Target Market Project

Fast Burger

Burger Fast Food Industry

By. Alexis Kalugin



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A. Marketing Environment



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1. Industry Potential The fast food industry is a 206 billion industry in this year alone (Website #9). In fact, over 50 million people eat fast food every day. They eat it so often that 37% of people’s daily calories is fast food. 7.6% of all US restaurants are burger joints (Website #12). For example, The Habit Burger’s revenue has risen by 57% in the past few years (Article #9, #13). This spike in revenue has also contributed to the efforts restaurants have made to meet with customer trends. Fast food restaurants have lowered their menu item calories by 12% to meet customer expectations to eat healthy. (Article #9). The health trend is being led by millennials who care about where their beef is coming from. 3 out of 5 consumers want to the backstory of their beef. (Article #7). 40% of all fast food consumers are more likely to go to restaurant that uses top quality ingredients. (Article #7). With the high rate of customer success fast food companies have some room to improve on diverse menu options. In the last five years, the campaign against obesity has motivated more people to eat at a fast food place with healthier options (Article #5). 46% of consumers would buy chicken or turkey burgers over beef (Article #7). On the other hand, 20% of burger consumers agree a plain hamburger or cheeseburger is not appealing. Fast food restaurants that add unique burger combinations to their menu are more likely to bring in consumers. (Article #16). Studies show these consumers would pick a high-quality burger for $7 over a $1 burger from McDonalds (Article #7). The term for this type of restaurant is fast casual. The wall between quick service and fast causal restaurants is merging together. The demand for value is rising as more restaurants use premium ingredients for their menu items. Consumers would rather pay for a $5 meal with real ingredients over dollar menu items (Article #6). Implications Customer expectations are rising creating a demand for higher quality menu items. It is important my business aims to serve fresh hamburger and other menu items using primary ingredients. Consumers do not just want hamburgers but they want variety. This means that including alternative options such as chicken and turkey burgers will appeal to my potential customers. Fast food is a crucial part of the average American’s diet. My fresh menu items can add some healthy options to consumer’s diet. 2. Current Trends in the Industry When a person thinks of a hamburger place they imagine a fast food restaurant with the fresh smell of the patties cooking on the grill, fries being made, and crowds standing in line for a fresh burger. Consumers still want a basic burger however they expect fresh ingredients to be used to make the burger. 75% of all consumers value the quality of meat as the most important aspect of the burger (Article #6, #8, CI #9). Over the past few years fast food chains have decreased their calories by 12%. Health conscious consumers tend to support businesses that pledge to serve fresh and notorious food.



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McDonalds pledge to improve their menu items saw a growth in sales by 85% (Article #9). In fact 3 out of 5 customers want to know where the beef in the hamburger comes from. Most of these customers are millennials which means the health-conscious consumers are increasing. 48% of all consumers are willing to pay more money for a burger with fresh ingredients (Article #7). On the other hand, a new trend for fried chicken is completely taking over the fast food industry. At the end of this year statistics show that the average American will have consumed 92 pounds of chicken. In this year alone most fast food chains have expanded to serving fried chicken. Chicken is relatively cheaper for restaurants to serve and consumers to buy. On top of that consumers tend to view chicken sandwiches served in fast food as healthier than beef (Article #1). 48% of all consumers want chicken sandwich over a regular burger. Even high end fast food restaurants such as The Habit and Shake Shack have come out with Chicken sandwiches that are doing surprisingly well. Burger chains who served or added chicken to their menu grew in sales by 3.3 percent (Article #1, #7). Consumers want food they can eat without guilt. Chicken is guilt-free food consumers are consuming. With the millennials becoming a health-conscious generation burger chains are in for a long ride with the chicken trend. Implications The health-conscious trends will definably play a big part in my business. It is important that my business can tell consumers exactly where we get our meat and ingredients. Our pledge for fresh and nutritious burgers is clearly conveyed to all consumers coming in. Although my business won’t be specializing in chicken, there are some healthy items we are able to offer to our customers who do not eat red meat or are completely vegan. 3. Acknowledgement of Competitive Factors. Competition between fast food chains is highly competitive. I chose In-N-Out and The Habit as the two main competitors I will be presenting. Both business specialize in serving fresh burgers with quality ingredients. The Habit specifically emphasizes their burgers are grilled capturing “fresh off the grill” taste (Website #1, CI #9). Their two goals as a business is quality and hospitality. Employees are trained to go above and beyond to meet each of the customer’s needs. Whether they are stacking cups, wiping down tables, or taking orders the quality of their hospitality should remain the same (PI #1, #2). Another key factor their menu includes a variety of food that all maintain their high-quality taste. Even if customers do not want burgers they can go to The Habit for a chicken sandwich, tri-tip sandwich, or a salad. Instead of offering just regular fries they also offer sides such as tempera green beans, sweet potato fries, and onions rings. These aspects of the Habit are unique and continues to bring customers in (Website #1, CI #8 and #14). On the other hand, In-N-Out emphasizes the fresh ingredients served on their hamburger. They tend serve only one type of hamburger with a variety of toppings and special sauce. Consumers like this limited variety, because it is familiar and offers a great combination of flavors. (Website #2, CI #2, #4, #5). In-N-Out’s theme is to maintain consistency in the taste of their burger. The whole structure of how the burger is made follows a strict process. Each burger is made by an assembly line of employees. However, each employee must work for the In-N-Out for a year before making the burgers. This ensures each employee knows what they are doing and reduces any chance of mistakes (PI #4, #5).



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Indirect competitors include Five Guys and Shake Shack. Five guys specialize in fresh burgers but includes a greater variety of fresh topping. They tied with In-N-Out in ranking the top two fast food places with the best tasting burger. Five guys also ranked 6th in the nation for top sales (Website #2 and #8), Offered on both the east coast and west coast Five Guys has a broader target market. Although Shake Shack is mainly open on the east coast pop-up restaurants have been coming to major cities in California. Their quality of burger and fresh variety gives them a boost in the industry. (Website #3) Implications My business is going to be running up against restaurants that specialize in burgers and offer a variety of food. The one thing they all have in common is quality. It is important that my restaurant offers high quality food with a unique niche that is different from my direct and indirect competitors. A small variety of great tasting with another fresh option would attract customers. It is important to offering a menu item that not a lot of fats food places have. In my case I could offer a great tasting vegan burger and some unique toppings to include on the burger.

4. Technological factors The fast food industry has changed the definition of convenience for customers. Panera has integrated pay kiosks into their restaurant to reduce lines and allow customers to get their food quicker. McDonalds has started to integrate their own pay kiosks called “create your own taste Kiosk” (Article #4). Studies have shown that 60% of customers ordering from the regular counter would leave before standing in a line of five people or more. On the other hand, 80% of customers would wait in a line of five people or more to order from the kiosk. Adding more kiosks would enable a business to save money by reducing employees (Article #4). However, Panera has implemented pay kiosks into all their restaurants have been able to put more of their employees in the kitchen increasing efficiency (Article #3). An upcoming trend within the fast food industry is mobile ordering. Places such as Starbucks and Dominos have created apps that enable customers to order their drink or food from their phone (Article #10). This also reduces the rush and enables customers to enjoy their food at a faster rate. Most customers use third party food delivery apps such as UberEats and Postmates to order their food and then have it delivered to their house. The use of mobile ordering is $38 billion-dollar industry and are expected to take up 10% of all fast-food restaurant sales by 2020 (Article #10). Implications The rise of technology is rapidly changing the way fast food restaurants serve their customers. New technological features within restaurant is boosting customer loyalty. Incorporation of pay kiosks and mobile ordering can already set my business apart from places like The Habit and In-N-N-Out. For my business, this could boost customer loyalty and increase numbers in a short amount of time.



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5. Acknowledgement of Political/Legal Factors: A major issue most fast food restaurants deal with is labor laws. With the constant flow of customers, fast food business’ need a lot of employees to help with the rush. The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed to ensure employees are not over worked or under paid. Restaurants are required to pay employees minimum wage of $7.50 and they must pay employees double for overtime. Legally, once an employee has worked 40 hours during the week any hours worked above the limit is considered overtime (Website #11). Recently, new labor laws require restaurants to pay double the annual salary to those who work overtime (Article #14). For places such as competitor #1, following these laws are crucial to the layout of their store. This prohibits them from bringing in more employees who could play a big part in reducing the long wait during rush hour. (PI #10). Scheduling is another legal issue that puts restrictions on employers. In 2016, another bill was passed requiring all quick service restaurants to schedule their employees two weeks in advance. If last minute changes are made affecting employee’s schedules, additional compensation must be offered (Article #14). Another issue that could drastically change the business world is the raised minimum wage. The current minimum wage is $10.50 for all businesses with 25 or more employees. In 2018, small business’ will be required to the pay the same. This new minimum wage bill is on track to annually increase the minimum wage until it becomes $15 an hour for all large businesses in 2022. The following year small businesses will be required to pay the same (Article #14). To compensate for the hike in minimum wage businesses will have to hire less employees, reduce hours, and raise the prices of all their products (Article #15). Implications: With the current laws passed to ensure employee benefits; running a fast food restaurant will require some logistics in hiring employees. It is crucial that I am selective and only choose those who have experience in the industry. The minimum wage increase will affect my mission in offering cheap high quality food with fast service. For my business to flow I will have to raise prices to compensate for the wage increase. The fast service side would require me to schedule enough people to help take orders and make the food quickly. However, there is a limit to how many employees I can work within a week. With a smaller staff than normal this will produce problems. 6. Acknowledgement of Social/Cultural Factors Two social factors that have influenced the fast food industry is fast service and healthy options. Studies have shown on average one-third of customer’s experience is waiting for food. However, our driven society does not have time to wait. 64% of all consumers would choose another fact food restaurant over waiting in a line (Article #4, CI #17). With the drive for convenience 80% of consumers would rather order from a kiosk rather than an employee (Article #4). Customers are drawn to fast food restaurants that incorporate technology for customers to order at ease. For example, mobile ordering has made its way to becoming a phenomenon in American culture. This 38-billion-dollar industry is forecasted to make up 10% of all fast food restaurant



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sales. The only fast food restaurants that have used mobile ordering is Starbucks, Dominos, and Pizza Hut (Article #12). However, this rising trend it starting to raise consumer’s expectations on convenience. Third part businesses such as UberEats and Postmates allow customers to order food from their favorite fast food restaurant through their app. Their services include delivery right to customer’s door. The second social/cultural factor is the trend of healthy eating. 75% of consumers would rather pay more for a high-quality burger that uses premium beef (Article #6). In fact, 79% of consumers prefer grass-fed beef over regular beef, because of its healthy value (Article #16). This healthy trend is also pushing customers away from beef and onto chicken and turkey burgers (Article #8, #16). Millennials are influencing this trend with 58% choosing a chicken burger over beef. On the other hand, 56% of millennials would choose turkey burgers over beef. Consumers are always looking for something different and nutritious. A chicken or turkey burger is new and is less fattening than a regular beef patty attracting more consumers (Article #16). Society is also influenced to give back creating a desire in consumers to give back. Both competitors #1 and #2 have used their resources to sponsor and start non-profits that help families in need (Website #1, #4). Through social media campaigns and instore campaigns customers can give back to these non-profits. Competitor #2 ran month long campaign giving a free burger to any customer who gave to a store sponsored non-profit (Website #1). However, competitor #1 uses part of its incoming revenue to support the two non-profits they started (Website #4). Both techniques drive customers to use their money to support a good cause. Implications The push for convenience and healthier food options will enable my business to rise in these areas. Since new technology such as mobile ordering has not entered the burger industry, my business can form a niche around this convenience. This will attract more customers, because of the high convenience. The trend for a variety in healthy options such as grass fed beef, chicken, and turkey burgers will enable my business to attract a broader audience of consumers. The need for convenient combined with a menu that offers healthy burgers is a huge need my business can meet. My business has another opportunity to positively empower my customers by partnering with a non-profit. This educates customers on social issues and provides them with an opportunity to become part of the solution. Through this partnership my business is not only impacting my consumers but the people living near my business who are in need. 7. Customer Behavior Factors Below is a list of decisions making factors that contribute customer’s decision to choose one business over another. 1. Hospitality of Employees. (PI#9, CI #2,3,5,6,7,11,14) 2. High quality food. (PI#9, CI#1,5,7,8,12,) 3. Fast Service. (CI#1,5,8,7,10,13) 4. Cleanliness. (PI#9, CI#6,8,13) 5. Variety of food. (CI#1,8,10,11,13,14) 6. Easy ordering process (CI#5,8,9,10,13) 7. Consistency in quality (CI#1,2,3,4,5,7,9,10,11,12,13,14)

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8. Taste of burger (CI#1,2,4,5,9,10,11,) 9. Taste of fries (CI#4,8,14) 10. Close location (CI#7,12) 11. Pleasant Environment (CI#2,3,13,14) Implications Hospitality and quality of food are the two major factors that continue to bring customers back to a burger restaurant. Customers are looking for a place to be consistent in the quality of food they serve and in the service, they give their customers. Employees that go out of their way to serve and check up on customers is memorable in the customer experience. Cleanliness will also continue to bring customers back. The ability to sit down and enjoy a meal without worrying cleanliness of tables is the cherry on top to the customer experience as a whole. For my business, it is crucial that quality of food is perfected. Customers will not give my business a chance if the quality is not consistently high in value. I know customers who enter into my store will expect to sit at a clean table and want to feel cared for by employees. A “niche” my business can also incorporate is to implement ordering process that is efficient. Customers should be able to get their food with minimal wait. I do not want environment to be fast paced but one where customers feel inclined to slowly eat and enjoy conversations with people around them.



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B) The Competitive Analysis Competitor #1



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1. Positioning Map Fast Service

Lack of consistency in cleanliness and friendly service.

Consistency in cleanliness and friendly service.

Slow Service

= In-N-Out = The Habit = Shake Shack = Five Guys

Why? I placed In-N-Out closest to fast service, because both customers and employees have acknowledged that In-N-Out is consistent in this area (PI# 10, #12, CI #22, #23, #24, #25). However, there are a handful of times service has slowed down during rush hour due to long drive thru line (CI# 21). In-N-Out is also known to customer for their consistency in cleanliness and friendly service (PI #9, #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #23). Employees are always cleaning the dining room and make it their goal to cultivate a culture of “yes” when dealing with customer’s complaints (PI #10). Compared to competitor #2, I think In-N-Out could improve on hospitality in wiping down tables and taking away trays for customers (CI #22). However, compared to most indirect competitors In-N-Out stands out in their friendly service and cleanliness.



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Reasonable price and quality of food Low, cheap prices of $3-4

Food is made with preservatives and is not made fresh.

Food is made to order with fresh ingredients

Expensive prices of $7 or more

= In-N-Out = The Habit = Shake Shack = Five Guys

Why? I placed In-N-Out closest to cheap prices, because customers are drawn to their reasonable prices (CI #3, #5, #6). The cost of an individual burger is $2.42 and a burger combo is a little under $5. Compared to other competitors In-N-Out’s prices are a few dollars under the industry average (See Price Objectives). Employees and customers say they are getting a good deal for the fresh quality of burger (PI #4, #5 #9, #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #24, #25). In-N-Out uses only fresh and local ingredients for their burgers and fries (Website #4). Food is only made to order in ensuring fresh quality customers expect (PI #10). Compared to competitor #2, the fresh quality is about equal however, In-N-Out is strict on their procedures/process in assembling the burgers and fries (PI #4, #5 #9, #10). This helps ensure efficiency and consistency on the taste of the food.



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2. Primary Target Analysis 1. Primary Benefits is ranked first, because In-N-Out sets itself apart by their fresh tasting burgers and fast service. Why? In-N-Out prepares fresh high quality burgers and gets them to customers in a short amount of time making it is impossible to find a business just like it. Unlike competitor #1, In-N-Out has a small menu with four different burger combinations, fries, and three shake flavors. The purpose of this small menu is to keep the consistency in fresh ingredients and steps to preparing the food (PI #4, #5, #9). Customers are drawn to friendly employees and quick service. They can always rely on In-N-Out to provide them with quality food they came in expecting (CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26). 2. Primary Geographic is ranked second, because In-N-Out positions all their stores in convenient locations near freeways. Why? In-N-Out is located right next to the Valley View exit on the I-5. This location attracts many families on the road rather than individuals (PI #9). The location is also five miles away from Biola University making it convenient for students who attend the school to visit. In-N-Out places their stores near freeways so both California natives and tourists can conveniently pull off and grab a bit to eat. Existing customers know they can trust In-N-Out and it is an easy option for them. (CI #4, #5, #6, #7, #22, #23, #24, #25). 3. Primary Demographics is ranked third, because In-N-Out does not target a specific age or income demographic. Why? In-N-Out does not target a specific age or income. However, customers tend to be families or groups of friends rather than individuals (PI #9). The goal of In-N-Out is to bring high quality food in a convenient time for all customers. This goal is common expectation most customers want out of a business. 4. Primary Psychographic is ranked fourth, because the customers who visit In-N-Out are from all different target markets. Why? In-N-Out is a business that welcomes all customers from various backgrounds and interests (Website #4). Customers at La Mirada location include college students, families traveling to Disneyland, and tourists going to and from Orange County and LA. Their location off the I-5 makes it convenient for these different target market groups to access the store. 3. Customer Experience/ Product Objectives, Analysis and Strategies. Product Objective



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In-N-Out’s primary goal is to provide their customers with high quality food, fast service, and a clean store customers can enjoy (Website #4, PI #9) Product Strategy In-N-Out offers a unique limited menu and fast service that stands out from other competitors. Unlike competitor #1, In-N-Out offers hamburgers with “special sauce” that cannot be found anywhere else (Website #4). There limited menu specializes in hamburgers and fries made in an assembly line process. This helps employees fix any mistakes and maintain the consistent taste of the hamburger (PI #4, #5, #10 CI #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #25). In-N-Out is known for their fast service. To maintain this expectation employees are assigned to take orders on hand held screen past the speaker. Extra employees are assigned to make fries and hand out drinks. If rush hour becomes really crowded managers open a third grill for hamburgers to grill. Employees are told to maintain a culture of yes. Their friendly services drive’s them to say yes to every need and complaint of the customers. Customers enjoy this aspect of their experience and keep coming back (PI #4, #10, CI #3, #5, #7, #22, #24, #25, #26). Strengths • High quality food made fresh (PI #4, #5 #9, #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #24, #25). • Consistency (PI #4, #5 #9, #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26). • Fast service (PI #4, #9, #10, CI #3, #5, #7, #22, #24, #25, #26). • Cleanliness (PI #9, #10, CI #6, #23, #24). • Friendly/helpful employees (PI #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 #24, #26). Weakness • Limited table seating (CI #22, #23, #25). • Long drive thru line (CI #21, #23).

4. Pricing Objective, Analysis, & Strategies Discussion

Hamburgers French Fries

The Habit $3.45-6 $2-3

In-N-Out $2.95-4 $1.40-1.80

Industry Average $5-8 $1.85-3

Pricing Analysis In-N-Out’s pricing objective is to match other competitor’s prices. The company’s goal is to provide high quality burgers to their customer base. Other competitors offer similar prices to customers so it is important In-N-Out keeps their prices that same instead of raising or lowering them. Pricing Objective



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In-N-Out matches their competitor’s prices, because their other competitors sell hamburgers for a similar price. Customers have set expectations on the price they will pay for a high-quality hamburger. Hypothetically, if In-N-Out would raise their prices to $7 for a meal, $5 for a hamburger. Customers would feel they are getting ripped off when they can buy a hamburger with a same quality from somewhere else. However, if In-N-Out would to sell their hamburgers for $1-2 dollars customers’ expectations for a high-quality burger would be lowered. Most customers match low prices for low value meals. In-N-Out would lose a good part of their customers, because the price is too low. When customers visit In-N-Out they know they are getting a high-quality burger for a cheap price (CI #3, #5, #6). In-N-Out follows the same standards and only makes food with fresh local ingredients (Website #4, PI #4, #5, #9). Although, fresh ingredients might raise the price; the small menu enables In-N-Out to buy in bulk and specialize in hamburgers and cheeseburgers. This enables In-N-Out to keep their prices low. In-N-Out appeals to the demands to millennials who want to save money on food but want food made with fresh ingredients. This strategy brings healthier fast food options to customers who may not be normally afford these options. In-N-Out also specializes in fast service for customers. Employees are required to work at In-N-Out for a year before being put behind the counter to prepare the food. Employees who make the food prepare it in assembly line strategy. This enables employees to fix any mistakes before giving customer the food (PI #4, #5, #9, #10). This procedure enable customers to experience the same consistent and efficient service when getting their food. Customers know they are not just paying for high quality food but quality service from employees (CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #22, #24). Strengths • Reasonable price for high quality food (CI #3, #5, #6). • Consistency in price (Website #4, CI #3, #5, #6). • Quality of ingredients (Website #4, PI #4, #5, #9). • Efficiency in preparing the food. (PI #4, #5, #9, #10) Weaknesses • Limited variety (Website #4). • Lack of communication between employees and customers (PI #10, CI #26).



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5. Place Objectives, Analysis, & Strategy Discussion

Place Objective In-N-Out’s place objective is exclusive. Customers can only buy In-N-Out products at their stores located all over the west coast. This specific In-N-Out is located off the I-5 and Valley View, on Firestone Blvd. Place Strategy In-N-Out puts all their locations near freeways or major intersections. This makes it convenient for those traveling on the freeway to pull off. The La Mirada location is right next to a holiday Inn and Harbor Freight. Five minutes away from the location is Biola university, La Mirada Theater, and multiple neighborhoods. This brings in a variety of target markets and demographics in the area (PI #9). Compared to competitor #2, In-N-Out always places their locations near freeways to catch the traffic going on and off the Hwy. This place strategy is unique, because it always provides accessibility for potential customers going on a long trip or using the freeway for a daily commute to work. The exclusivity of stores also contributes to bringing customers to La Mirada location. Customers who want the quality food, service, and cheap price In-N-Out offers will come from all

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over La Mirada (CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #24, #25). Customers cannot access In-N-Outs products anywhere else. The products In-N-Out does make available to customers is their T-shirts and hats which is sold online and in stores (Website #4). In-N-Out also makes their food products more accessible to customers by using a drive thru. Customers have the option to dine in or take their food to go using the drive thru. This caters to customers need of convenience and allows In-N-Out to get their food out faster to a larger customer base. Competitor #1 stands out from competitor #2, because of the extra convenience and accessibly In-N-Out’s drive thru provides to customers who are in a rush (CI #16). Strengths • Convenient location near to the freeway (CI #7, #22, #23, #26). • Exclusive food and service (PI #4, #5 #9, #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #24, #25). • Convenient parking lot (CI #23, #24, #25, #26). Weakness • Location is not close to major shopping centers or major intersections. • Parking lot does not allow room for drive thru line during rush hour. (CI #21) 6. Non-Digital Promotion Objectives Analysis & Strategy Examples Promotion Objective In-N-Out’s non-digital objectives are to stimulate demand, promote brand awareness, and promote the benefits of their products. Promotion Strategy New/Acquisition Strategies In-N-Out stimulates demand through the memorable yellow and red In-N-Out sign. This sign can be clearly can be seen by customers from most freeways and nearby intersections. The McDonalds brand brought the red, yellow, and white colors into the fast food industry. Those brand colors people trust and typically contribute to bringing them in to the restaurant. (Article #2). The popularity of In-N-Out also contributes to word of mouth promotion. In-N-Out was voted the most popular fast food restaurant in 2014. (Website #8). This rise in popularity allows for more customers to spread the word to non-customers. Studies show customers want higher quality service for a cheaper price. (Article #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #24, #25). Once these customer expectations are met by In-N-Out, customers are empowered to share their experiences with others. Word of mouth marketing is very strong for In-N-Out, the tourists from outside the west coast are always told to try In-N-Out before leaving California. The exclusivity of the stores has strengthened the brand so people from all over the world come to try In-N-Out during their vacation. Existing Customer Strategies



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In-N-Out keeps current customers engaged through their consistency. Customers who visit In-N-Out more than once will know the quality of service and food is always consistent (CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25, #26). Customers keep coming back, because they can trust In-N-Out to provide food for them in a short amount of time. For customers who want to dig deeper into company culture they can support one of the two foundations In-N-Out owns. Slave 2 Nothing and the In-N-Out foundation. The first foundation helps those who are stuck in sex trafficking or are enslaved to addiction. The second foundation educates communities and helps children who have suffered from abuse (Website #4). Customers are already helping these foundations by giving business to In-N-Out but they can also give directly to these foundations online. Strengths • Red and yellow logo and sign (Article #2). • Consistency in service and food (Article #10, CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #24, #25). • In-N-Out foundations (Website #4). Weakness • In-N-Out foundation is only advertised online and not within the store. • Current customers may not be aware their funds support these foundations. 7. Digital Promotion Objective(s) Analysis & Strategy Examples. Promotion Objective In-N-Out digital promotion objective is to educate customers on their products and non-profits. Promotion Strategy New/Acquisition Strategies In-N-Out strategy to reach out to new customers is through their website. Potential customers who have questions about any menu item can find description for each item. There is a location finder tab for customers to find the closest restaurant their location. The website also provides viewers with a complete timeline of when In-N-Out opened and overview of their objectives as a company (Website #4). The website gives new customers a good idea of In-N-Outs mission statement and quality of food they provide. Existing Customer Strategies In-N-Out uses their Facebook to engage with current customers through the promotion of their non-profit foundation and merchandise. Every year In-N-Out comes out with new merchandise and free wallpapers for customers to enjoy. They also run mini campaigns for customers to donate to their foundations. During the holidays In-N-Out posts holiday graphics for customer’s enjoyment (Website #10). Strengths • Customers can easily access website.

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• Website contains information location finder for customers (Website #4). • The Facebook is frequently updated (Website #10). Weakness • The website layout is not updated and hard to find different tabs (Website #4). • In-N-Out only connects with customers on one social media platform.



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B) The Competitive Analysis Competitor #2



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1. Positioning Map Fast service and consistency in cleanliness and hospitality. Fast Service

Lack of consistency in cleanliness and friendly service

Consistency in cleanliness and friendly service

Slow Service = In-N-Out = The Habit = Shake Shack = Five Guys Why?



The Habit stands out in its consistency in hospitality and cleanliness (PI #1, #2, #6, #8, CI #8, #11, #12, #13, #14). Compared to competitor #1, hospitality is one of the primary goals The Habit emphasizes in all their stores. Employees are always checking in on customers, wiping down tables, and taking trays for them. The store bathroom and dining room are always consistently clean (CI #13). I also put the Habit on the spectrum of fast service, because customers say the Habit stands out in their efficient service (CI #3, #5, #7, #22, #23, #25, #26, #27). The Habit’s fast service does not keep customers waiting for a long time. For example, the Habit uses pagers to notify the customer when their food is ready (CI #9). This reduces any delay in getting the food directly into customer’s hands.



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Reasonable price and quality of food Low, cheap prices of $3-4

Food is made with preservatives and not made fresh

Food is made to order with fresh ingredients

Expensive prices of $7 or more = In-N-Out = The Habit = Shake Shack = Five Guys Why? I placed The Habit on the side of fresh quality, because they are known for making and serving food per order (PI #2, CI #1, #8 #9, #10, #11, #12, #14). Competitor #1 and The Habit are equal in the fresh food they serve. They both use fresh ingredients and make their food per order. However, The Habit stands out from competitor #1 in the flavor and toppings they add on top of the patty. For example, The Habit emphasizes the “burger grill” side to the restaurant by serving their burgers straight off the grill giving the burgers a “charcoal” flavor (Website #1). I also placed The Habit near low prices, because customers say they offer their food at a reasonably low price (CI#9, #10, #15, #16). Although the Habit matches competitor #1’s prices for their charburger, they offer their sandwiches and salads for a higher price. With an average price of $5-7 for the non-charburger options, The Habit is on the higher side of the industry average.



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2. Primary Target Analysis 1. Primary Benefits is ranked first, because The Habit emphases their hospitality, food quality, and cleanliness. Why? Customers are drawn to The Habit because they know their experience at the store will be consistent. The Habit requires their employees to always stop what they are doing to address customer need. This also means employees walk around to check on customers (Website #1, PI #1, #2, #6, CI #11, #12, #14). The Habit is a burger grill emphasizing the “fresh off the grill” taste of their charburgers. (Website #1. CI #9). The consistent quality of their other menu items continues to bring customers in who do not want a burger. (PI #2, CI #1, #8, #10, #11, #13, #14). Habit employees are constantly cleaning the restaurant and bathrooms. This high standard of cleanliness enables customers to enjoy sitting down in the restaurant. (CI #8, #13, #14). 2. Primary Geographic’s is ranked second because The Habit’s key location of Imperial and La Mirada is next to a Hospital and University. Why? The location is near a busy intersection which families driving by can see the business and stop in for a bit to eat. La Mirada is such a small area that people living within the area can easily drive to the store within five minutes. The primary benefits of this street corner are the accessibility to college students and employees working in the hospitals less than a mile away. Employees and students can walk or drive to The Habit during lunch break or after class for dinner. (PI #3, CI #12, #13). 3. Primary Demographics is ranked third, because it reaches a while range of families. Why? The Habit does not target a specific age range. However, they tend to get families with young kids in the store. (PI #3). Mom’s with young kids go to The Habit, because it is fast and easy. The variety in the menu allows them to get a salad while their kids enjoy a children’s meal (CI #10, #13). 4. Primary Psychographics is ranked fourth, because The Habit does not have a specific audience of customers they target. Why? The Habit burger is a business that families of all backgrounds and ages can enjoy. (Website #1). Families coming back church or sports games might stop in for lunch on their way home. However, there is not enough specific data to support specific group.



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3. Product Objective and Strategy Discussion. Product Objective The Habits mission is to provide great tasting charburgers an affordable price. They want to welcome customers in and provide them with great food. The quality of food should inspire customers to “make it a habit.” Product Strategy The Habit makes sure quality and hospitality are the key components in customer’s experience. They have created a team work environment where employees are able to help each other in meeting customer’s needs. This includes employees going around the store to check up on customers and always being available to answer questions (CI #1, #3, #6). A huge strategy is the fresh grill taste of burgers. The Habit calls their burgers “charburger” to emphasis the char taste. This also captures the quality taste customers rave about. (Website #1, 11, CI #9, #10, #11). The pager system quickly notifies customers when their food is ready. This use of technology makes customer experience stress-free and attracts more customers. (Website #4, #6, CI# 9). The quality of variety of menu items brings customers in. The variety includes healthier items such as tempura green beans, salads, and veggies burgers. The “char burger” itself is made with fresh ingredients providing customers with a “healthy” burger compared to McDonalds (Article #6, #7, #9, CI # 8, #10, #13). Last year The Habit offered a seasonal chicken sandwich that became such a hit, the business kept the menu item. The recent chicken sandwich craze brought more customers into fast food restaurants who offer it (Article #1, #8). Strengths • • • •

Hospitality of Employees (PI #1, #2, #6, CI #11, #12 #14). Fresh and high quality of food (PI #2, CI #1, #8 #9, #10, #11, #12, #14). Cleanliness of store (CI #8, #13, #14). Fast Service (CI #8, #10, #13, #14).

Weaknesses • •

Small parking lot (Website #7, CI #15, #16). No drive thru (Website #7, #16).

4. Pricing Objectives

Hamburgers French Fries

The Habit $3.45-6 $2-3

In-N-Out $2.95-4 $1.40-1.80

Industry Average $5-8 $1.85-3 23

Pricing Analysis The Habit’s pricing objective is to match their competitor’s prices. Their goal is to provide affordable high quality burgers to customers. Other fast food restaurants offer this same deal. It is important The Habit keeps their prices within the same range as their competition. Anything cheaper or more expensive would drive customers away. Pricing Strategies The Habit offers their food at a price that matches their competition. If the Habit would to lower their price $2 per hamburger and $3 for every sandwich and speaility burger, customer expectations for high quality food would be lowered. In fact, the Habit would lose part of their customer base, because credibility to their quality of food would be lost due to lower prices. However, if the business would to increase their prices to $10 customers think the food offered is over-priced. They would end up going to competitor #1 who offers the same quality hamburger for a lower price. The Habit matches competitor’s prices, so they can raise customer expectations and meet their needs. Customers who currently eat at The Habit feel they are getting high quality food for a cheap price. (CI #1, #8, #10, #12, #14, #15, #16). 68% of fast food consumers are Millennials. In recent years, millennials want to limit how much they spend on hamburgers so they can eat out more often. This especially speaks for college students who do not have a large income to spend on food but need a quick bit to eat in between classes (Article 7, 10, CI #16, #17). The Habit also offers a variety of other tasty and healthy options for consumers who do not want a charburger. These options cost two dollars more than a charburger. However, it is rare to find a restaurant that offers a wide variety of food that tastes fresh. Customers who visit the Habit do not mind dropping a few more dollars for a reasonably priced salad or sandwich because of the high quality (Article 7, CI #1, #8, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16). The Habit does a good job of serving a variety of fresh fast food for a reasonable price. Price Strengths • • •

Charburger made with fresh ingredients offered at a cheap price (CI#9, #10, #15, #16) Wide variety of menu items (CI #1, #8, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16). Consistency in quality and taste (CI #7, #8, #9, #11, #12, #14, #15, #16).

Price Weakness •



Variety of menu items are more expensive than charburger. (Website 1)

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5. Place Objectives, Analysis, & Strategy Example Discussion

Place Objective The Habit is in a very busy area La Mirada. It is within walking distance of two hospitals, Biola University, and the La Mirada Theater. This location attracts a wide variety of demographics living in the area. Place Strategy The Habit is a burger grill restaurant offering fresh hamburgers at a reasonable price. Residents living in the area can rely on the fresh food, fast service, and cheap price all minutes away from where they live, work, and or go to school. (CI #1, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16). The Habit is chain of restaurants located all over the US offering the same price and quality food to people everywhere. The Habit’s place strategy along with competitor #1 is exclusivity allowing customers to only access their products at their stores. The benefit of The Habit’s numerous locations is customers can always have access to the store no matter where they are. However, these numerous locations are not as stragically placed at competitor #2. Rarely, is

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the Habit placed near a freeway to allow more accessibility for potential customers driving down the freeway. However, most Habit locations are in a major shopping center or located near a major university. These locations are constantly filled with customers and gives them convenience of grabbing a quick bit to eat in between classes or a shopping break for customers at the outdoor malls. At the La Mirada location, the primary rush hour is during lunch hour and all day on Saturdays (PI#3). The main demographic that visits The Habit during Saturday rush hour are young families. La Mirada is a small area filled with multiple elementary schools, one junior high school and one high school and Saturdays are a primary time for school sports. The close proximity to these events allows families to go to The Habit after school events. Strengths • Location of The Habit is located on busy street of Imperial. • It is steps away from Biola University and the La Mirada theater. Weakness • Small parking lot (CI #14, #15, #16, #17) • Inconvenient access from the street. (CI #15, #17) • 6. Non-Digital Promotion Objective Analysis & Strategy Examples Promotion Objective The Habit’s non-digital promotion objectives is create brand awareness and stimulate demand. Promotion Strategy New/Acquisition Strategies For customers who have not visited The Habit they can find the store near most shopping centers. The Habit tries to make the outside and inside of their stores polished. New customers who visit the stores will noticed a remodeled look with natural lighting. They want their customers to experience quality environment. (Article #11). They train their staff to work as a team and continually check in on customers while they are eating. This emphasis the culture of hospitality they want all their customers to experience. Throughout the day employees are required to wipe down tables and clean the bathroom to maintain a high level of cleanliness. Existing Customers For existing customers, The Habit has partnered with No Kid Hungry. This organization provides meals for families in need to stop world hunger. In September, The Habit ran a monthlong campaign called National Dine Out for No Kid Hungry Campaign. For the month of September each customer that donated to the organization received a free cheeseburger. The Habit wanted to extend their mission to bring quality food to those in need (Website #1).



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Strengths • Polished and updated store appearance. • Culture of hospitality. • High quality cleanliness. Weaknesses • Promotion relies heavily on experience and not advertisement. •



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7. Digital Promotion Objective(s) Analysis & Strategy Examples. Promotion Objective The Habits digital promotion objective is to engage with customers experience, promote menu items, and inform customers on what is happening in The Habit community. Promotion Strategy New/Acquisition Strategies The Habit uses their social media accounts daily to showcase their food. Some of these posts are promotional and some are taken by customers themselves. The Habit uses hashtag #MakeItAHabit for every post. The pictures of food post give potential customers a glimpse of the variety and high quality food The Habit offers. They can also see what customers normally like to order. The main draw to potential customers is the website. The website is an easy layout incorporating pictures of food, hours, the story behind The Habit, and a store locator based on viewer’s location. Potential customers can easily navigate this website and get a feel for the highquality food and experience The Habit offers. Existing Customers Social media is used to continually engage with current customers. Customers who document their experience on Instagram or twitter is reposted to The Habit’s account. They can also view new deals or menu items that are featured. If customers have a bad experience they can connect with The Habit on Facebook and Twitter to voice their complaint. The website is designed to notify customers on the habit community and show them how they can join. Through catering, fundraisers, and The Habit’s partnership with No Child Goes Hungry customers can find many ways to engage in the community. Strengths • • •

Posts are consistent Website high quality easy to navigate Website raises customer’s expectations for high quality food and fast service.

Weakness • •



Pictures on social media are not consistent in quality. Social Media presence is small.

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C. Time Out



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1. Ethical Issues and Action Plan A. Hypothetical Situation Due to the minimum wage increase my business is struggling to hire enough employees to keep the business running. The employees we have already hired are starting to over work 40 hours a week which is the limit before we legally must start paying them double their salary. We currently have 18 employees fully employed and working full time at Fast Burger. However, 3 of our employees are leaving and we need to hire an additional 20 employees if we want to maintain fast service during rush hour. The popularity of the restaurant is increasing week by week bringing in 1,000 people per week. My business can afford to pay the 15 employees minimum wage full time; however, we will slowly start to lose a lot of money if we work all our employees overtime or hire an additional 20 employees. The rent and supplies needed to make all the products costs the business 60% of income. The employee’s salary takes 30% leaving 10% left for me and my business partner. My business partner wants to wait a few months until we get generate enough profit to financially afford an additional 20 employees. However, to wait a few months means we will have to double the hours of our current employees and pay them over time. My partner thinks we if logically add more hours to their schedule they will not notice and we will not have to pay them for overtime. If I do not agree with my partner they have threatened to spilt and take half of the money they initially invested in the business. My business partner and I need to come to an agreement in the next week before three of our employees leave. B. Personal Tension This ethical dilemma is a very difficult decision, not only is my business on the line but my current source of income and legal matters. I need to keep in mind to under pay my employees is not legal and I could in serious trouble legal trouble if one of our employees decided to sue. From a biblical point of view, I would be taking advantage of my employees. As an employer, I need to respect my employees and treat them well. However, if I choose to pay them well then, I am putting half of my business on the line. This business is my only source of income and to lose my job would mean I would have to move back home. No matter which option I choose there is a risk of losing my business. However, the consequence to listen to my partner and underpay our employees is not an immediate risk unless our employees decide to sue or strike. I personally, want to do the right thing and talk my business partner out of underpaying our employees/ leaving. I just do not know how. C. Ethical Dilemmas The ethical dilemmas are listed below: 1. I could decide to keep my business partner and take advantage of my employees by underpaying them. 2. My decision to underpay my employees would break the law would and cost my business everything if we were to get caught.



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3. I would lose my business and livelihood if I decide to do the right thing and pay my employees double their salary for working overtime. 4. If I chose to negotiate with my business partner I would be tempted to speak with hate and resentment towards his decision to leave. D. Biblical Principles/References 1. Luke 8:17 “For all that is secret will eventually be brought to the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.” Our private decisions to illegally underpay our employees will be found out. Even if no one on earth knows, God does and will hold us accountable for our decision. 2. Romans 12:19 “Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for Gods wrath. For it is written, ‘vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord.” If I decide to do the right thing I personally will deal with resentment and temptation to take revenge on my business partner. However, God will bring justice to my partners wrong doing. 3. Proverbs 22:22-23 “Do not rob the poor because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord will plead their case and take the life of those who rob them.” Taking advantage of my employees would be an act of oppression and go against Gods plan for humanity. 4. Luke 6:31 “Treat others the same way you would treat them.” As a Christian I need to treat my employees the same way I should be treated. This principle needs to be applied in all aspects of my life including my business. E. Action Plan My plan would be to confront my business partner on our financial and ethical dilemma. I would stand firm in my conviction to not take advantage our employees by underpaying them. Instead, it would be better to risk our business being tight on finances instead of legally jeopardizing our business. I would purpose we could collectively put in a few more hours working dining room shifts to make up for the loose of labor. This would not reduce a ton of shifts but it would help lighten the load and save our business a few hundred dollars over time. This purposely is the only option I will stand by. If he does not agree and still stands by his threat to leave the business, then I will have to put my business on hold until I find a new business partner that could help fund my business. F. Rational If I truly want to live out my mission as a Christian then I need to put others above myself even if it costs my business. Hard seasons or ethical dilemmas are not an excuse to do the wrong thing both morally and legally. This might mean going against the wishes of my partner and losing my job. Ultimately, my business is in Gods hand he will provide a financial miracle if it is supposed to stay open.



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2. S.W.O.T. Analysis Strengths • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Fresh, high quality food. Fast service Consistency in cleanliness. Affordable price Menu variety Hospitable employees. Accessibility from dine in or drive thru. Mobile ordering. Late hours. Assembly line procedure for preparing the food. Consistency in taste of the food. Well trained employees. Positive work environment Fresh local ingredients are only used for food. Parking lot is convenient with enough space for SUVs.

Weakness • • • • •

Highly competitive industry. No loyal customers. No brand awareness to potential customers. No experience starting and managing a business. Most customers in area already loyal to competitor #1 and #2.

Opportunities • • • • • • • •

Incorporating mobile ordering as “niche” of business as well as burger industry. Providing healthy alternatives from unhealthy fast food restaurants Menu variety includes chicken sandwich for customers wanting a non-beef alternative. The only fast food restaurant with convenient parking lot in area. Menu options include healthy alternative to fries. The ability to support a local non-profit in the area. Training and empowering my employees to go above and beyond when dealing with customers. Ministry opportunities in developing relationships with my employees.

Threats

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• • • • • • • •

High competition within industry and local area. Long lines during rush hour could turn away customers. A glitch in the app used for mobile ordering. Mobile ordering will take longer during rush hour losing its convenience. Food-borne illness. Food will not be made properly during rush hour. Shake machine could break. Food will lose its fresh quality.

3. Competitive Advantages Problem #1: Drive thru line fills up parking lot during rush hour. (PI #9 #10 CI #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #21). Solution: My restaurant location will be on a corner with a big parking lot enabling more customers to find parking. This spacious parking lot will allow customers with SUVs or trucks to pull in and park without having to worry about tight spaces. I will designate one of the driveways specifically for the drive thru so traffic can easily access drive thru. This would prevent the parking lot to fill up with cars waiting in line for drive thru. Similar to that of competitor #1, I would assign an employee to take orders on an iPad. Customers would also be able to pay with card on the iPad. This would help us make orders faster. By the time the customer gets to the window the food is already bagged and waiting to be handed out. Problem #2: Long wait during rush hour (PI #10, CI #17, #20, #21, #22, #28). Solution: I will reduce the wait time for customers by using assembly line process to make the food. I would create two spaces in the kitchen used to assembling the burgers/sandwiches. There would be two grills always open to cook the meat. Once, meat is cooked there would be one assembly line dedicated to making the orders for dine in and mobile order customers. Another line would be soy dedicated to drive thru. I would assign two employees on each line to be runners for drinks and fries. Four employees sole encharge of bagging up the orders and handing them out to customers. Within the store I would use pagers to notify customers when their order is ready. For customers using mobile ordering, I would add a timer feature that tracks their order as it is being made. Customer who are driving to get their order can arrive when it is being made. Problem #3: Limited Seating (PI #10, #12, CI #8, #22, #23, #24, #26, #28). Solution: In order to allow for the maximum area, I am going to offer three types of seating to accommodate my customers. I am going to align the inside of my store with booth seating in the middle I am going to put small tables with two-four chairs at each table. In the middle, I am going to put a wide community table up. This way multiple groups can sit around. I also will add tables and chairs outside for customers who want to dine outside. Problem #4: Inconvenient access to store (CI# 15, #16, #17, #18, #20, #21, #22, #26).

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Solution: My solution starts when I look for a rent space for my business. It is important my business is not only visible from the road but it is easy to access from the road. I want my business to be near a street corner with two separate driveways. This allows cars to turn in from the road on both sides. The specific location I have in mind is a shared parking lot. When cars drive in they have enough space to find parking and walk in. Problem #5: Lack of communication between employees and customers. (PI #4, #6, #9, #10, CI #27, #28). Solution: My solution to improve communication between my employees and customers is to be specific with them. I will first tackle this solution through training my employees. I want to train my employees to work as a team and communicate what they need from their co-workers for each order. When customers order their food, our cashiers are going to type in what they ordered and the specifics on how they want their burger on an order form. The order form will be a check light listing out the specifics on what the customer wants. Once the customer finished ordering the form will print out and be passed down to employees on the assembly line so they can accurately make the burger. This form will be the same template customers fill out when they order online. This process helps the customers specify what they want and the employee know exactly how they need to make it. 4. Internal Market Strategies for Third Product A. Systems of Quality and Consistency Concern #1: The food will not maintain consistency in taste especially during rush hour. Solution #1: Employees will be trained on how to make and assemble the burger. The food will be made in an assembly line process. The order form is clipped to a wire that runs from the grill all the way to the end of the assembly line. As each employee assembles part of that order they can read off exactly what the customer wanted on their burger. At the end, the employee in charge of handing out the food can briefly check to make sure everything in the bag matches the form. Starting with two employees on the grill in charge of cooking the meat. All meat must be cooked at a consistent temperature for a maximum of 7 minutes. After the meat is finished it is taken to the assembling station where five employees are encharge of each topping and spread placed on the bun. This process is also requiring strict quantities of each spread and topping. At the end of the line the last employee would wrap the food put it in a bag with the fries. For the fry station three employees on in charge of frying all three fry options. The fries are directly placed in container and bagged. After order is complete the bag is handed off to one employee in charge of handing out orders and getting the drinks. This is an on-going assembly line allows for multiple employees to check the order and fix any mistakes made by employees.



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Concern #2: Menu will lack quality for non-burger and fry options. Solution #2: Chicken sandwich will be cooked along beef patty; however, it will be cooked for less on the grill. The toppings will remain pretty consistent on the sandwich; however, the sauce will be different. It will be crucial that the employees making sandwiches are aware of this and put the right sauce on top before wrapping it up. The order form is to help ensure employees do not make this mistake. As well as the employees bagging the food are supposed to double check the sandwich before bagging it up. The sweet potato fries and tempura green beans will be already sliced and assigned their own fryer. Employees just have to look over each fryer and maintain the timer. There will be no batch left under a heater for more than ten minutes. To ensure fresh quality all fries will be fried and immediately bagged. B. Employee Satisfaction and Training Concern #1: Employees will come off as unfriendly or rude to customers. Solution #1: As a manager, I expect kind and friendly behavior from all employees. This begins with the kindness and respect I show my employees. However, all employees will be held to a high standard of conduct. This will be a contract all my employees sign before starting work. The first standard is respect. Employees are expected to respect their co-workers in both communication and action. When dealing with customers employees need to maintain a patient and positive attitude. We consider it a privilege to serve our customers so any concerns, complaints, or needs will always be kindly addressed by my employees. My goal is to foster relationships with my employees, so they in turn are empowered to foster relationships with the customers. Concern #2: Employees will not perform with precision and efficiency on the job. Solution #2: The hiring process begins by asking employees intentional questions on their previous work experience and creative thinking skills on the job. It is important I hire employees with previous fast food experience and/or experience in using critical thinking skills on the job. Any potential mistakes or problems that arise should be immediately addressed by employees. When hired, employees will spend the first three months working on cleaning the dining room, bathroom, and engaging with customers. After four months employees will be walked through a week of intense after hour training where they are taught and tested on how to make and assemble all our menu items. After this test employees are than allowed to work on the food. Any employee who consistently makes mistakes on orders will be removed from assembling food back to dining room shift. This high standard ensures that employees take their job seriously and will try their best to make minimal mistakes. C. Research Systems Concern #1: Customers will not give honest feedback. Solution #1: Customers who visit the store can download our app with location finder, mobile ordering, the menu, and a survey link. The use of the app is for customers using mobile ordering. After using mobile ordering a notification will pop up on customers phone an hour later reminding



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them to take the survey and receive 10% off. Every time a customer visits the store they can type in their email address or phone number which will also send them a link to our survey. Whether on the app or through the link customers will be given a 5-question multiple choice survey which can filled out in two minutes. After completing the survey each customer will receive 10% off their next meal. The survey will incorporate questions about our food, customer service, cleanliness, convenience in parking, and overall experience. The answers will be 1-10, 1 being poor experience and 10 being an excellent experience. Before completing the survey, a little reminder will pop up telling participants to answer each question honestly. This written reminder gives customers the freedom to answer the questions honestly. Concern #2: Customers complaints will not be addressed or resolved. Solution #2: To ensure customers complaints are heard and addressed, my employees will be required to submit every complaint a customer has voiced to them at the end of their shift. The managers will then collect these complaints and present them during a monthly meeting. This meeting will address all the complaints and a solution will be discussed and decided upon. Monthly meetings are for all the managers and supervisors to look over surveys, complaint submissions, and brainstorm solutions. It is crucial that the problems are quickly addressed by the time customers visit the store next so they will not have the same complaint. 5.

Purpose Statement and Why my 3rd business will be successful

Fast burger is a high-quality burger fast food restaurant that serves hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, three different types of fries, and shakes. The purpose of our restaurant is to provide customers with healthy options and alternatives to typical “burgers and fries.” All our menu items are made with fresh local ingredients and cooked in coconut oil. Our food is also served fresh off the grill to customers and never left sitting in a heater. Our employees aim to provide customers with fast and hospitable service. We want to redefine the definition of convenience in the burger industry by giving customers the option to mobile order their meal. Whether customers are diningin, sitting in our drive-thru or ordering on their mobile device, they can always expect efficient and fast service. I think customers will want to switch to fast burger, because of our fresh and healthy options. We aim to offer the same quality as competitor #1 but with variety to meet a broad scope of customer’s needs. Our variety might seem similar to that of competitor #2, however we aim to offer our variety for the same price as our hamburger. We believe customers should not pay more for healthy options. Customers will want to switch for convenience. We are the only fast food restaurant in the area that offers mobile ordering. This key factor will bring in local college students who do not have time to dine in or go through a drive thru. Our fresh variety of items, convenience, and reasonable price will make customers want to come back.



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D. Competitive Analysis:

Competitor #3 Fast Burger



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1. Positioning Map Fast service and consistency in cleanliness and hospitality Fast service

Lack of consistency in cleanliness and friendly service

Consistency in cleanliness and friendly service

Slow service

Why?

= In-N-Out = The Habit = Shake Shack = Five Guys = Fast Burger

I placed Fast Burger in the middle of competitors #1 and #2, because my restaurant will both consistent balance between maintain cleanliness, customer service, and fast service. I always have two-three employees on clean up dining room area (sweeping, wiping down tables chairs, and throwing away trash) and bathroom. To ensure no mistakes were made all my managers will also be required to inspect the bathroom and dining room area during their shift. During this time both my employees and managers will be required to show hospitality and check in on customers. They should get any additional sauce or napkins for customers as well as take away trash. These requirements are to ensure consistency in Cleanliness and hospitality, because they have been proven to speak into customer experience (PI #1, #2, #9, CI #3, #5, #6, #8, #11, #12, #13, #14). Two major ways I am going to ensure fast service is using assembly line strategy when preparing



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the food. Once an order is put in the system it will immediately started to be prepared. I am going to also put employees outside taking orders for the drive thru line past the speaker so my employees can get orders and prepare them at a faster pace (PI #10). Having a constant flow of employees working on the food will allow for quick service, which is a real asset for customers (PI #9, CI #13, #23, #24, #25, #28). Reasonable price and quality of food Low, cheap prices of $3-4

Food is made with preservatives and not made fresh

Food is made to order with fresh ingredients

= In-N-Out = The Habit = Shake Shack Expensive prices of $7 or more = Five Guys = Fast Burger Why? I placed Fast burger closest to the fresh ingredient section, because as a business we will only be using fresh local ingredients to prepare the food. My business will have several personal relationships with local farms who sell their products in bulk. Every two weeks my business will order new ingredients to be delivered to the store. Fresh quality also means that every menu item is made to order and immediately handed out to the customer. I want customers to experience our burgers like they would if they made it at home; hot and fresh. Customers value quality even more than they do price (CI #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #24, #25, #28). However, my store is placed on the upper right corner, because price does play a big role in the industry. Fast Burger aims to match the prices of Competitor #1 of $3.00 for a burger and maintains to keep that price for other menu items. Fresh food does not always have to be expensive and our prices aim to serve customers exactly what they paid for.



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2. Primary Target analysis 1. Primary Benefits is ranked first because Fast Burger seeks to provide customers with quality food and service to each customer. Why? Fast Burger is a fast food restaurant that puts the customer experience first. Customers value hospitality, high quality food, and fast service in their fast food experience (CI #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #10, #11, #13, #14, #24, #25). Fast burger values hospitality as number one. We will require all employees working the dining room to continually wipe down tables, check in with customers, and take trays and trash from customers. The second factor we value is high quality in food. Fast burger only uses fresh local ingredients for our medium variety of menu items. We want to meet the needs of families who come in wanting a healthy bit to eat. We added variety to our menu to meet the needs of families who may not all want to eat the same thing. The overall atmosphere should invite families to sit down for a meal and talk. 2. Primary Geographic is ranked second, because our location is near a busy intersection making it convenient for people to come. Why? Convenience is a part Fast Burgers’ customer experience. Our location is on Imperial one of the busiest streets in La Mirada. This brings in the traffic from church, shopping, school, and work. People use Imperial every day to go into La Habra to shop and to commute to work or church. We want Fast Burger to be in the path of their everyday commute. 3. Primary Psychographic is ranked third, because we want to connect with customers that live healthy lifestyles or choose to eat fresh fast food. Why? As a business, we have found fast food restaurants attract a wide variety of people and do not target specific groups. (PI #9). However, our mission is to bring healthy fresh tasting options to fast food. Customers wanting to eat fresh will be drawn to our store. (CI #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #16). Our food is only made with fresh local ingredients and meat is cooked with healthy oils. Customers can pick between red meat or chicken for their burger and we will have different options for fries ranging from regular potato to green bean (CI #9). Our options will stay healthy and fresh but customers can decide how healthy they want their meal to be. 4. Primary Demographic is ranked fourth, because our customer base is too broad to target a specific age group. Why? Fast Food reaches multiple groups and age ranges. (PI#9). We recognize that millennials are becoming the driving force of customer base for fast food (Article #7). However, fast food also reaches to families or older couples wanting quick bite to eat. Both groups desire fast service and high quality food for a reasonable price. Fast Burger wants to bring these benefits to the convenience of their homes. La Mirada itself is a mix of college students, young families, and older couples. Our goal is to target this community as whole and not specific age groups.



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3. Product Objectives & Strategies Example Product Objective Fast Burger’s product objective is quality food matched with quality service. Our goal is to meet the customers need through the fresh food prepared with healthy ingredients and made by our hospitable employees. The clean environment should welcome customers to enjoy a fresh burger and good conversation with family or friends. Product Strategy Fast Burger’s primary goal is to provide quality food. Recent trends have shown customers want food made with fresh options and more customers prefer chicken sandwiches over hamburgers. (Article #1, #2, CI #6, #9, #10). Based on this information Fast Burger is going to offer Hamburger and Chicken sandwich as entrée items. For fries’ customers can choose from French fries, sweet potato fries, or tempura green beans. Our menu has some variety where customers are not limited to one item like competitor #2. However, we only offer a small variety to ensure high quality. Part of the process to keeping the food fresh is only using fresh local ingredients for preparing the food. Our meat and chicken will be grilled to order to ensure fresh taste. Quality is service is another aspect of Fast Burger’s product strategy. Our service incorporates efficiency and hospitality. We will require our employees to treat all customers with kindness. Employees working the dining room will be asked to always check in with customers and take away their trash. Any questions or needs customers have should be immediately addressed by the employee asked. Hospitality would set us apart from other fast food restaurants (PI #2). Another aspect of quality service is efficiency. Customers who dine in would order from a cashier and then receive a pager to notify them when their food is ready. Our restaurant would also offer drive thru and curbside pick-up. Drive thru would enable customers to order and receive food from the comfort of their car (CI #16). This would also enable more customers to come to Fast Burger if the line inside was too long (CI #17). Customers who want to eat in their car or use the convenience of mobile ordering can use curb side express. Fast Burger would section off five parking spots made for curb side express. Customers would order and pay for their their food on the Fast Burger App. All customers would be required to type in the model of their car. After ordering there would be a timer on the app giving customers an allotted amount of time to drive to Fast Burger and find a spot in the sectioned off area. Employees would bring food out to the car. Curb side express incorporates convenience and mobile ordering. This would set our business apart from other fast food. Mobile ordering is a feature that is upcoming trend in fast food industry that not a lot of fast food restaurants have expanded to (Article # 12). 4. Pricing Objective & Strategy Examples.

Hamburgers

The Habit

In-N-Out

Industry Average

Fast Burger

$3.45-6

$2.95-4

$3-9

$3.50 41

French Fries

$2-3

$1.40-1.80

$1.85-3

$2.95

Price Objective Fast Burger’s pricing objective is to match competitors #1 and #2. Customers value price and expect to get high quality food for a reasonable price. Fast Burger meets their expectation by offering a full meal for $5-$6. Price Strategy Fast Burger choose to match competitor’s prices, because to lower the price would lower customer expectations and to raise the price would push customers away. Customers who pay an average of $4-$6 for a meal say they are getting a good deal for quality food they receive (CI #3, #5, #6). This price range is the price average for most fast food restaurants. Competitor #2 specializes in offering fresh hamburgers for $2.95. These places set customer expectations on the price high quality food should cost. Why? Fast Burger is in the middle of fast food industry. The quality of food offered is high but the prices are in the middle of industry average for prices. Customers tend to drift towards fast food restaurants that do not offer cheap food but are not expensive either. High quality food can be made in an inexpensive way and Fast Burger meets this expectation.



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5. Place Objective, Analysis, and Strategies Discussion

Place Objective Fast burger will be located on the street corner of Santa Gertrudes and Imperial. This intersection is located in a central part of La Mirada and brings a lot traffic off of Imperial Hwy. This location is also near Biola University, Grace Ev Free, Savers, La Mirada High School, and Kindred Hospital. These are a few major areas that brings in most of the residents of La Mirada. The area near the intersection tends to bring in customers majority families and students. This grouping fits within Fast Burger target market which is customers who value high quality fresh food options. Place Strategy Fast Burger is a casual dine in restaurant providing customers with convenience and accessibility to high quality food. Being located on the one of the busiest intersections of La Mirada, this location will bring in a lot of families and students commuting to and from work, school, and home. Students value reasonable priced food that is high in quality (CI #29) and Families want high quality food that is convenient and fast (CI #10, #13). The location is in the way of everyday traffic bringing both of these target markets together. The location is 5-10 minutes away from competitors #1-#2 and across the street from a few local indirect competitors. The distance from competitors #1 and #2 allows for Fast Burger to build

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popularity in the area. Fast burger will be located on the same lot as Savers, providing customers with a huge shared parking lot. Customers can access this parking lot easily from the road and can fit any size vehicle in the parking lot (CI #17, #18, #20). Fast Burger will have a drive thru for customers who want to take their food to do (CI #16). For students and families wanting to avoid lines, Fast Burger will offer mobile ordering to make it more convenient for customer to pick up their food. The hours of Fast Burger will be 11am-1am Monday-Saturday, and 11am-12am on Sundays. The late hours allow college students living nearby to go for a late nigh run or study break. Fast Burger will also have a food truck giving customers additional access at local events and farmers markets. The purpose of the food truck is to bring the food to local and outside events to give access to potential customers both in La Mirada and in surrounding areas (See D6. NonDigital Promotion). The location, food truck, drive-thru, and mobile ordering will cater to the needs of customers looking for convenient high-quality fast food (CI #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #16). Why? Fast Burger attracts a broad target market of people wanting easy access to high quality fast food. This customer expectation helped us decide Fast Burger is going to be located off of Imperial Hwy and Santa Gertrudes. This is a busy intersection brings in a traffic flow of people from all over La Mirada and surrounding cities. Customers are able to easily access the location from the street and park without having to worry about limited parking or tight parking spots (CI #20, #23). Fast Burger offers drive thru for customers wanting to take their food to go. Mobile ordering is also offered for customers who cannot afford to wait in a line and grab their food to go. These two options are for returning customers. The Fast Burger food truck is offered as a way of bringing the food to potential customers attending local events and farmers markets. Overall, the convenience and easy accessibility of the location affects a customer’s decision to go to fast food. 6. Non-Digital Objectives Promotional Objective The promotional objective for Fast Burger is to stimulate demand, increase customer loyalty, and promote the benefits of our products. Promotion Strategies A. New/ Acquisition Strategies Awareness Fast Burger is a new business and has zero brand awareness among customers. To create awareness potential customers will be given samples through the food truck. The Fast Burger food truck will go to local events and farmers markets to hand out samples to potential customers as well as sell food to the customers who want more than just a sample. At each event, an employee



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will walk around with a tray full of samples and flyers advertising the location of Fast Burger. The purpose of the sample is to expose the people at the event with a free taste of a Burger and chicken sandwich. Once potential customers have tried the sample they employee will encourage them to check out the food truck to try a full meal. Fast Burger can also hand out free samples on college campuses and at high school during lunch time. Employees will hand out business cards and a printout menu to students to show the prices. The table would have a Fast Burger logo and loud music will be playing as employees hand out samples. The purpose of this sampling is to allow students to experience the brand of Fast Burger by having a taste of the food and a visual of the cheap prices and late hours. Students are able to experience this brand with their friends which helps the motivation factor for them to go. Trial On grand opening day, there will be a parking lot block party with DJs, free hamburgers, and free shakes with every purchase of a fry. The first 200 customers will receive a bag with a free Fast Burger T-shirt, Free shake coupon, and a $5-dollar gift card for customer to give to a friend or use on their next visit. This event will bring in lots of customers looking to have a good time and get free food. Fast Burger will have a promotion opening week where customers receive a free shake for every meal they ordered. This also will bring in customers looking for a good deal. B. Existing Customer Strategies Repeat Fast Burger aims to keep customers connect to Fast Burger with a partnership to a local non-profit and through hospitality. The purpose of the non-profit is to educate customers about a local issue and get them connected to help that non-profit by donating money or by volunteering there. Fast Burger is going to support the local homeless shelter. 5% of all proceeds go towards the local homeless shelter. Inside the store customers can read stories about the homeless shelter and get more information on how to get involved. The wall near the line to order will be sprayed with chalk board paint and have statistics about homelessness and the need to help. This wall is meant to educate customers, to remind them their support to Fast Burger is helping a positive cause, and it gets customers to volunteer. There will be an able by the door with forms customers can fill out to volunteer. Customers who sign up to volunteer and give the forms to the employee will receive a free cheeseburger on their next visit. Employees who work at the homeless shelter have a permanent 10% off discount on all their meals. This partnership allows for customers to be involved in their community and motivates them to come back to use the discounts they receive for volunteering. Why? The most important part of non-digital promotion is to create brand awareness. Customers need to experience the brand through samples, menu print out, and the hospitality of employees giving out the samples. These samples draw potential customers in to buying a meal at the food truck which ultimately brings them into the actual store. A promotional grand opening event then brings in customers who have tried the samples and allows them to party and try a full meal for



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practically free. As customers start to come back, they may not be getting discounted meal but they are supporting a good cause with every meal they purchase. Customers are then empowered to give back by supporting Fast Burger or by volunteering. This will continue to bring customers back to Fast Burger. 7. Digital Promotion Objectives, Analysis, and Strategies Promotion Objective The digital promotional objective for Fast Burger is to stimulate demand and promote product benefits. Promotion Strategies A. New/ Acquisition Strategies Awareness The Fast Burger website will be a simple layout making it easy for new customers to learn more about the business. The website homepage will include a slideshow of pictures, company news, and series of tabs at the top. Visitors on the website can click on the “about us” tab to learn more about the history and mission statement of the business. The website will also include more information about the nutrional value of the food and details on where the fresh ingredients come from. This will all be under the “About our food” tab. Potential customers will also be able to access an online menu with prices and hours. There will also be a separate tab at the top called “store locator” that allows potential customers to find the closest Fast Burger store near them. When customers first visit the website a pop-up window will appear to promote the Fast Burger App. The app makes it easier for customers to access all the websites information as well as use mobile ordering feature. All social media pages will be linked at the bottom of the website, so potential customers can access more pictures of the food. Trial For the first few weeks Fast Burger will have an Instagram contest between all the new customers and their experience at Fast Burger. All new customers have to take a picture of what they ordered, tag Fast Burger Instagram account, and use the hashtag #measurer. A winner will be chosen weekly and will receive a free burger or chicken sandwich of their choice. B. Existing Customer Strategies Repeat Existing customers can engage with Fast Burger by posting about their experience Instagram or Twitter. Fast Burger will then choose to repost customer experience posts to promote different menu combinations and the benefits to visiting Fast Burger. Every week the best Instagram post receives 25% off their next visit. Customers can also use the Fast Burger app to



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earn rewards for their visit. The app records every order customer has made and every tenth visit gives a customer special deals, discounts, and free food. The app will also send out notifications to check in on customers and remind them to come back This encourages customers to use the app and reminds them about mobile ordering. Why? Customers judge the quality of a restaurant by the professional look of the website and quality of pictures. For new customers, the Fast Burger website is easy to use and filled with tons of information and pictures of the food. New customers who document their first experience at Fast Burger have the opportunity for their photo to be featured on the official Instagram page as well as earn a free burger or chicken sandwich. This creates continual engagement with customers making them feel appreciated by the business. The same engagement includes existing customers who also document their visit to Fast Burger. They also will be entered into a contest for their post to be feature on social media as well as a discount to receive 25% off their next meal. The Fast Burger app is meant to bring in potential/existing customers through mobile ordering and rewards the push notifications if allowed will check up on customers and remind them to visit Fast Burger.



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E. List of Works Consulted



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List of Works Consulted Articles Article 1: Luna. LexisNexis. “Move over, burger: Is fried chicken the new fast-food favorite in town?” (2016). Why Relevant: This article discusses competition between chicken sandwich vs. burger places. It talks about up incoming fast food restaurants that are changing the game for burger places such as in-n-out. Article 2: Morton. JSTOR. “Brand M.” (2006). 9-11. Why Relevant: Article discusses the impact McDonalds has had on burger industry. Customers use McDonalds as a model to compare other burger fast food places. Article 3: Castillo. PSFK. “Technology could soon be replacing fast food workers.” (2016). Why Relevant: This article addresses the up incoming trend in fast food using pay kiosks. Customers can now order food and pay through a kiosk with minimal contact of restaurant employees. Article 4: Chamlee. Eater. “How fast food chains use data to test new products and drive sales.” (2016). Why Relevant: This article addresses the analytic research done on customers and the integration of new technology in fast food. Evidence shows the technological upgrades within major fast food restaurants attract more customers and increase sales. Customers tend to trust businesses the use technology within their service. Article 5: Franchise Help. “Burger Industry Analysis 2017- Costs and Trends. (2017). Why Relevant: This article shows upcoming trends and statistics for the burger industry. The trends specifically address the quality of beef used in a burger. Article 6: Horowitz. QSR Magazine. “12 Fast Food Trends 2017.” (2017). Why Relevant: This article addresses the top 12 trends consumers love in the fast food industry. Evidence from the article shows that consumers are very health conscious and hungry for speed. Article 7: Nixon. Restaurant Insider. “Are consumer trends changing the American burger?” (2017). Why Relevant: This article addresses the health expectations customers have that poses a threat to the burger industry. This new trend is causing consumers to lean towards chicken or turkey burgers. Article 8: Taylor. Business Insider. “Forget burgers and fries- fried chicken is taking over the fast food industry.” (2017). Why Relevant: This article discusses the chicken craze taking over the fast food industry. Out of the top 100 restaurants three out of five have incorporated new menu items that have chicken. Article 9: DiRaddo. Toast. “10 Facts and Statistics About the Fast Food Industry.” (2017). Why Relevant: This article contains 10 facts that have always been true about the fast food industry. Fast food contributes to a good number of consumers globally.



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Article 10: Consumer Reports. “Best and Worst Fast-Food Restaurants in America.” (2014). Why Relevant: This article contains statistics and facts about what consumers want in burger industry. The spending habits of millennials are very important to consider when opening a restaurant. Article 11: Johnson. Business Insider. “Fast Food Workers Are Becoming Obsolete.” (2016). Why Relevant: This article addresses the upcoming trends for pay kiosks and new technology that could replace employees. Businesses that incorporate new technology not only save money on labor but attract more customers. Article 12: Taylor. Business Insider. “The Biggest Change in Fast Food Industry Isn’t About Food and It Should Terrify Chains That Can’t Keep Up.” (2016). Why Relevant: This article talks about the upcoming trend for mobile ordering. Customers are starting to lean towards third party organizations who offer mobile ordering and delivery. This new trend could be a milliondollar niche to fast food restaurants who incorporate it. Article 13: Lutz. Business Insider. “A rapidly expanding west coast burger chain is becoming Shake Shack’s biggest threat.” (2015). Why Relevant: This article addresses the advantages The Habit has over other competitors in the fast food industry. It specifically goes in depth on the inward appearance of The Habit. Article 14: Bernstein. Nation’s Restaurant News.”10 Legal Issues for Restaurant Operators to Watch.” (2017). Why Relevant: This article addresses the current legal issues business owners face. These issues contribute a great deal to the future of the fast food industry. Article 15: Chamlee. Eater. “How Minimum Wage Hikes Could Affect Franchisees.” (2016). Why Relevant: This article addresses how fast food stores are affected by the minimum wage hike. These threats will drastically affect the industry in five years. Article 16: QSR. “Consumers: Bring on the Burgers, Hold the Beef.” (2016). Why Relevant: This article addresses the type of burgers consumers want most. More consumers are leaning towards burger alternatives to beef. Websites Website 1: https://www.habitburger.com. Last viewed 11/22/17. Why Relevant: This is the website of the #1 competitor, The Habit Burger. Website 2: http://www.fiveguys.com/ Last viewed 10/2/17. Why Relevant: This is the website of one of the secondary competitors. Website 3: https://www.shakeshack.com/. Last views 10/10/17. Why Relevant: This is the website of one of the secondary competitors. Website 4: http://www.in-n-out.com/ - close. Last viewed 11/22/17.



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Why Relevant: This is the website of the #2 competitor, In-N-Out. Website 5: https://www.islandsrestaurants.com/. Last viewed 10/10/17. Why Relevant: This is the website of one of the secondary competitors. Website 6: https://www.yelp.com/biz/in-n-out-burger-la-mirada. Last viewed 10/10/17. Why Relevant: This website shows customer reviews from #2 competitor In-N-Out. Website 7: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-habit-burger-grill-la-mirada-2. Last viewed 10/10/17. Why Relevant: This website shows customer reviews from #1 competitor. Website 8: https://www.statista.com/topics/863/fast-food/. Last viewed 10/24/17. Why Relevant: This website contains a variety of statistics from the fast food industry. Website 9: https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/fast-food-industry-report/. Last viewed 10/24/17. Why Relevant: This website contains fast food industry analysis with costs and trends. Website 10: Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.. Last viewed 11/25/17/. Why Relevant: This is the Facebook page of In-N-Out which contains how they engage with customers. Website 11: https://www.webstaurantstore.com. Last viewed 11/30/17. Why Relevant: This website has facts on restaurant labor laws. Website 12: http://www.burgerweb.com/burger-statistics/. Last Viewed 11/30/17. Why Relevant: This website includes facts and statistics about the burger industry. Professional Interviews Professional Interview #1: Cashier Employee, Female, mid-twenties, Date 10/4/2017, Location: The Habit Burger. Why Relevant: The employee was very friendly and helpful when I ordered my food. She loves working at the Habit, because of the team work environment. Before working at The Habit, she was shy and did not feel confident in herself. As she got trained in all areas of the job, she became more confident working along-side others and talking with customers. She does her best to meet the needs of her customers in everything she does. Professional Interview #2: District Manager, Female, early forties, Date 10/4/2017, Location: The Habit Burger. Why Relevant: The district manager has been working at The Habit for four years. She enjoys the working environment. Quality and hospitality are two themes for all Habit employees. Employees fulfill these goals by always serving quality food and meeting the needs of each customer that walks in. Variety is also a plus to customers, because they can come in and order something different every time. The quality of service is a competitive factor that sets The Habit apart from other businesses.



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Professional Interview #3: Employee, Male, College aged, Date 10/19/2017, Location the Habit Burger. Why Relevant: Employee mainly serves families with young kids. The main rush hour at The Habit is every day around noon and all day Saturday. During rush hours’ employees makes sure to go fast and take it order by order. A major challenge employees face is angry customers. Employee does his best to meet the need of mad customer and not let it affect his day. Professional Interview #4: Employee, Male, College aged, Date 10/21/2017. Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: In-N-Out always goes by their mission statement. Every protocol and procedure is done by the books. This process ensures quality. Communication is key especially during rush hours. It is important employees stay calm and communicate with co-workers in friendly tones. If employees communicate with rushed and loud tones they can stress customers out. Professional Interview #5: Manager, Male, Early forties, Date 10/21/2017. Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: The manager enjoys employing people and watching them succeed within the work environment. In-N-Out has checks and balances to ensure quality. Managers check meat to ensure freshness. Employees are required to work for In-N-Out for a year before assembling the hamburgers. This ensures each employee knows what they are doing. Professional Interview #6: Employee, Male, Late twenties, Date 10/21/2017. Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: He loves the team work environment of The Habit. Everyone is friendly and willing to work as a team to meet customer needs. Professional Interview #7: Employee, Female, Early twenties, Date 10/21/2017. Location: In-NOut. Why Relevant: Loves the work environment at In-N-Out. Everyone works as a team and is very professional. Co-workers are ready and willing to help each other out. They all know what they are doing. Professional Interview #8: Employee, Female, Early twenties, Date 10/21/2017. Location: In-NOut. Why Relevant: Employee loves the work environment and serving others. During rush hours’ coworkers are always encouraging each other on. Professional Interview #9: Division Manager, Male, early fifties, Date 10/27/2017. Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: Randy has been working at In-N-Out for 31 years. He loves the working environment. The people he works with motivate him to go to work each day. A challenge that arises with working in the burger industry is the volume of business In-N-Out gets daily. It is hard to maintain organization in a fast-paced environment. Three aspects of In-N-Out customers enjoy is quality food, friendly service, and cleanliness. There is not a specific target market In-N-Out focuses on. They tend to get families rather than individuals. Professional Interview #10: Employee, Female, Late teens, Date 11/3/17. Location: In-N-Out.



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Why Relevant: Julia has been working at In-N-Out for 2 years and 3 months. She loves the assembly line process to create the burger it enables her and her co-workers to easily fix mistakes quickly before serving the burger. A challenge in the job is lack of communication. This causes more mistakes and forces employees to over compensate. This lack of communication comes from both sides: associate to associate, associate to customer, and manager to associate. A quick way employees deal with customer problems is building a culture of yes. Employees are told to take any steps necessary to completely satisfy customer. In-N-Out takes three steps to reduce traffic flow during rush hour: employees take orders on hand-held past the screen, extra employees cooking food, making drinks, handing out drinks on shift, and putting an extra cash register in drive thru window to enable customers to pay and get their food quickly. If something could change it would be to have more workers on shift. It would enable less mistakes to be made. In-N-Out is unable to add more people to shift due to labor laws and costs. Professional Interview #11: Employee, Female, mid-twenties, Date 11/19/17. Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: The main rush hour is at noon and five every day. There is no specific demographic that is targeted during these rush hours. Broad variety of customers come during this time. Professional Interview #12: Employee, Male, Late teens, Date 11/19/17. Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: Main rush hour is noon and evening around five every day. Employees maintain customer flow during rush hour allowing for the lines to go by fast. Customer Interviews Customer Interview #1: Brenna, Female, early twenties, Date: 10/12/17, Location: The Habit Burger. Why Relevant: Brenna has gone occasionally to The Habit burger over the years. She goes mainly for the burgers but also orders the other items offered on the menu. When she goes to the Habit she can always expect good quality food. Customer Interview #2: Female, Mom and daughter, early thirties and age nine, Date: 10/21/17, Location: IN-N-OUT. Why Relevant: Mom and daughter go to In-n-out often. They always order #1 and #2 on the menu which is a hamburger and cheeseburger combo. As customers, they enjoy the friendly atmosphere. Customer Interview #3: Female, early thirties, Date: 10/21/17, Location: IN-N-OUT. Why Relevant: The customer can always rely on In-n-out to service good food at a low price. Employees are always friendly ready to help meet her needs. This contributes to the friendly atmosphere she experiences every time she comes to In-n-out. Customer Interview #4: Female, Early thirties, Date: 10/21/17, Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: Customer always orders grilled cheese and animal fries. In-n-out is always a place she can trust to provide her with good tasting food. She appreciates the friendliness of the employees. The customer knew



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Customer Interview #5: Male, early forties, Date: 10/21/17, Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: Customer loves the Hamburgers at In-N-Out, because it is always fresh and is combined with the best toppings. He loves the low prices and service. Employees are friendly and ready to meet the customer’s needs. Customer Interview #6: Female, early sixties, Date: 10/21/17, Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: Food is always fresh and served at a reasonable price. Restaurant is always clean and employees are very friendly. Customer Interview #7: Male, Mid- forties, Date: 10/21/17, Location: In-N-Out. Why Relevant: Customer always comes for good quality food. Location is convenient and employees are fast in preparing the food. Customer Interview #8: Female, early fifties, Date: 10/21/17, Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: The customer goes to The Habit for tempera green beans. It is a unique menu item that not a lot of fast food restaurants offer. She loves the fresh food and fast service. Customer mentioned The Habit’s cleanliness is one of the main reasons she comes back to eat there. Customer Interview #9: Male, Early fifties, Date: 10/21/17, Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: Customer loves the charburger. In his opinion the grilled flavor of the burger tastes better than other places. He appreciates The Habit’s use pagers to notify customers when their food is ready. It is better than having a loud speaker to notify people when their food is ready. Customer Interview #10: Family: Husband, Wife, and daughter, mid-fifties and college student, Date 10/21/17, Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: Customers go to The Habit for fresh tasting food. They love the variety so everyone can get what they want. BBQ chicken salad and charburgers are two menus items the mom and daughter like to get. Overall, the family can always rely on the fast service The Habit offers. Customer Interview #11: Female, late twenties, Date 10/21/17, Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: Customer always comes for the Teriyaki burger and Santa Barbra burger. They visit The Habit at least once a month. The employee’s friendliness and honesty are the two important elements to customer’s experience. Customer Interview #12: Female, Mid-forties, Date 10/21/17, Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: The Habit is convenient location to where customer lives. The good quality food and service brings her in to the store. Customer Interview #13: Female, early thirties, Date 10/21/17, Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: Customer always orders grilled cheese and BBQ chicken salad. Compared to other fast food restaurants The Habit is best in cleanliness. From the dining area to the bathrooms the employees keep the building clean. Ordering is fast and easy and the environment has a positive atmosphere that is enjoyable.



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Customer Interview #14: Female, 15 or 16, Date 10/21/17, Location: The Habit. Why Relevant: Customer always order tri-tip sandwich, because it is a unique item on the menu. They enjoy the malts and fries the best at The Habit than anywhere else. The Habit offers a better menu variety than any other fast food restaurant. The customer appreciates the cleanliness of the store and the kind attitude employees carry. Customer Interview #15: Female, 23, Date 11/15/17, Location: The Habit, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer comes to the habit for good quality food. She thinks that they could improve upon parking. Parking lot is very small and hard to access from street. During rush hour, the parking lot can fill up and prevent customers from finding parking close by. Customer Interview #16: Female, 19, Date 11/15/17, Location: The Habit, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer likes the habit because it is cheap food. She can get high quality food for a good price. However, she wishes The Habit had bettering parking. It is hard to access parking from street. In the future, she hopes the Habit will include a drive thru. This would make it more convenient for her to enjoy the Habit. It also would help with the parking problem during rush hour. Customer Interview #17: Male, 50, Date 11/19/17, Location, The Habit, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer orders the chicken club sandwich. Overall, he enjoys the service and quality of food. When it comes to the parking lot the customer drives an SUV and says parking spaces are too tight for his car. He also says that access from the street is inconvenient. If customer sees a long line during rush hour he will pick another restaurant. Customer Interview #18: Male, 38, Date 11/19/17, Location, The Habit, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer always orders the Santa Barbra. They go to the habit, because the location is close by and convenient. When he comes he always must bring a different car, because parking lot is small. When it comes to rush hour the customer thinks service is fast and long lines are not a problem. Customer Interview #19: Female, 9, Date 11/19/17, Location: The Habit, La Mirada. Why Relevant: This was the customers first experience at The Habit. Compared to the Shake Shack, The Habit has high quality of food and value to customer experience. For customer, she can enjoy this high quality of food near her house. Customer’s mom said parking was good. They got a close parking spot only downside was they parked next to the dumpster. Customer Interview #20: Male, 38, Date 11/19/17, Location: The Habit, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer always orders burger and fries. Normally comes during rush hour but the time customer visited business was not bad. Service is fast but can sometimes take longer than usual during rush hour. He agrees that parking lot is tight. He normally drives a big truck but must drive a smaller car when visiting The Habit. Customer Interview #21: Female, 21, Date 11/19/17, Location: In-N-Out, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer always orders cheeseburger. Agrees, that parking lot can fill up during rush hour. The drive thru line plays a big part to why the parking lot fills up. Customer will decide



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to go somewhere else if line inside/ drive thru line is long. She said this happens often and does not regularly visit In-N-Out. Customer Interview #22: Me, Loyal customer of both In-N-Out and The Habit. Why Relevant: Both restaurants offer fresh quality food and fast service. However, The Habit has an advantage in the wide menu selection. Their unique menu items allow customers to always try new food. They are also very consistent in checking in on customers and taking away their trays. Customer Interview #23: Family: Father and two daughters, mid-fifties and college student, Date 11/19/17, Location, In-N-Out, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Family always orders hamburgers. They all agreed, service is fast and parking is convenient. Location is convenient to where they live. The tables inside can fill up fast and they are forced to sit outside when it does. Customer Interview #24: Female, 21, Date 11/19/17, Location: In-N-Out, La Mirada. Why Relevant: In-N-Out is the customers go to place for food. The store is convenient and close to where she lives. She always comes with friends and normally does not use drive thru but goes inside. Service is fast and she can usually find a clean table inside. There have been a few times customer has had to sit outside. Customer Interview #25: Female, Mid-forties, Date 11/19/17, Location: In-N-Out, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer always gets a hamburger. Parking and drive thru line has never been a problem for customer. The service is always fast, employees are friendly, and restaurant is always clean. Customer always has a positive experience at In-N-Out. Customer Interview #26: Female, Thirty, Date 11/19/17, Location: In-N-Out, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer enjoys the high-quality food at In-N-Out. The drive thru line goes by quickly, because an employee can take orders past the speaker. She agrees, that it is hard to find seating during rush hour. Customer Interview #27: Male, College student, Date 11/19/17, Location: In-N-Out, La Mirada. Why Relevant: Customer’s order was late from a previous experience and received a free cheeseburger. Besides the one negative experience at In-N- Out, the customer normally has good experience. The drive Thru line is never a problem and customer is always able to find a table. The location is five minutes away from where he lives. Customer Interview #28: Female, College student, Date 12/4/17, Location: The Habit, La Mirada Why Relevant: Customer goes to The Habit every so often but always experiences slow service. When considering a new restaurant, customer cares about high quality but low price. Fast service is also important. Customers pays not only for quality but for the convenience of getting their food in a short amount of time. Customer Interview #29: Female, Middle aged, Date 12/4/17, Location: In-N-Out, La Mirada.



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Why Relevant: Customer visits In-N-Out often and always experiences friendly service. However, hamburgers have come to customer not cooked all the way through when customer has specifically asked for them to be cooked well done. Employees are always quick on re making the patty for customer. The long drive thru lines are very inconvenient for customer. During rush hour tables always fill up forcing customer to sit outside or wait in long drive thru line.



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