Indiano Restaurant: Authentic Indian Cuisine Essay | Queensland.

About Indiano Restaurant

Indiano restaurant is a wholly Australian-owned Family Food Business operating in Queensland. Indiano started its operations in 1997 when it opened its branch next to Wickham Park in the busy city center of Brisbane. The company’s vision is to provide delectable Indian cuisine with authentic flavors and aromas with aesthetic dine-in experience. To complement its vision, the whole restaurant presents a barrage of Indian sights, textures, colors, and sounds from the moment customers walk into the restaurant.  Over the years, Indiano has experienced substantial growth reaching its highest revenues of $1 million in 2015.

Indiano has enjoyed healthy but plateaued sales over the years. Indiano had conducted very little research, marketing, or significant advertising on its product for some time, essentially, because Indiano was the first Indian restaurant in the area. However, the constantly enlarging fast-food sector, as well as the entry of other continental and Indian restaurant-food businesses in the surrounding areas in the last few years proved challenging for Indiano and its revenues shrank to $500,000. The falling revenues led Indiano to research ways to retain existing customers as well as grow its customer base. In 2018, Indiano started a market research campaign to discover customer perceptions about its food and restaurant. One of the strengths of Indianos’ operations system is its in-built capability to monitor sales in real-time. This internal research tool allows it to track customers and their food order patterns on a daily and even hourly basis.

Using the information collected through its in-built monitoring system, Indiano built a clear picture of current demand and consumer behavior. The results revealed that overall sales of the restaurant were steady, they were not increasing. The restaurant served an average of 60 customers a day compared to more than 100 in 2015. Resturant sales increased from Thursday, peaked on Friday, and remained high into the weekend. The majority of the customers tended to arrive after office hours, with most sales occurring between 3 and 6 pm. The most startling finding was that consumers preferred to buy fast food including burgers, sandwiches, and doner kebabs, instead of cuisines that Indiano managers thought were their specialty. Other research reinforced that fast food acted as a destination driver for the customers. Fifty percent of all Indiano’s customers reported the restaurant’s fast food as, “one of the main reasons why they visited Indiano”. In particular, 72% of those aged 18 to 26 years old reported that fast food was the reason they visited the restaurant.

Indiano also conducted extensive focus group sessions involving those key consumers who were in target segments that purchased the fast food (aged 18-26). The participants were asked a series of questions about Indiano’s food as well as more general lifestyle information, for example, what they did in their spare time, their employment, the sorts of food they ate, the music they liked as well as other fast food places they would like to go to. Focus group interviews help companies construct a profile of their target demographic and to gain direct feedback about their customers’ product and purchase experiences.

Market Research Campaign Results

Indiano’s market research identified that their market segments consisted of customers who were local to the area and that these customers valued freedom, fun, independence, and a quick, convenient fast-food fix. Consumers of fast-food saw Indiano as a “quick hunger fixer” or a “eat as you go”, which was also reflected in the research that showed that sales peaked after office hours and on Fridays and into the weekend.

Based on the results of its market research, Indiano has devised a new marketing plan to earn back its lost revenues. The major strategies of the new marketing plan are:

1) Since a major segment of Indinao’s customers are youths aged 18-26, who prefer takeaways, Indiano decides to cut off its budget on dine-in hall decoration, furniture, and fixtures, that is already not getting enough attention due to falling revenues and have started to present a gloomy look.

2)  To focus more on take-aways, Indiano decides to reduce its customer service staff by half and increase the salaries of the retained staff for better customer service.

3) To increase the fast-food product range, Indiano decides to add more options, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. Indiano also decides to provide more information about the nutritional value of its food on the packaging.

4)  With additional fast-food options, Indiano decides to increase the prices of its burgers, kebabs, and sandwiches by $3.50 per unit.

5)  The managers want to launch an online ordering and delivery system. The estimated cost of Information Technology (IT) infrastructure with support staff for online facility is $70,000. Owing to the huge cost, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) does not agree with the recommendation. However, the CEO is willing to allocate $25,000 to setup partnership with UberEats for food delivery ordered through telephone calls.

1. Discuss whether Indiano was successful in providing value proposition to its customers based on its vision and objectives. Provide reasons for your answer supported by key marketing concepts you learnt in the course.

A value proposition is a guarantee to deliver, convey, and recognize the value. This is a customer's expectation of how value will be supplied, experienced, and gained. A value proposition is applied to any business, or segments of it, or to accounts of customers, or to goods or services. No, Indiano lacked a value proposition after the year 2015. It was providing value for its customer till 2015, but after that customer started base shifted to a young group of people aged 18-25 who preferred fast food over authentic Indian foods. The company made a good profit till 2015 and then after the company can make a similar profit by focusing on the demand of the customer. The delay in doing market research kept it uninformed of the situation that it will be facing in the next few years. The reason for the drop in Indian food orders can be due to several reasons like: competitive market, pricing strategies, innovative food, service provided, Branding. Indiano managers should consider creating a value proposition one more time and should focus on the objective every year.

New Marketing Plan

They have to start with the branding of their food there should be one food item that is the major attraction and the specialty which is not available to other competitors. 

Innovation is the base for all kinds of success in the era that we are living in. using methods like artificial intelligence and marketing analytics the company can gain more insight into the customer. Preparing an app that can be used to order food and make payments online, while they are driving to the hotel saves their time, increasing sales and profit.

Good pricing strategies are considered the best way to get ahead in a competitive market. One can not keep everything cheap, rather build a potential customer base that can convey them to pay a high value for food. The Indiano should stick to value-based pricing for 50% of the cuisine that is a specialty, while competitive pricing strategies for other 50% of the section of food.

Other factors are service proving should be at par with the competitor.               

2. Discuss how Indiano’s lack of initial market research and advertising impacted its ability to develop a customer value-driven marketing strategy.

Due to delays in doing market research to understand the companies decline in sales and profit, it lost the majority of its best customers. A value-driven marketing strategy saves the company, it helps the company o know the preference of its customer and accordingly the company prepares, modify and innovates new products for smooth sales.

Indiano lost its customer due to its inability to understand the coming problem, the company saw a decline of 50% in its sale in just 2 years. The profit lost due to the same reason. Also, the company lost its major attractiveness of being an Indian restaurant. People started to buy burger, fries, and other fast food options that were not the main foods for sale.

3. What types of market research did Indiano use in 2018 and how did it help the company to understand the market?

After facing a loss in the business, it did start a market research campaign in 2018, Indiano tried to understand the customer perceptions about its food and restaurant. Quantitative customer research was done to collect data. It used the built-in operations system to monitor sales in real-time. These data were crunched to find the customers and their food order patterns on an hourly basis. This information-built map of the demand and consumer behavior. The results showed that all the sales of the restaurant are steady, and nothing is increasing. The restaurant has reduced the customer walk-in by 40% from 2015. It was also seen that due to busy schedule customer-preferred flocking in the restaurant in the weekends. Also, a steady increase was noted every Thursday and Friday. The customers that majored the sales were office goers spending time in the restaurant between 3 to 6 pm after office timing.

The results showed that all the sales of the restaurant are steady, and nothing is increasing. The restaurant has reduced the customer walk-in by 40% from 2015. It was also seen that due to busy schedule customers preferred flocking in the restaurant in the weekends. Also, a steady increase was noted every Thursday and Friday. The customers that majored the sales were office goers spending time in the restaurant between 3 to 6 pm after office timing.

Branding Strategy

The finding showed that customers preferred to buy fast food like burgers, sandwiches, and doner kebabs, and not specialty cuisines. The age group that preferred to buy from the restaurant were aged between 18-26 a total of 72%. Thus, the preference for fast food rose. To further understand their preference they conducted focus group research on this age group to understand their lifestyle and preferences.

4. Analyse the components of the marketing mix that Indiano should use to win back its market? Support your answer with theories you learnt in the course and evidence.

 The marketing mix is described as the application of a marketing technique that mixes components in order to develop and strengthen a product's brand and aid in the sale of the product or service. A marketing mix is a collection of marketing tools or methods used to promote and sell a product or service in the market. It is all about positioning a product and selecting where, at what price, and when to market it. Following that, the product will be offered in accordance with the marketing and promotional plan. The marketing mix consists of the 7Ps: product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence.

As the company is a service provider along with product sales it has to use every tool to improve its branding, sales, and positioning.

People- This is important to understand the preferences, lifestyle, and economic status of its customers. This makes them more informed about the product that will sell better.

Place- The company can branch itself, the branching is a method of opening new restaurants of the same name. This improves visibility in the market.

Process- A method that not only defines its uniqueness but also determines the cost. The company is planning to self via uber eat, due to lack of funds, it is not investing in the next technologies to make more profit. Thus, but innovating new methods will be a saving cost.

Pricing- As discussed the company should have preferred two types of pricing strategies, the value-based and the competitive pricing strategies to attract two sets of the customer in two sets of age groups. This will also help in building the vision proposition of the restaurant in the surrounding.

Product, and physical evidence- These both have a huge scope for improvement. Adding menu for new innovative intra cuisines that are new to the customer to taste. They should also prefer this restaurant for better quality food along with innovative recipes to taste at very competitive pricing. Investing more in advertising new offers, online tools to influence people are some of the methods.

These ways will surely improve the sale and profit of the company.

5. Critically evaluate each of the strategies of the new marketing plan. Do you think they will be successful? Provide reasons, theories, and evidence to support your answer. 

The company built a profile from the data based on the target demographic and the feedback. The company was able to understand the customers’ preferences for a specific product and purchase experiences. The result also showed that the customer is working young generation that has very little time, also their taste preference is fast food, they are the independent free audience. This is the reason the sales peaked after office hours making it a hang-out place for easy food. Thus, to increase the sales and lower the cost the company made some major changes:

Innovation and Technology

The major strategies of the new marketing plan are:

1) Indinao’s customers base was youths aged 18-26, thus, when they knew it well that these consumers are preferring to take away instead of sitting and ordering and eating food in the restaurant to cut off its budget on dine-in hall decoration, furniture, and fixtures, is a good option. As the revenue is steady and they have to keep a profit margin, they can keep a small budget on a particular segment for limited seats. This is the value-based customer sight.

2)  The step on cutting the service staff by half while increasing the salaries of the retained staff for better customer service is a good step of saving cost. But Also, this will hamper the customers who are privileged and are an old loyal customers. Rather they should segmentize or keep service staff on contracts to keep the cost stable.

3) To increase the list on the menu was a good step, but it should not keep it limited to fast food only. The restaurant wants to build a brand and also keep its value proposition high thus, they should work on both fast food and Indian cuisine menus. In this way, they will earn for both ends while keeping their company’s value proposition in the market high.

4) The pricing strategies place a very important role in retaining the customers. As discussed two-way pricing strategies will encourage a more diverse crowd to come. The fast food should be at competitive pricing while the specialty cuisine is at a high price. This will give an image that it has better to offer to the customer delight.

5) Innovation in technology is always a great move. Launching an online ordering and delivery system to support sales of the restaurant can be lower if they go for offers available. Doing research on this could help them decrease the pricing. Also, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) allocated $25,000 to setup a partnership with UberEats for food delivery was a great more. As the restaurant is working o to retain and gain customers for two segments this is helpful.

6. If you were the CEO of Indiano, what kind of market research would you conduct? Based on your market analysis, prepare a marketing plan by analysing the market situation, SWOT analysis, and by considering company’s objectives, missions, budgets, and controls.

As the objective and vision of the restaurant is to provide delectable Indian cuisine with authentic flavors and aromas with an aesthetic dine-in experience. the whole restaurant presents a barrage of Indian sights, textures, colors, and sounds from the moment customers walk into the restaurant.  The competitive base enlarged the fast-food sector, along with the entry of more continental and Indian restaurants in the market. The falling revenues to 50% in just 3 years made it to research to understand the reason and ways to retain existing customers. I would have done the same kind of research and took the help of technical methods to understand ways to infuse new food and preference.

Te qualitative customer research based on an inbuild operation system to gain insight into the total sales, time of purchase, peak hours, and age group makes it possible to build a base more specific marketing plan.   The swot analysis for the restaurant is :

Strength – The service providing, old and known in the market, authentic cuisine, cost-effective and trustworthy.

Weakness- lacks technology, innovation, menu shortage, trained staff, and monetary issue.

Opportunity- expanding new sales sector, better visibility of the changing market, adding new service, innovation on the menu, and brand name.

Threat- Competitors, changing customer preferences, changing environment, sustainability in the market, and inflation.

Thus based on these a new marketing plan should be:

Pricing strategies to be divided into two types of customer preferences. One will be competitive for the fast-food section and the other shall be the value-based pricing strategies for authentic cuisine. 

The involvement of the technology is essential and will be taking loans from the bank to induce the money for keeping ahead of everyone in the competitive market. The revenue earned will be used to repay the loan. Ubereat can also be used for meta experimenting for understanding the demand.

Training the staff and using the contractual staffing for almost 50% of the requirement especially for the weekends. This will be a way of cutting costs.

Spending on one section of the restaurant to make it available for the specific privileged customer and keeping the other part clean and attractive. This will be used to give branding and value for the arriving customers on any specific occasion and weekend.

Adding menu on both ends for the fast-food side as well as the specialty cuisine.

Adverting for more visibility, the advertisement offers and online presences are very essential to attract customers and retain them with great food and service.