A restauranteur might think he/she is only in the business of selling food and drink. However, examining the features of the business more closely, there are a number of reasons why customers might select to buy food and drink.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS INGREDIENT CARD
Ingredient
Discover Your Market
Question:
What business are you really in?
Answer:
The reasons represent the buying motives that customers have for purchasing food and wine and reflect the benefit to the customer. The more benefits you can identify for your product or service, the greater will be your customer’s perception of value.
Let’s have a look at ‘basic’ products/services, ‘expected’ products/services and ‘added’ products/services.
Basic product/service
The ‘basic’ product/service is the central benefit of the product/service.
Example:
For a city hotel, the basic product could simply be the provision of comfortable accommodation at an affordable price.
Expected product/service
The ‘expected’ product/service includes the characteristics of the product, including its features, size, brand, accessories and quality.
Example:
What’s expected of a hotel could be 5-star decor and facilities, 24-hour room service, beds turned down in the evening with chocolate on the pillow and all the normal bathroom extras such as shampoo, soap and a hairdryer.
Added product/service
The ‘added’ product/service includes any additional benefits or services that accrue to the purchaser.
This could prove to be the difference between struggle and survival in the fiercely competitive market for accommodation.
Example:
A chauffeur picks you up from the airport.
Remember, however, that both basic product/service and the expected product/service need to be delivered to an acceptable standard or the added product/service will be valueless.
It’s no good having all the lovely extras if the bed is uncomfortable, the towels shoddy and breakfast delivered late and cold.
Method
Businesses can survive for some time with poor record-keeping, insufficient finance,
or a lack of management skills, but they cannot survive without a market.
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