Strategic Marketing Plan: Xi’an Famous Foods
For over a decade, the Xi’an Famous Foods, which was established in 2005, has achieved growth with significant expansion from a single store to today’s 15, distributed across Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. Besides, it is one of the best Chinese food stores present in the United States currently (Xi'an Famous Foods, 2019). Some of the things that are unique for the store is its deep-rooted history derived from the city of Xi’an, in western China and its delicious foods with a great connection to Chinese culture. Apart from that, the store has significantly thrived in New York, garnering excellent reviews, and it has achieved great publicity why has attracted more consumers to the store.
Since its establishment, the number of consumers visiting the store has significantly increased with the majority of them being Chinese immigrants, tourist and born and bred citizens of the United States who have never gone to China and might wish to try the specialty dishes. Therefore, the publicity that it has come in mainly because of the traditional dishes it offers to the consumers (Lawrence, 2016). Although the firm should stick and focus on making its products better, it can also focus in creation of new products with a combination of Chinese and American culture, for example, in its preparation and serving to improve its market outside New York.
However, some of the most crucial factors to consider are the issue of the potential buyers of the products, market competition and the possible demand in the market. Also, a proper understanding of the life cycle of the product and possible challenges that may arise is essential in promoting its success. Thus, with the introduction of a new product with has been “Americanized,” it will be necessary for the firm to conduct a comprehensive study before it introduces it. The current dishes in the store can also be modified to fit the American culture, which will then give the consumers of the products a list to choose from.
Furthermore, the current demand for the products from the store creates the need for expansion to a bigger building and fancier stores, but it must consider the maintenance of its culture which has made it different from other stores. The choice of the location should be strategic with good access where the consumers can freely move in with little challenges (Resnick et al., 2016). This will help the store in the conversion of potential consumers to actual ones. Furthermore, the market expansion for the firm will require the opening of stores in various locations to promote distribution and access by customers.
Besides, establishing stores close to home for better management will not be necessary for expansion because it will limit growth in stores far from home. Therefore, Jason can create managerial positions for each store who will help him manage all the activities that will be done in each of them. Apart from that, the firm could have a main office where all the activities of the stores can be managed in one location (Resnick et al., 2016). This will include decision making, expansion needs, allocation of resources and all necessary managerial activities that might be required to promote the better operation of the firm. Through this, managerial issues will not be a big issue, and it will also promote the smooth expansion of the firm to newer markets.
In addition, the price of the products will also be highly considered in the expansion processing because of its impact on sales and demand. Based on this, the firm should keep the price of the products low and affordable as it focuses on expanding to a different market (Lawrence, 2016). This will help the firm to reach a wide range of consumers and individuals from the majority of social classes which will then help in the expansion of the market base. However, the pricing of the product should be based on the perceived value rather than the objective costing of the product on offer. This is due to the fact that products that are priced lower or higher than their perceived value have a higher likelihood of not selling.
Therefore, the issue of the pricing of the products will require the firm to perform an assessment of the perceived value of the product in each market before its determination. However, the pricing of the products should be kept generally low to promote sells, more profits and the expansion process. This will be achieved through the development of better distribution plans, consideration of the value chain cost and markups and the pricing of the rival products in the market (Resnick et al., 2016). The store can also venture in the development of another line of product which can be marketed as luxury foods to consumers, but the focus must be in delivery of high quality, safe and affordable foods.
Additionally, it is worth to consider the fact that Xi’an Famous Foods has become a good brand that is well accepted by consumers. Marketing of the brand is necessary to make the store even stand out more in the market and depict the expertise of the firm in its preparation of high-quality products (Johnson, 2016). This can be done through adverts, sales promotion and special offers on the products and it can put the firm at a better position to have better control of the market, for example, the pricing of the products. Besides, marketing of the brand is necessary because it promotes customer loyalty which can help the firm to expand its consumer base as part of its growth.
Furthermore, with the great determination of the store to deliver the services it offers, marketing of the brand will help the firm in attraction majority of its ideal clients and more referrals from the from existing customers. This is because better brands are closely associated with excellent values which will be necessary for the firm as it expands and extends to other markets. Besides, it will also make it easier to introduce more products to the market with little doubt on the quality and safety to the consumers.
The delivery of the excellent products by the stores together with the marketing of the brand will have a huge contribution to the smooth expansion process. The firm should also continue to offer a better appeal of its new stores and greater client satisfaction and developing good public relations to facilitate its success (Resnick et al., 2016). This will also create a better image of the brand, which then improve the market control and the competitive advantage of the firm.
In conclusion, Xi’an Famous Foods is a store that has an excellent room for expansion because of its unique products and services. However, the focus on expansion should involve the maintenance of its products and the introduction of those that integrate the culture of American people to improve its market share. Expansion to bigger stores is also important, but the culture that attracts consumers to the stores should remain the same. Also, the pricing should be maintained low with consideration on the perceived value of the product in the market. However, the introduction of luxury food in the stores can also be done. Finally, marketing, in combination with other strategies such as improving public relation, can be done to drive the brand.
References
Johnson, H. (2016). One of New York's best Chinese restaurants is preparing for a major expansion. Retrieved 27 November 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.com/xian-famous-foods-expanding-2016-08?IR=T
Lawrence, S. (2016). Xi'an Famous Foods: The Chinese Restaurant Chain Taking over NYC. Retrieved 27 November 2019, from https://www.7shifts.com/blog/xian-foods-nyc-restaurant/
Resnick, S. M., Cheng, R., Simpson, M., & Lourenço, F. (2016). Marketing in SMEs: a “4Ps” self-branding model. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 22(1), 155-174.
Xi'an Famous Foods. (2019). About us. Retrieved 27 November 2019, from https://www.xianfoods.com/#about-section
