Canoe Restaurant

Canoe Restaurant constitutes a part of Oliver Bonichini chain and, at the moment, the restaurant progresses steadily. However, in order to maintain the effective marketing performance Canoe Restaurant apparently needs an effective marketing plan which can define the strategic direction in the development of the restaurant that can help to maintain the competitive position of the restaurant. In this respect, it should be said that the marketing plan should focus on the achievement of a positive marketing performance of Canoe Restaurant and it should be based on the actual potential of the restaurant as well as potential opportunities for the growth which can be achieved through the optimization of the internal organizational structure and functions as well as due to the use of the external opportunities existing in the market. At the same time, it is important to remember about the existing internal problems of Canoe Restaurant as well as external threats which can prevent the company from the fast and efficient development in the nearest future. In actuality, it is very important to focus on the development of an efficient marketing strategy which can allow Canoe Restaurant to retain its customers and sales rates and increase sales rates to improve its marketing performance.

At the moment the company operates successfully in Canadian market and constitutes a part of Olver Bonichin chain which allows the company to count for the support of the entire chain in case of having some problems in the maintenance and development of its business.

At the same time, the company operates in a highly competitive environment that naturally increases the importance of the efficient marketing strategy which the company can apply to maintain its positive marketing performance. In this respect, the company is mainly concerned with the development of customers’ loyalty and satisfaction of customers needs and interests to maintain their interests to products and services of Canoe Restaurant.

SWOT analysis

In actuality, Canoe Restaurant takes a leading position in the local restaurant market that naturally creates favorable conditions of business in Ontario region. It should be said that the company has an extensive experience of operations in the restaurant industries that apparently contributes to the strengthening of its marketing position because it can function more effectively than its rivals that are just entering the market. In addition, it should be said that one of the major strengths of the company is a low personnel turnover that allows the company to maintain a stable work of all employed within Canoe Restaurant due to their mutual work. In fact, people work as a team and they can cooperate and interact effectively because the company stimulates the development of positive interpersonal relationships between people working at Canoe Restaurant.

Furthermore, another significant strength of the company is the balanced organizational structure since the company attempts to optimize its personnel in order to avoid the employment a large number of people and, instead, optimizing the effectiveness of each professional employed by the company at the moment. In the contemporary business environment, it is very important to preserve the professional team which gets used to work together for a long period of time and this can give the company a strategic advantage over its competitors.

On the other hand, Canoe Restaurant has a number of weaknesses which can slow down the marketing development of the company and undermine its competitive position. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the company does not have an effective training program that could work and improve the qualification level of employees working within the company. In the contemporary business environment, it can be a very serious drawback which prevents the company from the rapid growth because, today, human resources are the main asset of any organizations, especially the one operating in the restaurant industry. In actuality, employees need to keep progressing constantly. Otherwise, they are doomed to the gradual degradation compared to competitors because other companies attempt to gain a competitive advantage through the consistent improvement of the qualification of their employees that leads to the improvement of the quality of services provided by the company to its customers. Nevertheless, at the moment, the position of Canoe Restaurant is still quite good because the quality of services is high.

Another internal problem the organization faces is the problem of the maintenance of the high quality of its products and services, though this problem heavily relies on external suppliers of products to the restaurant but the company needs to focus on the introduction of new products, while, at the present moment, the company maintains its traditional cuisine and does not introduce any significant changes. At first glance, it may be viewed as strength since customers can order products they get used to for years. However, on the other hand, today, tastes of customers tend to change and they often prefer to experiment with the food they consume, while Canoe Restaurant is unable or unwilling to introduce new products which could attract the attention of customers and increase the number of loyal customers.

Nevertheless, Canoe Restaurant still has ample opportunities to progress and develop its business successfully. First of all, it should be said that the company has managed to maintain its clientele, its loyal customers who get used to use services of the restaurant. This customer group is a core on the basis of which Canoe Restaurant can extend its presence in the local market and attract new customers since the loyal customers of the company share their positive experience with their friends, relatives, etc. In such a way, the number of people willing to attend Canoe Restaurant can increase steadily. In addition, the company has already gained recognition of local customers that allows the company to maintain a stable marketing position, while new competitors can overcome high entering barriers. In such a situation, the company, being protected from the appearance of new competitors, has an opportunity to focus entirely on the competition with the current rivals of Canoe Restaurant.

On the other hand, in spite of existing opportunities, the company still faces a number of serious threats. In this respect, the competition is still one of the major threats to the stability of the position of Canoe Restaurant in the market. Even though there are high entering barriers, the competitors of Canoe Restaurant are leading companies of the restaurant industry and naturally they also have ample opportunities to improve their current competitive position. In addition, it should be said that tastes and preferences of customers are also changing, while the company, as it has been already mentioned above, is unable or unwilling to adopt to new tastes and preferences and customers, instead, it maintains its traditions and provides customers with traditional products and services, which can gradually become disadvantageous compared to more flexible competitors. Finally, it is important to stress the growing trend to the domination of large fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, which gradually replace smaller restaurants as well as traditional ones from the market.

Objectives

Taking into consideration the existing strength and opportunities Canoe Restaurant has at the moment as well as the existing weaknesses and threats, it is possible to develop major objectives the restaurant should meet in the nearest future. First of all, Canoe Restaurant needs to maintain its current competitive position and, if possible, extend its market share within the Ontario region. Secondly, the restaurant needs to focus on the improvement of the quality of its products and services. This means that the company needs to cooperate with reliable suppliers and ensure the professional development of its employees since it is only through the professional development they can improve the quality of services and products they make. In such a way, another objective of Canoe Restaurant is the introduction of training program and development of knowledge share management within the company. Also, it is important to focus on the introduction of innovations, including the introduction of new products and services, as well as the introduction of new technologies which can facilitate the company-customer relationship.

Product description

Basically, the company focuses on the provision of customers with traditional food and its services including the set of restaurant services and delivery of products to customers, who can order various dishes in the restaurant, while the company ensures the delivery of the ordered products to customers. At the same time, it should be said that Canoe Restaurant is entirely focused on the local cuisine and actively promotes the traditional cuisine to customers. In such a way, the company heavily relies on traditional tastes and preferences of customers.

At the moment, the company attempts to improve the quality of products and services. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that the company is growing to be more and more concerned with the quality of food in regard to its impact on the health of customers. It proves beyond a doubt that modern customers are extremely concerned with their health as they have never been before. This is why the company has to introduce more products which customers could easily associate with healthy food. In such a way, the company can create a positive public image as the restaurant which provides customers with healthy food that makes the attendance of restaurant not only pleasant but also useful for the customers’ health.

Marketing strategy

In such a way, it is obvious that the marketing strategy of Canoe Restaurant should be focused on several major directions. First of all, it is the improvement of the quality of services and products which implies the close cooperation with local farmers which can supply the best products for the restaurant. At the same time, the company should implement training programs for its personnel to improve the quality of products and services employees provide for customers. In this respect, it is possible to recommend implementing knowledge sharing management strategy. This strategy implies that employees working within the company share their knowledge and experience with their colleagues during special training courses as well as in the regular, routine work. In such a way, they enrich each other’s professional experience and, at the same time, they improve the quality of products and services since, as they enlarge their professional knowledge, they can create new products and deliver services more efficiently. In addition, it is necessary to focus on the creation of a positive public image of the restaurant as the restaurant providing healthy food for its customers. At this point, it is obvious that Canoe Restaurant should implement an effective promotional campaign. At the same time, the restaurant also needs to focus on the introduction of new products and services which could attract new customers. In fact, the introduction of innovations should become a strategic direction in the development of the company. For instance, the restaurant can introduce a new dish every month or week.

Promotional strategy

Obviously, in the contemporary business environment, Canoe Restaurant can hardly underestimate the significance of the promotion.

Therefore, it is necessary to implement an effective promotional strategy which can provoke a strong interest to products and services of the restaurant from the part of customers. At this point, it should be said that the company should target at the mass audience because the restaurant needs to attract a large number of customers, regardless of the segmentation of the market. In such a way, the restaurant should aim at the high level of flexibility and availability to mass audience. In such a context, the target customers’ group defines the promotional strategy that can be used. In this respect, it is obvious that Canoe Restaurant should use various mass media to promote its brand, products and services. At this point, it should be said that the company should promote its brand above all. The company needs to make its brand popular and recognizable since, today, the brand of the company can be even more important than its products and services. In this respect, Canoe Restaurant should focus on the creation of the brand of a restaurant which provides customers with the healthy food and services of the top quality. To promote the restaurant successfully, Canoe Restaurant needs to use visual media, including television and, what is probably even more important in the contemporary business environment, Internet. Visual media allows the company to reach mass audience, but it is necessary to focus on the local media in Ontario since the company does not need the promotion outside the region.

In addition, it is possible to back up the promotion in visual media by the advertising campaign in print media, though it is less effective today because of the lower interest of customers to print media.

Financial data and projections

The financial stability is crucial for the company. In this respect, it should be said that the in nearest future, within the following three years the company can develop steadily and, what is more, the company counts for a significant growth within this time period (see table 1) due to the improvement of the quality of its products and service and the growth of the number of loyal customers which can use services of the restaurant regularly. As a result, the restaurant can maintain a stable marketing performance and keep growing.

Implementation of the plan

The implementation of the plan should start with the clear definition of the goals of the marketing plan and analysis of the current marketing situation. As the plan is developed, it is necessary to deliver the main points of the plan to the personnel in order to involve employees in the implementation of the plan directly. They need to understand the ultimate goals the company attempts to achieve and they should be conscious of their contribution to the company’s progress which can improve their own well-being. Furthermore, it is necessary to establish contacts with local suppliers to ensure the high quality of products. After that it is necessary to launch an active promotional campaign in mass media, including television, Internet and print media. After that it is necessary to start implementing training programs for employees to keep customers satisfied.