One of our marketing experts just came back from the buiseness trip to Russia, where he, together with our Russia colleagues, carried out a preliminary analisys of the industry, a kind of reconnaissance. The results made us believe one more time, that Hooters will get through.
Why?
I gonna explain.
And to give you a better understanding, I would like to make a brief comparison of what Hooters can offer with what an average Russian restaurant is offering.
Let us begin with salads. Here are several examples of what is sold in one of the Russian restaurants and what Hooters is offering:
Russian restaurant: Hooters:
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| Lettuce, Tomato, Cukes and Cheese topped with slices of Grilled chicken |
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| Eggplant, Cheese, some Vegetables |
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| Beet, Crabmeat sticks, Egg, Parsley |
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| Bacon, Cheese, Crunchy fried chicken, Tomatoes, Eggs and more |
Examples of soups in a Russian restaraunt and in Hooters:
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| New England clam chowder |
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| Noddle soup with pieces of toasted bread |
And now some examples of other dishes in a Russian restaurant and in Hooters:
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| Seafood (steamed shrimp) |
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| Seafood (bony fish) |
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| Fried chicken |
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| Greasy chicken |
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| Ribs platter |
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| Unidentifiable vegetable substance |
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| Puff with cherry jam |
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| Caramel fudge cheesecake |
And the list can be continued.
That is what is called "competitive intelligence" by marketing analysts and "self-assertion" by psychologists!
But one important issue rests uncovered. If we have a good and healthy food (as far as Hooters is not a fast-food in a conventional sence), why we think that is will be bought up?
Referring to the results of our reconnaissance, the demand of consumers for such kind of products and services is not fully satisfied. Just like this:
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| Unsatisfied consumers |
And, of course, do not forget about our Hooters Girls.
But let us live to see the results of the STP analysis...
Wow!
ReplyDeleteIt seems you did a great job to analyse the market. Congratulations! =)
Hope to see a new concept of a restaurant here, in Russia. Nevertheless, I am a bit concerned with the research itself. I am sure you can answer my questions and make things clear:
1. What do you mean by comparing Hooters with a "Russian restaurant"? Is it a type of a potential competitor that was identified by you when segmenting the marketplace? Do you think it is the only one that can influence your decisions? What are characteristics?
2. According to your research "the demand for consumers for such kind of products and services is not fully satisfied". How did you measure the satisfaction? Does it mean that there is still a niche market? Do you think it is possible for the mature stage of industry development? (we are talking about Moscow if I got it right)
3. My last question is the most interesting for me. Undoubtedly the value of competitive intelligence cannot be underestimated. Especially for the company that is going to enter a new market. Could you please clarify which type of CI did you mean (strategical, tactical, or counter)? Will you publish more information about data collection, sources and trends since it is monitoring of dynamics, competitor's plans? The value of the CI is based on the upcoming strategic decisions of the rivals, e.g. "Russian restaurant".
Thanks for your answers in advance and I am sorry for being skeptical. New markets are always risky and it is essential to meet the challenges.
Regards,
A.
Good morning, Anna
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a lovely shiny morning like I do in Atlanta
I am elated about you being so interested in this new project of our company, and I will try to answer all your questions step by step, point by point
1. As I mentionned above, this very post is not devoted to something more, than preliminary analysis - a kind of reconnaissance, aimed at assessing whether it is worth to carry out a full-scale, costly and time-taking analysis of the industry. An activity, that, as you know, is usually very protracted. That's why by saying "comparing Hooters with a "Russian restaurant" I mean exactly comparing Hooters with several russian restaurants, that our colleague visited by picking them up randomly. It is not results of the STP, the analysis of the industry (these two analyses are on the make, and they are exactly a great job to analyse the market, not this post).
2. The second question is about my conclusion about the existence of demand that is not satisfied. As you already understood, the market research isn't completed yet. Still, we know, that it's implementation is well grounded. Why? Because, as a practitioner, when I see such a croud in an average restaurant with poor-quality dishes, I know that there is an unsatisfied demand, and that I can get these consumers.
3. Actually, when I mentionned the CI I was just kidding, drawing a parallel between what our collegue did (look and compare) and what CI departments sometimes do (a practice that is called benchmarking). I didn't think that this allusion would be taken seriously. Nevertheless, I think that it was tactical CI. And no, I won't publish any materials about the CI activities of my company, and no company won't. it is, as you know, a business secret.
Thank you one more time for being interested in the project and be patient and wait for the results of the full-scale analysis to bring down the rage of your criticism on it:)
With best regards,
C.R.Brooks,
CEO