Restaurant Case Study with Agnes- Business Killer 4: Non-traditional Competitors Cont’d –
Posted by Ryan Volberg at December 13, 2007 3:00 PM
Determine Strengths and Weaknesses
New Ventures in Delivery and the Take-out Business
When Agnes considered why she began this journey of improving her restaurant, she considered her two newest competitors. Ironically, these competitors weren't restaurants but rather a grocery store with higher end, freshly made meal replacements and a nearby concept that assisted you in preparing a week or month of meals.
Both competitors had a price advantage over her restaurant. Neither competitor had delivery. In addition, both were less convenient in terms of parking and location.
Until now, Agnes had done some takeout business, but she had dedicated very little thought to it. Largely, it was her regular customers that ordered when they had a craving for some of her signature items but didn't feel like dressing up enough for a sit down meal. Or there was a sporting event on television and they wanted something to eat while watching.
Agnes carefully considered some of the advantages and disadvantages of her restaurant to running a well-executed take out and delivery program.
She had a high traffic location. Well, to put it another way, she had a location that many people drove past. There was a difference and she knew it. Congestion often built right in front of her location an often it was difficult to get access to her restaurant. She wondered if drivers would be reluctant to stop since it then meant working their way back into the lineup.
While the access from the front was restricted, a back lane provided access to some side roads that made travel relatively easy. A delivery person would have little trouble making trips into the surrounding areas through these less traveled routes.
Her signage was also a challenge. Agnes was considering completely re-branding her business, so any money spent on signage now would be wasted. The problem was, she wanted to test some of her ideas before finalizing them. She spoke with her landlord who agreed to allow a temporary sign for six weeks on the boulevard. That would allow her to build some traction in her take out and delivery business while finishing her higher level concept tasks. What mattered the most was deciding on the messaging to put on the sign. What could she put on the sign to stop people in their tracks? This would be something to carefully consider.
Agnes also needed to have a strategic in place around take-out menus. In the past, she'd simply printed take out menus on her computer. She hadn't even distributed them; they were only available to customers within her restaurant. Agnes considered how she treated take out menus from other establishments. Most were stuffed into a kitchen drawer - hardly top-of-mind. What she wanted was to give people a good reason to keep it handy. This deserved more thought.
While driving home, Agnes considered how her customers would be using her take out items. She wondered if, by over-sizing the items on purpose, she could create leftovers for her customers. If that happened, the items would then travel to offices where they would be warmed and eaten with other potential customers. Her current packaging was plain white and rather flimsy. Her servers would scribble the name on the top of the box in black marker. How could she turn every take-out order into an advertisement?
When we visit with Agnes next time, we'll find out the steps she took to breathe new life into her Take-Out and Delivery business.
Ryan Volberg is the CEO of Vivonet, a company dedicated to ensuring retail and restaurant success.
 Category: Survival Tips Story of Agnes the Restaurateur
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