“ While dinner traffic held up during previous recessions, the number of restaurant diners was in decline before the economy headed south. Restaurant breakfasts and snacks are increasing, but it's difficult to grow in the face of lost main-meal revenue.
There is much greater competition now from ready-to-eat, frozen and other meals available in supermarkets.
…Understand what drives consumer behavior and how they manage their costs when they visit a restaurant, and look for new ways to offer value and make the restaurant experience as pleasant as possible, says Riggs.
"In the current environment, there are more restaurant companies going after fewer dollars. To drive traffic, they're going to have to establish a competitive point of difference in terms of a value proposition," she notes.
And given that many majors are already competing head to head with pricing tactics like price/value menus, they may need to look at how to add food quality/variety and service differentiators into the price/value relationship, she adds. “
More than ever growth is dependent on creating customer advocacy!
