Menu Development: Mind the Gap
Restaurant chain menu developers and their marketing partners can take the heavy analytics route to gap analysis or examine the following areas for opportunities.
By Mary Boltz Chapman, Editor-in-Chief -- Chain Leader, 12/1/2008
In business, marketing, information technology and more, researchers often use a tool called gap analysis, which helps assess where the company is now, where it wants to be, and determine how to fill that gap. While the tool requires thorough analysis of customers, employees, competition, macro-environment and other benchmarks, it essentially asks, “What are we missing out on, and how do we fix it.”
Restaurant chain menu developers and their marketing partners can take the heavy analytics route or examine the following areas for opportunities.
Gaps in service: Do servers know the products, ingredients and where they came from? Can they explain to customers why it's a value or why it's worth the price? Do they understand the flavors and preparations?
Gaps in guests: Are there potential customers just beyond your target market dining nearby? Do moms drive by after dropping their kids off at school? Are groups of teenagers walking by in the afternoon? Do the businesspeople who come in for a quick lunch stop by to pick up dinner on their way home?
Gaps in equipment: Would a panini press or conveyor oven mean selling more high-margin sandwiches or a new flatbread pizza line? If you had another microwave oven, could you offer a greater variety of heated-to-order soups?
Gaps in selling points: Market what you offer beyond good food and service. Can you sell the family time, pleasant diversion from a hectic day, time savings, good people watching?
MORE: Moe's Southwest Grill finds inspiration for filling gaps in its menu from several sources including food associations and other segments of the industry.
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