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Fast Food Market Forecast - The Subway Example of Strategic Product Positioning

The United States fast food market has seen a healthy rise in growth within the last three years which forecasts can be sustained. The fast food market is forecast to maintain its current growth expectations, with an anticipated Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.3% for the five-year period 2005-2010. This is expected to drive the market to a value of .6 billion by the end of 2010. Drivers of growth include increasing numbers of Americans in the workplace, which reduces the amount of time spent on preparing meals at home. In 2010, the United States fast food market is forecast to have a value of .6 billion, an increase of 12.1% since 2005.

Forecast Volume

Market

In 2010, the United States fast food market is forecast to have a volume of 37 billion transactions (Figure 1). This represents an increase of 5.3% since 2005. The CAGR of the market volume in the period 2005-2010 is predicted to be 1%.

Fast Food Market Forecast - The Subway Example of Strategic Product Positioning

Success Factors

Success factors for fast food franchisees will include products and marketing targeted to healthier menu selections, brand consistency, low start-up costs, franchisee support, and consumer convenience. Subway ® represents a poignant example of a fast food franchisee ready for success in the future fast food market. Their strategies transcend the fast food market and apply to many other markets and products.
SWOT Analysis

Subway sandwich shops are well positioned to leverage their strengths and address reasonable threats, weaknesses, and opportunities. The table below highlights these Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths

Size and number stores and channels
Menu reflects demand for fresh, healthy and fast.
Use of non-traditional channels.
Partnering with the American Heart Association.
Worldwide brand recognition.
Customizable menu offerings.
Low franchisee start up costs.
Franchisee training is structured, brief and designed to assure rapid start-up and success.

Weaknesses

Décor is outdated.
Some franchisees are unhappy.
Service delivery is inconsistent from store to store.
Employee turnover is high.
No control over franchise saturation in given market areas.

Opportunities

Continue to Grow Global Business.
Update décor to encourage more dine-in business.
Improve Customer Service Model.
Continue to expand channel opportunities to include event wagons.
Improve franchisee relations.
Experiment with drive-through business.
Expand packaged dessert offerings.
Continue to revise and refresh menu offerings.
Develop more partnerships with movie producers and toy manufacturers to promote new movie releases through children's menu packaging and co-branding opportunities.

Threats

Franchisee unrest or litigation.
Food contamination (spinach).
Competition.
Interest Costs.
Economic downturn.
Sabotage.
Law Suits.

Competitive Analysis

Subway is not without competitive pressures. Chief competitors include Yum! Brands, McDonalds, Wendy's, and Jack in the Box. Yum! Brands are the world's largest, with 33,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. Four of the company's highly recognizable brands, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and Taco Bell, are global leaders of the Mexican, chicken, pizza, quick-service seafood categories. Yum! has a workforce of 272,000 employees and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

McDonald's Corporation (McDonald's) is the world's largest foodservice retailing chain with 31,000 fast-food restaurants in 119 countries. The company also operates restaurants under the brand names 'The Boston Market' and 'Chipotle Mexican Grill'. McDonalds operates largely in the US and the UK and is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois employing 447,000 people.

Wendy's International (Wendy's) operates three chains of fast food restaurants: Wendy's (the third largest burger chain in the world), Tim Horton's, and Baja Fresh. Wendy's operates over 9700 restaurants in 20 countries, has been included in Fortune magazine's list of top 500 US companies, is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, and employs about 57,000 people.

Jack in the Box owns, operates, and franchises Jack in the Box quick-service hamburger restaurants and Qdoba Mexican Grill fast-casual restaurants and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Target Markets

The increase in sales of the sandwiches has been a result of decreases in consumer interest in hamburgers and fries and increases in demand for healthier options. Sales of sandwiches are growing 15 percent annually, outpacing the 3 percent sales growth rate for burgers and steaks.

Current Marketing Program

A new breed of restaurant is making big gains against the market-saturated hamburger establishments. Termed "fast-casual," these restaurants are dominated by Mexican chains, and sandwich restaurants offering fresh-baked breads and specialty sandwiches.

Responding to evolving consumer expectations for health, fresh, custom-made sandwiches; Subway's marketing program addresses these expectations through a number of approaches. The most notable were the television commercials featuring Jared. These commercials emphasize the healthy aspects of a Subway sandwich by highlighting the 245 pounds Jared lost by eating a Subway sandwich diet. Subway also markets through a national sponsorship in events such as American Heart Association Heart Walks and local events such as triathlons, and children's sports teams.

The Subway example represents marketing and product strategies that are classic examples of focusing on market demand, consumer trends, product leveraging, and innovation. The marketing strategies of creating clear brand recognition, brand and product association, and market demands, have strategically positioned Subway to advance market share into the near future. These marketing strategies are also repeatable fundamental marketing strategies transcending the fast food market. Does your marketing strategy bind brand recognition to products that support your market's future direction?

Fast Food Market Forecast - The Subway Example of Strategic Product Positioning

Reference

Datamonitor Industry Market Research, (July, 2006), United States Fast Food

For more on Mr. McCarty, please refer to http://www.leadershippinnacle.com

Michael McCarty C.C.C.E, MBA

Mr. McCarty has a proven record of accomplishment in strategic leadership roles for fortune 500 companies. He is an award winning performer in the areas of large-scale operations leadership, strategic planning, senior project management, and significant contributions to the bottom line. Michael has successfully leveraged his leadership skills to provide keen insight, vision, direction, and executive support to financial services firms, information technology firms, and the automotive, credit, and insurance industries. He has been particularly effective in start-up and turnaround situations.

Insisting on integrity, self-reliance, resourcefulness, and ingenuity, Mr. McCarty is an action and solution oriented leader capable of making strong financial contributions to the bottom line. Operational leadership in the areas of process improvements, cost analysis, and innovative revenue generation characterize soundly this veteran executive's distinguished career. For more on Mr. McCarty, please refer to http://www.leadershippinnacle.com

Definition of Marketing Mix - Product, Price, Place and Promotion

Getting the marketing mix right for your product or service means you are covering all of the important bases in your marketing campaign. Here is a definition of marketing mix and a description of its main components.

The term marketing mix refers to the primary elements that must be attended to in order to properly market a product. Also known as The 4 Ps of Marketing, the marketing mix is a very useful, if a bit general, guideline for understanding the fundamentals of what makes a good marketing campaign. Here is a brief description of each component of the 4 Ps of the marketing mix.

Marketing

Product: The marketing mix concept has its roots in the 1950s U.S. corporate marketing world, and the practice of marketing has obviously evolved tremendously since this term was invented. One of the changes is that there are a lot more services available nowadays, such as those available online. Also, the distinction between product and service has become more blurry (e.g., is a Web-based software application a product or a service?). Either way, product here refers to products or services. The product you offer needs to be able to meet a specific, existing market demand. Or, you need to be able to create a market niche through building a strong brand.

Definition of Marketing Mix - Product, Price, Place and Promotion

Price: The price you set for your offering plays a large role in its marketability. Pricing for offerings that are more commonly available in the market is more elastic, meaning that unit sales will go up or down more responsively in response to price changes. By contrast, those products that have a generally more limited availability in the market (but with strong demand) are more inelastic, meaning that price changes will not affect unit sales very much. The price elasticity of your offering can be determined through various market testing techniques.

Place: This term really refers to any way that the customer can obtain a product. Provision of a product can occur via any number of distribution channels, such as in a retail store, through the mail, via downloadable files, on a cruise ship, in a hair salon, etc. The ease and options through which you can make your product available to your customers will have an effect on your sales volume.

Promotion: Promotion is concerned with any vehicle you employ for getting people to know more about your offering. Advertising, public relations, point-of-sale displays, and word-of-mouth promotion are all traditional ways for promotion. Promotion can be seen as a way of closing the information gap between would-be sellers and would-be buyers. Your choice of a promotional strategy will be dependent upon your budget, the type of offering you are selling, and availability of said promotional vehicle.

Marketing has come a long way from the 4 Ps of yesteryear, and yet understanding this marketing mix is for your product remains very relevant today. The marketing mix serves as an excellent touchstone for continually checking that you are covering all of the bases in your marketing campaign.

Definition of Marketing Mix - Product, Price, Place and Promotion

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Free Apple iPad Testers Wanted - Become A Product Tester and Get Your Free Apple iPad Today

Nowadays, promotional offers like free Apple iPad can be seen almost everywhere in the internet. Offers such as these seem too good to be true that a lot of people will feel skeptical the moment they come across with such offers.

Considering the status of our economy, people welcome free offers without much hesitation. Freebies are at all times tempting. But the big question is, are these free iPad offers genuine? If they are, why would companies give pricey products free of charge? Let's face it, the price tag of a brand new iPad is more or less 0 and it's really hard to think that a company such as Apple would simply give it to a large number of consumers for free. So what is actually the reason behind these free iPad giveaways? And how can you avail of this offer?

\"market Research\"

Why companies give out freebies?

The main reason is probably the want of companies to make more money from their products. Nowadays, never expect anything to be ultimately free. A good example of this is the free iPad offer. Companies offering free iPad would solicit your feedback regarding their products as a non-monetary payment. Free Apple iPad testers wanted by market research companies should perform a marketing strategy known as "product testing". These companies are in charge of distributing the free iPad giveaways to the testers and collecting feedback from them.

Feedback provided by-product testers aid the company, such as Apple, in upgrading their current products to create enhanced versions. This method is a wise way of ensuring quality products that will surely be patronized by consumers. The main purpose of manufacturing a product is to sell it to consumers, and letting the consumers decide what features to improve or to include makes a product more sellable. Product testing makes it easier for manufacturing companies to make products according to consumer's choices since all they have to do is to apply the features that consumers have asked for.

When to expect product giveaways?

Free Apple iPad testers wanted for product testing aren't an endless offer. Generally, these offers exist only for a brief period of time. This is normally present around the launching date of the product. Don't waste the moment waiting for the right time to be an iPad tester, act now so you can own the unit without having to pay a huge amount.

How can a free Apple iPad be obtained?

Always bear in mind that just like other online promotional offers, scams are involved. Scammers are like predators that are all the time watchful for preys. Usually, they target gullible consumers who aren't prudent enough to safeguard their financial accounts. They do anything just to take money from their victims. Considering this, you have to know the difference between a legitimate offer and a scam. In a legitimate offer, free Apple iPad testers wanted by market research companies are not asked with any payment or required to purchase other products. You should obtain the iPad free of any monetary charges. So, avoid those suspicious site that request for money.

Free Apple iPad Testers Wanted - Become A Product Tester and Get Your Free Apple iPad Today

CLICK HERE To Grab Your FREE Apple iPAD Now!

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Product Positioning Strategies

Positioning is what the customer believes about your product's value, features, and benefits; it is a comparison to the other available alternatives offered by the competition. These beliefs tend to based on customer experiences and evidence, rather than awareness created by advertising or promotion.

Marketers manage product positioning by focusing their marketing activities on a positioning strategy. Pricing, promotion, channels of distribution, and advertising all are geared to maximize the chosen positioning strategy.

\"market Research\"

Generally, there are six basic strategies for product positioning:

1. By attribute or benefit- This is the most frequently used positioning strategy. For a light beer, it might be that it tastes great or that it is less filling. For toothpaste, it might be the mint taste or tartar control.

2. By use or application- The users of Apple computers can design and use graphics more easily than with Windows or UNIX. Apple positions its computers based on how the computer will be used.

3. By user- Facebook is a social networking site used exclusively by college students. Facebook is too cool for MySpace and serves a smaller, more sophisticated cohort. Only college students may participate with their campus e-mail IDs.

4. By product or service class- Margarine competes as an alternative to butter. Margarine is positioned as a lower cost and healthier alternative to butter, while butter provides better taste and wholesome ingredients.

5. By competitor- BMW and Mercedes often compare themselves to each other segmenting the market to just the crème de la crème of the automobile market. Ford and Chevy need not apply.

6. By price or quality- Tiffany and Costco both sell diamonds. Tiffany wants us to believe that their diamonds are of the highest quality, while Costco tells us that diamonds are diamonds and that only a chump will pay Tiffany prices.

Positioning is what the customer believes and not what the provider wants them to believe. Positioning can change due the counter measures taken at the competition. Managing your product positioning requires that you know your customer and that you understand your competition; generally, this is the job of market research not just what the enterpreneur thinks is true.

Product Positioning Strategies

John Bradley Jackson brings street-savvy sales and marketing experience from Silicon Valley and Wall Street. His resume also includes entrepreneur, angel investor, corporate trainer, philanthropist, and consultant. His book is called “First, Best, or Different: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Niche Marketing”.

Check out his website at: http://www.firstbestordifferent.com or his blog at http://www.firstbestordifferent.com/blog

Thanks To : Motivational Techniques

How To Set A Selling Price For Your Product Or Service

Fixing the selling price can be based upon a value basis or a cost plus basis with either basis subject to modification according to market conditions. Not exactly scientific and true in all cases but the most profitable businesses tend to be managed by accountants while the best sales growth companies have a sales oriented manager at the helm.

Value basis is used to set selling prices according to the amount the customer will pay for the product and the value of products or services being provided. A strong influence when using a value basis are the benefits a customer will derive from purchasing the product from each business compared with alternative suppliers and the general market rate for that type of product.

\"market Research\"

Using a value basis that prices products above the general market level requires support and a marketing strategy to demonstrate to the market place the benefits and advantages a prospective client receives. Pricing a product or service below the accepted market price requires to be supported with ensuring as wide an audience as possible is aware of the bargain prices and the reasons why a lower price is being offered.

To establish the most profitable level at which selling prices should be pitched it is important to conduct market research to determine the general level of pricing within the product area. Also list the benefits and advantages within the context of other competitive products of the specific products being offered to enable the business to use these factors in support of the price structure adopted.

To maximum level at which value basis prices can be set is dependent upon the value the target customer places on that product or service taking into consideration the quality, service, availability and benefits provided.

Cost based pricing is a financial accounting calculation based upon fixing a gross profit margin that the business requires given the expected sales volume and fixed overhead or operating costs to produce a net profit. Normally a sales price set using a cost basis would be the amount paid for the product plus an incremental percentage.

Cost based pricing usually occurs in areas where competition is often working on the same cost basis and by selling similar products and services the volume of sales is sensitive to competitive prices. Market research should establish the range of competitive prices.

There are a number of influences that impact on setting the selling price of a product in addition to the cost and competition. Sales location, added values, buying policy, operational costs and others all require factoring into the calculation. Business size also has an influence as small business accounting is less sophisticated than accounting and financial control in larger businesses.

The tow single most important factors in setting the selling price of a product or service to generate the highest profit margin attainable are the competition and the original cost of the product.

In many cases the existing competition has already set a price for the product. Each business has to decide whether to accept this price according to the expected volume and the gross profit margin generated or charge a higher or lower price with the consequential effect on sales volume.

The purchase price paid drives the competitive edge. Larger business have greater opportunities to buy in larger quantities and obtain cheaper prices and many high volume businesses will search to source products from overseas markets to obtain even cheaper products.

If the purchase price paid by competitors is low then that cost must be either matched by adopting similar business practises or the products sold into a niche area of the market where more flexible prices can be obtained at the required volume to generate the gross margin required to cover fixed operating costs and achieve the target net profit.

Different prices can be set for different customers to exploit higher profit margins where possible and achieve higher volumes in market conditions where the price has a major influence on quantities bought. A manufacturer will often set different prices for each customer dependent on volumes purchased and the negotiation skills of the client purchasing function.

Market conditions often determine a range of pricing policies including offering quantity discounts for higher volumes, cash discounts for faster settlement, lower than normal prices to allow a market to be penetrated and established more easily and higher than normal prices in situations where supply may exceed demand. The accounting software or bookkeeping system employed should identify gains and losses due to different pricing structures.

The levels of supply and demand may change over time and a flexible pricing policy to take advantage of these changes is desirable. It is an economic fact that when demand exceeds supply prices will increase and when supply exceeds demand prices go lower. Failure to react quickly has a major impact on the total gross margin attained.

The overriding decision to be taken on setting selling prices is the amount of gross profit generated by the sales volume of those products in relation to current business policy and fixed operating costs and profit requirements that business needs to achieve and demonstrate through the accounting figures produced by the final bookkeeping reckoning.

From an accounting point of view the sales volume and price of each product should be calculated to determine the previous gross profit margin attained and planned for the future. The actual or forecast gross profit margins must cover the fixed operating costs of the business or remedial action taken to ensure the business is profitable. Setting prices is a combined decision of the sales and accounting function.

How To Set A Selling Price For Your Product Or Service

Terry Cartwright is a qualified accountant in the UK designs Accounting Software on excel spreadsheets providing complete Small Business Software solutions for small to medium sized business requiring simple Bookkeeping templates

Related : How to time management

Product Marketing

For the first timers in the marketing world, product marketing may still be confusing. Also, it may come a bit more expensive. However, if you are a newbie in the marketing world and have a limited budget for marketing, you do not have to worry. There are plenty of innumerable amount of options that you can choose from that will help market your products.

Product marketing may be done with the help of social media. One good social media would be the Facebook. All over the world, there are over millions of users log in to this social media who log in everyday. With that much users, your potential clients can be a lot. You can put up a fan page in Facebook. You can be given the chance to give your clients information about your product as well as updates about your product. This is a very interesting marketing strategy because the fan page provides an open communication between you and the clients that you have. You can even provide product reviews about your product. You can even post pictures of people enjoying your product or service.

Marketing

If you want, you can even start up an online newsletter. Your clients would enjoy this as they will be given updated information about your product, promotions and such. You can hire few individuals to write some information on the newsletters. If you want to express something beyond the words that consumers can see, then you can create a video of your own. Your video may contain information on how to effectively use your product or service. You can even create a video that somehow relates to the product that you have. All these can be put on your website. If you want, you can even post it in top rated blog sites and have it back linked to your website after viewing the post.

Another simple technique for product marketing would be the referral system. You can have a regular client of yours refer your product to their family and friends. This will cost you nothing because it is done by the word of mouth. Just make sure that your product or service would be substantial and worthy to be talked about and relayed to other people.

You can even put some helpful comments or link your website in the comment box of some industry blogs. You can state to the readers that your product showcases the same thing that the blog has mentioned. If you have time, you can email to clients and prospects related articles about your product. It is effective because they the readers would have a thinking that you personally emailed them about your product. The reader would feel special and would be regular client in the wrong. Just be sure to write something about your product in a simple way. Do not try to make it lengthy as people may have the tendency to delete it if they see that it is long.

Product marketing may take time but you can do it with the massive resources surrounding you. Just remember to market your product well enough so you can be able to get a good profit.

Product Marketing

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Fast Food Market Forecast - The Subway Example of Strategic Product Positioning

Forecast Volume

Market

Success Factors

Strengths

Size and number stores and channels
Menu reflects demand for fresh, healthy and fast.
Use of non-traditional channels.
Partnering with the American Heart Association.
Worldwide brand recognition.
Customizable menu offerings.
Low franchisee start up costs.
Franchisee training is structured, brief and designed to assure rapid start-up and success.

Weaknesses

Décor is outdated.
Some franchisees are unhappy.
Service delivery is inconsistent from store to store.
Employee turnover is high.
No control over franchise saturation in given market areas.

Opportunities

Continue to Grow Global Business.
Update décor to encourage more dine-in business.
Improve Customer Service Model.
Continue to expand channel opportunities to include event wagons.
Improve franchisee relations.
Experiment with drive-through business.
Expand packaged dessert offerings.
Continue to revise and refresh menu offerings.
Develop more partnerships with movie producers and toy manufacturers to promote new movie releases through children's menu packaging and co-branding opportunities.

Threats

Franchisee unrest or litigation.
Food contamination (spinach).
Competition.
Interest Costs.
Economic downturn.
Sabotage.
Law Suits.

Competitive Analysis

Jack in the Box owns, operates, and franchises Jack in the Box quick-service hamburger restaurants and Qdoba Mexican Grill fast-casual restaurants and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Target Markets

Current Marketing Program

Fast Food Market Forecast - The Subway Example of Strategic Product Positioning

Reference

Datamonitor Industry Market Research, (July, 2006), United States Fast Food

For more on Mr. McCarty, please refer to http://www.leadershippinnacle.com

Michael McCarty C.C.C.E, MBA

Thanks To : How to time management

Definition of Marketing Mix - Product, Price, Place and Promotion

Marketing

Definition of Marketing Mix - Product, Price, Place and Promotion

Does your website accomplish your marketing goals? Get an affordable, custom website redesign or build a new website. Click to learn more.

Related : The Global Marketing