Burger Hut and Fast Food Restaurant

Question:

Write an essay on Burger Hut.

Answer:

Introduction

Burger Hut is a fast food restaurant chain positioned in Sydney since 2008. The company has managed to flourish its operational size and brand value since the time of introduction. It has a menu of products to offer that caters to the need of all kinds of customers. It is known for a combination of exceptional food with fun packaging, excellent customer service, and hospitable atmosphere. It counters to the need of light snack food to be consumed during a small break from work or enjoy little moments. The company owns 17 easy access outlets operational in Sydney city with approx 260 working staff members ("Burger Hut | Home", 2016).  The seating capacity of outlets varies from 25 – 40 based on location along with 5 order windows and 2 takeaway windows accessible from outside. The services and products offered are comparable to the local competitors like SubKing and Tardis Cafe’. The outlet remains open every day from 9 am to 9 pm. The company owns a happy employee base. The working hours have been well designed as spending more potential hours on breakfast and evening snacks time. Customer service is the main objective of the restaurant with waiters trained properly to take orders carefully and deal politely. Considering a considerable number of tourists visiting Sydney CBD and snacking at Burger Hut, the employees have been educated on the cultural differences. Various additional benefits are being offered to employees such as the star of the month incentive, best customer service provider offerings, medical insurance, etc other than an awesome salary comparative to the competitors (Barnes, 2001).

Since last two years of crises when the recession hit the economy, the market share started falling down. After spending too much time and money on analysing the problem and finding a solution, the management has decided to start an intensive marketing communication plan to introduce new product range that is expected to give huge profit to the organization along with brand value and strong customer base (Druzic & Gel, 2006).

Objective

• Our main aim is to be most successful fast food chain in Sydney with further extension all over Australia in next 5 years. 

• Our purpose is to provide quality food at great value. 

• Delight customers with wide variety of products that differentiate Burger Hut from the local competitors (Druzic & Gel, 2006).

• Best environment and company culture promotion.

Product 

A chain of new products is being introduced which includes something for everyone. It has been named at 4 M’s.

• Mushroom burger for elderly and health conscious people as it is rich in riboflavin and potassium which helps maintaining controlled blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart stroke (Barnes, 2001).

• Mini Meal for kids with less spicy burgers, fries, and mango/orange juice

• Modified Patty Burger which is spicier with multi-grain bun, sesame and more spices added to patty to make it delicious

• Made to Order Burger with a variety of buns, sauces, salads and patties to choose from.

A new strategy “Happy Morning” is also being introduced. This marketing strategy will offer special discounts during dull hours of 10 am – 12 pm. It will help get more traffic during these hours and eventual increase in the sales.

Environmental Scanning

Competitor Analysis

It has been identified that the major challenge is from the multinational restaurant chains that are prevailing in Sydney. A major competitor is SubKing which is advocating its healthy burgers and attracting major markets through advertising on TV and radio. The restaurant is providing a variety of sandwiches and burgers (Bergen & Peteraf, 2002). The key to success for SubKing is its location. It is convenient to visit and thus get much of potential customers. But the negative point which may lead to its failure is that the employees are not satisfied here. The company is customer centred but there are no policies to motivate staff which results in high employee turnover.

Market Analysis

 Market Analysis

Financial Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Potential Customers Growth

Tourists 9% 362,000 468,800 510,992 430,092 394,580

Downtown Workers 2% 17,000 18,041 18,402 17,687 17,340

Students/Weekend Shoppers 2% 3,500 3,714 3,788 3,641 3,570

Total 8.66% 382,500 490,555 533,182 451,420 415,490

Market Demographics

• Tourists – The largest target market for Burger Hut is the tourists visiting who made a huge portion of annual traffic. Major of them is baby boomers and urban professionals. The age group is 40 – 60 years (Bergen & Peteraf, 2002). 

• Downtown workers – This is the second largest contributing group. It includes young and middle age workers and daily visitors. The average age is 32 years and prefers to get fast service and additional benefits (Barker, 2013).

• Students – This group consists of youngsters and teenagers who come more often to spend time during lecture intervals (Bergen & Peteraf, 2002). The average age is 18 years. They prefer to have tailored burgers or the spicy food options.

• Weekend Shoppers – This group includes visitors who travel from the rural areas or nearby towns along with some ratio of international tourists who visit the city centre. The average age is 40. Their preference includes variety in the burgers and sauces. Generally, they travel with families comprising of kids who prefer to have less spicy foods and sweet beverages. 

Market trends and Demands

• High-quality food with healthy ingredients at a value price.

• Fast delivery of orders considering the best quality. 

• Niche market of youth who search for modern and stylish service

• Students and weekend shoppers generally prefer to have comfortable and clean space to sit and enjoy the meal. Other than this, special sitting and entertainment arrangements for kids (El-Diasty & Elsobeiey, 2015).

The burger options launched right now will provide healthy food to the desired customers and not so high prices. Other than this, the sitting area has been upgraded to provide better services and attract the customers from traditional restaurants. Burger Hut will effectively communicate the difference between its products and service from other restaurants through new Integrated Marketing Communication strategic plan.  

SWOT Analysis

Strength

1. Unique freshly baked buns

2. High-Quality ingredients

3. Excellent customer service Weakness

1. Slightly high – priced 

2. Potential Bank Loans

Opportunities

1. Fast-growing Tourism industry 

2. Technology -Friendly Market

3. Increasing popularity of fast food Threats

1. High competition in market

2. Recessionary pressures

Based on above analysis, we can conclude that while Burger Hut offers high-quality products and good customer service, the products are slightly high priced. The special offerings under newly launched healthy products are available at a competitive price which will gain more customers. However, people of all age groups may find some or other option suitable for them. High competition in the market can also be beaten with extraordinary products.

Potential Marketing Communication Problems

• High Competition in the market

• Lack of promotional activities

The food industry in Sydney is highly competitive with wide range of fast food chain restaurants. Sydney has a number of options available when we talk about the places to eat around (Van?k, Mikoláš, & Žváková, 2012). So, people generally prefer the places which are more convenient to them. Unless and until they get best quality products and value for money, they will not become loyal customers.

Other than this, if the products are not positioned properly, it may lead to failure of the product. The lack of sales promotion may cost great to the restaurant. 

Marketing Communication Objectives

Solution to the potential problems

Problem Solution

Highly competitive market 4 M’s advertisement strategy

Lack of Promotional Activities “Happy Morning” Sales promotion

• Brand Awareness – There is strong need to reposition Burger Hut brand and inform target market about the launch of the new product range (Schultz, 2003). Awareness needs to be intensely augmented. New ways will be introduced for advertising keeping along the traditional modes throughout the campaign to enhance Burger Hut brand awareness and shove message to the target audience. 

• Knowledge – People may prefer to go to nearby restaurants which are offering like products to them. Thus, the need to communicate them about unique customer service and benefits of new products to gain customers’ preference. Frequent use of advertising and sales promotion techniques will also result in gaining value to the company.

• Sales boost – To increase sales of new products by the use of sales promotion techniques and by informing customers about health benefits and deliciousness associated with a new range of products (Nestle, 2001).

• Mascot – Using “M Burger Man” Mascot advertisement will increase awareness in public. It will help in gaining the long-last loyalty of customers and better public relations. It will help kids and students to come back as repeat and referral customer.

• Happy Morning – Using Happy Morning as sales and promotion strategy, we can add on our profitability. It will help draw the customers who are looking for cost-effective options during the snacking time and will increase the number of people visiting us during dull hours (Ring & Teichmann, 2011). Under this offer, special discounts will be given to customers during 10 am – 12 pm which generally experience fewer footfalls. 

Burger Hut Products 

Marketing Communication Strategy and Implementation Plan

Target Market Dining Habits

When we talk about a specific range of products, we should generally target customers who have specific needs that out products can satisfy. Considering the evaluation results of Australian Bureau of Statistics, it can be deduced that 41% of kids prefer junk food especially burgers for their snacking needs. And 51% of teenagers, 44% of young adults, and 19% of elders prefer to have burgers that have hot spices along with fried and soft drinks ("Menu - Burger Hut Burgers", 2016). 

Eating out is popular pass-time among Australians especially students and youngsters. 

Selling Price

Product Price

Mushroom Burger $7

Modified Spicy Burger $9

Made to order Burger $12

Mini Meal for kids $15

Note:

• With a top up of $ 2, a soft drink will be included

• With a top up of $ 4, a soft drink and fries will be included

• With a top up of $ 6, a point of beer will be included

Burger Hut Positioning Strategy

Brand positioning

Burger Hut will achieve brand loyalty by concentrating on the qualities of products that are: Freshly baked buns, high-quality ingredients, and excellent customer service (Kilbourne, 2004). Considering these points altogether, customers will be provided with a burger that will guarantee satisfaction. 

          Competitor Comparison

Whenever we compare products of two companies, price comparison is also necessary along with quality. Considering prices of our competitors’ products, it can be figured out that our prices are comparative to the prices charged by few of competitors. Some others offer low-priced burgers but the quality compromise may result in loyal customers to us. As we have better quality products at competitive rates ("Integrated Marketing Communications", 2016). And secondly, we have something to offer to every age group that results in huge customer base.

Integrated Marketing Tools

• Advertising

This is a major tool of marketing communication that reaches a large number of audience simultaneously (Rao,2015). Generally, people staying in the same demographic region share same understanding and thus the message received by them is almost same. 

Burger Hut has designed special packaging material with pictures of M Burger man on it and attractive boxes for mini kids’ meals. It will be made sure that all the material used is recycle-able.  

• Public Relations

Public relation activities include the actions that result in good image creation of the company and it helps the company attain respect from public. 

Burger Hut will mention special offers available under ‘Happy Morning’ strategy on the packaging material to gain public attention (Ford, 2003). Other than this, special quotes regarding the safe environment and recycling can be used to create a good image of the company in people’s mind.

Sales Promotion

• Sufficient amount of money should be spent for sales promotion as it is a long-term investment that will surely yield results by adding on to our brand values and loyal customers.

• The Happy Morning policy will result in better sales during quieter hours where there will be 25% off on all the products. It will help build a strong relationship with customers and increase in brand loyal customers (Ford, 2003). 

• A special offer will be introduced under which a packet of fries will be given free on purchase of two large burgers.

• Free Mascot toy can be offered to kids on the purchase of every mini meal.

Direct Marketing

• Social Media and direct mail to existing customers will help them know about new products.

• Special offer emails can be sent to repeat customers on their birthdays and anniversaries will result in long-term loyal customers

• New program link can be reflected on the company website, facebook, and twitter pages of Burger Hut (Finne & Grönroos, 2009).

• SMS can be sent to the existing database to notify them about new products and strategies.

Marketing Communication Partners

Various communication channels involved in the process of marketing will be regularly assessed to keep a check on the proper functioning of the process. The impact and timing of Burger Hut marketing campaign should effectively co-ordinate with all the partners

• Company website designers

• Advertising and Public Relation agencies

• Interior and Graphic designers

• Finance managers

Evaluation of Integrated marketing Communication Campaign

The last and most important step of marketing communication plan is its correct and timely implementation to make it a success. The evaluation and control stage of the process describes its correct value.

• Burger Hut needs to be well-known brand among the public to be a successful restaurant. The proper and effective launch should be evaluated timely to check if it is resulting in value addition to the business. The sales record will show if performance is getting better or not with passing time (Ford, 2003).

• The company’s database plays a crucial role in measuring the effectiveness of the plan. The individual level of expenditure and brand loyalty can also be examined through this.

• Cost balance sheet provides a clear picture of profit margins.

• Surveillance cameras will determine the demographics against defined target audience.

• Data mining of company website will help in evaluating whether the market penetration activities match with customer’s needs or not.

Conclusion

In this paper, we have discussed Integrated Marketing Communication plan for the launch of a new product range by Burger Hut, a fast food restaurant chain in Sydney. The new products have been introduced to expand the target market and hence increase profitability for the company. It can be concluded that the above mentioned IMC plan can result in achieving organizational goals and gaining brand value for Burger Hut in the Food and Hospitality Industry of Australia. It will not only make the company get a competitive edge but also maximise company’s Gross Profit Margin (Finne & Grönroos, 2009). Implementing this customer oriented marketing approach will enable Burger Hut to reach maximum people. It will be achieved through exact and timely implementation of the campaign with the coordination of all employees, management, and communication partners. 

References

Barker, R. (2013). Strategic integrated communication: An alternative perspective of integrated marketing communication?. Communicatio, 39(1), 102-121. 

Barnes, B. (2001). Integrated brand communication planning: retail applications. Journal Of Marketing Communications, 7(1), 11-17. 

Bergen, M. & Peteraf, M. (2002). Competitor identification and competitor analysis: a broad-based managerial approach. Managerial And Decision Economics, 23(4-5), 157-169. 

Burger Hut | Home. (2016). Burgerandkabobhut.com. Retrieved 28 May 2016, from http://www.burgerandkabobhut.com/index.html

Druzic, I. & Gel, T. (2006). SWOT analysis & privatization in Croatia. Ekonomski Anali, 51(168), 121-136. 

El-Diasty, M. & Elsobeiey, M. (2015). Precise Point Positioning Technique with IGS Real-Time Service (RTS) for Maritime Applications. POS, 06(04), 71-80. 

Finne, Å. & Grönroos, C. (2009). Rethinking marketing communication: From integrated marketing communication to relationship communication. Journal Of Marketing Communications, 15(2-3), 179-195. 

Ford, N. (2003). Public health and company wealth. BMJ, 326(7402), 1296-1296. 

Integrated Marketing Communications. (2016). Elearnportal.com. Retrieved 28 May 2016, from http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/business/advertising/advertising-integrated-marketing-communications

Kilbourne, W. (2004). Sustainable Communication and the Dominant Social Paradigm: Can They Be Integrated?. Marketing Theory, 4(3), 187-208. 

Menu - Burger Hut Burgers. (2016). Burgerhut.com. Retrieved 28 May 2016, from http://www.burgerhut.com/menu/

Nestle, M. (2001). Food company sponsorship of nutrition research and professional activities: a conflict of interest?. Public Health Nutrition, 4(05). 

Ring, A. & Teichmann, K. (2011). Competitor Detection: An Investigation of Consumers' Perceived Similarity. Tourism Analysis, 16(4), 405-418. 

Schultz, D. (2003). Opinion Piece: The next generation of integrated marketing communication.Interactive Marketing, 4(4), 318-319. 

Van?k, M., Mikoláš, M., & Žváková, K. (2012). Evaluation Methods of Swot Analysis / Metody Vyhodnocení Swot Analýzy. Geoscience Engineering, 58(2). 

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