The coronavirus pandemic is directly impacting restaurants, the owners and employees. .
These are obviously tough times. The restaurant business is in limbo or in an indeterminate state.
From their survey by National Restaurant Association (NRA), nearly one in six restaurants about 100K of them are closed, permanently or will be long-term, with nearly 3 Million employees. Research shows that the
foodservice industry was, prior to Covid-19, our nation’s second largest
private sector.
"Closed" means in the marketing research as in ‘long-term” or “permanently.”
- “For an industry built on service and hospitality, the last six months have challenged the core understanding of our business.”
- “Our survival for this comes down to the creativity and entrepreneurship of owners, operators, and employees."
- “Across the board, from independent owners to multi-unit franchise operators, restaurants are losing money every month, and they continue to struggle to serve their communities and support their employees.”
Do you need examples of strengthening your pillars of your brand or branding strategies?
I consult, teach and work as a Marketing, Business and Advertising expert using many Marketing concepts, standards of practice and practices, including the Nine P's/9P's of Marketing in court.
Need a deep intuitive understanding into "real" Marketing? As a brand manager, entrepreneur, business owner or advertising agency professional, do you need deeper insights into business, Marketing and advertising?
Visit here for plenty of insights into Marketing.
I created the 9P's. It's a framework; it includes targeting or "People," planning, product and services, promotion, pricing, partnership strategies, "Place," Passion and Presentation. Plus true, researched marketing insights and fun, insightful, advertising trivia.
For the past 48 years, I have been a Marketing professional, a certified, credentialed Forensic Litigation consultant (CFLC), a Marketing and Advertising consultant with Londre Marketing Consultants, LLC plus I teach and give seminars on Strategic Marketing, the nine P's of Marketing, Branding, Super Bowl spots, Global Marketing, Promotion and Advertising.
I also present to MBA candidates, law schools and attorneys my "What is Marketing? What is Advertising?" lecture and talk. I have plenty of examples. It's interactive. I have been to UCLA School of Law and at Pepperdine University this semester.
Twelve years ago, I created and own the marketing objectives, strategies and tactics practice of the 9P's of Marketing. The Nine P’s/9 P's of Marketing ©2007 augments the Marketing Mix or the 4P's (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) by the American Marketing Association, Neil Borden and Jerome McCarthy in the study and practices of a copyrighted Marketing concept. I've added "People," "Passion," "Planning" and "Partners" and "Presentation."
In the late 60's I attended Marketing 307 at USC. I learned that the "customer," or potential purchasers, buyers are king or kings, but I discovered that potential consumers are missing as one of the P's. With the addition of "People," I expanded and developed the additional concepts under the nine P's. Look at first-time purchasers and repeat buyers.
For marketing professionals, targeting or the "target market," "People," buyers, potential buyers and users are placed much more prominent in my marketing model and practice. These potential buyers have their own "P." It's "People," in the 9P's of Marketing.
The utilization of the 9P's of Marketing help, develop and guide a company or a firm's marketing objectives, strategies, tactics and solutions. The Nine P's can be truly insightful, in many ways and in many possible tactics and actions. I see opportunities where others see problems. These strategies and tactics will help build revenue, manage costs, more effectively.
So, you and others may ask "What is Marketing?" Marketing is a planning and execution process that involves a product or service's attributes, research, distribution, pricing, partnerships or alliances, promotion and more.
In my presentations and talks, I detail that advertising is only a small percentage of the answers to marketing problems. Advertising is a small part of Marketing.
All of the Marketing activities and tasks must work together to assure successful marketing practices. Firms, associations and companies with the most effective marketing efforts try to thoroughly understand their potential buyers and customers ("People") in your marketplace.
Companies and new product/service development pros create products and services to meet market needs. Solving consumer "problems." These firms and others use marketing research and channels for understanding and communicating to market segments, a target market or audience ("People" in the 9P's of Marketing).
In the study and practice of Marketing, Marketing managers and brand agents develop planning, plans, objectives, strategies and tactics.
For any size firm and new or old entrepreneurs, the 9P's of Marketing include important components, parts, elements, actions, tactics and efforts.
Let's start with planning, research, one of the nine P's and also with targeting, "People," one of the other nine elements or components:
- Planning or Simply Marketing Planning:
- Planning starts with research and researching. Simple or complex observations.
- This element of planning in the nine P's is a method for achieving an end, and, looking at the eight other parts; your insights can start a detailed formulation of a program or plan of action. I like using a phrase from Ben Franklin; he supposedly said "Failure to plan is planning to fail."
- Look at developing and transforming marketing objectives into marketing strategies leading to tactics. Marketing management and managers must make basic decisions on marketing targets (“People”), marketing mix, pricing, distribution, marketing budgets/expenditures and marketing allocations.
- Review dividing the total marketing budget among the various tools in the marketing mix and for the various products, channels, promotion, media and sales areas. And there's more under the other 9Ps of Marketing
- People
- This is targeting or "People;" it has almost always been left out of the traditional "Marketing Mix," almost every diagram includes the four P's with Product, Promotion, Place and Price. No "People."
- Place potentials "consumers" or "People" or "potential buyers" in the middle of a circle. Find information or data on them. Add the other components in the nine P's. In Marketing, from my education, training, research and analysis plus testimony, there needs to be greater focus on the buyer, "customer," or "People," in both planning and implementation.
- Look and analyze your potential, new, existing and repeat customers and users.
- To understand your "People" or your market segments, you may need to utilize many characteristics, including:
- Demographics (such as age, family size, family life cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, culture, generation, nationality, and social class).
- Geographics
- Psychographics (buyers are on basis of psychological/personality traits, lifecycle, values)
- Behavioral characteristics (needs and benefits, decision roles, user and usage-related variables, occasions, user status, usage rate buyer-readiness stage, loyalty status, attitude and multiple bases) and
- Technographics (potential buyers may or may not have the software and computer skills.
- Think employees here too, which may be a vital component or components of the 9P's of Marketing.
- Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target a market segment or marketing segments.
- Simply it's about Segmentation and Targeting. Add Positioning and you have STP, as a major first or second step, which may need your firm to do more research and planning.
- Product and Services:
- Restaurants provide product and services. A product (service) is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that may satisfy a want or need.
- It's the goods and service combination the firm offers to the target market, including variety of product mix, features, branding, designs, packaging, sizes, services, maintenance contracts, warranties and return policies.
- Place (Distribution):
- All of the independent restaurants and franchises fit here for the development and execution of marketing strategies.
- Consider, develop and review store and non-store options, e-commerce and “brick and mortar” factors, geographic considerations, objectives, strategies and tactics, including with your “Partners, too.”
- It's your offering of the right PRODUCT at the right PLACE or location, at the right time, at the right price. It's the company’s activities that make the product available, using distribution and trade channels, roles, coverage, assortments, locations, inventory and transportation characteristics and alternatives.
- Price or Pricing:
- Simply it's the amount of money a consumer is willing to pay to obtain the product. But "price" is so much more.
- “Pricing” is the sum of the values that customers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service.
- Pricing decision making involves adjusting prices concerning the competitive environment, economic situations and may involve buyer perceptions. Simply, this component or element is all of the aspects regarding pricing.
- Pricing or "Price" also includes wholesale/retail/promotional prices, discounts, trade-in allowances, quantity discounts, credit terms, sales and payment periods and credit terms.
- Promotion:
- I teach and consult that there are eight (8) major, strategic components or communication elements which are personal and non-personal communication activities, under "Promotion." .
- The activities that communicate the merits of the overall product include:
- Personal Selling/ Sales Force: Sales persons. Your sales force.
- Helpful consulting tip or hint: Listen more than you talk. People who listen more, learn more, plus this time helps you position your service/product/solution or offering, by understanding their needs and wants.
- Advertising is paid media. There's an expression "It is only creative if the product or service sells." I wanted to add "It is only good media spending if it sells."
- Sales Promotion
- Collateral Materials
- Direct Marketing (also referred to as Action or Direct Response Advertising)
- Interactive/Internet/Web, Digital Media, Social Media:
- Events and Experiences
- Public Relations/PR
- Partners:
- I added Partners to the mix. Under Marketing, it's the working with others, firms and organizations which take part in an undertaking, using the 9P's, with another or others, in a business or function with shared risks and profits. Also referred to as Alliances.
- With "Partners" and your Marketing efforts, it is vitally important to partner and align with firms that have similar corporate philosophies. Simple but complex and difficult, have agreed upon objectives and strategies.
- Presentation:
- This “P” or “Presentation” is the act of displaying, using, presenting, and putting forward any of your efforts utilizing the other 9P’s© and/or components to your customers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, sales force, marketing intermediaries, clients, employees, partners, and/or others.
- Be sure to look and promote "real” product and service experiences.
- This "P" helps you enable consumers and “allowing” them to feel the brand. As part of "presentation," I also place “events and experiences” under Promotion.
- While traditional marketing is based on target audience impressions/ views/ clicks/ exposure, experimental marketing involves engaging with your potential consumers.
- Passion:
- This "P" are those intense, driving or overmastering feelings, emotions in the planning, developing, implementing and executions of pricing, promoting, partnering, selling and overall marketing of products or services.
Specifically you will find them detailed at 9P’s/Nine P’s.
Or for more fun, marketing strategies/tactics and facts: Go to Marketing Trivia with 40+ stimulating questions and answers at Londre Marketing Consultants, LLC.
