It was only something that I saw online yesterday - but - has FS dropped prices on sandwiches to 4.00 after 4PM? —– Nice response to Subways dayparting and even earlier.  —- Daypart pricing; needed during the new normal.

Here’s some links too:

They will have the regular - http://www.wickedlocal.com/westport/features/x531840012/THEYLL-HAVE-THE-REGULAR-Frequent-customers-add-spice-to-SouthCoast-eateries The critical importance of `regulars’ in these economic times.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10456332-52.html Oh oh - seems Denny’s has allowed an error about it’s twitter account on it’s main menu for months - read the strange tale.

I have more links on my Squidoo site too www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys . Tell a friend about this blog. Thanks.

It seems that many fast food restaurants have too narrow a target demographic and don’t spread out their age targeting on television commercials as they should - including a direct targeting of the customer aged 18-24  (Krystal being an exception.) - especially considering how hard it is to get the 18-24 age group to actually USE a FF coupon. Indeed, I’ve done research where less than 2% of the age group used coupons while upwards of 30% in other older age brackets was the case. So, the question is how to motivate usage within the young 18-24 year old cell.

Answer. VISUALLY target them with `frequency club’ bounceback card/coupon - make sure the dated card only involves a reasonable frequency level like I’ve described in my recent posts. (For example, 2 visits in 2 months - with a discount for each of those purchases.) So, if the young person KNOWS that the next two times they use your restaurant they get 20% off (or similar) the total bill - anytime in the next two months — that will be much more likely to influence a spontaneous purchase with the brand — versus a 1% chance of usage of a coupon in the paper or mailbox mailing.

Restaurant links for today:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/11/11/subway-wants-your-breakfast-business/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl8|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F11%2F11%2Fsubway-wants-your-breakfast-business%2F Subway moves into the breakfast daypart. Can Subway bakery or Atlanta Bread Company positioning be far away?

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/10/29/chinese-chickens-which-fast-food-chain-may-serve-you-this-scary/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl3|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2F29%2Fchinese-chickens-which-fast-food-chain-may-serve-you-this-scary%2F - Chinese chicken: Which fast food chain may serve you this scary import?

www.RestaurantNews.com BTW, you can see my ad at this website - which has lots of interesting content too.

Recently, my daughter related to me how a national FF restaurant was doing a `bounceback’ (stuffed without mention into a drive-thru bag) `free combo’ promotion. It was either buy 4 more and the fifth one was free or buy 5 more and the 6th was free. You had until the end of the year (so about twice a month to get the freebee).

Now, while I applaud the effort - since the frequency of your CURRENT customer base is most important customer attribute in the `new normal’ of the Great Recession - it falls WAY short of real motivation or of doing what it seeks to do - which is to increase frequency or market share.

Why not?

Because it simply isn’t motivating. To the VAST majority of the customer base as it has too high a threshold for compliance. Additionally, it gives away food for free to those who probably don’t even need a motivation to use your restaurant - your weekly or more often user.

Indeed, the next level of usage - those that use your restaurant once every two to three weeks (which can be a large movable segment) - are generally those who do NOT use your brand most often - for whatever reason (perception of high cost, not as convenient, service issues) and are indeed - UNLIKELY to increase their usage pattern over 2 - 3 months - a long time - for the special deal. We don’t even need to mention the once a month user or less often user — which is the vast majority of the customers of your customer base.

So, what should have been done?

Well, first, if the FF chain really wanted to bring a discount on their combo’s to certain folks over the next 5 visits within a certain time frame — give it to them EACH VISIT. Meaning, the next 5 visits before the new year when you buy a combo it’s 20% off. Saving money EACH time - can address high cost perception problems - and be motivating EACH time.

But, even that is NOT what I would recommend - as the timeframe is too long and the purchase requirement too big. So, obviously, I’m suggesting fewer purchases in a smaller timeframe - at a targeted customer (which you determine by asking your customer ONE question at the time of purchase).

To find out which question - to which type of customer - you need my services. 678-467-8650; ask for Rick.

This is a subject I’ve covered before http://restauranttradearearesearch.com/2008/08/10/customer-base-size-it-can-be-calculated/ but, it is well worth revisiting in the economics of The Great Recession and the `new normal’ that many restaurateurs are facing. Indeed, many are waking up to the idea that it will be necessary to `woo’ the existing customer base if one is to survive - as `new customers’ are not likely to be a significant factor. Indeed, in branded fast food restaurants - it’s likely that up to 1/2 of ALL new customers to a store in a given year - are likely `main’ customers of one of the other locations of a particular brand. Meaning - that visit is generated from prior usage in a more convenient location to this user. These are customers that you are likely to get over a year whether you advertise or not - and - other `new customers’ will likely be new `work’ customers - again, to which - little `extra’ marketing is needed. (Many workers are new to a given area each year.)

Now, in the link above - you can calculate that upwards of 40% of all transactions at a unit - were made by about 13% of the customers. Those, of course, are the built in creme for any restaurant - and - really - should be marketed differently than the REMAINING 87% who come less frequently.

Can you afford to ignore 87% of your customer base - without making any special effort to improve their frequency of usage of your store?

Now, in all honesty - part of that 87% may be virtually unmarketable as far as increasing their frequency - but, that said, many ARE marketable in a manner that addresses their frequency. The problem has been that UP TILL NOW - all `frequency programs’ have largely fallen flat on their face . And, there is a good reason for this — they address frequency in a fantasylike manner with this 87%. IE-Customer Frequency Cards.

Indeed, of the 87% who are `infrequent users’ - a full 2/3’s of the customerbase fall into the once a month or less frequency - do you really believe that a `loyalty card’ that has 6 punch-outs is going to be handy, used, or motivating if it results in ONE meal savings a year or at most two? The answer is a clear NO.

In fact, the only ones you are giving free meals to are your customer base that would have visited you anyway. Not much logic to that. (That isn’t to say that the frequent customer base can’t be marketed to - as I will expand on in future posts.)

So, what CAN be done about frequency for infrequent customers - what could be really motivating? Well, bookmark my site and return again for the upcoming answer.

More restaurant links:

Childhood Obesity Report Calls For Government Regulations to Limit Access to ‘Unhealthy’ Restaurant Chains - http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53374

The other day RBC Capital Markets released the results of a monthly tracking survey of interest to the restaurant industry - here’s the link - http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=365256. As a market researcher, perhaps most interesting - to me - was the headline “Restaurants May See Diners Spending More”. This statement was, of course, seemingly backed up by the results of the survey - but, really folks, it’s time to be a little more realistic and accurate about `survey results’. (That said, the title doesn’t over promise - just spins non convincing data.)

The `facts’ to support the headline were gathered from the survey with a sample of over 2,700 respondents - and the survey showed an `increase’ - from 5% to 6% -  in the percentage of people who said they were planning to spend more at restaurants over the next three months. The key fact in support of the headline.

So, you mean that as we come into summer, and vacations, that the sliver of folks who take these surveys to heart and wording at its true meaning - might realize - that because of `vacation’ and not being home as much (or substitute the end of being cooped up because of winter weather) - that they `plan’ on `more’ restaurant purchases in the next three months? And, THAT, is what we are to be encouraged by?

Oh, please.

(And, what if last months survey results were 5.4% rounded to 5% and this months was 5.6% rounded to 6%. Even with a sample of 2,700 it’s hard to point to hard evidence with a 1% point move.)

Also, the survey indicates just how `the down’ sentiment and usage of restaurants has been - via the poll. And, supposedly, this also has `glimmers of hope’(?) - in that data - compared to the previous month - this months survey showed that the % of people who say that they are planning on eating less at restaurants in the next three months `dropped’ from 50% to 44% - and, indeed, that looks like good news - until you think deeper about it.

The obvious first — 44%, nearly half of your customers are still trying to cut back on their restaurant usage - a nearly record high number probably.

If this survey is `rolling’ - theoretically - each month - 1/3 of the sample is `doing’ the effect of the `answer’ from the previous month (meaning the folks of three months ago who said `eating less’ - will have - three months later - adopted a lower frequency level) - and when - `re-interviewed’ (theoritically three months later) would be at that `new level’.

Let me explain more. ———- If three months ago 50% anticipated (planned) on eating `less’ at restaurants — one would expect that they indeed cut back to a new level — which the restaurant owner — hopes they DON’T decrease again — hoping that they are now going to answer to such a hypothetical question “about the same (reduced) level” — one certainly - doesn’t hope for those folks - who already reduced their level of restaurant usage to be saying “I’m going to be reducing it more”.

Further, if 6% fewer people are saying they will be reducing their restaurant usage - why did only 1%  (1/6th of that sample) move into `increasing’? Could it be that those 6% are doing exactly as I say above — finding a new `minimal’ leveling off of their own restaurant usage - while others are STILL reducing?

Honestly, one would have to be `creative’ to say the new poll is good news. To me, IMO, as a research analyst, it seems to reflect the `New Normal’ - which is establishing a reduced level of restaurant usage into the future - more and more.

Not only that,  the poll goes on to talk about other economic numbers they crunch that also seem to reflect a `bottoming’ if not an outright `surge’ in consumer optimism. Yes, a surge.

All I can say is - Really? In a worsening job market? In which, the worst on the employment side of our Great Recession  is yet to come? Is that a believable number or is something going on in even the asking of the question and the nations dynamics.

Or, is this consumer number reflective of something else - like new loyalty to a new very different president - more of a hope than anything else. And, indeed, the 38% confidence number (it’s not really called a confidence number but is a roll up of similar characteristics) - up from an 8% reading the month before (do things economically seem 4 times better to you in the last 30 days?) — and, this percentage (38) is strikingly similar to the true hard core percentage of Democrat loyalties and percentages.

And, the poll, in March, after Obama was dissed in the press for being `negative’ and `too realistic’ about our economy in February (when the poll bottomed) - found Obama, in March - being `positive’ with his rhetoric (responding to the critics in Feb.) - indeed, much more-so - (do you remember the change in tone).

And, I bet, the result seen in this survey, was this supposed `huge surge’ in confidence. (The market was also in a bear bounce in March.) Indeed, if such confidence had really returned - the `more often’ number on the planning to eat out more in the next three months - would have spiked too. And, it didn’t.

Finally, I encourage you to look at this incredible visual map of the job losses that have hit each of the 3,000 counties in America - again, this map - which shows the change from job gain to job loss from Jan. 2007 to Feb. 2009 — will leave your head spinning - and in dis-belief — that a surge in confidence is already underway. http://slate.com/id/2216238/

Thanks for visiting today - make a point to read my best posts of 2008 right here http://restauranttradearearesearch.com/important-posts-in-2008/ – and, please visit my Squidoo page too at www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys- to learn much more about the research I most suggest to restaurant owners - the MarketView.

As far as the Woodstock Georgia fast food market is concerned  - restaurants continue to be under competitive pressures with strong discounting and `new and interesting’ promotions to offset the continued shrinking of customer bases. Indeed, just recently, ABC - the Atlanta Bread Company in Woodstock had a Sunday evening `Murder theater’ (with actors of course) near closing time for which tickets at 10.00 per head were sold. These `patrons’ would have an additional chance to purchase food and dessert from the unit too - for enjoyment when watching the play.

And, the discounting continues at all levels from Waffle Houses 4.99 meals, to 4.00 KFC meals, to 99 cent Dunkin Donut specials, to the buck level at Checkers, Wendy’s and — whatever special Arby’s has going at a various promotion period. In the nearby Sandy Plains/Shallowford area the Boston Market was doing bounce back coupons for buy one meal - get one meal —— that’s up to a 6.99 value — (and one our family took advantage of) and up to 50% off. And, within the past month, Arby’s was giving the `RoastBurger’ away with the purchase of a drink (& Quizno’s also gave away it’s small sandwich.)

Couple all this with promotions from the last posting - many of which are still going on in one form or another (including daypart pricing) - and you have a very sensitive price market the likes of which haven’t been seen in a long long time, if ever. Increasingly, `eating out’ is positioned by the media as the one way that Americans are cutting back and saving money. And, again increasingly, the eating out `habit’ is being broken at some level.

Indeed, the extreme multi times a week users (4+ times a week)  - while usually not  a huge element in most fast foods - is largely gone - as these hardest regulars have become part of the once a week users - generally. And, while most of the two times a week or once a week users have hung on in most circumstances - especially in white collar, lunch oriented restaurants - those users are probably most reduced in the evening timeframes.

Probably most affected frequency wise in customer bases are the occasional once a month type users - who have often fallen into the `never use anymore’ or seldom use category - as consumers tighten up into their most favorite choices. NEW customers, once a mainstay at 3-8% of all fast food customers is again - almost nil. (Why waste precious money on places without a proven track record?)

So, with all this - with restaurants of all kinds closing (which does help others who survive in degrees) - with frequency rates dropping - with price pressures at every turn - the question must be asked if this is the bottom to be endured - or - a new normal? (No one wants to think it could be worse - and indeed - as competition closes - the `replacement effect’ of the `new meal occasions’ to be filled in the local market - will modify - to a degree - further downturns.)

Indeed, if the downturn continues for much longer - say - another year (an overly negative view compared to consensus) - we could see some companies go to a more innovative way of pricing their food products. Perhaps combos will once again reflect a real `savings’ as opposed to an easy way to order in a few words. Perhaps we will see the drive thru priced in a different manner - compared to inside customers. Perhaps drinks will become cheaper at the drive-thru (as no re-fills occur).

Indeed, perhaps we will see `customer loyalty’ cards be set at effective levels - buy two combos get one free - for example —- as opposed to cards that required too many uses to motivate a customer base. Or, even `in-store’ contests to motivate the bigger instore spender - or - targeting the very largest purchasers (only) with a `discount’ on that next purchase (setting the level at transactions in the highest 5% total) - showing recognition of these remaining `special’ customers.

Because, as Dylan said, the times,  they are a changin - and, previous practices and marketing approaches - especially if they all sound the same - may have little useful effect. It may take new approaches and new ideas of consumerism to survive to the other side of the downturn - and - it’s not too early to begin to consider such ideas.

Recently, I conducted the MarketView in an eastern seaboard market at all the units of a particular ADI and all owned by one owner. The MarketView is my name for a type of research design that digs into the fundamentals of any market. All kinds of interesting and useful information comes from doing real marketing research at your stores.

An example of this is shown below:

Store One                                                 Store Two

820,000               2006 Sales                             790,000

13%        Uses This FF Brand Most               24%

20%       Uses This FF At Least 1 Week       42%

161K       Annual Sales To 1+ Week User    331K

20K        Total Repeat Customer Base*        13K    *customer base formula

Smart marketing can address each of these stores specific marketing needs. Only by having real customer based information allows for smart spending of those precious marketing dollars. Make sure to visit my Squidoo page that explains more about the MarketView at www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys.

Today’s Restaurant Links

`Former Bojangles Exec’s Now Qdoba Men’

http://www.chainleader.com/article/CA6607112.html?industryid=47555

`Fast Food Shops To Be Banned Near Schools In UK’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1079655/Fast-food-shops-banned-near-schools.html 

`IS Fast Food Poised For A Fast Fall?’

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/10/22/mcdonalds-earnings-closer-markets-equity-cx_mp_1022markets44.html

Thanks for stopping by today — much more is below too. Bookmark this site and return for more updates. If you have some comments we’d love to hear them. 

Hello, welcome back. This blog is one of the few on the internet about restaurants by a real market researcher of fast food restaurants. I’ve been sharing some insights and I hope you bookmark my blog and return on a regular basis.

Today’s post is dependent on the previous two posts - so, you may need to dig down for a fuller understanding. Essentially, I’ve been outlining some specific REAL information from about a decade ago for a 3 store FF brand that had sales of @2,670,000.00 combined. And, in the last post I revealed the actual size of the combined customer base - based on my Customer Base Formula. Today, I’d like to show what that MEANS in terms of spending by any individual customer within a specific frequency of usage scale. For example:

49 - 4x’s a week users - spend 80,000.00 per yr - @1.6k yr-130mo-31 week

400-2-3x’s week users - 348,000.00 per yr - @870.00 yr - 72mo-16 week

1,800 - Once a wk users- 642,000 yr - @357.00 yr - 30mo - 7 week

3,600 - Once every 2-3 wks - 642,000 yr - @177.00 yr - 15mo - 3.40 week

3,700 - Once a month users - 321,000yr - @86.00 yr - 7mo - 1.66 week

5,400-Once every 2-3 mtn - 241,000yr - @ 44.00 yr - 3.68mo - 85cents/wk

2,100-Once every 4-6 months- 26,000yr - @12.00yr - 1.00mo -24cents/wk

21,700-Less than every 6 mo - 187,000yr - @8.61yr - 72cents a month and 18 cents a week

These stores had 7% first time users spending about 187,000 a year — 2,100 new customers a month or about 25,000 new customers in a year.

Now, just to ask you as a  restaurant owner — if you knew that @21,000 of your 38,000 customer base spent less than 9 dollars a year at your store - would you be willing to try a method to change it? IF SO, give me a call on my cell ——– you can find that information by going to my site about Trade Area Surveys — www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys

Now - today’s restaurant links.

“…nutritious fast food. Maybe it’s not so bad after all.”

http://blog.nj.com/parentalguidance/2008/07/i_was_wrong_about_fresh_apple.html Maybe, just maybe, the Tide is turning.

“…research from Just Kids Inc’s Global Kid Study, which showed that children daydream about helping others and are becoming more altruistic.”

http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/838897/McDonalds-launches-conservation-themed-Happy-Meal/   Perhaps someone will beat McD’s at this in the states?

Economic Slowdown Forces Choices in Food

http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2008/08/12/economic-slowdown-forces-trade-down-in-food-spend.html   Holds true worldwide.

Panda Express Thrives On Orange Chicken

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-panda13-2008aug13,1,3381302.story Success story - focused on customers.

That’s all for today — remember to bookmark this page. Thanks.

Despite what you as a restaurant owner may have been told - the number of transactions your restaurant does, compared to another time frame (say a year ago) - does NOT mean your customer base size has a direct correlation. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER BASE SIZE IS WITH REAL MARKETING RESEARCH.

Why? Because your customer base size isn’t dependent on the number of transactions - it is dependent on WHICH CATEGORY of user makes the transaction. For example, if 24% of your customer transactions are with once a week users and 24% of your customer transactions are with customers who come every two or three weeks (see last post below as an example) — THEN OBVIOUSLY, THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS WITHIN THE EVERY 2-3 WEEKS CUSTOMER BASE IS OVER TWICE THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS (who come about half as often).

So, it is THE MIX of customers - that determines the number of actual customers in your customer base. Your year to year transactions could be UP and yet your customer base may be DOWN in size - AND VICE VERSA. I will literally tell you more about `the formula’ soon - in future posts. Or, find out more by visiting my Trade Area site at www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys

But as promised, more from the figures of last post:

3 stores - $2,670,000 Sales (rounded)

customers that come

4+ times wk - 3% of trans - 80,000 in sales - 49 customers - 1,630.00 yr

2 or 3 times a week - 13% of trans - 348,000 sales - 398 customers - 874yr

Once a week - 24% of trans - 642,000 in sales - 1,796 cust - 357.00 yr

Once every 2-3 weeks - 24% of trans - 642,000 in sales - 3,628cust - 177yr

Once a month - 12% of trans - 321,000 in sales - 3,704 - 86.00 yr

Once every 2or3 months - 9% of trans - 241,000 in sales - 5,454 - 44yr

Once every 4to6 months - 1% of trans - 26,000 in sales - 2,145 - 12yr

Less than every 6 months - 7% of trans - 187,000 in sales - 21,758 - 8yr

First time users - 7% of trans - 187,000 in sales - 25,376yr

As you can see from the figures above, for this 3 store contiguous FF market - 9 years ago - 14% of transactions (bottom two frequency levels) contained 46,000 people while the top 16% of the transactions contained less than 500 people. YEAH, how you market MATTERS.

But, understanding your REAL customer base is essential to not wasting dollars. —————— Hey, feel free to leave a comment - and please, bookmark and return for slices of restaurant research and restaurant links. Also, forward my/this link to others who own a restaurant. Thanks.

Today’s Restaurant Links

McDonald’s Success Continues

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011881489 Same store sales figures -, less than one minute read.

Chick-Fil-A; Much More Than Just Chicken

http://www.thecitizen.com/~citizen0/node/30742 Remember my previous post about Friendliness being the attribute with the most `customer’ power? Getting  the details right about customer serviceis an attribute of Chick-Fil-A. Re-juvenate that drink sir?

Cleveland’s Soul Food Festival

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/08/tickets_going_fast_for_clevela.html

Quick read - being apart of the community is priceless.

Survey Yields Worrisome Restaurant Cutback By Customers

http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/08/04/daily44.html 3 minute read based on REAL research — is it true that only 15% of all customers are unaffected in this downturn in their usage of restaurants? Worrisome and applies to all markets.

Fast Food Is Bad

http://www.lavistasun.com/site/tab6.cfm?newsid=19896507&BRD=2712&PAG=461&dept_id=557008&rfi=6  The ragging continues in this two minute tirade about parents not setting good examples.

Finally, my blogroll on the right will tell you more about my marketing research services. Come back Tuesday for more - thanks for reading, again, please send this link to another restaurant owner like yourself.

Hello restaurant owners, and welcome back to Restaurant Trade Area Research - where I share over 30 years of insights from doing restaurant research - and, link to the latest of interest in the restaurant universe. Today I want to share with you the actual findings in a 3 store market about a decade ago.

While I won’t go into the extreme measures that need to be employed to have a VALID sample to begin with at a fast food restaurant (but you can find out more at my other information site www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys) - here are the results I want you to consider.

3 stores - $2,670,000 Sales (rounded)

customers that come 4+ times wk - 3% of trans - 80,000 in sales

2 or 3 times a week - 13% of trans - 348,000 sales

Once a week - 24% of trans - 642,000 in sales

Once every 2-3 weeks - 24% of trans - 642,000 in sales

Once a month - 12% of trans - 321,000 in sales

Once every 2or3 months - 9% of trans - 241,000 in sales

Once every 4to6 months - 1% of trans - 26,000 in sales

Less than every 6 months - 7% of trans - 187,000 in sales

First time users - 7% of trans - 187,000 in sales

You would be surprised how many owners DON’T think of their real customer base in this manner - what levels ACTUALLY provide the real dollars to a store. This weekend in this blog - I will expand on the data above. But, now, to today’s restaurant links - feel free to comment too.

Today’s Links

Fast Food Prices On The Rise

http://c13.zedo.com//ads2/f/341180/1/172/0/305001132/305001132/0/305/331/zz-V1-pop1217960041201.html?a=;l=;p= Video report too with story.

Healthy Fast Food For Kids A Tall Order

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20080804/healthy-fast-food-for-kids-a-tall-order  This is a report issued by Center for Science in the Public Interest which rips a new opening for many restaurant brands. Detailed read with lots of interesting facts.

New Jobs In Fast Food

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2450358.html This article is about a company that provides your drive thru order taking with folks working out of their home.

Is a Fast Food BAN - Racist?

http://www.momlogic.com/2008/08/fast_food_banned_in_poor_areas.php#over1 After all, how can those fatties in Beverly Hills be helped?

Arby’s Signs Development Agreement For 41 New Stores In New York Metro Area Over 10 Years

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080805006617&newsLang=en

Again, would love to read your comments. Thanks for stopping by - bookmark for more this weekend.

Nearly all of the clients I have are owners of franchised restaurants - and = one thing they nearly always have in common is that they have limited `marketing dollars’ above and beyond the % they already pay to corporate to market the brand-name. That said, they do have SOME dollars and the decisions as to whether to sponsor a youth team, local charity golf tournament, do limited in-store marketing via bouncebacks, or buy billboards - are important image and marketing decisions.

When choosing to spend those limited dollars, it’s probably best to `do both’ - local image building and REAL marketing such as billboards. One of the `advantages’ that comes from using my services - doing what I call the MarketView — is that the owner knows the CUSTOMER BASE SIZE and type of user - of every individual unit in a market. And, based on that information - the owner knows which units are best and worst in converting their total customer base into `heavy’ users (some chains define this as the once a week customer, others, the once a month customer). Accordingly, the owner then has some direction from the research on how to spend those precious and limited local marketing dollars.

Much more on Customer Base Estimates in future posts - or - find out more at my squidoo website www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys.

TODAY’S RESTAURANT LINKS

Are Fast Food Building Restrictions Constitutional?

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71377  Michael Ackley does a satire piece about how `gray’ the law becomes when thinking of `fast food restaurants’. A quick two minute read you don’t want to miss.

The Rise of the Breakfast Segment

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jGpPSjXCwpcs-JKUmPG3Gy5sht8QD92BG2380  Excellent article on how chains are increasingly looking at breakfast items as the way to more sales. Denny’s new containers and IHOP’s increase in take out over the past year is examined; as well as the reasons the FF chains have been successful in stealing the business from the sit-down breakfast eateries. Notes that some chains are thinking of offering breakfast items all day long. Finally gets into new offerings from FF restaurants including Carl’s Jr new product: “that features two eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese between grilled sourdough bread.”

Forget The Free Food and Drink Refills

http://www.startribune.com/business/26188614.html?location_refer=Most%20Emailed:Homepage:12 This story covers the many ways that restaurant owners are mitigating the increase in prices for foods and the increasing reluctance of patrons to eat out often. Here’s a quote from the 3 minute article:

The real problem, they argue, is that many large chains overbuilt at a time when Americans were starting to pull back on restaurant spending….Now, unable to raise prices to match rising wholesale food costs, so-called “menu makeovers” have become increasingly common

America’s WORST Restaurants For Kids Revealed

http://www.emediaworld.com/press_release/release_detail.php?id=120323  WOW - amazing article that GRADES each chain for offerings and other attributes related to healthy eating.  Getting A’s were Chick-Fil-A, Subway and Wendy’s - Getting F’s were Applebees, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster and T.G. I. Friday’s. A 3 minute, must read article.

In my decades of doing Trade Area Research, specializing in `attrition estimates’, — I’ve often done projects that involved market expansion considering new store locations that involved one franchisee vs another. Usually, these project originated with companies in which I was the National Supplier of this service (two national fast food chains) but occasionally not (being known by different franchisee’s in the same market who hired me as an arbitrator/fact finder).

Most national fast food brands have a policy concerning `trade area infringment’ - with the establishment of `what level of attrition’ is `acceptable’ with new store development (those `acceptable’ dollars leaving YOUR pocket and bottom line). And, most fast food brands have a policy of `who pays’ for such research too. Want to find out that type of info? — Then send me an e-mail at southernsurveys@aol.com - describe your situation and I will tell you more specifics (please include a contact phone number).

Today’s Restaurant Links

Brown Bagging at Lunch Hurting Restaurant Sales

http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/news/story.phtml?id=6996 —A fantastic, research supported, four minute read with many insights - but, perhaps an exaggerated title about brown baggers as the `increase’ is barely measurable (35 increasing to 38 times (a year?)) and is probably within the range of `plus or minus’ for the two compared surveys. Here’s a quote from the article :

“There are a number of factors adversely affecting the mid-day meal business at restaurants, and brown-bagging is one of them,” says Harry Balzer, vice president, The NPD Group, and author of Eating Patterns in America. “Certainly the economy, growing unemployment, the erosion of disposable personal income, slow-down in number of women entering the workforce, and more telecommuting options are also influencing consumers’ lunchtime behaviors

Frankly, to me, the decrease of sales is likely the erosion of disposable income and telecommuting - brown bagging is the result as opposed to a cause. Indeed, for consumers living in under-penetrated fast food markets (one FF several miles away) the increase in GAS prices is probably a factor too. After all, the 3.99 combo is REALLY 5.99 if the roundtrip is 10 miles and you get 20 miles a gallon.

The reality of smaller trade areas is increasing - and - not just because of the gas price — I will talk more about that in future posts.

KFC’s Vegetarian Sandwich - Isn’t

http://consumerist.com/5027777/kfcs-vegetarian-sandwich-isnt-stop-kidding-yourself-that-fast-food-restaurants-have-vegetarian-options  I almost had to laugh at this article due to the HARD vegetarian position. Indeed, make sure to read the comments as they are most insightful.

Drive-Thru Reseach Study 2007

http://www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/drive-thru_time_study/  This is a MUST read about how different fast food brands are dealing with Drive-thru business - vital, of course, to nearly all FF and the bottom line. This is not a short read but worth it. Here’s a sample table:

Having done scores and scores of projects in fast food restaurants over decades - I’ve often advised clients to do `operation ratings’ on our questionnaires. This might involve asking respondents (your customers) to rate things like speed of service, cleanliness of the unit, value for the money and so forth. But, the one attribute that when `crossed’ with frequency of usage that stands out is `friendliness of the employees’.

It seems that in this day and age - despite being told by the media we are off in our own world and don’t want to be bothered - that customers react to friendliness MOST. Since the person who interacts with the customer is the main person to project this image — it is imperative to make sure that person has a friendly engaging voice (at the drive thru speaker) and in-person on the cash register - that the person is one of your BEST employees for eye contact and smiling. (Again, a good clear voice is needed).

In future posts, I’ll tell you specific figures for how often a customer uses a restaurant when they rate friendliness an 8 rather than a 10 — once you know, you will act quickly. Don’t wait - do it today.

Today’s Links

NYC Chains Have to Post Calorie Counts

http://www.bloggernews.net/116809   Yep, right next to the product on the menu, in the same font, must be the calorie count. Logic would suggest that some shift in food orders will be the result of such laws. It would also suggest some erosion of usage perhaps by less committed users of your brand.

Calorie Counts on Menu Boards

http://www.chattershmatter.com/2008/07/20/nyc-fast-food-chains-add-calory-counts-to-menu-boards/  Same story, slightly different slant.

Law to Restrict Location of Fast Food Restaurants in LA

http://thepacker.com/icms/_dtaa2/content/wrapper.asp?alink=2008-16452-821.asp&stype=produceconcepts&fb= In South-Central LA - to improve health of youth. Here the hope is that by restricting Fast Food Brands that `other healthier’ choices will open shop.

Based on today’s links - Government involvement in FF seems just another example of our BIG government.