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Executive Briefing Carri Rush Marketing Research Ashley Cox March 22, 2012

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Project Introduction The Santa Fe Grill is in need for an internal research project for several reasons. The owners of the restaurant are well educated and have personal and professional resources that they can rely on to gather information and make improvements on. Doing basic research such as using the internet and networking will help the owners out significantly but a specific research project will give them the correct relevant data they need to improve their restaurant. The areas that the owners of Santa Fe Grill should focus on are; competitive analysis, new product planning, and integrated marketing communications. Competitive analysis will give the owners insight on their competitors; it will clue them in on what is happening and what they are competing against. New product planning will explore the possibilities of new menu items and feedback on the positive and negatives of the items. Integrated marketing communication will help get the Santa Fe Grills name and business out to the public and help generate new customers. Research Objectives The Santa Fe Grill should complete a research project; they will want to consider using the Marketing Program Development. This is a program development research and it broadly encompasses areas such as product assortment decisions, distribution decisions, pricing decisions, and marketing communication. Within these four groups smaller issues can be addressed and they touch on areas of customer satisfaction, service quality studies, cycle time research, sales tracking, along with a few more avenues for researching. These specific areas are all addressed concerns for the owners and with this planning process they would be able to address and get answers to their questions. While doing research, the objective to answer the questions that should be addressed include;

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-Are customers satisfied with the restaurant? -Are customers needs being met? -Is the target market correctly defined? -Are the food, atmosphere, and ambiance all in sync, consistent, and in tune with one another? Data Collecting Methods There are many options to collect data, the best methods for the Santa Fe Grill to use include: statistical techniques, chi-square analysis, analysis of variance, and qualitative research through observation. The statistical techniques will reduce error and ensure that all data that has been collected is correct and in order. The chi-square analysis will compare relationships between collected data results. The analysis of variance will allow the researchers to look at independent and dependent variables together to see how they correlate. Lastly, the qualitative research through observation will give the managers hands on approach to collect data with detailed results. Statistical Techniques The first tabulation that is recommended in analyzing the data for the Santa Fe Grill is to run a one-way tabulation. Through this process the surveyors can gather the information if all questions were answered by all individuals, if there is any missing data, or if there may be any errors in the survey data collection and recording. After reviewing the results and ensuring that

all data is gathered correctly and completely, the one-way tabulation can generate summary statistics. Through this they data can be arranged by mean, median, and mode and the surveyors can get a better understanding of the average responses of the customers. Another relationship that can be tested is the measure of dispersion for the results of the selection factors. The list of attributes and their rankings can be analyzed through this method

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and the variability in the distribution can be considered. It will take a look at the ranking of the four attributes and then show the standard deviation between them. This will give a better idea of the importance and the difference in between the measures of the importance. Chi-Square Analysis The Chi-Square analysis is used to gather results of the question; is there a difference between men and woman and the size of portions. The chi-square allows the restaurant owners to study the relationship between men and women and their take on the portion sizes. After conducting the chi-square analysis it is clear from the data that men value the portion sizes of food more than women do. This information can be used to tailor menu items specifically towards men and women. Offering a lighter or smaller portion option to the menu or offering additional sides for meals. Another relationship to look at using the chi-square analysis is the difference between recalling advertisements for the restaurant and how often the customers go out and try new things. After conducting the chi-square analysis it shows that there is little correlation between the two relationships. There is little connection to whether a customer recalls seeing an advertisement for the Santa Fe Grill and their preference on whether or not they like to try new things. This can indicate that people do not necessarily need to see their advertisements to come in and try the restaurant. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) The Analysis of Variance or the ANOVA variance can be utilized from the survey as well. A beneficial analysis is to look at how careful the customer is about what they eat compared to their gender and age bracket. By taking multiple independent variables all at once the researchers will be able to get an analysis to estimate both the individual and joint effects of

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several independent variables on the dependent variable (Hair p 262). After using the ANOVA calculation you can see from the graph that both gender and age is statically significant and are concerned with what they eat. The results show that there is a larger amount of customers that are more concerned based on their gender than their age. This is useful to the restaurant because they can tailor their menu options to be healthy and more appealing to those who are concerned with what they eat. Another analysis that can be complied is looking at the customers that like to go out and socialize based on their gender and the distance they drive to get to the restaurant. The results from the ANOVA chart indicates that there is an influence on likeness of the customer to go out and socialize based on the customers gender and how far they have to drive to get to the restaurant. The difference between the two variables is not very significant; the distance driven is slightly more of a factor than gender. Qualitative Information Observation could be used in collecting qualitative information for the Santa Fe Grill. The structure of the observation can be done by the restaurant managers or instructed personnel that the restaurant employs. The observation can take place at the Santa Fe Grill restaurant or at another similar restaurant business. The observer can be directed to observe at either location or both. The observer should blend in with the crowd of people eating and socializing at the restaurant and be disguised; looking to be just another patron of the restaurant. The people that are actually there to eat should not be aware of the observer working and observing. The structure of the observation should be that the person observing sits at a table watches the restaurant work through each of their shifts. The observer can take notes and collect data on various aspects of the functions, atmosphere, and quality of the restaurant. The observer should

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collect data from the Santa Fe Grill and also from another restaurant location. The data collect can be analyzed and compared to see what works and does not work for the restaurants. Hot topics and problem areas can be identified and addressed through the collected data. Conclusion In conclusion to the survey and data collected there are several different aspects the owners of the Santa Fe Grill should take into consideration. The portion sizes of the meals are very important to the customers of the restaurant, customers of the Santa Fe Grill do not patronage based on advertisement, and customers are careful on what they select to eat off the menu based on their age. Recommendations After analyzing the data and establishing the three main conclusion points it is important to take an action of change. Providing options for portion sizes should be considered and added to the menu. Different portions for lunch and diner items may include; salads, sandwiches, and soups. A menu item can be selected based on a full size or half size portion. A lower price can be attributed to the smaller portion sizes in order to reflect the difference. This will appease those customers who are looking to eat something light and give more options. Second recommendation is that the advertisement should be kept to a minimal amount. Using alternative methods of advertisement to lower the cost would be beneficial to the restaurants bottom line. Word of mouth and free or lower cost alternatives will work the best in spreading the word of the quality and specials offered. Lastly, a healthy selection guide on the menu will appeal to the customers that are health conscious. Having a small label or star next to healthy items as well as a nutrition breakdown would be beneficial and appealing to the customers that are health conscious.

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Overall, the Santa Fe Grill is operating a sound business that can use an added boost to capture and maintain a newer customer base. Taking in consideration the conclusion and recommendations of the research data and implementing them into their service would greatly benefit the restaurant and the customers.

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Appendices

Group Statistics X32 -- Gender Males X14 -- Large Size Portions Females 164 3.98 1.162 .091 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances F Sig. t df Sig. (2tailed) Mean Difference Std. Error Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Equal variances X14 -- Large assumed 4.642 .032 7.205 398 .000 .906 .126 .659 1.153 Upper t-test for Equality of Means N 236 Mean 4.88 Std. Deviation 1.286 Std. Error Mean .084

Size Portions Equal variances not assumed 7.338 371.843 .000 .906 .123 .663 1.148

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Tests of Between-Subjects Effects Dependent Variable: X10 -- Careful About What I Eat Source Type III Sum of Squares Corrected Model Intercept x32 x34 x32 * x34 Error Total Corrected Total 44.416
a

df

Mean Square

Sig.

8 1 1 4 3 391 400 399

5.552 2202.146 14.607 7.664 2.253 1.129

4.916 1949.712 12.933 6.786 1.995

.000 .000 .000 .000 .114

2202.146 14.607 30.656 6.759 441.624 5192.000 486.040

a. R Squared = .091 (Adjusted R Squared = .073)

X31 -- Ad Recall Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Do Not Recall Ads Valid Recall Ads Total 261 139 400 65.3 34.8 100.0 65.3 34.8 100.0 65.3 100.0

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References Adler, R. B. & Proctor, R.R. (2007). Looking Out, Looking In. Belmont: Thompson Wadsworth. Hair, J.F., Wolfinbarger, M., Ortinau, D.J., & Bush, R.P. (2008). Essentials of Marketing Research. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.