The Chicken Coop Case Analysis
Problem Statement
Daryl Buckmeister, CEO of The Chicken Coop, must decide whether to invest in market research, how much money to spend, and which programs to fund. His two vice presidents (of quality and marketing) have presented very different proposals.
Decline in sales
For the first time ever, the "Coop" is experiencing a decline in sales by 6% in 20 of 76 "Coop" restaurants even though the overall growth rate was steady for the chain. These same stores were carrying about 32% of the company's retail sales.
Weak to no Market Research
The CEO of the company has maintained a steady visit to some of his stores but this was not really any type of market research. These visits were more of an internal quality assurance program. He did speak with customers and received valuable feedback during his visits which certainly can be market research.
Deviating from Mission
Trevor Wallace has led the company away from the "We are chicken" campaign into other areas that may not reflect the image of what Buckmeister intended. Even though the "chick-pizza" is successful, this could also be the reason why sales are declining in many of the outlets. They could be diluting the brand image
Lackluster Performance of 4 P's
The Coop has no major market research to go off of in order to effectively position them in a changing market. R&D doesn't seem to be supported by good research in the market segments.
No Competitor insights
The Coop is depending on a marketing VP with experience in the hotel industry and not any real experience in fast food. They have no current research so they have no way of knowing the effects that their competitors are having on the retail sales.
Poor Sales Strategy...
... middle of paper ...
...enses could be very high
Pro's & Con's Alternative 3
Pro's Con's
1 Minimal cost going into it. Only costs are associated with printing the cards 1 Not much detail marketing will still need to do competitor research so it doesn't help much in that area
2 Customer convenience - easy for the customer to simply circle a few things and drop in a box or hand to an employee 2 Managers can skew the data by not handing cards in just as employees may not hand over to management if it is a bad reflection on the service.
3 Time conscious/quick turnaround on info results can be picked up daily, weekly, monthly 3 Employees can skew data by filling cards out themselves
4 Recurring/continuous stream of data always able to respond quickly to customer complaints 4 Would only target customers of the COOP and not potential customers therefore no competitor information
Don’t feel like cooking tonight or going for carry out, no problem have a Marie Callender’s Turkey Pop Pie or maybe something exotic like P. F. Chang’s Mongolian Style Chicken. No matter what may satisfy your taste buds if it can be found in your freezer or pantry chances are it’s one of ConAgra’s various brands. ConAgra’s Foods brands can be found in most American’s households. With their commitment to provide products that deliver outstanding taste, nutrition and value ConAgra have created ways to improve sustainable business practices and create innovative programs that deliver on their promise of being a leading corporation. By developing organizational structures ConAgra Foods has influenced employee’s to maximize their full potential, develop group cohesiveness, and embrace the inclusion of diversity in the workplace ConAgra is able to provide
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In 2009 Mr. Nigel Travis was appointed Chief Executive Officer and most recently in 2013 the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Travis has held executive positions for several large companies including Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Burger King, President and Chief Operating Officer for Blockbuster. Before make the move to Dunkin Brands Inc. he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Papa Johns (Company Snapshot).
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