Could the Restaurant Industry Finally Be Bouncing Back? Market ...

Aug 02

Remember when restaurants seemed to be popping up all over the place? Several years ago, the restaurant industry was booming.? Eateries had a wait if you tried to go there at 7:00 p.m. on a Friday night. Quite often restaurants were the meeting place of choice for friends to have a drink. More recently, however, it appeared that more and more restaurants were closing their doors, any place you wanted to eat at rarely had a wait, and it was more common to meet friends at their home.

Could we potentially be trending back to the days of the past?? Research seems to think so.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) recently posted its industry forecast and highlighted some very positive predictions. Overall, sales are expecting to reach a record $604 billion dollars this year, which would post a 3.6% gain over last year.? Quick service restaurants (QSR?s) will post a bigger boost in sales (+3.3%) compared to casual dining restaurants (+3.1%).

So what does this mean for Market Research professionals in this sector?? Personally, I think a strong push will be to differentiate against the competition.?Innovation has now become an extremely important piece to the research process. Research around concept development, menu optimization, and the customer experience will be key in turning habitual customers into loyal ambassadors.

And we can?t forget about the ever growing social media component.? Data from the NRA report shows that consumers who are users of at least one social media tool are more active in the restaurant community.? This means we will see more Facebook pages for restaurants, promotions being run through social media sites and an overall stronger presence in this area.? Those who connect often and well with their consumers will have an upper hand when consumers decide where they are going to go out for dinner on any particular night.? Social media tracking and optimization will become staples in research departments across the United States.? Here at The Pert Group, we have strong methods and techniques that capture this information for clients.

To other MR professionals in the restaurant industry, what is your take on the positive predictions?? Do you foresee larger budgets for your department?? Are you exploring new areas of research that you traditionally haven?t used in the past?? How are you gauging the success of your social media initiatives?? We?d love to hear from you!

In a field where methodologies, analytical techniques, and data synthesizing change continually, Josh makes success simple. His talent at ?translating? market research results helps clients reach their business objectives. Known and respected for his uncommon common sense, Josh is second to none when it comes to comprehending multiple industry segments, managing large-scale projects and leading internal and external project teams.

Source: http://blog.thepertgroup.com/blog/2011/08/industry-focus-research/could-the-restaurant-industry-finally-be-bouncing-back-market-research-thinks-so/

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