HOSP 3050
Prof. Jeff Longo
Group Project
February 4, 2013

Jiyeon Lee
Paola Sequeyro
Briana Land
Keandra Brown

Contents

Introduction··············································································3

Product Analysis·········································································4

Environment Analysis·······························································5, 6

Marketing Analysis·····································································7

Pricing Analysis··········································································8

Description of Advertising, Public Relations and Promotions·················9

Conclusions/Reflections·······························································10

Works Cited·············································································11

Introduction

History of T.G.I Fridays

It all began with a fun-loving New Yorker named Alan Stillman. He used to sell perfume, then he purchased a bar on 1st Avenue and 63rd Street and named it T.G.I. Friday’s. That was over 45 years ago.
He didn’t know that he was creating what is now known as the “Casual Dining” segment in the restaurant industry; he just wanted to create the ultimate singles bar. T.G.I. Friday’s became an overnight sensation - a destination synonymous with FUN for singles, couples, co-workers and friends.

Place chosen: T.G.I Fridays in Northlake mall (6840 Northlake Mall Dr, Charlotte, NC 28269)
└This location is very convenient for Mall shoppers after they are done with shopping. It is also a great place for families, couples, singles, and friends who don't want to eat in the food court after shopping.

Strengths:
-Reasonable prices
-Staffis very friendly
-Variety of food
-Fast
-Great awards system.

Weakness:
-Food comes out late sometimes, long wait time to be seated, and the food quality is not the same all the time.

Opportunities:
-This location should enlarge the restaurant (since it gets very crowed on the weekends) to minimize customers’ wait time.
-It would be nice to have a little 'party room' for birthday parties etc.
-Since there is only one family restaurant near Northlake mall, more events and advertising can be done.

Threats:
-If wait time can't be fixed, customers will not be happy to come back.
-A local franchise is affected by the national reputation of T.G.I Friday’s
Product Analysis
Elements of the Product They Offer 1. Core Product: The thing that customers are actually buying is excellent customer service and a fun and laid back place to be. 2. Facilitating Product: The facilitating product would be the food that the customers come to partake in at the restaurants. Food is the facilitating product because it allows customers access to the environment and customer service. 3. Supporting Product: The supported product would be the sitting at the bar watching the games going on, customer recognition, and quick service. What T.G.I. Fridays’ is actually selling is customer service. Because theyou can go anywhere for good food, but you can’t go anywhere for good service. 4. Augmented Product: The augmented product would be the atmosphere, the bar, and the people that are in the restaurant. With good atmosphere, alcohol, and awesome people, customers have a better time and will want to frequent the restaurant even more.

Environmental Analysis A. Micro and Macro Environmental Factors a. Micro Factors – factors close to the company that effect its ability to serve its customers. * Supplies: by bringing in brand names from other companies to serve in the restaurants. (i.e. T.G.I. Fridays’ Jack Daniel’s ® Grill, which includes grilled proteins basted or marinated with Jack Daniel’s Whiskey). * Customers: a company has to base their product off of the different needs of the customers; they are at the center of the marketplace. Without them there wouldn’t be a restaurant. (When TGI first started it was a singles bar that transformed into a sit down casual family eatery). b. Macro Factors- larger societal forces that affect the entire microenvironment. * Intermediaries: they help by promoting the product to the various market districts. (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) * Competition: through one or more of the four levels of competitors which include, budget, general, product category, and product form. F.G. I. Fridays’ mainly falls into budget competition and general competition. * Publics: various groups that affect the company’s abilities to achieve their goals. (T.G.I. Fridays’ will most likely sell to local and general public’s rather than citizen-action publics). B. Analysis of Competition
Two restaurants that would probably be considered as micro competition to T.G.I.F. would be Carolina Ale House and Outback Steakhouse. Carolina Ale House is set up pretty much the same as any other restaurant, bar, and grill. There is a bar in the middle of the restaurant, with the kitchen in the back, booths, tables, and high tables around, and hostess desk. The walls are decorated with pictures of road signs and athletes playing their various sports. Ale House is a casual sit down restaurant with pretty much the same menu as TGIF. However, Carolina Ale House is the only one of these three restaurants with a brewery attached to it for which they sell, bottle, and make their own brew right out of the restaurant. Outback has an Australian theme to it which they are known for; as well as their customer service. It is a sit down casual laid back restaurant. As well as their never-ending Pumpernickel bread. Outback is more rugged and outdoorsy decorated with plants, various Aboriginal artifacts, and pictures of off-roading vehicles. Their menu is also the same as TGIF with more of a tame taste to the food. Each will affect business in a different way. If someone wants more alcohol for their buck they might go to Ale House, if someone wants a quieter more relaxed place they would frequent Outback. But if they want fun, exciting, great food, great service, and some drinks with good people they would come to TGIF.

Market Analysis
a. Target Markets.
TGIF targets the masses they are even striving to be the number one casual restaurant in the US. They use a lively atmosphere and well-priced food to gain clients. This is perfect as even though people do enjoy going to TGIF for beer and wings, families and couples can also enjoy going there. In the case of this particular location people who are going shopping at North Lake mall are probably their biggest target since the restaurant is nearby it is convenient . The location is great to lynch in new clients and this could be anyone from someone who doesn’t want to eat mall court food or people who feel like going on a night out.
b. Positioning Strategy
Their strategy for product placement is placing that Specific TGIF near that location. They also sell TGIF hot wings and other Appetizers at Wal-Mart. This helps because it makes people associate TGIF with a great night out where they have fun with their friends and enjoy good food. That way people can enjoy good hot wings at home if they love them, but they have never been to TGIF they might consider checking it out next time they are near.

Pricing Analysis
What pricing strategies are used by your restaurant? What are your opening pricing plans?
-TGIF just tries to give the client an affordable price because they are a casual Restaurant and want to be known as a night out kind of place by a younger crowd yet as a family friendly kind of restaurant.

Promotion, Advertising and Public Relation strategies

A. Promotion Strategies:
These are the different ways we will be marketing our restaurant to make this a successful business. With these marking tips we will be able to keep our business flowing and will be able to keep our customers happy. The first strategy tool we will be using is Promotion; this involves creating a customer database so we can market to our customers. It's much easier to market to people who already like you than try to convert new business. Obtaining our customer's details by using business cards can draw with an appealing prize. Also Communicating regularly to our customers is very important for our business. This helps us as a business to avoid the association of spam by considering frequency and always including relevant interesting information. Provide details of upcoming special events, new dishes on the menu, or behind-the-scenes snippets - making sure there's something in it for the Customers. B. Advertising Strategies:
Identify our marketing radius. Almost every restaurant has an area which is the source of 90% of their customers. Keeping track of these restaurants in our area of business is very important mainly because we are all in competition. So knowing what other restaurants are doing wrong can help us avoid those problems. As far as our location goes, it will be near a mall so the attraction area itself brings in a lot of business. Talking to our neighbors (other restaurants) and finding out who they are and what they're doing. Investigate the possibilities of cross-promotion or whether you can work together on an event. Dealing with our customer complaints. Listening to our customer’s feedback and addressing their concerns is an important key to keeping a healthy business. Respond personally. Turn their experience into a positive and people will be impressed. This will keep our customers coming back and they are likely to tell their friends and colleagues about what a great restaurant we are. Restaurants live or die based on the quality of their front-of-house. Good service can save a bad meal, but even the most amazing meal can't save poor service. Our plan is to make our customers feel special, attended to, and believing their experience was above-average. C. Public Relation Strategies:
Social Media Tap into the online community, network actively and genuinely, we are using Face book, Twitter, maybe start a blog and making sure our restaurant is listed on relevant iPhone applications like Urbanspoon. Also using websites like Living Social and Group-on can helps us create more business. This focuses on the ultimate position being sought for the organization and for the product or service. This strategy helps our business develop clear, specific and measurable objective that identify our organization's hoped-for impact on the awareness, acceptance and action of each key public. A good deal of attention is given to objectives dealing with acceptance of the message, because this is the most crucial area for public relations and marketing communication strategists.

Conclusion

Works Cited

"TGIF Marketing Plan." http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com.Term Paper Warehouse, n.d. Web. 27 Jan 2013. <http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/Tgi-Fridays-Marketing-Plan/44190>.

"Restaurants near AMC Northlake 14, Charlotte ." http://www.urbanspoon.com. Urban Spoon ,n.d. Web. 27 Jan 2013.
"T.G.I. Friday's Casual Dining Restaurant & Bar | In Here It's Always Friday." T.G.I. Friday's Casual Dining Restaurant & Bar | In Here It's Always Friday.N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2013.
Kotler, Philip, John T. Bowen, and James C. Makens.Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.