Introduction
Firefly is a fast food restaurant located in Aqaba, Jordan. The casual environment blends its comfortable atmosphere with a menu of delicious burgers. In this case, the mission of the organization is to not only offer its visitors an unforgettable taste but also make the service as efficient and friendly as possible. During the day, the majority of people visiting the Firefly fast-food chain are students and employees from nearby schools and companies. During the nighttime, the majority of customers are people of all ages going in and out of Aqaba. However, Firefly fast food restaurant faces the challenge of maintaining its current customer base, which may further limit its ability to expand to new markets. The core purpose of any business is to engage all stakeholders within the organization. Weinstein (2018) states that businesses serve two purposes: increasing the customer base by delivering superior value, and retaining the existing clients by guaranteeing satisfaction. These two goals must always go together. In this regard, the objectives of the marketing plan are to:
- To build brand awareness by gaining new social media followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 100,000 in six months
- To enhance the increased customer satisfaction with the restaurant’s services by 15% (measured through social media surveys) in the next six months.
- To open up four branches in the Asian market territory within the next year aligned with the needs and characteristics of the Asian market.
Reflection on Market and Brand
SWOT Analysis
One of Firefly’s strengths is its strong presence in Aqaba, Jordan. The restaurant is a market leader in the region’s food industry. Besides, the brand customizes its product line to cater to both vegan and non-vegan customers. However, Firefly exhibits weaknesses that are likely to affect its strategic positioning in the current market. Some of its suppliers may also betray the trust consumers have in the brand by providing hormone-injected meat and chicken. In terms of opportunities, Firefly needs to consider expansion. The organization also can introduce healthier food options as a way of attracting new customers and regaining the trust of existing ones. Finally, Firefly faces the threat of increasing competition within Aqaba from competitors such as Rovers Return Aqaba and Al-Shami.
PEST Analysis
Firefly is also affected by the external environment within which it operates. Israel has a relatively stable government that supports the growth of the business despite being located in a volatile region. Israel is also experiencing a rapid growth rate in its economy, which makes it an easier market to penetrate. Moreover, the country has put significant investments to support businesses. The demographic of Israel is yet to go through any significant changes, which means that the population’s eating habits remain the same. However, these people are becoming more health-conscious, which leads to shifts in eating patterns. Lastly, rapid technological developments in Israel can be used to improve customer service through the adoption of voice-activated online food ordering.
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning
Market segmentation is about the division of Firefly’s current and future markets into different groups based on the characteristics, needs, or behaviors of the population to design and integrate different products and marketing strategies. Firefly’s current market segmentation relies on income with a great focus on consumer tastes and pricing. However, the restaurant may consider creating a customer differentiation framework based on the age groups representing the target demographic. While the younger generation may prefer fried food recipes, older people are likely to select those that meet local health and environmental preferences. This would also mean that Firefly segments its products to suit a vast variety of lifestyles and personalities. Another important factor to consider is behavioral segmentation, whose focus will be on the attitude of consumers to the existing and future food varieties.
Having identified the target market based on customer variables, Firefly should consider targeting them for success as its next course of action. The targeting method used depends on an analysis of the marketplace, the restaurant’s strengths, and the advantages of its competitors. Currently, Firefly offers food at lower fixed costs prices compared to its competitors, which has been the main driver of growth. In this case, the restaurant should consider increasing institutional sales, which is an area dominated by a few large firms. For promotional purposes, Firefly has been using standard marketing for all its products. However, a shift to a differentiated approach for the different market segments would help increase sales.
Market positioning has both physical and perceptual elements. Firefly needs to build its brand identity and locate its current position within the market. The specified steps will help determine where the restaurant wants to be. However, market positioning comes with many market responsibilities such as product, channel, image, and service differentiation. Currently, Firefly’s product differentiation is limited to taste and pricing. However, the restaurant may consider producing food varieties that meet the needs of its different target customers, given that it has a proper grasp of the local market needs. All of the Firefly sales are conducted within the restaurant. Considerations should, therefore, be made to use experienced salespersons to facilitate home and office deliveries. Apart from having a unique and easy identify logo, Firefly should also set up helpline centers to make it easier for customers to make their orders and send their queries. The latter is especially important for the improvement of the marketing framework since it will allow catering to the needs of the target population more effectively. Once customers realize that the customer support system functions flawlessly, they will deem the company’s brand more valuable. As a result, products and related services will be promoted successfully.
Marketing Mix Strategy
Marketing for Firefly goes beyond merely satisfying customers. The hospitality sector exhibits a high degree of competition considering that every restaurant makes an effort to deliver the best services to customers. In this regard, surviving the competitive environment requires Firefly to engage in the delivery of memorable experiences and the creation of positive words of mouth. This can only be achieved by using a sophisticated marketing mix strategy.
Product
Firefly’s menu forms the basis of its success in Aqaba, Jordan. The product strategy used by the restaurant conforms to the ideals of global localization. In implementing global localization, Firefly should continue offering domestic menu options in Aqaba, while adapting to localized menu offerings in the targeted foreign markets. The fact that standardization has been a driver of success in Aqaba means that acting local is arguably a crucial aspect of the success of the restaurant.
Price
When determining the right price for products, it is important to consider the financial stability of the restaurant. In a case where Firefly offers its products for too little, they will be devalued. On the other hand, pricing too high may result in the restaurant losing its business. Firefly currently uses a geocentric pricing strategy, which should be replicated in the target markets. This strategy considers unique factors within the market such as income levels, local costs, competition, and marketing needs.
Promotion
Firefly promotes itself as a global brand despite advertising locally. The restaurant adapts its communication strategies to fit different markets. This strategy brings to focus the potential of standardization in producing high brand equity. Consumers across the globe are also more technologically savvy. Firefly, therefore, should roll out localized apps alongside digital campaigns within the target markets. Given this initiative, Firefly will be able to reach and interact with consumers quickly.
Place
For a company intending to open multiple restaurants worldwide, it is important to develop a supply chain strategy with the capability of adapting and being used within the global perspective to drive the restaurant’s overall success. Besides, Firefly can engage suppliers in owning and operating distribution centers in different parts of the world to distribute raw supplies to company-owned restaurants.
Physical
Firefly can adapt to the physical appearance of its company-owned restaurants by making them more colorful and attractive in markets that it is necessary to entice customers. However, it will have to take a less is more approach in conservative countries such as China.
People
Firefly obtains its staff locally. This means that human resource managers need to have an understanding of the corporate and local cultures within the target markets. An emphasis should also be placed on the recruitment of customer-focused employees considering that the right attitude is an important factor in the hospitality industry compared to technical ability.
Overall, the marketing mix analysis has indicated that Firefly has a rather large potential. By continuing to expand into the global setting, the company will benefit significantly. However, to embrace a broader number of customers, Firefly will have to introduce greater variety into its production line. In addition, customer segmentation needs to be more elaborate and refined. Moreover, the current marketing mix approach suggests that the organization could examine the opportunities associated with customer segmentation and product differentiation. The proposed improvements are believed to have a direct impact on how the product is perceived. Namely, Firefly will be lauded for its focus on culture-specific needs. In addition, options for entering the digital marketers need to be explored given the challenges associated with the lockdown measures. Namely, creating applications for product ordering and timely food delivery should be considered a possibility.
Recommendations
Firefly needs to continue assessing its value offering based on the benefits associated with lesser prices. As long as the restaurant chain focuses on the potential benefits which consumers get, it will be in a better position to increase value for its customers, considering that Firefly offers low prices in its current market. In this regard, Firefly will continue to revamp its physical locations while concentrating on customers’ psychographic trends. Furthermore, Firefly will ensure that it delivers a customer experience, which is second to none is an important part of increasing the benefits offered to increase value.
Overall, consumers in Asian markets have started focusing more on their wealth and status. According to Pino et al. (2019), the Chinese, for example, purchase goods based on their perceived social status. The described specificity means that Firefly must create ways of improving the current standing to meet that of the Chinese market. For Firefly, upgrading restaurants’ physical look and feel will help improve the overall brand’s perception, therefore capitalizing on status-seeking individuals.
The majority of restaurants focus on expansion within their local market, which is a risk that seems to have paid off for Firefly. It would now be necessary to focus on expanding not only the Asian and European markets but also those in Africa. Developed countries are making significant investments in Africa, and it will not be long before the continent becomes the next big market. Currently, Firefly has no plan to open stores in Africa, which allows it to consider the venture in the future.
Evaluation and Control
Tracking the restaurants’ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is an essential process to accelerate the success of the business. Tracking the cost of goods sold will help Firefly know the areas to reduce expenses, therefore increasing profitability. Given the number of risks that a company such as Firefly will face in a new market, a risk management framework is vital to its ability to survive the competition and multiple external threats. Moreover, the pricing of items within the restaurants determines profitability. It will, therefore, be important to track the items that yield the biggest return and the frequency at which they sell. The specified step will ensure that Firefly maintains a high-profit menu with statistically significant sales. It will also be critical to determine the amount of revenue per seat per hour. Empty chairs mean that Firefly’s profits are suffering. The company can then make adjustments in its marketing strategy toward improving hourly profitability.
Reflection
Completing this unit has been a very insightful and useful experience since it has demonstrated how to apply a theoretical premise and an existing model to perform an accurate assessment of an origination. The application of the SWOT and PEST analysis was a particularly smooth process due to the meticulous search of the key resources that provide key data, as well as the following meticulous analysis of key factors. As a result, the chances for Firefly to become an important player in the global fast-food industry have been evaluated.
However, some of the aspects of the project did not correspond to the plan drawn beforehand. Specifically, assessing the current pricing strategy of Firefly as a part of its Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning approach turned out to be quite a challenge. What made the analysis especially difficult was the consideration of key financial trends within the contemporary global market. Indeed, given the complexity of the present economic situation and the challenges that the pandemic has caused organizations to experience worldwide, the evaluation of the opportunities and threats was very painstaking and complicated.
Nevertheless, the unit has provided several crucial lessons to learn. For example, it became evident that the development of a strong, straightforward, and efficacious marketing strategy is linked to the assessment of key risks and the overview of not only cultural and economic but also financial, political, and even environmental factors that define the target market. In addition, this unit has helped me to learn how to use the existing theoretical models to evaluate the state of a specific economic environment. Although models are to be expected to provide only a basic example of how relationships within a specific context function, the transition from using the specified frameworks to the assessment of an actual market setting was quite jarring.
At this point, the significance of the lessons learned from this unit came into play, allowing for an adjustment to the new experience and a detached, and composed evaluation of the selected setting. As a result, the transition from models to practical assessment was performed quite smoothly. Therefore, the ability to evaluate the environment, select an appropriate model from the array of those that were examined during the lessons, and apply it correctly can be considered one of the major outcomes of participating in the course.
While also being crucial in preparing me to top the environment of the actual global market and the challenges of running a business, this course has also helped me to get ready to write a dissertation. Being another foundational goal of mine that must be implemented so that I could feel accomplished and self-actualized, the future dissertation no longer represents a vague threat. Instead, it is now viewed clearly and seen as another step toward gaining proficiency in the chosen area of interest.
Moreover, the experience gained throughout the course and, particularly, during this project will provide substantial material for the dissertation. Namely, it has shown how marketing strategies are molded, proving that each marketing approach needs to be unique, yet the mold for building it has to reflect one of the foundational frameworks developed in the specified field of business and economy. Thus, the experience gained throughout the course will inform the development of a solution for a specific problem to be discussed in the dissertation. Overall, the course has proven to be extraordinarily useful. It has helped to connect theory to practice, study the existing methods of market analysis, and create original solutions to marketing issues faced by companies in the global setting. Thus, this unit should be recognized as essential in building a business skillset.
Reference List
Pino, G. et al. (2019) ‘Brand prominence and social status in luxury consumption: a comparison of emerging and mature markets’, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 46, pp. 163-172.
Weinstein, A. (2018) Superior customer value: finding and keeping customers in the now economy. New York: Routledge.