Identifying Competitive Advantage

Identifying Competitive Advantage

Strengths and weaknesses

The restaurant to be used in this paper is Ruby Tuesday. A SWOT analysis help in the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the restaurant which are the internal factors that enable the restaurant to compete in the market and the opportunities and threats which are the external factors that affect the restaurant in the market (Porter, 2008). The strengths of the restaurant have enabled it to compete in the market and secure a strong market ground. Some of the strengths of the restaurant include the various services that are offered in the restaurant. The high standard of hospitality is another strength that makes it strong in the market (Porter, 2008). The dishes offered are of high quality and the restaurant has highly qualified kitchen staff. Accommodation is also offered at an affordable price and it is of a very high standard. Gift card purchases are also accompanied by bonus coupons and this attracts more buyers earning the restaurant more customers and profit. The restaurant also allows customers to design their own gift cards at a considerate cost and it also offers gift cards in form of e-cards (Porter, 2008). The gift cards can also be purchased in bulk, a service that is not available in most restaurants. The restaurant also has highly trained staffs who offers quality services to the customers. The other strength of the restaurant is the international standards of the restaurants and the high number of the restaurants in different locations. This makes accessibility easier thus attracting more customers. One is able to search for the restaurant in the nearest location through the internet and therefore one can access it with much ease (Porter, 2008).

The restaurant catering department also offers catering services at large parties and the services are of a very high standard (Porter, 2008). The recipes offered are classic and affordable. The restaurant also has all the service online in their website and the ordering can be done instantly through the internet. This allows the customer to access all the services with easy. The locations of the restaurants are relaxing to allow the customers to have fun and enjoy the scenery and this attracts the customers to the restaurant another time (Porter, 2008). The other strength of the restaurant is good coexistence and interaction of the staff and the customers because they interact through the internet and chat about the services offered. This is evident through the free contacts to the restaurant. This allows the customers to express their concerns and it also gives the restaurant a chance to know the expectations of the customers (Porter, 2008). The restaurant also uses a strategy that attracts the local communities to seek their services. This is done through charitable donations in which fundraising dinners are held at any Ruby Tuesday location. The donations are given to serve the community and therefore this shows the customers and potential customers the hard work of the restaurant and therefore they are attracted to seek services from the restaurant (Porter, 2008).

The restaurant has several weaknesses that it faces and these include taking too long to update its information on the website. The website of the restaurant gives all the information about the restaurant and the services offered but it does not contain all the services on one page (Porter, 2008). This makes it a bit difficult for some people to get the services they want. In other terms, this means that the restaurants have not made use of current technology to market its services and therefore this leads to a disadvantage in the market. Creating a more classic website and the use of social media to market the restaurant can facilitate the establishment of a very strong market base. The other weakness is inadequate staff to serve the high number of customers. The number of restaurants in different locations is high and due to the high number of customers, there is need for more staff in order to maintain the high quality services in the restaurants (Porter, 2008).

The company can use environmental scanning and competitive intelligence processes to analyze its market analysis in order to determine which areas need to be improved in order to establish a good internal and external environment (Porter, 2008). This helps in dealing with competition since the restaurant managers of the restaurants will be in a position to work on the weaknesses of the restaurant putting it in a better position to compete with the others. Through carrying out a detailed marketing analysis, the restaurant is able to improve the website and increase the number of staff while maintaining quality (Porter, 2008). This will also help the restaurant to identify the improvements that can be made to the website and the kind of information that can be included to make it possible for all customers to access the services. The restaurant will also be able to use social and identify the kind of information that is to be included. The coordination of the internet sites is also analyzed to ensure that the customers are attended to and that these strategies are sustainable. This will be effective because it will put the restaurant in a better position to fight in the market and also this will meet the current changes in the market (Porter, 2008).

Reference

Porter, M. E. (2008). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. SimonandSchuster. com.