Categories in the Restaurant Market
When one talks about managing customers they should consider the categories of the market. There are three categories within the market captive, mass and status market.
But what are these. Let me begin by talking about Captive Market, according to the (Business dictionary.com, 2013) it is those Customers who are constrained to purchase from a particular supplier or seller or according to (The Law Dictionary, 2013) it refers to markets where potential consumers face severely limited amount of competitive suppliers; therefore their only choice is to purchase what is available or to make no purchase at all. Both definitions are basically stating the same thing as customers are have limited options when purchasing or selecting meals, they are basically constrained with the places they eat, when they eat, where they eat and the prices they are being charged.
Within a captive market there is no competition for business as there might be limited suppliers offering the products or if offered it may be so expensive that the customer cannot afford it. Also there could be limited or no alternatives for consumers. A captive market can manage to exist in the following situations shortages, customer are unable to obtained products in sufficient amounts that they require, high prices of competing restaurants making it impossible for customer to dine or even think about dining. It could also be that there is lack of competition meaning no one else offers that product in that area or that the product is scarce and only one supplier offers it and it may be at a ridicule price. Last but not least the unique features or benefits of the restaurant that customer would go the extra mile to do business with them despite the price the product is offered at. Therefore Captive market applies to any market where there is a monopoly
