The Lazy Dog Cafe

Marketing Plan

Group 3: Casey Ittner Kyle Sivadge Kristina Bacelic December 15, 2011

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Executive Summary
Lazy Dog Cafe is a Southern California restaurant, which aims to provide memorable food and small-town hospitality to each guest. It is a fast growing, family-owned restaurant which first opened in Huntington Beach in 2003. On March 10, 2011, eight years after the initial launch, Lazy Dog Cafe opened their eighth restaurant in Cerritos, California. After only nine months in business, Lazy Dog Cerritos has hit well over a million dollars in sales. This strong launch is only offset by lower than average alcohol sales. With average sales in each restaurant at around $110,000 per month, the Lazy Dog Restaurants are hitting average alcohol sales of about 20 to 22 percent. However, Lazy Dog Cerritos has been falling behind this number with alcohol sales at only about 18 percent of total sales per month. To increase the percentage of alcohol sales as well as continued customer awareness of the new restaurant, we created a marketing plan directed at improving and promoting the existing Happy Hour. To compete with our competitors, Buffalo Wild Wings, BJs, Hooters and Legends Sports Bar, we will be directing our marketing efforts towards local sports fans between the ages of 21 and 35. To play on our target markets' desire to eat, drink, and socialize with family and friends we have created attractive pricing on food and drinks during Happy Hour, extended hours and proposed a partnership with DirecTV to have every game available for the guest. To insure guests receive the highest quality of service during Happy Hour and throughout business hours we would implement an extensive employee knowledge training on all food and drinks. To promote the Happy Hour improvements as well as continue to spread the awareness about one of the newest Lazy Dog Cafes we would utilize social media, local sporting events, and local sporting- goods retailers. We have proposed a budget of no more than $3,400 to be allocated to the marketing plan. Steve Price, CFO of Lazy Dog, has done a financial analysis of the proposed marketing effort and has determined that, if implemented correctly, alcohol sales should increase by two to four percent of total alcohol alone. We would also see a flow of sales by the generation of first time customers brought in by the Happy Hour marketing, which in return will create good word of mouth and regularly returning customers. To insure the investment in the marketing plan is creating proper returns, we have suggested weekly marketing audits, done by store managers, to evaluate if the marketing efforts are on track with the objectives, as well as informal marketing controls to evaluate the guests' feedback.

Situation Analysis: External Environment

Competition
The full service restaurant and bar industry is one of the most saturated industries, and therefore one of the hardest to succeed in. Lazy Dog Cafe has not only made a tremendous name for themselves in southern California, but has become a local industry leader. Lazy Dog Cafe competes with local businesses as well as international chain restaurants with locations in southern California.

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Buffalo Wild Wings In 1982, James Disbrow and Scott Lowery, originally from Buffalo, New York, went to Kent, Ohio on a business trip. They went looking for authentic NY Buffalo wings around town and when they realized there were none to be found they decided to open up a restaurant that served Buffalo-style chicken wings. Since then, Buffalo Wild Wings has opened over 680 restaurants in 42 states and employees over 1,500 full-time employees. In 2011, Buffalo Wild Wings had reported its revenue at $728 million and an annual net income of $47 million. They continue to grow throughout the nation and within the next year they plan on opening 26 more locations in the U.S. Buffalo Wild Wings is famous for their Buffalo wings and 14 different signature dipping sauces. They target sports fans as well as families and offer wings specials throughout the week to lure in customers. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they offer Buffalo wings for a mere 55 cents and boneless wings for only 65 cents each. They also offer a variety of items on their kids menu to appeal to sports fans with children. A strength of Buffalo Wild Wings is a simplistic menu which helps optimize cooking time and quality of the famous Buffalo chicken wings. A weakness that Buffalo Wild Wings faces is not offering a happy hour from Saturday through Monday, which is the most popular times for any sports events to take place. BJs Restaurant & Brewery In 1978, two guys came up with a delicious deep-dish pizza recipe and the rest is history. The first BJs was opened Santa Ana, California, and in 1996 had seven restaurants in operation from Los Angeles to San Diego. Today BJs restaurants are located in 13 states and have over 100 restaurants and employ approximately 12,300 people. This year BJs showed revenue of over $528 million and a net income of $29 million. BJs is most famous for their deep-dish pizzas, wide selection of crafted brew beers and well as their most notable dessert, the Pizookie, which is a chocolate chip cookie bakes in a pizza pan and topped with vanilla ice cream. BJs Restaurants target families and offer many specials throughout the week; on Mondays they have five dollar martinis and mojitos all day, on Tuesdays they offer half prices on all bottles and glasses of wines, Sunday through Thursday from 10 p.m. to closing they offer two dollar appetizers as well as half off all mini pizzas, and Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. they offer one dollar off all draft beers and cocktails. These food and beverage specials not only appeal to families but also to sports fans that like to watch games with reasonably priced food and drinks. BJs greatest strength would be their focus on providing so many different offering throughout the week for such a great value to their customers. Their greatest weakness on the other hand would be such a small emphasis on the sports programs and events that they show during these happy times, which is a great loss of potential opportunity. Hooters Hooters is a privately owned restaurant chain that has gone global within the past 15 years. They operate 455 restaurants in 44 states and 28 countries. Hooters is most famous, not for its

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food, but for their Hooter Girls. Hooters employs over 25,000 people and over 17,000 Hooter Girls. All waitresses at Hooters wear a specific uniform consisting of a Hooters tank top, short orange shorts, panty hose, loose white socks, and clean white shoes. The companys image is based on the sex appeal of its attractive waiting staff, and of course their chicken wings. Hooters offers classic American dishes such as hamburgers, sandwiches and chicken wings. Their target market is mainly males from the age of 25 to 55, which is also a perfect target audience for sports events. Hooters has realized that their target market is similar to the target market of sports fans, and because of these similarities, Hooters has numerous deals to appeal to this segment. They offer happy hour specials from Monday through Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. with deals such as four dollar 22 oz. domestic draft beers, three-dollar well drinks, five-dollar Jagerbombs, four-dollar Redbull vodkas, and half off all appetizers. From 10 p.m. until closing everyday they offer the same prices on drinks listed above as well as a discount on all draft beers, not just domestic. Hooters advantages are that they have a globally known brand that is synonymous with chicken wings and sports. A huge disadvantage for them, however, is their Hooter Girls because this appeals to men mainly, while women are being left out of their target market. Legends Sports Bar Legends was established in 1979 by the Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Dennis Harrah and businessman John Morris. They opened this bar in the heart of Long Beach, Belmont Shore, which is a quaint neighborhood filled with mom and pop shops, restaurants, bars and coffee houses. Legends Sports Bars target market is sports fanatics as well as families. They cater to sports fans by showing every sporting event from the NBA, NFL, and NHL to college basketball and so forth. They also have the largest HD projection screen for showing these events, which measures in at 326 inches as well as a 220-inch projection screen, and over 30 HD televisions. Legends also accommodates families with children by showing animated films if they are not interested in watching sports. A strength for Legends Sports Bar would be showing all genres of sports instead of just focusing on the main ones. This is a huge advantage because it gives them so many more target customers to go after. On the other hand a disadvantage for them would be not expanding and opening more bars in local areas so people who either have not heard about it or are too far away can also enjoy the experience that Legends provides.

Economic Growth and Stability

In 2008, The United States experienced the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. The U.S. government immediately reacted by adjusting the macroeconomic policy already in place to try and stabilize the crumbling financial system. In 2010, the Unites States had a shocking unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, which was a 0.3 increase from the previous year. Our inflation rate has also increased this year compared to last years. In 2010, the United
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States had an inflation rate of 1.64 percent. In 2011 so far, the inflation rate has jumped to an astounding average of 3.15 percent. This increase is a huge rise in level of prices of goods and services in our economy. It is eroding the purchasing power of consumers money by decreasing the amount of goods or services we can buy with the same unit of currency. Unfortunately, these devastating figures are having a negative effect on the consumers in the U.S. The consumer confidence index has yet again declined from 46.4 in September of 2011, to 39.8 in October 2011. This decline is a bad sign for our economy because it means that Americans are not optimistic about their own financial situations as well as the overall economic conditions of our country. The more confident consumers are about their income determines how much they are willing to spend in the market; the more consumers spend in our market, the more it boosts the economy.

Legal & Regulatory Issues

A new ordinance passed in March of 2011, which prohibits smoking cigarettes or cigars within ten feet of an outdoor dining area. Many people who do gather to watch sports and drink alcoholic beverages do enjoy lighting up a cigarette in the designated outdoor patio of restaurants so this new law will definitely affect many patrons from coming to Lazy Dog Cafe. They may instead choose to watch their sports in a cigar shop, where they can smoke and watch football or they may choose to stay at home or go to a friends house. On the other hand, this law can also help Lazy Dog Cafe. Many people cannot stand the smell of smoke. This law caters to those who are against this habit and who enjoy going to restaurants or bars where smoking is prohibited.

Technology
In todays economy, everyone is doing what they can to save the most amount of money. There is no exception of this when it comes to watching sports as well. Restaurants and Bars have been struggling to get consumers into their businesses for sports events. Many people either download games from the Internet, or watch it streaming live from an illegal source on the Internet as well. It has become so easy for customers to avoid paying for programs such as NFL Sunday Ticket or DirecTV, by sharing with friends or illegally retrieving them from a black box. Technology can be a huge threat for Lazy Dog Cafe, but it is also one of our biggest assets as well. Since implementing the Aloha Point-of-Sale system, Lazy Dog has been able to automate restaurant operation systems, measure its performance, and manage every aspect of the restaurant business. The Aloha Enterprise system has various categories in which each separate one do a specific job. Aloha Operations offers tools that efficiently help run a table service restaurant, such as: 1. Providing faster service. 2. Increasing the accuracy of customers orders, which in turn, improve their experience. 3. Enabling the highest possible productivity. Aloha Back Office gives managers the tools needed to successfully control food and labor operations. This application allows management to: 1. Analyze the business

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effectively. 2. Reduce the cost incurred from food and labor. 3. Improve problem solving in the work place. Aloha Management is used to maintain the entire system by: 1. Resolving and decreasing the cost of support. 2. Diminishing the risks of compliance. 3. Setting that allow you to cross-control each separate variable. Aloha Marketing allows businesses to increase revenue by: 1. Encouraging repeat business. 2. Collecting customer information. 3. Connecting with current and possible customers online.

Sociocultural Trends
Many argue that society plays the biggest role in influencing consumers. Consumers mimic what is hip and cool from role models, celebrities, friends and opinion leaders. When crazes become popular, everyone tries to jump on the craze bandwagon. In recent years, there have been dozens of diet crazes from low carb to liquid diets. These diets have tremendously affected the restaurant business. Restaurants are now required to post the calories of all their meals, either on their menu or on a pamphlet on the table. Consumers are now aware of just how unhealthy most of these dishes are. They contain high sodium, fats and sugars, which is probably why there are so delicious! Because of these popular diet fads, many people have either stopped eating out, or now order off of the low-calorie menu, which is becoming increasingly popular. Many restaurants have either had to change their ingredients to make a healthier meal or have completely changed the menu, which causes the restaurant to incur high costs. Many consider the most popular trend today would be going green. This issue has become the fastest growing trend in our countrys history. Numerous patrons refuse to dine at restaurants that are not considered to be green. Being a green restaurant includes: water efficiency, waste reduction, recycling, sustainable building materials, sustainable food, energy efficiency, recycled and bio-based disposables, and chemical and pollution reduction. If a restaurant can fulfill the previous requirements then they are considered a green restaurant. By accomplishing this title, a company can have an upper hand in business and on its competitors who are not green. Since this has become so popular in our society, it is well worth it for any firm to become green, not only to increase traffic, but many of these green techniques also save the firm tons of money from high energy or water costs.

Situation Analysis: Customer Environment

Current and Potential Customers
Lazy Dog Cafe caters to many different demographics from young adults to senior citizens. Lazy Dog Cafe is striving to be everyones favorite restaurant, and they believe the way to succeed in that is to target as many people as possible. This is evident based on a wide selection of beverages, entrees, kids meals and desserts. A customer of any age would be able to find something on the menu that they find appealing. Although Lazy Dog accommodates these various demographics, their loyal customers are middle class professionals, ages 25-45. These consumers are less price sensitive than others, and have more disposable cash.
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Lazy Dog Cafe targets very distinct segments in regards to the VALS framework. They focus on these three main groups: Innovators: This group is targeted because they have the highest incomes and are more likely to indulge in dining out. They are also opinion leaders, which is why Lazy Dog Cafe wants them to choose their restaurant over competitors. Achievers: Achievers are hard working people who enjoy being with their families. They have a good amount of disposable income and enjoy prestige products and services. Experiencers: These consumers also have high incomes and are also the youngest of the VALS groups. Lazy Dog Cafe targets this segment because they are young, trendy and have money to spend on eating out and drinking. They enjoy social activities, and new and upcoming products or services.

Along with these VALS groups, Lazy Dog Cafe also targets consumers with medium to heavy usage rates. They operate under the 80/20 principle, which states that 80 percent of sales come from 20 percent of the clientele. It is imperative that Lazy Dog retrieve consumers information so that they can send promotions and specials to them, until they return. Once a customer keeps receiving deals, and if they enjoy their experience, chances are that they will become a loyal customer.

Locations
All Lazy Dog locations are conveniently located in either a shopping center or a mall. Customers can go eat while they doing their shopping, before watching a movie, or after bowling with friends. These locations are strategically placed in certain areas of the shopping centers where traffic is high, and surrounded by lots of stores and venues with fun activities for all ages. There are a total of nine restaurants at the following locations: Huntington Beach at the Target Pavilions Shopping Center Irvine at The Market Place Orange at the Stadium Promenade Thousand Oaks at The Oaks Mall Torrance at Del Amo Fashion Center Valencia at The Valencia Town Center Temecula at The Promenade Cerritos at the Los Cerritos Center West Covina at the Westfield West Covina Shopping Center

Peak Time for Customers

Lazy Dog Cafe is most frequented during the usual dinner rush from 5:30 p.m. until approximately 8:30 p.m. Another busy time for Lazy Dog is between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. because these are the times of most businesses that are located around these restaurants. Since the all of the restaurants are in a mall or shopping center, workers of surrounding businesses and consumers who are shopping frequently visit them.

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Lazy Dog Cafe also must take the season into account. Studies show that restaurants are busiest during the holiday season, from November until January. Lazy Dog should take this into account and give more deals and promotions during these months as well as maybe a price cut on certain popular menu items. Lastly, Lazy Dog is extremely busy when it comes to Happy Hour. People are always looking to save money so they will go out to eat or get drinks during these times so they can get a great deal and food. If Lazy Dog were to track when customers came most often, this would allow them to prepare for such a rush of customers, and it could give them an opportunity to offer great deals. This would please the consumers, which would cause them to come more often.

Selection
Lazy Dog Cafe has become one of consumers favorite full service restaurants. Customers not only come here because the food is outstanding and the service is top notch, but also because it is like no other restaurant in the business. Lazy Dog allows customer to bring their dogs to dine with them on the beautiful, spacious patios. Not only do waitresses serve the people, but dogs also get one of a kind treatment. They are served water and many times, owners have bought meals for their dogs so they can eat together. The service is not the only variable in which customers continue to make this one their favorite restaurants. As soon as you step into a Lazy Dog Cafe, you are greeted with smiles and immediately feel comfortable in the soothing environment. The restaurants are deliberately designed with warm tones, wood decor and finishes and gives of a very homey presence. Although Lazy Dog provides excellent service for its customers in a nice environment, customers are becoming harder and harder to please. Because of so much competition in the restaurant sector, each business must find new and innovative ways to lure customers into their businesses, rather than the rivals. Lazy Dog is trying to accomplish this with their longer happy hours to give customers a greater value, allowing them to bring their dogs to eat with them, and providing a visually aesthetic look that consumers enjoy.

Noncustomers
Although Lazy Dog appeals to a large number of consumers, there are still number of consumers who they have not yet reached or attracted into their restaurants. These consumers may not find Lazy Dog Cafes food appealing, or they may not like the fact that customers are allowed to bring their dogs onto the patio. Many people can be allergic or just might not like animals, which will cause them to choose another establishment to eat at. Consumers may choose other restaurants because of specials they offer or because of a certain type of food. For example, if a customer were in the mood for pizza, they may choose to go to BJs because this is what they specialize in, or because their pizza selection is superior to Lazy Dogs. Lazy Dog can attempt to fix this problem by advertising more in shopping centers, colleges, movie theaters, arcades and many more venues like these. If Lazy Dog were to advertise with a
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special price promotion, or their happy hours, noncustomers may decide to give them a chance. By communicating to as many people as possible, Lazy Dog is increasing the probability of a noncustomer giving the establishment a chance, which can lead to a repeat customer.

Situation Analysis: Internal Environment

Current Marketing Goals and Objectives
Lazy Dog Cafes current marketing goals are to increase consumer satisfaction, customer awareness, and sales revenues. These goals are consistent with the firms mission to provide every customer with the same hospitality that Chris Simms was shown in Wyoming when he was a young boy. These goals that Lazy Dog has set are on track to achievement because since they were set, Lazy Dog has expanded, which means that profitability and customer awareness has definitely increased.

Marketing Performance & Organizational Resources

Lazy Dog is currently performing relatively well in comparison to other rivals in the restaurant industry. Lazy Dog, which is privately owned, does not rely on the stock market or shareholders to determine whether or not they are succeeding in business. Lazy Dog relies on their finances and sales revenues, as well as the growth rate of their company, which is at a steady two new establishments per year. This growth can only mean that Lazy Dog is achieving or exceeding their marketing performance goals and objectives. Lazy Dog is able to reduce its costs, and increase revenue, by having a strong relationship with its vendors. Lazy Dog only uses Cisco as its food vendor and by establishing this loyal relationship, Cisco in return gives Lazy Dog a discount on large orders. They also have a great relationship with Southern Wine and Spirits, which is their main alcohol vendor. They too give Lazy Dog price cuts on certain items that are seasonal or if they see a particular brand doing well in a certain restaurant. If Lazy Dog continues to maintain these vendor relationships, they can keep saving money, and build their bargaining power.

Current Cultural Issues

Lazy Dog currently has a very strong base of loyal customers. These customers are generally middle aged, dog lovers, and live in suburban areas. They have created a culture in the restaurants, which is great, but it can also prevent those who dont necessarily fit in from coming to Lazy Dog because they do not feel comfortable. Lazy Dog must be able to continue pleasing their current customers while marketing to other types of cultures. They must make all groups feel as comfortable as their current customers are.

SWOT Analysis
Strengths
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1. Wide selection of food items. This strength is keen for giving all different varieties of customers something that they will enjoy eating. This strength allows the firm to be different, because unlike their main competitors who focus on a signature dish, Lazy Dog caters to all different pallets. 2. Knowledgeable work staff. This strength allows its employees to be empowered and also to increase sales by suggesting more items. Because all employees attend a class on the different types of beer, they can suggest the one that compliments their meal more, which in turn will make their experience a more pleasant one. This is an advantage over competitors because many of them do not take this issue into account. 3. Extended happy hour. Extending the happy hour times is a strength because, unlike its competitors who offer a maximum of 3 hours, Lazy Dog Cafe has a longer promotion time for beverages and appetizers, which will lure customers into their establishment. 4. Company size. This is a huge advantage over the rival companies because Lazy Dog has nine nearby locations that can easily communicate with one another and offer a consistent experience for their customers. 5. Delivery and takeout services. Lazy Dog Cafe offers these services to better fulfill the needs of the customers. It is ideal to have the customer dine in the restaurant but by allowing delivery and takeout, Lazy Dog is still able to make their customers happy by providing them with delicious food and excellent service. 6. Cozy and homely store ambiance. When you walk into a Lazy Dog restaurant you immediately feel welcome and wanted. This atmosphere is usually hard to come by in a fast pace restaurant that targets sports fans and families. Lazy Dog has definitely succeeded in creating this balance between an exciting and warm environment.

Weaknesses
1. Hours of operation. Unlike some of its competitors who stay open until 2 a.m., Lazy Dog Cafe closes its doors at either 10 or 11 p.m. This four-hour gap between Lazy Dog and its rivals is a weakness for Lazy Dog because for many consumers who like to stay out and drink until 2 a.m., they must find a different location to do so. 2. Weak brand. Lazy Dog Cafe is a relatively new company compared to some of its competitors. Because of its weak image, many consumers may choose to dine or socialize at a more popular restaurant or bar. This weakness hurts Lazy Dog because those customers who do not choose Lazy Dog over the competition could be missing out on a more appealing experience. 3. Advertising. This is a weakness for Lazy Dog Cafe because they are not allowing potential customers to find out about their restaurant. If they advertised more, their brand name would become increasingly popular and more people would flock this establishment over the competitors.

Opportunities
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1. Expansion. A huge opportunity for Lazy Dog Cafe would be to expand throughout California. By starting in only California first, Lazy Dog would be able to increase its brand name and popularity so when it went national, there would already be knowledge of its name. If this proved to be a successful move then they could eventually go national or international. Lazy Dog Cafe has a casual California ambiance and many people around the country and world desire to be a part of this lifestyle. By expanding, these patrons outside of California would go to these restaurants to get a taste of California. 2. New products. Lazy Dog Cafe has a great deal of opportunities when it comes to new products. Not only could they sell shirts, mugs, and glasses, but they could expand into dog apparel. They could begin making doggie clothes with the Lazy Dog name on it or even come up with cute catch phrases such as I love my LAZY DOG. They could also sell doggie accessories such as water and food bowls, leashes, collars, and beds. A majority of the people who do go to Lazy Dog Cafe either like dogs or have dogs so this could turn out to be a huge market for the firm.

Threats
1. Current economy. With the current economy crisis, many consumers feel that dining out is a luxury that they need to learn to live without. People are doing everything they can to save money, and that includes eating out and going out for drinks. If the economy doesnt start to improve, the restaurant industry will be threatened and consumers who still have enough disposable income to eat out will have fewer options because of businesses closing down. 2. Opening of Buffalo Wild Wings. Buffalo Wild Wings is one of Lazy Dogs main competitors. In summer of 2011, they opened their new location at the Los Cerritos Center, which is where Lazy Dog Cafe is also located. Since Buffalo Wild Wings has a similar target market and focus on sports events, they pose a huge threat to Lazy Dog since they have a more established brand, and consumers may choose to eat there instead. 3. NBA Lockout. With the current NBA lockout, many sports bars are facing a huge loss. From September through June, Lazy Dog Cafe shows all NBA games throughout the week. Since there is no NBA season people will choose to stay at home rather than go to a sports bar with nothing to watch. The NBA is particularly special to people who live in or near Los Angeles because we do not have a football team to root for so we are especially proud that we have the Lakers. Lazy Dog can prevent this from diminishing sales by putting an extremely large focus on the football season and making consumers forget that there is a NBA lockout. 4. Price wars. Restaurants are doing whatever it takes to get customers to visit their establishments over rivals. Many have them are slashing their prices by up to 30 percent to lure consumers into their restaurants. They are able to do this by using cheaper vendors or because some of them have such high bargaining power, they are demanding their food at a lower cost. Since Lazy Dog is much smaller than these competitors, they
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do not have the same bargaining power, and Lazy dog refuses to use a lower quality food product so their prices are not as easy to lower. Lazy Dog can stress to its customer that they support local vendors and farmers, they use fresh meat and vegetables, and they have the utmost respect when it comes to the quality of their customers food. 5. Intense competition. The full service restaurant industry is one of the most brutal and difficult to succeed in. There are so many new competitors every day trying to make a business of their own, as well as huge established corporations with hundreds of food chains. Because Lazy Dog is such a small company compared to its rivals, they must work extra hard to get their name in the minds of consumers. There is at least three other restaurants located within a quarter of a mile of every Lazy dog Cafe so it is imperative to their company to stand out from their rivals and win the customers over with their outstanding customer service, unique outlook on our furry friends, and a wide array of delicious menu items.

SWOT Matrix
Strengths: Wide selection of food items Knowledgeable work staff Extended Happy Hour during weekends Company size Delivery and takeout services Cozy and homely store ambiance Opportunities: Expanding throughout California New products

Weaknesses: Hours of operation Weak brand Advertising

Threats: Current economy Opening of Buffalo Wild Wings in nearby locations NBA lockout Price wars Intense competition

Matching, Converting, Minimizing, & Avoiding Strategies

If the firm continues to tromp its rivals when it comes to happy hour, then they will win over a majority of customers who go to watch sports and this will lead to a significant increase in revenues. With this increase, Lazy Dog would be able to expand throughout California and
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maybe throughout the nation. This expansion would serve customers needs by providing a unique dining experience, with a laid back California feel around America. Lazy Dog can definitely convert all of their weaknesses into strengths and minimize their threats substantially. If Lazy dog extended their hours during the weekends, they could match the hours of their competition and also increase their sales and customer satisfaction. By satisfying their customers, Lazy Dog would become a stronger brand because consumers would be buzz advertising by telling their friends, families and acquaintances how great this restaurant is. This would lead to a more prominent name, which leads to sales, which gives Lazy Dog more cash to advertise with. In terms of Lazy Dog Cafes threats, it is key for the company to keep giving out great customer service and delicious food, because it is very common for huge corporations to forget that every customer counts, and once a company begins to lose their customer base, they will look for a restaurant who gives impeccable service and great tasting food.

Marketing Goals & Objectives

Objectives for our marketing plan are to increase alcohol sales by 2-4 percent and market share by 10 percent in a period of one year. Our last goal is to raise consumer awareness for Lazy Dog Cafe as a sports bar and restaurant, so that local consumers think of Lazy Dog when they want to watch any genre of sports.

Marketing Research
In developing the marketing plan for Lazy Dog Cafe, we will need various types of information. We must know the demographics of our target market, such as: age, occupation, income, gender, education, and marital status. This information will help us target these customers easily, and will help us to get their attention by marketing to them with things that interest them. For example, if we are marketing to teens and young adults under the age of 21, we will not market special promotions with alcoholic beverages. Instead we could offer a complimentary meal or inform them of our happy hour appetizer deals. For males over the age of 21 we can offer specials and promotions on beers and appetizers during Sunday and Monday night football. If we want to target a married couple with children we can offer our appetizer platter or suggest our kids menu deals to these families. Our focus is on mainly males and some females, ages 21-35, which are sports fans. Lazy Dog can do many things to find out who these consumers are and how to market to them. Lazy Dog must first retrieve the information from customers when they come into the restaurant. This can be done by surveys or forms at each table where customers put their information to get promotions online, through email or mailed directly to them. Lazy Dog can also ask them which team is their favorite so when that team has a game schedules, Lazy Dog can send them an email reminder of the game date and time, and a promotion to get them to come and watch the game at Lazy Dog with friends and family.

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Customers can also go online to the Lazy Dog website and sign up for a sweepstakes or contest to win a free super bowl party for the contest winner and 10 of his or her friends. When people sign up they will have to give their information, which is a great technique for Lazy Dog to gain this information, and once a the given deadline has approached, all nine restaurant locations will give one lucky person all you can drink beer and appetizers for the super bowl game. Lazy Dog Cafe will be using qualitative and quantitative method for retrieving this information. In terms of quantitative research, Lazy Dog will be giving surveys to each table where they will be asked to fill in their information and rate their experience and customer service. This will help Lazy Dog to better understand the needs of the consumers, which will help them successfully fulfill these needs. They can also use qualitative methods of research, such as focus groups or interviews to find out if a new entre is up to the Lazy Dog standard or if the restaurant needs any improvements. Both of these methods will help Lazy Dog become a better restaurant, and it will help them appreciate and realize the needs and wants of their target consumers.

Target Market & Segmentation Strategies

In our marketing strategy we plan to target one major segment. We are segmenting our consumer market based on behavioral differences and descriptive characteristics. For these consumers we also feel that the best approach is that of an undifferentiated targeting strategy, due to the low marketing budget. Behaviorally, we are focused on segmenting heavy users, meaning those who consume alcohol and watch football often. It makes sense to target heavy users, especially heavy consumers of alcohol, because they even though they are a smaller of the market, they account for a higher percentage of total consumption. So it is over all more efficient for Lazy Dog to differentiate and segment light from heavy users. We are also focused on segmenting based on three descriptive characteristics: geographic, demographic, and psychographic. Geographic: Our marketing efforts will be directed locally by targeting people and businesses in Lakewood, Cerritos and Long Beach, which is within a ten-mile radius of our Cerritos location. Demographic: We will also be targeting individuals specifically between the ages of 21 and 35. Psychographic: We will focus on those individuals who like sports, and more specifically, those who like football.

We feel that targeting nearby consumers is most efficient because there are many alternative bar/restaurants and people who live in close proximity are more likely to actually make the trip. Demographically, because a big portion of Lazy Dogs menu includes alcohol, targeting people over 21 years of age will help to allocate more sales per customer. Our chosen target market lies within the Generation Y category and is known for being tech-savvy, family-centric, achievement-orientated, team-oriented, and attention craving. This market has grown up with, and relies on technology to perform their jobs better and spends countless hours on the web. Gen Y individuals have a new perspective of the workplace and are more interested in flexible schedules and a better work/life balance. They also grew up playing team sports, which has led them to become loyal, committed, and filled with a need to be included and involved. Lastly, these consumers crave attention, appreciate being kept in the loop, and seek frequent praise and
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reassurance. We have taken all of these needs, desires, and attitudes into account and feel that our marketing plan will appeal to the majority of these characteristics.

Marketing Strategies
Primary Target Market
Our primary target market includes sports fans in the 21-35 year age range, residing mainly in Lakewood and Cerritos and Long Beach, California. This target market has a need to watch football, however many NFL games are not shown on cable channels and can only be seen with satellite TV. They also have a desire to eat, drink, and socialize with family and friends. Much of our target market works all week and looks to the weekend as a time to let loose, relax and enjoy themselves. Millions of people all over tune in to watch football on weekends and Monday nights, and this trend shows no signs of letting up. College football airs all day on Saturdays and NFL plays all day on Sundays and Monday nights, and many sports enthusiasts strive to watch every game. Our culture has also grown accustomed to the idea of eating snacks and finger-foods and consuming alcohol while we watch sports games. For these reasons, we feel that local sports fans within the 21-35 year age range are the best possible target market to utilize.

Product/ Service
Based on the facts that our target market has a strong need to watch football, and also eat and drink with their friends, our marketing plan offers to provide these consumers with a service that will help to satisfy their needs. The service we are offering is a new extended happy hour that will take place on Saturdays from 10am-7pm, Sundays from 10am-close, and Mondays from 5pm-close. These new hours were chosen because many nearby competitors didnt seem to provide a happy hour at these times. We want for the Lazy Dog Caf to be known as a place for people to enjoy football games with their friends in a great environment. The Lazy Dog Caf would also set itself apart from other bar/restaurants by subscribing to DirecTVs NFL Sunday Ticket, which allows for every single NFL game to be viewed. The bar/restaurant also provides a vast assortment of alcoholic beverages including their own Lazy Dog brews. Lazy Dogs menu is extremely diverse and the food is very good, so everyone can find something they enjoy. Lazy Dogs differentiates itself from other bar/restaurants and ads customer value through its customer service and general environment. The log cabin interior and exterior, along with the warm and comfortable yet energetic ambiance, all provide a pleasing escape from day-to-day life. Our customer service strategy is to provide the staff additional training so they can be educated in all of the alcoholic beverages offered. This knowledge will not only help customers make a more informed decision when ordering, but also make them feel important because the employees actually took time to interact with them. While working Saturday through Monday, employees will wear football jerseys instead of their standard uniform in order to provide a spirited environment and encourage customers to feel comfortable enough to wear their own. The staff will not only be friendly and spirited, but educated enough to be informative and responsive to all customers.

Pricing
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The pricing in this marketing plan is only focused on the happy hour menu changes. The objective is to offer attractive pricing to compliment the great service Lazy Dog Caf provides. We chose to use competitive-based pricing because there are many places that offer the same food and beverage selections, and also because this industry tends to have an elastic market. By offering similar prices compared to competitors, along with an extended happy hour, a superior environment, and strong customer service, we feel that we more customers will be attracted to the Lazy Dog caf. The happy hour times and prices will help to increase traffic during slow periods, and are explained in the table below. Additional price cuts will also be offered for specific promotions, which are described in the promotion section of this plan.

Day of the Week

Saturday Sunday Monday

Time
10AM-7PM 10AM-Close 5PM-Close

Food Prices
$3, $4, $5 & $6 favorites $3, $4, $5 & $6 favorites $3, $4, $5 & $6 favorites

Drink Prices
$3, $4, $5 & $6 favorites $3, $4, $5 & $6 favorites $3, $4, $5 & $6 favorites

Distribution
The Lazy Dog caf is located in the Los Cerritos Shopping Center just of the 605 freeway in Cerritos. Customers can easily access the caf because there is ample parking and the location is on the outskirts of the mall, nearest to the parking lot. Currently, the Lazy Dog caf is getting their food, dishes, utensils, and other restaurant hardware from local independent distributors. We feel, however, that because they use such large quantities, they should be doing business with a much larger distributor like Restaurant Depot. With Restaurant Depot they would be able to order all of their food and hardware from one source, which will help to cut down on upstream distribution costs. Even though Lazy Dog has been using its current alcohol suppliers for many years and has been able to achieve solid relationships with them, there are other areas that could use improving. At the moment, Lazy Dog only takes inventory on its alcohol once a week, but with the increased sales predicted from the extended happy hours we think inventory should be taken Sunday morning and Tuesday morning. Although it would be ideal to acquire an inventory system where each alcohol supplier could see what is being sold directly, at the moment there is no budget for this. We would, however, communicate with suppliers to establish specific levels of inventory needed for each supplier. Once these inventory levels are set, Lazy Dog could just tell their suppliers what they currently have and the suppliers could efficiently fill their own orders.

Promotion

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The General IMC strategy we are proposing is to raise awareness and increase customer traffic and sales, during the mentioned happy hours, through promotions on Facebook, event sponsorships and donations, and collaborations with local businesses. The total budget for promotions will be 1 percent of total sales. We feel that a huge budget is not required because a Facebook page is already set up, and the only money needed will be for events and advertisements in local businesses. Through Lazy Dogs current Facebook page, we will engage consumers by encouraging them to upload pictures and videos of their dogs wearing or playing in sports apparel from their favorite teams. Lazy Dog, along with other Facebook users, will be able to directly comment on this user-submitted material, which will help to forge a direct relationship between consumers and the Lazy Dog brand. We feel that this will be effective because people naturally want to show off their pets and most likely already have photos of their pets on their Facebook page. In order to increase repeat customers, the Facebook page will also inform people that if they check-in at Lazy Dog Cafe during the happy hours, they will receive an extra dollar off drinks if they come in the following week. Friends of friends can also see when people check in at Lazy Dog Cafe, which will help to raise awareness. Lazy Dog can also become involved in local high schools and donate a percentage of sales to help out their football teams. Pictures of the football teams that Lazy Dog sponsors will be put up in the restaurant and on their Facebook page, along with special dates when two percent of the sales made during weekend happy hours will be donated to these teams. A Lazy Dog E-Z Up will be set up at the specified football game to interact with the community and also help create awareness. The Lazy Dog corporate website will also have information about its affiliations with local schools and sports teams. We feel that this sort of cause marketing will allow people to become involved in their community and also show Lazy Dog as a positive influence on society. We believe that there is also potential to collaborate with local sporting goods retailers within the Cerritos mall to help promote weekends at Lazy Dog. We are focused on building relationships with either Champ Sports or Fanzz, both of which sell collegiate and professional sports appeal and accessories, in order to bring in additional customers. We would have small displays, located specifically by football jerseys in these stores, which encourage people to wear the jerseys they purchase into the Lazy Dog Cafe Saturday through Monday in order to receive great deals and support their local football teams. In exchange, Lazy Dog would offer coupons for Fanzz or Champs Sports to customers in its restaurant. The Lazy Dog Facebook page and corporate website would have links to the websites of the businesses it collaborates with to help promote one another. We feel that these sporting goods stores will be eager to team up with Lazy Dog Cafe, not only because their interest in sports makes them cohesive, but also because they have the potential to increase sales for each other.

Marketing Implementation
Structural Issues
The implementation of this proposed marketing strategy will not call for many changes to Lazy Dogs structure. The manager would be responsible for talking with local businesses, so no additional positions would need to be added. Lazy Dog already has a Facebook page, so the person responsible will just have take on a few more tasks. If the activity on the Facebook page becomes too overbearing, than an additional employee can be hired if need be. The new,
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extended happy hours on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are predicted to bring in more customers, so extra staff will either be scheduled or on call in order to meet the new demands. Additional employee training will be required to make sure that the staff is knowledgeable in all of the alcoholic drinks that Lazy Dog cafe offers. We also feel it is important that bartenders and food runners be trained in one anothers basic duties so they can help out when different areas get busy. Employees will of course be paid for their time during this training and it will be offered at the Lazy Dog cafe in order to make it easy on them and help to overcome any resistance. Bar and restaurant employees make more money when they not only have more customers, but also when customers are happy and satisfied. On this basis, employees shouldnt be opposed to the new marketing plan because its intent is to bring in more customers. The only real change for the staff is that they will be required to wear football jerseys when working Saturday through Monday, but because these jerseys will be provided by Lazy Dog and a change from their everyday uniform, we feel there wont be any opposition. Internally, employees will be encouraged to support and communicate their favorite teams with one another, as well as with customers, to help create a true, spirited environment. Managers can also put up pictures of their employees and/or their dogs at sporting events, in jerseys, or in other sports-related scenes throughout the restaurant and Facebook page to go along with the family, friendly vibe that the Lazy Dog cafe offers.

Tactical Marketing Activities Subjective Tactical Activities Product Activities

1. NFL Sunday Ticket

Person Responsible

Required Budget

Completion Date

Lazy Dog Cafe manager

$211.96

09.01.11

IMC Activities
$8.50/hr

1. 5 hour training class for 25 people at Lazy Dog Cafe manager Staff and manager Lazy Dog Cafe manager

$1,602.50

09.01.11

2. Jerseys for 25 employees 3. Sign advertisements for sporting goods stores 4. Lazy Dog E-Z Up

$875.00 $300.00

09.01.11 09.01.11

Lazy Dog Cafe manager

$399.00

09.01.11

Financial Projections
Through a financial analysis done by Lazy Dog Cafs current CFO, Steve Price, we have estimated that the proposed marketing effort should increases alcohol sales by 2 to 4%. If the
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average total sales per month is $110,000 the current average alcohol sales is at $19,800 to between $22,000 and $24,000. That is an extra $4,200 per month in sales in alcohol alone. As seen above, we have allocated no more than $3,400 to the new plan. If we meet the estimated goal we will see a return on the investment in the first month. From there we will allocate an additional 1% of total sales, per company policy, or about $1,100 a month to the continued effort. Although a return on the investment will be seen through the increase of alcohol sales, additional returns will be created through an increase in sales of first time customers, word-of mouth advertising, and repeat business generated through the new marketing plan.

Evaluation & Control

Input Control Mechanisms
A large part of increasing alcohol sales is to provide knowledgeable staff that is able to effectively sell drinks to customers. To do this it is necessary to train employees on all available alcohol, including beer, wine, spirits and mixed drinks. To teach them about the drinks, Lazy Dog Cafe should provide alcohol training classes, have featured drinks of the week, and test their employees knowledge. Once a server is comfortable with their knowledge of alcohol they are easily able to recommend a certain drink or answer any customer questions.

Process Control Mechanisms

In order to encourage servers and bartenders to push alcohol sales Lazy Dog Cafe should provide an incentive program. Each day there should be a featured drink that the employees learn about and whoever sells the most during their shift receives a free meal. There should also be a longer competition where over three months servers compete on the total alcohol sales with appealing rewards at the end.

Performance Standards
When servers suggest any specialty drinks to guest it is important that they enjoy it, this in turn will have them coming back and be more willing to try other drinks. To ensure this, Lazy Dog should extend the policy if you try something new and do not like it we can get you something else, no questions asked to alcohol beverages as well. Another way to ensure the product is in line with customers standards is to allow them a free tasting of draft beer and wine before they order to ensure the drink fits their satisfaction.

Marketing Audits
Management should check marketing efforts weekly. To see if the marketing plan had the desired effect, management should check the percentage of alcohol sales to see if it has made an increase to 20-22% from the initial 18%. They can also check the number of guest that dined in the bar during happy hour specials and game days to see there was an increase.

Informal Marketing Control

An informal way to monitor the effects of the marketing effort is for managers and employees to talk to guest and see if they are enjoying themselves, the game, and the food and drinks.

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