Nazomi Restaurant Marketing - Case Study Example

Executive Summary Cuisines from particular countries including Japan had gained worldwide interest and appeal, enticing people prominently from many foreign countries. Marios George wanted to create a fusion of a club and restaurant, and thus Nozomi was born. For any business venture to succeed, it has to bring in optimum number of customers. When the characteristics of Nozomi’s customer base are focused, it is clear that Nozomi mainly receives economically well-off customers from UK and from foreign countries, who dress well and want to meet likeminded people there. These customer segments will hang out at the restaurant or at the club, according to their mood, just substituting the sake and sushi for cocktails and Champagne when in the club. Being the Japanese restaurant plus a nightclub, Nozomi offers traditional Japanese varieties including sushi, rice, etc as well as various cocktail drinks. Music plays a key role in setting the mood and tempo inside the restaurant and the club. The staffs at Nozomi also seem to be courteous and knowledgeable. Nozomi gets a lot of media spotlight due to visits by famous celebrities. With certain external factors influencing its operations, it has to come up with effective marketing strategies. Review of Nozomi (Restaurant) Introduction Restaurants are a common phenomenon all over the world, and among them are specialized ones, which focus only on particular cuisines instead of going for multi-cuisines. These single cuisine restaurants have sprung world over, particularly in foreign countries, providing single cuisine delicacies of a particular country. Among the country based cuisines which are popular in foreign countries apart from the interest in their home countries are Italian cuisine, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, etc. Japanese Cuisines have gained popularity in various parts of the world, and Nozomi is a restaurant which specializes in Japanese cuisines. It was founded in July 2005 by Marios George with head Chef Nassar Laziri. It is located on Beauchamp Place in Knightsbridge, in the South West part of London, UK. Marios Georgallides or Marios George for short, previously owned a slew of nightclubs including Attica and then shifted his focus to restaurants, which also doubles up as a nightclub. “It’s one of the greatest restaurants in London, redefining the eatery/nightclub boundary” (Light 2009). Predominantly a Japanese restaurant, it has features of a trendiest nightclub as well with a bar and a Disc Jockey (DJ) playing continuous music. It has won the prestigious London Club & Bar award for Best Restaurant and has been continuously nominated in the same category ever since. Characteristics of the Nozomi’s customers Every organization’s survival as well as its success, hinges on how it was able to entice the customers and build a strong customer base. Customers with their continuous patronage can only make an organisation succeed in long-term bases as well as provide the impetus for the organisation to expand further. Although, businesses will want to bring in customers from all segments of the population, based on their product or service, as well as location, price, etc, they will have a target population or prospective customer base. Likewise, Nozomi has a customer base or would like to target a customer base, which has certain characteristics. When the geographical characteristic of the customer base is focused it is clear that Nozomi receives a mix of UK citizens and people from foreign countries as well. UK citizens particularly Londoners from South West are the regular customers of Nozomi. Apart from them, Nozomi receives a significant number of foreigners from various geographical regions, however customers from Europe and Middle East Asia constitute the major segment and this is validated by George himself. “To be honest, not really, simply because if you refer back to the London business, 90 per cent of our clientele is international anyway, and neatly divided between Europe and the Middle East.” (qtd. by Carrington 2009). When the demographic aspect of the Nozomi customer base is focused, men and women from upper class (economically) are the main customer segment. Upscale and sophisticated people from South West London, throng the restaurant to enjoy both the food and at the nightclub. Thus, the demographic characteristics of Nozomi customers mainly include people who are rich, or who are businessmen or women or professionals or celebrities in their field, who are socialites and who wanted to enjoy the Japanese food. They visit Nozomi in well dressed manner as a couple or with friends. With Nozomi being available for parties and other social occasions, the demography could change according to the host of those parties and his/her friends and family circle. “Couples try to take advantage of the dim lights and have a romantic dinner, but most of the diners are groups out to celebrate, be it a birthday or a business deal.” (Court 2008). The psychographic profile and behavioural patterns of the Nozomi customers shows interesting perspective. Nozomi receives wide range of customers. For example, it receives customers who only wish to go to the restaurant to try out the food, and then there are customers who favour restaurant more with a slight addition of drinks and enjoyment in the club. There is another type of regular clientele, who turn up every weekend or sometimes during weekdays at Nozomi just to kick-start their night out parties with food and drinks, before going in search off more ‘action packed’ nightclubs like Boujis, Movida and Cuckoo Club. That is, they fit a psychographic profile of individuals who need to take enough alcohol, so they can party through the night. “…a good two-thirds of the customers in Nozomi looked as though they werent planning to go to bed much before 4am...Its the sort of place Prince William and Kate Middleton might drop into on their way to Boujis or Movida--though probably for the vodka shots, rather than the food. Nozomi is a restaurant for people who prefer to ingest their carbohydrates in liquid form.” (nosacredcows.co.uk 2005). Although, Nozomi has a nightclub, these customers will want more thumping music and energetic atmosphere, so after taking enough drinks, will move to other nightclubs. However, its founder Marios George refute this behaviour pattern and says that majority of the clients, who had drink will stay and enjoy the night in their club only, without moving out. “Our restaurant has a club feel to it. It’s a night out. It’s not just about arriving for dinner, paying the bill and moving on to somewhere else.” (qtd. by Carrington 2009). The other specific behavioural pattern witnessed among the clients visiting Nozomi, and which was validated by George as well is their dress code. “People who dine at Nozomi make a big effort to dress correctly. They want to see like-minded people.” (qtd. by Carrington 2009). Marketing mix The Marketing Mix, an essential feature in marketing, focuses on how organisations will formulate and coordinate its marketing activities, so it can create an “integrated and consistent offering to potential customers that satisfies their needs and wants” (Brassington and Pettitt 2007). So, to analyse the marketing activities of Nozomi, it can be discussed from the perspective of the 7Ps, which constitute the mix. Product As pointed out earlier, being the Japanese restaurant plus a nightclub, the main products at Nozomi which entice the customers are the traditional Japanese cuisines ranging from sushi, rice, etc as well as various drinks. Diners can choose from various sushi dishes including pieces, mixed platters and rolls, or the traditional three course options, or a mix of both, according to their wish. (Court 2008). The small plates of salmon tataki and Nozomi foie gras are mainly served as the starters. A unique product at Nozomi, which is bringing in good crowd, is the new Bento Box menu, which is offered during the lunchtime. Bento boxes mainly consist of rice, meat or fish, plus one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, with the quality and the mix of the contents changing according to the price. “Nozomi’s Bentos come in beautiful lacquered boxes and at three price points, reflecting the quality/rarity of the contents.” (Ruel 2010). In both the restaurant as well as at the bar in the club, cocktails are provided, thus giving the drinks to the customers at their comfort, without bifurcation. Price As Nozomi mainly caters to the upscale segment of the population, its prices are quite high. “It’s fair to say that your eyes will immediately stray to the prices on the menu at an exclusive place like this, and if you’re expecting something along the lines of very, very expensive, you’d be right.” (Court 2008). However, this high price is not a downer for the target customer base because they come to Nozomi to get the specialized service of restaurant plus nightclub, and so they are ready shell out maximum money. To cater to other sections of the population and also to encourage repeat visits from the upscale customer base, Nozomi has started marketing or offering the Bento lunch box. “Nozomi however is battling to bring down costs by offering special Bento box deals at lunchtime as a way of luring in locals.” (Ruel 2010). Place Being part club and part Japanese restaurant, Nozomi houses the bar in the ground floor, while the restaurant is located in the first floor. It is arranged like that, so it can market and entice sections of people, who want mix of both or wanted separate services. The interior place of the restaurants plays a key role in their marketing initiative. In the case of Nozomi, interior decor was intentionally kept simple, clean and understated. That is, instead of arty minimalism found in many Japanese restaurants, the look they wanted to keep is mainly neutral because they clearly not wanted to distract from the true stars of the show – the food and the guests. (Court 2008). Promotion Nozomi does only minimal promotions to bring in the prospective customers. It has an enticing and rich looking website (http://www.nozomi.co.uk), which provides all the details plus online reservation option. Prospective customers can book tables as well as whole of Nozomi for social occasions like birthday party. Nozomi is also featured in most of the restaurant guides, both in their print as well as their online versions. The other promotion based marketing stage followed by Nozomi in association with publicists and tabloids is flashing news and photos of famous celebrities visiting Nozomi. Singer Rihanna visit of Nozomi is featured in many tabloids and websites, raising many people’s expectations about Nozomi and this act as the perfect promotional tool. “Patronised by the hottest celebs on earth, most recently the stunning Rihanna” (Light 2009). Processes The one key process, which acts as the apt marketing strategy, is the music policy in Nozomi. They give a lot of importance to the music played, so it caters to all the segments of the customer base and importantly sets the tempo and interest among the crowd, particularly the nightclub crowd. “The music that is played at Nozomi is a collection of world house music. We keep it 20 per cent quieter than a nightclub but a heck of a lot louder than a restaurant. The idea is that it’s not just a dining experience it is a night out.” (George qtd. by Light 2009). Physical evidence Any marketing initiative implemented by the restaurants will not work, unless the physical evidence in restaurant context, the food, is offered is of top class and on expected lines. As discussed above and pointed out in sizable reviews, the taste and the quality is good. “Food is genuinely excellent. The black cod in my Classic Bento Box was simply perfect, slightly sweet and delicate” (Winston). The first thing that makes it good is the Western style of serving. “Unlike most Japanese restaurants, all the dishes were brought together, Western-style, rather than as it was ready” (Winston). People The people, who can make any restaurant marketable is the restaurant staffs. Nozomi has a wide range of staffs, starting from well groomed ‘bouncer style’ staff to attend at the door, service staffs and importantly chefs and the assistants. From the various reviews, it appears that service staffs at Nozomi are courteous and very helpful both in selecting the food as well as giving good care. “Service is impressively knowledgeable about the menu, good with recommendations on both food and drink.” (Court 2008). “The intimate and personal approach of the Nozomi staff ensures that each diner feels welcomed from the moment they enter the door to when they are leaving the restaurant.” (Court 2008). A personal experience of a customer who had mobility problems shows the caring side of the staffs. “Firstly, I was on crutches and the staff were so helpful and accommodating, providing a table with enough space and in an area away from other diners.” (Sam qtd. by london-eating.co.uk). Conclusion and Recommendations Every organisation including restaurants cannot have an ‘insulated’ existence, without any influences from the external environment. Its functioning and marketing strategies could be influenced by various external factors. As the political governments only frame all the laws, including the ones related to business, their actions will have an important impact. In the case of Nozomi, political factors can only have a minimal impact, as it operates following all rules and regulations. However, political aspects can make an impact in its Dubai operations. As United Arab Emirates even while being a moderate state has certain political restrictions, Nozomi has to operate within certain limits. In those cases, it would be better if any business including Nozomi, enters new territories as part of joint ventures or with a local partner. Nozomi did that exactly for it Dubai operations. “The only question was who to partner with and quite quickly the Habtoor family stood out as great associates.” (Light 2009). This could be the norm for any future ventures of Nozomi in foreign countries, to nullify the political influence. Economic aspects or economy of a country or market also impact Nozomi. On the positive side, the British economy is showing signs of recovery from the recession. “The British economy has been buoyed by growth, soothing fears of a double-dip recession. The growth of 0.8 of 1 per cent between July and September is double market expectations.” (Brown 2010). These positive signs can surely propel the prospective customer base of Nozomi to increase their spending on necessities as well as luxuries, thereby bringing in good customer flow. The marketing strategy that will be normally adopted in times of economic downturn is reduction in the prices. However for Nozomi, lesser prices will only pull in the initial crowd and this marketing strategy may not work after the initial burst. In the long run, the criteria which can hold the customers are the quality of the food, optimal service and importantly continuous and better marketing strategies. One of the factors visible in the social environment now, which could impact Nozomi’s business is the easily availability of Sushi in supermarket. However, sizable portion of the customer base, instead of going for half-prepared sushis in supermarket will like to go for aptly prepared ones in the restaurants. “With sushi in supermarkets these days Japanese food has lost some of its mystique. But the difference between a trained chef delicately slicing the raw fish and a tired conveyor belt offering is huge.” (Winston). The key recommendation for Nozomi is, they should maintain exclusivity and should keep on coming up with different types of sushi with different and unique preparation and tastes, which the customer cannot get in any supermarket. As far as technologies that might be introduced in the external environment, the ones related to music, could mainly impact Nozomi’s functioning. As mentioned by its founder George, “We take music very seriously. It builds in tempo and volume”, good technology could further improve that particular aspect. (Light 2009). When it comes to the legal part of the environment, the personal legal battles of George could negatively impact the restaurant. “Fashion designer Scott Henshall had threatened to take Georgallides to court to settle an unpaid bill.” (nosacredcows.co.uk 2005). Although, it could not directly impact Nozomi’s functioning, it should be better if those legal tangles are cleared quickly and the marketing strategies are mainly focused on the food and the service. As far as the environment is concerned, Nozomi may not be impacted badly as it does not have any major negative imprint on the environment, except for the music, which is also played within the permissible decibel levels. So from this analysis of the Nozomi’s external environment, it is clear that Nozomi is functioning aptly. However, based on the correct combination of marketing mixes, it can improve further. “Marketing strategy is the broad marketing thinking that will enable an organisation to develop its products and marketing mixes in the right direction, consistent with overall corporate objectives” (Brassington and Pettitt 2007). That is, by continuing with the current functioning and marketing strategies in line with the marketing mix, they can improve only few issues in relation to the environmental factors, to continue its good run and success. References Brassington, F and Pettitt, S 2007, Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall. Brown, R 2010, Double-dip recession fears ease in UK, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/Double-dip-recession-fears-abc-4170798429.html?x=0 Carrington, D 2009, The founder of Nozomi, Marios George, talks to Time Out about food, lifestyle and rival restaurants, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://www.timeoutdubai.com/restaurants/features/11820-nozomi-founder-interview Court, M 2008, The ViewLondon Review, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/nozomi-review-8741.html Light, D 2009, “Nozomi, knowing you”, Khaleej Times Online, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://www.khaleejtimes.com/citytimes/inside.asp?xfile=/data/citytimes/2009/December/citytimes_December44.xml§ion=citytimes london-eating.co.uk, Nozomi, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://www.london-eating.co.uk/6098.htm nosacredcows.co.uk 2005, Nozomi, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://www.nosacredcows.co.uk/restaurant_reviews/504/nozomi.html Ruel, P 2010, Nozomi, Knightsbridge, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://www.foodepedia.co.uk/restaurant-reviews/2010/jul/nozomi_bento.htm Winston, C, Stylish sushi at Nozomi, Knightsbridge, London, viewed on November 26, 2010 http://www.thetraveleditor.com/article/5795/Restaurant_Reviews_Restaurant_Japanese_Stylish_sushi_at_Nozomi_Knightsbridge_London.html Read More