The Evolution Of The Food And Beverage Industry Marketing Essay

The Evolution Of The Food And Beverage Industry Marketing Essay The evolution of the food and beverage industry in tandem with restaurants can be said one of the most fundamental inceptions of all time. According to Kiefer (2002, p.58), Paris is often cited as the birthplace of the modern-day restaurant, but restaurants existed long before the French Revolution in other locations when economics and social mores made them feasible. He continues by saying that as of today, there are millions of restaurants across the world that offer variant types of food, services and experiences as opposed to limited scope of the original restaurants (p.58-60). Nonetheless, it is vitally inherent to note that in spite of the monumental positive steps that have been made in this industry over the recent times; much more still needs to be done so that restaurants achieve their full potentiality in the present world (Morgan and Watson, 2007). It is for this reason that there has been an increasingly popular need for marketing of restaurants in particular and food industry in general. In respect to that, Warden and Martens (1998) say that over the recent times, Marketing and advertising have developed as industrial applications of socio-scientific techniques of data gathering and analysis for the purpose of selling commodities. And in order to do this marketing, it is fundamental to establish the important precepts that of restaurants so as to adequately plan do the marketing. It is for this reason that this dissertation proposal focuses on concisely outlining the roles that food and experience play in marketing. Then based on the findings whic h are drawn from a wide range of write-ups by numerous authors; we will be able to know which of the two precepts (food and experience) should be increasingly used by restaurants owners to market their food joints in their websites. Aims and objectives of the proposal To establish which of the two precepts (food and experience) is most important and intrinsic in website marketing of a restaurant to its targeted public. To find other essential contributing factors that concurrently complement the roles of food and experience in the marketing of a restaurant through a website. To investigate how food and experience are represented on restaurant website for their promotion. To determine how competition may be handled in restaurant marketing website for food and experience. Notably, all the above aims and objectives are based on the literature reviewed below. 3.0Literature Review Web marketing has become very important in our modern world of new technology. Web marketing also known as internet marketing, online marketing, digital marketing or e-marketing is defined as marketing which is probably done through the e-mail and media which is wireless. Electronic customer relationship management system is considered as internet marketing. Media is placed in varying stages of customer circles referred to as circles of customer engagement using search engines. Marketing reports show that 80% of customers use internet search to locate for restaurants located locally. An estimated 50% of the customers view menus, reviews, pictures in the internet to locate for restaurants. Companies need to have well and easily navigated restaurant websites to market themselves locally and nationally. The main objective is to ensure the web site should increase the number of customers and increase the sales. A restaurant company that faces stiff competition can use websites to earn reputation in the market. Social networking is effective tool in marketing restaurants. Marketing specialist or the owner can prepare a blog containing the recent trends in the restaurant. Book marking is used to create a large online space for the restaurant. Company can create a review site and pay some people to comment negatively or positively about the restaurant. Customers feel honored when given a chance to voice out their ideas and thoughts about the restaurant. This can attract customers to the hotel because they think they are stake holders of the restaurant. News letters can be printed to depict the restaurants latest advertising, promotional and performance trends. Customers will tell others about the restaurant and reduce extra costs of advertising because advertising by word of mouth is very important in the field of business. Companies should hire marketing firms to market their restaurants online. Clear details of the restaurant should be provided online. They include menu offerings, telephone number, and address and restaurants history. Many people visit the website nowadays and your restaurant can attract people from different regions of the world. The restaurants website can be made available both offline and online. Changes to the restaurants web site should be made gradually. 3.1 Advantages of online restaurant marketing Cheap as compared to traditional methods of advertising like use of radio, news papers, magazines and bill boards. Reaches so many customers world wide using the internet. Quick and effective for customers who frequently use the internet. Helpful in reducing competition among other restaurants using web marketing. 3.2 Disadvantages of online restaurant marketing In applicable when customers dont have access to internet services. Failure to frequently update restaurant web site may lead to trailing performance. Lack of enough information about the restaurant may make marketing and advertising in effective. 3.3 Website analysis 10 Steps are followed in order to analyze a web site. Understand the purpose of the website immediately. Navigate through the website quickly and when you are lost then exit the web. Find out whether the website is attractive. Look on how white space page is displayed. Website covered with images means that the legibility is bare. Navigate and find out where you are there and why. Typography should be clear througho8ut the website search. Website should be well organized with invisible grids provided underneath. When the content is placed in all part of the page then it means the designer had been lost in the designing of the web. Colors used in designing the website should be used in alignment with the content. Colors that are not interesting to the viewer of the website make the design to fail. The design of the website should be consistency from the start to the end of the page. The website should be designed in a way that is compatible to the browser whether internet explorer or fires fox. Website should be created fast and light so as to ensure easy and quick browsing without waiting for minutes for the page to be displayed. 4.0Research Methodology 4.1 Content analysis of the website chosen Under this section we shall use an example of a website of Steve restaurant in Toronto. The website is www.steves restaurant.ca. The website among many others discussed is very explicit and shows all the details in the web page. In order for a restaurant to succeed in internet marketing the website should be very attractive. Steves restaurant website has a clear purpose for the business activity to be carried. When we look at the displayed page the hotel building is clearly drawn and written with words which are inscribed in red color.Steves Restaurant The content is not paced in all the part of the page but here are spaces underneath. The website is easily navigable and the pages are consistent from the beginning to the end. The colors used in the pages especially when you browse to the menu page are very attractive. When you look at the costs of meat, eggs and pancake all appear in different colors ranging from red, blue, yellow, and white. Pages are light and fast to open and a person does not wait for long to be displayed. Topography is clear and the website is compatible to the users of internet explorer and Mozilla fire fox. A restaurant which can afford to develop a website like the one discussed a above then it is in a good position to market itself both internationally and locally. It can increase sells and the flow of the customers within the region of operation. 4.2 Reliability and validity Because Steves restaurant has been in operation since 1946 in Toronto in the U.S then any other hotelier or a business exercutitive can create a website which is clear and professional like that of Steve. The menu, home page, map, info, photos, contest and contact us are well displayed. Telephone numbers are provided on top of the first page. Images of tables, chairs and small tomato sauce bottles are shown. The restaurant looks to be located in a busy street with people moving up and down. The building appears greyish in colour and the area is cool with enough shade. 4.3 Limitations to research To arrive at a discussed website for a given restaurant is very hard because you first ask yourself whether to create your own website or to look for examples of websites that have been created following the crucial ten steps for web design. Some pages providing clear website designs may not open therefore derailing the research exercise. It is costly to carry out an internet search especially in regions where internet cyber cafes are few. 4.4Conclusion Internet marketing especially for food and beverage providers is important. Most restaurants especially in the developed countries should hire qualified web designers to design restaurant websites. Websites should be changed after a given time to make them look a new to increase the customer base.Owers that dont recognize internet marketing especially in the United states, England, Spain, France and others need to change their business marketing altitudes and adopt modern ways of online marketing. Food has more weight than experience and excellent advertising and marketing functions should be addressed online.