste development. Thus the food, its high quality, good taste, good representation, and its variety give it the competitive edge. Customers want to dine at le bistort Pierre’s because of its variety as opposed to any other competitive restaurant. It is important to keep in mind that at the end of the day, it is paramount that customers leave satisfied. (Lyndon, 2000: 5) PRICE: The price has specific relationship with other components of marketing mix. It is the only P that generates revenue, while other components generate costs. (Oliver Richardson, Charles Dennis. (2003).13) (Roger B. Mason, Gavin Staude. (2009).16-22.) Le Bistort has affordable price items. Even the wines are reasonably priced. Besides affordable prices, the restaurant has deals, or combos served at special timings, like Early bird and Pre theatre that provides Amazing value with two courses before 7.00pm for as low as £13.90 and the long weekend offer for only £20.90. Similarly the dine with wine deals are also offered at reasonable prices. Apart from the affordable prices, the restaurant also prices less than 50% on each item for children. So that children also eat the same menu as grownups. Where the prices reasonable, the restaurant also uses psychological pricing, when the marketer wants the consumer to respond on an emotionally rather than psychology, for example early bird, long weekend offer prices 13.90 and 20.90. (Brown, 1989:7) (Chris Lane. (1988).20.) PLACE AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: Presently there are 8 Bistorts spread over in the United Kingdom. But all the bistorts have different interiors compared to the ghostly interior in Derby, to the impressive modern building in Sheffield. While the interior is different in all the bistorts, the locations are also very different from each other. Some bistorts would be located on the banks of the rivers, while others close to busy shopping center, while still others in the heart of the cities they are located in. creating a family of restaurants wherein each restaurant has its own unique touch is part of what the restaurant’s brand is all about. Lilac is the restaurant’s signature color. The differences in each bistort are made to suit the different customer requirements, of different cities. (Lyndon, 2000: 5) (William B. Wagner. (1989). 13-15.) Apart from the locations and interiors, Le bistort also ensures that get seats are comfortable enough to sit for long. And utensils are clean and presentable. (Isabelle, 1998:14.) (Vincent-Wayne Mitchell, Mike Greatorex. (1988). 22) PROMOTION: The fourth ‘P’ in the marketing mix; promotion represents the various aspects of marketing communication, that is, the communication of information about the product with the goal of generating a positive customer response. Le bistort Pierre promotes by giving gift vouchers, membership cards, and online orders Le Bistort Pierre gift vouchers are available in denominations of £5, £10 and £20, and can be used in any of the bistorts. Other promotional techniques include mails, where the members are informed about the special events, special prices, and other benefits through mail. The restaurant also promotes itself, by celebrating birthdays, Christmas, and New Year’s, where all the bistorts are decorated and special deals are served. People are encouraged to join in during December, to celebrate the festive season. Le Bistort Pierre believes that Promotion and marketing should appeal primarily to the restaurants target market. This may mean giving discount to the members or the frequent visitors. (Brown; Summer 1989: 7) (Karen Maru File Ben B. Judd Russ Alan Prince. (1992).10.) PROCESS: Process refers to the methods and techniques of providing a service. It is thus essential to have a thorough knowledge on whether the services fulfill the needs of the customers, if they are helpful to the customers, and if they are provided in time. Le bistort takes good care of its processes and makes sure that its customer’s are also well informed of the high quality processes it pursues to provide higher quality food. The restaurant’s chief manager regularly travels to France, sampling cuisines and selecting their favorite dishes to bring back to the bistorts for the customers to enjoy. The restaurant also makes sure that its suppliers also provide high quality products. For that, the restaurant has its animal produced products coming from freedom Food approved pig ambassador farm in the UK. For wines as well, the restaurant consults the independent grower Besides, the food and the produce, the restaurant also has the mystery diners, that come every month and dine in each of the bistorts’ to test the food, the quality, and the service to ensure higher quality servings. The restaurant’s website as well as the blog, makes sure that the customer’s are well informed about the high quality food it serves. (Brown, 1989:7) PEOPLE: People visiting any restaurant make judgments and deliver their remarks of the service offered to them, based on how the staff interacts with them. Thus, Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, attitude, and service knowledge to provide the service that diners are paying for. (Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005).8-13.) (Mohammed Rafiq, Pervaiz K. Ahmed. (1995). 29-31) Le bistort Pierre believes that in order to foster an environment conducive to excellent customer service, it is best to invest in people who share the restaurant’s mindset this may call for proper training of the staff according to the restaurant’s strategies and plans. For this, Le bistort has a nice way of training its staff, where each chef explains to the others how his food was prepared. In this way the restaurants staff gets trained. This also ensures that the quality of food is never compromised on. Staff at Le bistort Pierre is well recruited, and consists of talented and friendly people who contribute to the restaurant’s success and pleasure. Waiters and waitresses are also attentive, and management takes a real interest in whether the customers are enjoying the meal. Thus, the friendly staff and a buzzing atmosphere all ensure that dining at Le Bistort Pierre a pleasurable experience. (Karen et all, 1992:10.) (Brown, 1989:7) RECOMMENDATIONS: Product P is the most important of all the 7 Ps. Since Le Bistort Pierre ensures that a good variety of food is served, and new varied samples are brought in for customers exclusively from France, it can very easily end up going astray from its core business of providing high quality, and appealing food for the sake of serving variety Besides, People do not always try out new items rather they prefer the ones they had tasted before, so a large variety of items wouldn’t add much except for increasing costs for the business. Moreover people get befuddled if they have too many options or items to choose from. And then, not every item would be of equal taste and quality if too many are brought in. (A. R. Thorne. (1971). 1-7). (David M. Reid. (1980). 19-23.) Therefore, in order to improve the “Product” the restaurant should focus on improving quality and taste, by having just the adequate variety of servings that customers prefer and are profitable for the restaurant. Carrying a wide variety of food to serve may take away any potential competitive advantage Le Bistort Pierre may have gained by being specialized. What it serves, how it prepares is going to make or break its business. The belief that variety is good "is not always true," argues Harvard Business School professor John Goreville in "Overchoice and Assortment Type: When and Why Variety Backfires." The research paper, co-written by professor Dilip Soman of the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management, demonstrates that sometimes offering too many choices prompts the confused consumer to defer a purchase or run to the arms of a competitor with a less cluttered product line. (Anthony R. Bennett. (1997).20) (G.E. Kiser, S.R.G. Rae, C.P. RAO. (1974) 18-22.) CONCLUSION: Thus, we conclude that the restaurant practices a healthy marketing mix. However, the tradition of serving changed dishes may impede profit growth since as too much variety may not always be good and may confuse the customers. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lew G. Brown. (Summer 1989). THE STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF CONVENIENCE IN CONSUMER PRODUCT MARKETING. CONSUMER MARKETING. Vol. 6 (No. 3), 7. Karen Maru File Ben B. Judd Russ Alan Prince. (1992). the Influence of Participation on Positive Word-of-Mouth and Referrals. INTERACTIVE MARKETING. 6 (4), 10. Isabelle Szmigin. (1998). Consumer equity in relationship marketing. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING 1998. 15 (6), 14. Lyndon Simkin. (2000). Marketing is marketing- may be. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 18 (3), Anthony R. Bennett. (1997). the five Vs - a buyer’s perspective of the marketing mix. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. Volume: 15 (issue 3), G.E. Kiser, S.R.G. Rae, C.P. RAO. (1974). 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