The marketing plan is critical as well. Heavy Henry's Hogs is built around the concept of a destination restaurant, so word-of-mouth is expected, but there are a number of tactics that go into building word of mouth. The launch strategy will have a number of tactics, including promotions, building the celebrity level of the chef, and the strategy for entering and winning barbeque contests nationwide. The strategy should also incorporate the different advertising that will be done to promote these successes and introduce the restaurant to a broad area. The marketing strategy is critical because poorly conceived marketing can cost a lot of money, fail to reach the target market or both. A successful strategy will reach the target market for little money. Minimizing startup costs is important.
All of these tactics have measures that can be used. The first measure is the number of awards that the barbeque wins in the six months leading up to the launch. The summer festival season is the best time to collect awards, and the number of awards -- and their prestige -- is an important metric. Other measures are more conventional. The average experience in the industry of the staff members is going to be another measure used. While there is room for good rookies on the team, Heavy Henry's is relying on top industry talent to deliver an exceptional...
The third key measure that will be used is the total pre-launch cost. All of the strategies and tactics outlined here can vary significantly in cost. A target objective cost that is acceptable to the principles will be set and this budget will be the benchmark against which the launch costs are measured.
Lastly, issues such as the ethical will be covered in the training program. It is critical that ethics is a central part of the training because ethics guides everything that we do. From sourcing the meat to the treatment of the bottom rung of the staff hierarchy, to adherence to local laws, only the highest ethical standards will be followed. The legal and regulatory environment is also going to be covered in the training program -- these issues must be understood not just by managers but by all staff to ensure full compliance. This is especially important in the key industry issues of food handling and alcohol service, where any issues with the regulators could damage not only earnings but reputation. Good corporate citizenship is going to be reliant on building a good relationship in the community -- consulting with neighbors on critical issues such as potential expansion, for example. Our customers are in the community and without their support there can be no Heavy Henry's.
