Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Marketing Plan
Marketing Plan
Marketing Plan
Applebees has established itself as a successful neighborhood restaurant with their slogan “Eatin’
Good in the Neighborhood”. They pride themselves on being a family restaurant with a wide
variety of foods to satisfy everyone. Even with their success in the past, we believe that they
have some areas of concern in their marketing plan where there is room for improvement.
Through surveying people in the Maryville area, we have found that the biggest problems are
lack of business from college students, lack of a vegetarian menu, and a mediocre social media
presence. Our goal is to improve their marketing plan and eliminate these issues. Price seems to
be the biggest factor hindering college students from eating at Applebee's, so we would suggest
the use of direct mail marketing of coupons as well as possibly adding some more affordable
options to the menu. Making Applebees more affordable to college students would likely work
because 45% of our survey respondents, most of which are college students, said that half-priced
apps are the most appealing promotion at Applebees. Dollar drinks are also a popular promotion
at Applebees, so we would like to see more affordable promotions like these to bring in college
students. We would also suggest sponsoring Bearcat Athletics to have more advertising directly
to the students. The implementation of a vegetarian menu would include an entire new
demographic into Applebee's target market and give them another healthy option for consumers.
Currently, the Applebee's franchise has a social media presence but we would like to see one for
the Maryville restaurant specifically. We could use these social media accounts to advertise
specific promotions for our restaurant. We could combine these accounts with our sponsorship of
Bearcat Athletics as well by offering certain promotions. Applebee’s should utilize these tactics
over a five year span, but monitor their performance every six months to make sure these tactics
Company Analysis: Applebee’s Corporation is a casual restaurant chain based in the United
States. The first Applebee’s was in Atlanta, Georgia in 1980 and has grown to over 2,000
locations worldwide, as Applebee’s has now expanded to several international locations. Their
focus is providing a casual dining experience with a wide variety of classic bar and grill food.
Within the United States alone, Applebee’s franchise sales reached $3.95 billion dollars (Lock,
2020). Through all their success they have built their company off of seven values; trust,
inclusion, community, integrity excellence, innovation, and accountability (About Us, 2020).
Customer Analysis (Target Market): The corporation of Applebee’s targets all age groups who
are local residents within the franchise location. Applebee’s mainly focuses on a mix between
families and young social groups. Their target market also is shifted more toward the middle
class due to their pricing and atmosphere. Based on our survey we sent out, the majority of the
people who took the survey were between the ages of 19-22 years old. We targeted this specific
market because part of Applebee’s focus is based on young social groups and we wanted to
understand their viewpoint of Applebee’s from their perspective. After receiving feedback from
this demographic, the most reoccurring problem related to customer relationship management is
Collaborator Analysis: Applebee’s has a few partners to support them with day-to-day business
for the Maryville location. According to the local manager, Applebee’s collaborates with other
Applebee’s within the franchise. The company uses suppliers such as custom culinary and
Gordon Food service. Another key collaborator that Maryville location and other locations have
is the collaboration with Pepsi. Pepsi provides them with all their PepsiCo products exclusively.
Recently, according to the franchise operator, Applebee’s has partnered with Grubhub and
DoorDash, which are door to door delivery services that will bring the food to the customer,
positive ways through their variety of menu items from suppliers, PepsiCo soft drinks, and
partnering up with Grubhub and DoorDash to stay up with today’s generation and the ways of
the future. Although for the Maryville location, improvement is always needed. Finding
collaborations that could help the Maryville location alone is something the local manager
should consider, as the company declared bankruptcy in 2017 and has had to focus on building
Competitor Analysis: In Maryville, there are a wide variety of restaurants competing with
Applebee’s. The direct, primary competitors are other local casual restaurants such as Carson’s,
A&G, Pizza Ranch, El Nopal, and Pagliai’s Pizza. These are the competitors on a local scale, but
also competitors to the Applebee’s franchise as a whole. These restaurants all have the local
dine-in experience whether they specialize in bar and grill food, pizza, Mexican style, and more.
There are also indirect competitors that Applebee’s has to compete with in Maryville like all the
fast food restaurants; Dairy Queen, Taco Bell, Burger King, Jimmy Johns, and McDonalds. With
Maryville, Missouri being such a small town there are many local and fast food restaurants
within fighting for customers every day. Another indirect competitor for Applebee’s is
consumers opting to dine at home. Because of the location, Applebee’s could sometimes be
overlooked compared to other local and fast food restaurants which would cause a negative
effect on their local business. Yet, a strength is that because there are many different restaurants
for people to choose from, Applebee’s has more opportunity for customers to come back often
because people would not get sick of their restaurant and want their experience.
Five Forces Analysis:
Competitive Rivalry: The competitive rivalry for Applebee’s in Maryville is medium. There are
local restaurants that offer similar products and services, but there are also restaurants that offer
other alternative foods such as; Mexican, Chinese, and Italian food. As stated in the competitor
analysis, they have many local and national direct and indirect competitors. Any restaurant
industry that offers similar food, service or experience wants to appeal to the same consumer
society.
Threat of New Entrants: The restaurant industry is high when it comes to threat of new entrants
for Applebee’s. This is because it has a wide variety of menu items that reaches a large market
and reasonably priced food and drink options for all ages. There are already many casual dine in
restaurants, so the entry for another would be fairly common regardless of location. With
demographics shifting, particularly with millennial tastes very different from earlier generations,
new entrants with different offers and proposals are emerging such as; healthy chains and quick
serve restaurants. It is important to ensure that Applebee’s deals are in line with changing needs
Threat of Substitute Products: The threat of substitutes for Applebee’s can come from other
chains or alternatives, with online food ordering and food delivery businesses growing, they can
present a serious challenge to the casual dining restaurants. While online ordering is becoming
more popular, another substitute would be grocery store chains. Customers could choose to cook
at home rather than dine in for a cheaper option. Lastly, the last substitute that could be
considered a threat is subscription plans being offered which could convince customers to stay in
a cook certain days of the week losing potential business for casual restaurants like Applebee’s.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: There are many external suppliers that Applebee’s uses for
their success. For example, food suppliers, liquor suppliers, furnishing and design, and real estate
suppliers. The bargaining power of suppliers for Applebee’s is low because it could be cheaper
for the restaurant chain to get these items from various suppliers because there are several
suppliers supplying these goods. If one supplier began to overcharge Applebee’s or they were
simply not satisfied with their service then they could easily look elsewhere as there are many
Bargaining Power of Buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is high because it is easy for
customers to go somewhere else and get the same type of food and experience. There is pressure
on Applebee’s to prove why customers should go to their casual dine in experience compared to
their competitors. They need to make sure they are providing unique offerings, discounted deals,
and signature items while staying in tune with what their target market is wanting. Increasing the
convenience for customers and the quality of food will help Applebee’s attract more consumers.
Context Analysis
Political: Applebee’s works within a politically stable environment. The restaurant industry is
competitive, so the industry does not have to face any risk from antitrust laws. Most of the
employees at Applebee’s work part time especially within the Maryville area because most are
college and high school students. They are subject to the part time requirement of usually less
than 30 hours a week and at an hourly pay of $7.99 in Missouri. The international development
specified geography. The sector is subject to Occupational Safety and Health Administration
compliance regulations. They are also required to post all of their FDA-based nutrition
Economic: The United States is a mixed economy with a free market that still has government
controlled aspects. This gives Applebee and the restaurant industry the right to act and sell as
they see fit best for the company. Before the COVID-19 virus, the economy was in the expansion
stage as the economy continued to grow and businesses like Applebee’s maintained profit with
what they felt was best for their company. In March of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the economy has entered a recession due to many Americans losing their jobs. The current
global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is rising demand in the global economy and
complicating supply chains. The social distancing regulations has caused businesses to
dramatically lose revenue and profit, some even to be shut down. During this time, Applebee’s is
offering to-go orders as a way to keep some sort of income running within the business. By
adding these factors to the economic instability needed to combat the virus, the United States is
likely to see one of the sharpest economic contractions in its history, lasting through the second
Social: Maryville has a population of around 11,800 people and in addition to that nearly 8,000
students that attend Northwest Missouri State University. Applebee’s targets middle class, young
social age groups and families of all ages which fits right in with the demographic of Maryville.
The town consists of the majority to be low to middle class consumers, with a large percentage
being young college students. In today’s society, there is a large increase in health and
environmental consciousness, which is why Applebee’s has come to come up with a light menu
and healthy alternatives. For unique offering and discounted deals, Applebee’s focuses on their 2
for $20, half priced appetizers, limited time offers and more that appeal to the middle class and
young social age groups. These deals and offerings benefit the Maryville location tremendously
as they focus on ways to satisfy their target market and demographic area.
Technological: Applebee’s has become aware of the influence of technology in today’s world.
All of their products and services are managed through technology equipment. Applebee’s have
kiosks that allow customers to order appetizers, play games while they are waiting and pay their
bills directly at their table. They also have a “TouchTunes” jukebox which is a virtual jukebox
that can play music allowed within the business. Another use of technology is through the
computers to input orders for the kitchen and record payments to make it easier for both the
customer and employee. These technologies help eliminate the use of paper and allow for
SWOT Analysis
location base of almost 2,000 restaurants globally. They are known worldwide, and their
recognizable brand image has increased success for the business and retention of customers.
They have a reasonably priced menu with a variety of different items on the menu. This allows
for all age groups to have the opportunity to afford something on the menu. With their
reasonably priced menu, they also have endless promotion deals such as; 2 for $20, half priced
appetizers, limited time offers, and more. This helps them be able to target such a wide
Weaknesses: With strengths, firms always have weaknesses. With any franchise restaurant,
weaknesses are unavoidable. Due to the franchisee structure and restricted geographic reach, it is
difficult to track and monitor quality of all franchise locations. With Applebee’s being so widely
popular it is very hard to keep up with the quality of each location. Another weakness is that
Applebee’s has a limited menu for vegetarians, while the new generations favor a healthier
lifestyle and more people lean toward a vegetarian lifestyle. Lastly, because Applebee’s is such a
wide franchise there is little opportunity for micromanagement which causes lack of managers to
Opportunities: Applebee’s has a wide variety of food items and recently they have begun a
movement toward low-calorie food items which is a step in the right direction. This provides an
opportunity to address those who are watching their weight, are on a diet, or just simply want the
choice to eat healthier. It allows for the continuation of their target market to expand. Because of
the continuous growth in menu ideas, there is opportunity for new product launches through the
low calorie menu, drink specials, and new menu items. With all these opportunities for
Applebee’s, it creates the biggest opportunity of all which is the growth of emerging markets.
They can hold onto the markets they already inquired about, while gradually moving into the
Threats: While Applebee’s has presented themselves with plenty of future opportunities, there
are threats that they need to be aware of. The first, is the increase of competition from other
casual dining chains and local restaurants. Applebee’s has many competitors when it comes to
competing for the best casual restaurants with the best pricing, service and quality. This could
potentially lead to the loss of business from customers if Applebee’s lacks anything that their
competitor would not. Another threat is that local residents are the main source of revenue.
Applebee’s is the main reason for their overall success. Applebee’s needs to be aware of their
competitors' deals and specials while making sure that their performance, service and quality is
Summary Statement of Problems: We believe that the main issues with business for this
restaurant within its industry in the Maryville location would be not having a vegetarian menu,
their advertisement to the local area, lack of relationship with the local university, and location
Summary of Quantified Marketing Objectives: Our goal in this marketing plan is to expand
advertisement and awareness to local consumers and college students. We would like to provide
By utilizing various marketing tactics, we will measure the success of the new marketing
objectives by sales increases and survey opinions. The plan will be successful if it brings in a 2%
sales increase every 6 months, or has at least 5 survey answers monthly that respond positively to
marketing prompts.
Overview: Applebee’s is marketed nationwide as a family restaurant where all tastes and
preferences are satisfied. The Maryville Applebee’s uses tactics to market itself to the town
directly, including billboards and local advertisements. It also contributes part of its revenue to
the corporate owner, Dine Brands, for national advertisements including television commercials
and social media. Applebee’s measures promotional success through their use of email lists, and
conducts market research through on-table kiosks. The Maryville Applebee’s is required to
spend portions of their revenues on national and local advertisements through their franchise
deal. The issue facing the local Applebee’s is lack of college student spending within the
restaurant.
family restaurant that appeals to many different demographics and preferences. On the company
website, they state, “Our extensive menu of delicious comfort food is sure to have something for
everyone to love.” When consumers think of comfort food, it is often food consumed in-group or
family style settings. Applebee’s has established a strong brand image through their marketing as
a “neighborhood restaurant,” where consumers can feel as if they are at home during their dining
experience. The organization designs their marketing tactics to align with their slogan “eatin’
good in the neighborhood” (“About Us”, 2020). Approximately 95 percent of survey respondents
said that Applebee’s somewhat often, often, or very often meet quality standards, so Applebee’s
is positioned as a quality restaurant with a strong family or group experience. Their target market
advertisements, billboards, social media, and promotions. For the Maryville Applebee’s location
specifically, a major tactic to influence locals is the use of billboards. The major route into the
town of Maryville is through Highway-71, where they have a billboard displaying their food and
keywords “next exit.” According to author of Guerrilla Marketing Jay Conrad Levinson, “the
two magic words that can spell instant success for you if used on a billboard are next exit”
(Levinson, 2007). This platform is low-cost but uses effective methods to attract consumers.
Location is also an important factor for Applebee’s marketing. The Maryville Applebee’s also
located directly off the highway, so drivers can easily stop at the restaurant.
Because the Maryville location is franchised, most of their marketing is from the corporate-level
and is seen on the national stage. Based on the survey results, a majority of respondents saw
video footage of a steaming dish, with the goal of attracting consumers to crave their dishes.
Huffington Post states this is an effective tactic “you’ll start scrounging around in your kitchen,
and you might not even make the link between what you’ve seen on the TV and why you
suddenly have a hankering for food” (Pirnia, 2019). Therefore, including footage of appetizing
dishes in their advertisements increases the likelihood that consumers will crave the dishes. This
method correlates with high circulation because they use major television networks to advertise
their products.
Another tactic Applebee’s uses on a national-level is social media. On their Twitter, Instagram,
and Facebook pages, they feature weekly specials, images of different food items, employee
spotlights, and humorous memes. By using multiple social media platforms, they increase which
customers they reach and the frequency that customers are exposed to the brand. They also have
a YouTube channel that features all of their recent commercials. A major way Applebee’s
reaches its target market is through promotions. Of the 251 survey respondents, 113 respondents
stated that the most attractive promotion that Applebee’s offers is half-priced apps. This
markets are dollar drinks and their 2 for 20 menu. They also have a voluntary email list where
customers can sign up and receive coupons or specials in their inbox regularly.
Measurement Plan: Applebee’s measures and stores data on consumer preferences with their
email club. Consumers can use their email club for coupons, specials and exclusives. However,
Applebee’s can also track data through email. When one orders online or takes a survey at a
kiosk discussed below, the system keeps track of the email. The company can then store data on
consumer preferences, and which products or promotions consumers interact with. In addition,
while there is no direct article stating Applebee’s measures the success of social media or
television advertisements, it is likely that they are tracking which advertisements are successful.
Marketing Research: A major way that Applebee’s conducts market research is through
surveys on kiosks at restaurant tables. In 2014, Applebee’s began installations of kiosks on tables
at their restaurants that are used to order appetizers, pay bills, play games or watch videos. When
customers finish paying their bill via kiosk, a short survey appears. These kiosks are known for
“presenting a post-meal survey for diners to fill out electronically as part of the payment process
provides the restaurants with useful feedback on food and service, and in some cases guests who
want to provide more specific feedback — such as complaining about cold fries or praising a
staff member — can send emails directly to management” (Filloon, 2017). These surveys
provide feedback on which elements of the restaurant and the restaurant marketing are
satisfactory to customers.
Budget and Costs: Due to their role as a franchise of Applebee’s, the Maryville Applebee’s is
required to pay an advertising fee to Dine Brands, the corporate owner of Applebee’s. In their
annual report, Dine Brands states that each restaurant is required to contribute 3.25 percent of the
national Applebee’s advertising fund, which funds television commercials, radio broadcasts, and
social media posts. The franchises must also spend at least .5 percent of their gross sales on local
marketing and promotions (“2019 Dine Brands Global, Inc. Annual Report”, 2020). Therefore,
Maryville Applebee’s contributes to the payment of national television commercials and social
media advertisements. However, they still have a minimum of advertising spending that they
everyone can enjoy. However, an issue facing the Maryville Applebee’s is it does not attract
college students on a regular basis. Because Maryville is a college town, the restaurant should be
viewed as a location college students can enjoy. However, the survey results state that one of the
only reasons college students attend Applebee’s is for half-priced appetizers and dollar drinks
after 9:00 pm. Neither of these promotions bring significant revenue to the business due to their
low profit margins. In addition, Applebee’s lacks a vegetarian menu, which is a major lifestyle
for many students. In order to survive in Maryville, Applebee’s must find ways to better appeal
Overview of our core marketing strategy: Our marketing strategy for Applebee’s is
differentiation. The Marvyille Applebee’s must utilize marketing in order to stand out among
other dining competitors as a unique and satisfying place to eat. Maryville is a college town that
allocates for many students who would prefer reasonably priced menu options. Therefore, we
want to cater to these students by displaying the alternatives and options that could be considered
affordable to them and the community. We plan to keep focus on the younger social groups, like
college students and also include middle income families coming from the community. In order
to reach the target market for the Maryivlle location, a stronger advertising presence needs to be
held. We are going to increase the local presence by using more social media to influence
specials and daily deals, allowing the use of direct mail for coupons, and include a vegetarian
menu option. Overall, by adding these promotion offers, we hope this will allow Applebees to be
seen as more attractive, affordable, and could even be considered as a healthy option. These
changes will affect our promotion, our price, and actual product to be added too, while our place
Core Strategy Recommendations: In our survey, it was noted that 51.3% of people are dining
outside of their home weekly. While 46.7% of the people who participated in our survey said that
they dine at Applebee’s monthly. In our survey, people’s main complaints were about the lack of
a marketing presence, lack of expansion of menu items, and pricing. For Applebee’s to best
utilize differentiation, they need to fix these items so that consumers choose their unique dining
experience. In order to fix these problems, our first tactic is to offer coupons distributed within
direct mail. By mailing coupons to all houses that students and families live at throughout the
town, Applebee’s is improving upon the marketing presence and helping with the pricing of
menu items through whatever coupon is sent that week. They could also increase social media
presence through just the Maryville restaurant. Some examples in doing so would be to host
challenges or competitions on Twitter or some form of social media and receive a prize after
customers complete. This allows for the Applebee’s in Maryville to form a stronger presence
within the community while allowing them to interact with them. Another tactic that could be
implemented is sponsoring Bearcat Sports. Applebee’s sponsoring Bearcat Sports could increase
positive word-of-mouth in the Maryville community. At Bearcat Sports games, they announce
their sponsors and local residents favor businesses that support the University. Lastly, we also
want to add to the menu because the survey showed that those who took it wanted more of a
variety of options. This includes Applebee’s adding a vegetarian menu. This would promote a
healthy alternative option, but also increase another market to expand upon. We feel like by
utilizing these tactics and expanding their menu, Applebee’s can best use a differentiation
will remain the same. From a promotional view, we are making sure that there is an increase
within marketing presence through different forms of promoting Applebee’s in Maryville like,
sponsoring Bearcat sports, coupons, and social media challenges. While the price we sell our
food at will remain the same, pricing will be affected with the discounted offers and coupons
being released. We will keep the product the same, however implement a vegetarian menu in
addition to the menu options. This will attract a larger target market, while staying consistent
Our budget for the new strategy for differentiation is $25,000. This budget does not greatly affect
the end of year cash for Applebee’s, but offers enough money for them to enhance their image
within the Maryville community. The money will be allocated to different tactics. A contribution
of $10,000 will be focused toward the sponsorship of Bearcat sports. The Maryville franchise
will contribute $5,000 to the corporation to aid in a vegetarian menu. The amount left over of the
allocated fund of $10,000 will be for direct mail, coupons and discounts, posters and other small
advertising around the Maryville area. We will be continuously tracking the results of the
sponsorship of Bearcat Sports and additional advertising every 6 months. This will allow us to
keep track of if the promotional advertisements are working. These advertisements and other
tactics will take place yearly and continue to remain as long as Applebee’s continues to see
We will also measure the performance of the plan by utilizing surveys following consumer
meals. As mentioned previously, Applebee’s uses surveys when consumers pay for their meals
through kiosks. The Maryville Applebee’s can include a survey question on where the customer
inquired about deals and promotions at Applebee’s. If the survey results do not show at least 5
customers hearing about Applebee’s per month, Applebee’s should reevaluate their use of the
tactics.
Rationale: As restaurants like A&G and Carsons are close to campus, they do not need a huge
portion of advertising because students do not have to go out of their way to have a meal.
Applebee’s is located far from most students, so they must attract these customers in different
ways, such as promotions directed at students, low cost discounts and deals, and healthy
alternatives. These new concepts will give Applebee’s a competitive advantage over many of the
other restaurants that do not have the means to perform these marketing strategies.
Based on calculations of Net Present Value and Return on Investment, we believe the new
NPV: Maryville’s Applebee’s does not disclose the estimated revenue per year, but we will
project that they earn $300,000 within the first year and increase four percent in revenue per
year. On top of their normal marketing contributions we will add $25,000 onto the marketing
budget. Due to the cash flow over a five year span, we expect a NPV of $1,376,618.64 (see table
in Appendix below).
ROI: For the return on investment over a five year period, the investment gain would be $4,500.
The ROI per year annually would be 3.37 percent and the ROI over the five year span would be
Implications for the marketing ecosystem: These alterations to Applebee’s business will have
various impacts on their stakeholders. Applebee’s competitors in Maryville with a similar current
business model include Carson’s, A&G, and El Nopal. The expected reaction is imitation of
Applebee’s tactics, including creation of a larger social media presence, mailing of coupons, and
sponsorship of community sports. If the tactics bring in more revenue to Applebee’s, it might
retention from the community strengthening the revenue and sales for the franchise.
recommended marketing plan is for Applebee’s to utilize the Brand Knowledge Model with their
Maryville location. A majority of our survey respondents were aware of the restaurant brand and
food services they offered, so the organization does not need to focus on brand awareness.
Applebee’s should particularly focus on altering their brand image to better fit the college
student demographic. This includes promoting the benefits of dining at Applebee’s through
social media and other local media platforms. This also includes changing the attitudes of
consumers from belief that Applebee’s is over-priced to believing they are paying for an
configuration-coordination, and integration. Applebee’s does a good job with its standardization
because it keeps its menu items at somewhat of a low cost and simple. This makes it easy for the
franchise to expand into other countries because their product, promotions, price, and channel
structure are all standardized which makes its operations easily transferable from country to
country. This allows the business to be efficient and consistent with its community. Next, having
a good amount of coordination allows each restaurant location to be interdependent from each
other, but still keep the same competitive advantage. This interdependency allows Applebee’s to
be able to slightly specialize based on their location with their community and even tailor their
promotions towards their respective local communities with ease. They can utilize
interdependency to direct social media and marketing campaigns towards the local Maryville
franchise. Lastly, integration, taking action allows Applebee’s to create competitive moves
because of the good level of global market participation with Canada being an active participant
especially. These integrated markets and low trade barriers allow Applebee’s to increase its
Applebee’s could also utilize the guerilla marketing concept of creating a detailed
marketing calendar. This will allow Applebee’s to clearly see what is working and what is not
working for them, as well as, how long they perform each particular tactic. This will make
Applebee’s more aware of how its promotions work and creates a clearer path of where to go,
ultimately wasting less time and bringing in more profits. This is important because the company
will plan ahead and stay committed to the plan. In order for the marketing process to succeed,
Applebee’s has to stick with their plan, even if results do not occur right away (Levinson, 2007).
Product: Applebee’s is a casual dining restaurant that offers a variety of menu options with table
or take out service. They are known for their menu providing a wide range of different style
foods. Some examples provided that are located on their menu are; appetizers, salads, steak and
ribs, seafood, pasta, bugers, sandwiches, and more. They also present a selection of PepsiCo
products and alcoholic beverages. Applebee’s uses their highest quality of products and
ingredients from their suppliers. While the product of Applebee’s would not change, it would be
added to by attaching the vegetarian menu to the original menu. They will adapt to the addition
of this menu as some customers do not eat at Applebee’s due to the lack of vegetarian options.
Place: Applebees is located on 2919 S Main Street. It is near most of the hotels in Maryville
therefore allows easy business from the staying visitors. The downfall to the location is it being
on opposite ends of the campus and downtown Maryville which makes it hard for Applebee’s to
attract the students and community from going to their location. As stated, this location will
remain the same as the hope for a better local presence will help draw customers to the location.
Price: Applebee’s will keep their prices the same, as there will be no increase in the food or
beverages. This will include keeping the average price of an entree between $6-$12 while
keeping the average price of a meal under $10. In addition, Applebee’s will provide discounts,
daily deals, and coupons having limited times and offers for the lowering of prices on specific
meals.
Promotion: Local advertising is going to be the key to presenting a local presence. Coupons in
direct mail, social media, sponsoring Bearcat sports, billboards, posters, and more will be used.
Applebee’s will continue to promote their deals such as; the 2 for $20 and half price appetizers.
Another promotion Applebee’s will put in place is a loyalty program. Loyalty programs have
been proven to better customer retention, increase customer referrals through word-of-mouth,
and provide businesses with increased amounts and quality of reviews, testimonials, and various
forms of user-generated content (“How to Increase Customer Loyalty”, n.d.). This will also be
very cost effective because studies show that new customers cost 5-25 times more than reselling
to a current customer. (Kulbyte, 2020). Lastly, Applebee’s will impose a student discount
percent that is for students who go to Northwest Missouri State and order Applebee’s. This will
allow Applebee’s to show how important the students are to their location.
Contingency Plan
Applebee’s should measure results of the tactics as mentioned above. The restaurant should stick
to the plan for at least two years in order to stay committed to its success. If the restaurant does
not see increased sales by 2% every 6 months after the first two years, they should reevaluate the
plan and try new tactics. Other tactics could include moving their location closer to campus, or
creating a satellite location for the restaurant close to the bars to attract college students.
However, these expenditures would be more costly than the original recommendations.
Applebee’s is more likely to benefit financially from promotion tactics rather than focusing on
their location. The firm should utilize which efforts will help promote differentiation from other
Maryville restaurants.
Summary
While Applebee’s currently uses a differentiation strategy and various marketing tactics in order
to attract consumers, the franchise in Maryville has limited attraction to college students, a key
demographic group in the town. We recommend Applebee’s improve their current tactics to
better reach young consumers. These tactics include creation of a vegetarian menu, direct mail
campaigns, partnerships with Bearcat Sports at the University, and increased social media
presence. The success of these new tactics will be measured by increases in sales revenue and
customer satisfaction in surveys. The franchise will spend $25,000 on these new tactics yearly,
but will provide strong return on investment. While general menu items, price of products,
location of the restaurant will remain the same, the restaurant can add new promotion tactics to
better reach the young market. If this plan does not see revenue increases after the first two
years, the franchise can explore options related to a new location. However, this would be an
expensive avenue, and it is expected that the changes in promotion will have a positive impact on
the franchise.
References
Filloon, W. (2017, October 5). Why Tablets on Restaurant Tables Are Here to Stay. Eater.
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Appendices
Sample Tweets:
Link to YouTube Channels with Commercials: https://www.youtube.com/user/applebeeing
Interview Questions
4. What are some strengths you believe Applebee's take advantage of? Greatest strength?
5. What are some weaknesses Applebees has but could improve on? Greatest weakness?
7. What are the current and future needs of your target customers?
8. What are the customers’ needs that are not satisfied by the company?
9. What are the perceptions about the company in the minds of the target customers?
11. Why do you think customers select you out of your competitors?
14. What are the perceptions about these competitors in the minds of your target customers?
22. Are you connected to any other Applebee’s restaurants in the area?
All of the following graphs were taken from our consumer survey regarding Applebee’s.
Most survey respondents have eaten at Applebee’s within the last month or year. Those who
have eaten at Applebee’s within the last month is 46.7 percent and those who have eaten in the
last year is 38.2 percent. A small percentage of respondents have not eaten at Applebee’s.
All survey respondents say that they eat outside of the home monthly or more. This is an
Most survey respondents say that Applebee’s meets their quality standards often and very often.
This helps Applebee’s because it shows that most consumers are satisfied with their quality of
food.
A majority of the survey respondents believed that advertisements do not influence them to dine
at Applebee’s. This is an area for growth for Applebee’s to alter their choice of advertisements to
percent. The next form of advertisement is viewed from social media at 12.7 percent. This
indicates that Applebee’s needs to strengthen their local presence by using different forms of
With the initial investment of $25,000 and a discount rate of five percent, we were able to gather
the projected cash flow through five years. In year 1, we project $300,000 in revenue and have
an increase in 4 percent per year. Through this information we were able to find the NPV. It is
determined by calculating the costs and benefits of the investment. This shows that the
Applebee’s in Maryville will have an NPV of $1,376,618.64 over a five year span.
The amount invested was $25,000 and through this marketing strategy we are able to get $29,500
as the amount returned within the five years. This table shows the total investment gained from
$25,000 to $29,500. We were able to determine the ROI which is the ratio between net profit
over the five period and cost in investment. A positive ROI means the investment gain is
favorable to the cost. The ROI after calculation was 18 percent over a 5 year period. While,
the lack of information on current revenues for the franchise, this chart includes an estimate of
food and beverage sales, resulting in Applebee’s total revenue. The first year of total revenue
starts at $300,000. We believe that with the advertising investment, revenue will increase 2
Applebees. On average, employees work 20 hours per week, earning an average of $8 per hour.
With a total of 52 weeks in the year, it is estimated that Applebee’s spends $166,400 per year to
pay their employees. An important expense for Applebee’s in our plan is their marketing
expenses. Each year, an investment of $25,000 will be made to promote the business. This fund
will be allocated to different areas, ultimately to increase yearly net profit of Applebee’s.
Another important expense to consider is their purchase of food from suppliers, an estimate from
Assuming that the tax rate is around 15%, the net income after taxes of Applebee’s will increase
significantly by increasing advertising expenses. If our projections are accurate and sales
increase by 4 percent annually due to changes in marketing, Applebee’s will have positive
financial health.