Red Lobster case analysis Essay

Should Lopdrup settle Experientials the tar bum segment and change exit Lobsters positioning accordingly. If so, how should he change its merchandising mix (4P)? deprivation Lobster originally was founded in 1968 and gained tremendous popularity back then by offering fresh seafood for everybody. They made it easily accessible and approachable. However, over several(prenominal) extremely successful decades of rapid growth and many in the altogether restaurants, loss Lobster in 2004 was becoming out of date and out of touch with straight offs customer. The company with more than 40-year experience in seafood restaurants, with its new steer chief operating officer Kim Lopdrup now has invested in extensive mart investigate. The results of the market seek reveal a surprisingly exciting opportunity for the company to respite its target customer segment. The chain at the moment is taking its runner steps of an elaborate 10-year rejuvenation propose under the lead of its chief operating officer Kim Lopdrup.Back in 2004 when he took over as a CEO of red ink Lobster, the company was closing down restaurants and going through a major decline in sales. Furthermore, customer satisfaction had strayped importantly as well by then. Though, in 2010, even in a stoppage of recession, the sales results ar slowly starting to improve. As a result, the unanimous chain itself is improving as well. A recent market research study has revealed rather unexpected results that 25% of reddened Lobsters customers are experientials, people looking for pleasure, good service and high-quality food. Which is very different from sanguine Lobsters traditional core customer who just wanted banging portion sizes of decent seafood and does not worry about nutrition or upscale atmosphere. Lopdrup is currently thinking of possible re-positioning to attract more experientials, thereby a ilk changing the companys target segment.But would this be a good step? Back in 1968, the brand gained popularity by making fresh seafood that was not very accessible back then. However, generation have changed now. Customers now have an abundance of choices when it comes to fresh seafood, which makes it very fractious for Red Lobster to differentiate from other brands only offering approachable, fresh seafood. Moreover, tardily it has been associated with frozen and fried, unhealthy food, not fresh seafood. The recession has had a heavy(p) impact on the restaurant and there has been a major drop in customer count. Instead of focusing on winning the charge war within the highly competitive casual dining category, Kim Lopdrup kinda has decided to focus on rejuvenation, following a differentiation strategy.The plan is to aim for higher quality, drive a higher frequency of visits and make the brand be seen as good quality seafood, where people could get a pleasant dining experience for affordable impairments. In my opinion, Red Lobster must indeed focus on experientials, start fresh and march customers it is really doing things differently now. A new look, a new circuit card, improve service and better communication to let people see Red Lobster in a fresh, new way. They should embrace the 21st century by using more social networking (facebook, twitter, youtube), mobile apps, yet stick to its basal principles of providing fresh seafood from good fisherman, hire skillful grill masters and tender staff, which are all core values for experientials. Moreover, these are values and expectations not only for experientials but for the mass market in general. This way, they could earn the highest compass and drive traffic to their restaurants.They must get talked about and become more visible by investing in a complex marketing campaign that would go in waves. A good quality television set campaign would be highly appropriate. Regarding its 4PS, they should adjust its current market mix by really thinking about the target stems wants and needs. Experi entials are well educated and will not stand bad service. They go out to restaurants to connect with friends, family, and colleagues. So the company should unimpeachably think of ways to improve its service. Renovation of the restaurant space, hiring of friendly employees that Red Lobster would continually educate about the latest trends and menu offerings.It is very consequential for the brand to have a welcoming, human face. And honest, communicative employees that will hold in a personal experience for each customer will win the brand image further away from its current corporate image. Regarding the products, it is also very important to communicate the source of their fish, its good quality chefs, everyday offerings of daily fresh catch to let people know that Red Lobster has stepped up their game and only offering the highest-quality fresh crab from the opera hat farmers. Perhaps they should do an acquisition with a wine company in order to offer experientals more wines to choose from, since they like to enjoy new food and menu items. They are motivated by culinary expertness and wine and food goes hand in hand with each other. Regarding the equipment casualty, they could accession the price a little bit, since experientials are not overly price sensitive. They are well educated with a high income, though they also like to eat out often.So a mid-range price would be the most appropriate. By focusing on experientials, Red Lobster could significantly increase profitability and get more loyal customer that fall out for more. The positioning should stay approachable, fresh seafood, since they have so many locations everywhere. The menu should be more frequently updated. Prices could be higher for specials, and they should communicate keywords like quality, freshness, seafood lovers, have cooking demonstrations. Invest in TV promotional ads to achieve mass awareness, hirepassionate people, focus on continuous improvement.