Analysis for Fuddruckers
Re: Product Competitiveness
Introduction
There are a number of factors that affect the competitiveness of Fuddruckers. These effects work both positively and negatively to bring change to the brand. It is important to highlight the benefits that the market, the environment and the company best practices that affect Fuddruckers activities in the market. This is through identifying the industry in which the company is involved and analyzing the best practices therein.
Fuddruckers is a restaurant chain located in America. It deals with fast casual food staffs which is specialized to hamburgers (Fuddruckers 2). This means that the organization is in the restaurants industry and it has a specialized service to its customers. This places the company at an elevated point since it is easy to build a specialized brand with market specialization. The importance is that the company looks to fulfil the thirst of its customers through serving a variety of menu that comprises hamburgers and an added customer oriented delicacy.
Fuddruckers understands the value of market presence. It is the reason that the company ventured into franchising. Franchising ensures that the company services are taken to the people in different locations and it is not an expensive venture since the company doesn’t have to be physically involved in the area. This is through commissioning another company and individual with the rights to operate the same services for a fee. It means that Fuddruckers should be involved more on the ground through franchising.
Franchising is important in that it triggers involvement of the people. An example is when customers travel from the home country to a foreign country or town, they find the same services in the different town. It means that the name of the company will be out there which tends to increase exposure of the company. There is a growing trend where companies ensure that exposure is maintained through having express shops for the company products (Khwaja 3). Improving the presence of the company services and products determines the business aspect of the company.
It is recommended that the company places the services in strategic locations. The locations include densely populated areas that experience high traffics of people. These areas include airports, subway stations and even shopping areas. This strategy improves the accessibility of the restaurants and determines its presence in the market. Accessibility and quality service delivery ensures that the company remains in the sights of its customers. This tends to improve the revenues of the company at the end of business.
There is a growing trend in advertisement brought about by culture change and innovative technology. This is the reason that the company has to invest in advertisement and outdoor activities that work for the interests of promotion of the services and products. Advertisement is meant to increase the company services and products exposure. This is the reason that the venture should be taken up so as to promote the status of the company.
The best methods to advertise currently are through events and the social media. The social media tends to target a certain age group which is the most active. The target age group should be 18-34 years (Kelley 9). These is the most active age on social media and they are also active in the eating sector. It means that they have to be reached on a constant level so as to keep the company activities active. It means that the restaurant has to go out and meet this vibrant group. The social media utilities selected include Facebook, Linkedin, Foursquare and Twitter.
The above social media handles ensure that the customers stay in contact with the company. This way, the products and services offered by the restaurants are visible to the customers. There is also a growing trend to ensure contact with the potential customers. It means the customers have to be given a platform to stay in touch with the company. This way, they will be able to give feedback about the products and services and more so give recommendations on how they should be served better.
Surveys are also important methods of ensuring that the presence of the company is maintained at the market level. This is one step to ensure that the services offered by the company are taken to the people in the market. Paid for surveys to the customers can be a good way to ensure that information about company products is propagated to the people. This is done through giving individuals on an online platform to answer questions about specific products of the company. Improvement of the particular products can be suggested by the customer through this method.
The environment in which the business operates is important in determining the company involvement. There are two types of environment that can affect the business. These are macro and micro environment. It means that external forces act to promote or hinder the activities of a business and therefore they have to be studied. Considerations should be put on the positive and negative effects of the environment. There are environments that can be controlled and this depends on the magnitude of the particular environment (Fitzen 4). An example of a controllable environment force is politics, where the politicians have to be supported by the company.
The micro environment is important in ensuring that the company processes are put on the highest operational terms. This revolves around external forces to the business that comprises of distributors, competitors and even the customers. The competitors bring about price ranges and substitute products which affects the market of the company. The company has to ensure that the products and services are of a lower price level to make a difference of even a single dollar. This tends to convince the customers that the company sells its products at a cheaper price.
The macro environment which is affected by technology brings about varied tastes by the customers. Innovation in the food preparation should therefore be employed to ensure that the company stays in check with the customer preferences. Technology should also be embraced in keeping track of customer buying trends. It means that the customers should be surveyed and the results stored for analysis on a regular basis. This way, the company gets to understand the buying power of the customers, their preferences and what to improve in order to stay afloat in competitive markets. Fuddruckers is aimed to continue dominating the food industry with these strategies in place.
Works Cited
Fitzen, L. Marketing Environment. Norderstedt: Grin Verlag, 2009. Print.
Fuddruckers. Our Story. 2016. Web. 8 2 2016.
Kelley, D. L. Fuddruckers. Media Planning. New York: Omni-Pres Media Group, 2012. Print.
Khwaja, A. Burger Chain Fuddruckers Beefs Up Presence with Express Concept. 24 June 2004. Web. 8 2 2016.
