By observing these problems, several opportunities to better the brand became evident. The most important opportunity is to implement a strict training program that all new employees must pass. This would largely eliminate the problem of inconsistency between locations as well as the problem of poorly trained staff. They could also get on board with the recent trend of serving local and organic food at restaurants, however this could make them less competitive in pricing. In order to do this, management would have to conduct studies to see if their customer base would be willing to spend more for better food and if they could attract new customers by advertising this. While many of their locations are in busy locations often near interstates, …show more content…
One thing that could hurt them would be an increase in the price of livestock. This could easily happen due to more extreme weather, such as the drought in California, making it more expensive to raise these animals. On top of this the economy could very easily take a hit in the near future with the upcoming presidential election. Certain candidates have a very poor grasp on foreign policy and will likely impose unwise tariffs on other countries, who would in return do the same. This would make global trade much harder for America, which could lead to the economy slumping again. A slow economy would be especially harmful to Longhorn because as previously seen, activities such as eating out and traveling are the first things that people cut when they need to save money. Another potential problem could be the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. If this were to happen, America would have to implement a new trade deal with them which could last 5-10 years. The harder it is to trade the more domestic goods will cost which will increase costs for Longhorn. Finally, Longhorn is very vulnerable to actions taken by its competitors. There are several other brands as well as countless independent steakhouses that they must compete against. If someone does not like Longhorn the next closest steak restaurant is likely very close. An example of this is the location in Auburn which has an O’Charley’s next door as well as a Logan’s across the street. Many of their competitors have embraced technology which again puts Longhorn at a