Lazy Dog Café

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The Lazy Dog CafeMarketing Plan

Group 3:

Casey Ittner

Kyle Sivadge

Kristina Bacelic

December 15, 2011



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Executive SummaryLazy Dog Cafe is a Southern California restaurant, which aims to provide memorable food andsmall-town hospitality to each guest. It is a fast growing, family-owned restaurant which firstopened in Huntington Beach in 2003. On March 10, 2011, eight years after the initial launch,Lazy Dog Cafe opened their eighth restaurant in Cerritos, California.

After only nine months in business, Lazy Dog Cerritos has hit well over a million dollars insales. This strong launch is only offset by lower than average alcohol sales. With average salesin each restaurant at around $110,000 per month, the Lazy Dog Restaurants are hitting averagealcohol sales of about 20 to 22 percent. However, Lazy Dog Cerritos has been falling behindthis number with alcohol sales at only about 18 percent of total sales per month. To increase the percentage of alcohol sales as well as continued customer awareness of the new restaurant, wecreated a marketing plan directed at improving and promoting the existing Happy Hour.

To compete with our competitors, Buffalo Wild Wings, BJ’s, Hooters and Legends Sports Bar,we will be directing our marketing efforts towards local sports fans between the ages of 21 and

35. To play on our target markets' desire to eat, drink, and socialize with family and friends wehave created attractive pricing on food and drinks during Happy Hour, extended hours and proposed a partnership with DirecTV to have every game available for the guest. To insureguests receive the highest quality of service during Happy Hour and throughout business hourswe would implement an extensive employee knowledge training on all food and drinks. To promote the Happy Hour improvements as well as continue to spread the awareness about one of the newest Lazy Dog Cafes we would utilize social media, local sporting events, and localsporting- goods retailers.

We have proposed a budget of no more than $3,400 to be allocated to the marketing plan. StevePrice, CFO of Lazy Dog, has done a financial analysis of the proposed marketing effort and has

determined that, if implemented correctly, alcohol sales should increase by two to four percent of total alcohol alone. We would also see a flow of sales by the generation of first time customers brought in by the Happy Hour marketing, which in return will create good word of mouth andregularly returning customers. To insure the investment in the marketing plan is creating proper returns, we have suggested weekly marketing audits, done by store managers, to evaluate if themarketing efforts are on track with the objectives, as well as informal marketing controls toevaluate the guests' feedback.

Situation Analysis: External Environment

Competition

The full service restaurant and bar industry is one of the most saturated industries, and thereforeone of the hardest to succeed in. Lazy Dog Cafe has not only made a tremendous name for themselves in southern California, but has become a local industry leader. Lazy Dog Cafecompetes with local businesses as well as international chain restaurants with locations insouthern California.



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Buffalo Wild WingsIn 1982, James Disbrow and Scott Lowery, originally from Buffalo, New York, went to Kent,Ohio on a business trip. They went looking for authentic NY Buffalo wings around town andwhen they realized there were none to be found they decided to open up a restaurant that servedBuffalo-style chicken wings. Since then, Buffalo Wild Wings has opened over 680 restaurants in

42 states and employees over 1,500 full-time employees. In 2011, Buffalo Wild Wings hadreported its revenue at $728 million and an annual net income of $47 million. They continue togrow throughout the nation and within the next year they plan on opening 26 more locations inthe U.S.

Buffalo Wild Wings is famous for their Buffalo wings and 14 different signature dipping sauces.They target sports fans as well as families and offer wings specials throughout the week to lurein customers. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they offer Buffalo wings for a mere 55 cents and boneless wings for only 65 cents each. They also of fer a variety of items on their kid’s menu toappeal to sports fans with children.

A strength of Buffalo Wild Wings is a simplistic menu which helps optimize cooking time andquality of the famous Buffalo chicken wings. A weakness that Buffalo Wild Wings faces is notoffering a happy hour from Saturday through Monday, which is the most popular times for anysports events to take place.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery

In 1978, two guys came up with a delicious deep-dish pizza recipe and the rest is history. Thefirst BJ’s was opened Santa Ana, California, and in 1996 had seven restaurants in operation fromLos Angeles to San Diego. Today BJ’s restaurants are located in 13 states and have over 100

restaurants and employ approximately 12,300 people. This year BJ’s showed revenue of over

$528 million and a net income of $29 million.BJ’s is most famous for their deep-dish pizzas, wide selection of crafted brew beers and well astheir most notable dessert, the Pizookie, which is a chocolate chip cookie bakes in a pizza panand topped with vanilla ice cream. BJ’s Restaurants target families and offer many specials

throughout the week; on Mondays they have five dollar martinis and mojitos all day, onTuesdays they offer half prices on all bottles and glasses of wines, Sunday through Thursdayfrom 10 p.m. to closing they offer two dollar appetizers as well as half off all mini pizzas, andMonday through Friday from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. they offer one dollar off all draft beers andcocktails. These food and beverage specials not only appeal to families but also to sports fansthat like to watch games with reasonably priced food and drinks.

BJ’s greatest strength would be their focus on providing so many different offering throughoutthe week for such a great value to their customers. Their greatest weakness on the other handwould be such a small emphasis on the sports programs and events that they show during thesehappy times, which is a great loss of potential opportunity.

Hooters

Hooter’s is a privately owned restaurant chain that has gone global within the past 15 years.They operate 455 restaurants in 44 states and 28 countries. Hooter’s is most famous, not for its



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food, but for their “Hooter Girls.” Hooter’s employs over 25,000 people and over 17,000

“Hooter Girls.”

All waitresses at Hooter’s wear a specific uniform consisting of a Hooter’s tank top, short orangeshorts, panty hose, loose white socks, and clean white shoes. The company’s image is based on

the sex appeal of its attractive waiting staff, and of course their chicken wings. Hooter’s offersclassic American dishes such as hamburgers, sandwiches and chicken wings. Their targetmarket is mainly males from the age of 25 to 55, which is also a perfect target audience for sports events. Hooter’s has realized that their target market is similar to the target market of sports fans, and because of these similarities, Hooter’s has numerous deals to appeal to thissegment. They offer happy hour specials from Monday through Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. withdeals such as four dollar 22 oz. domestic draft beers, three-dollar well drinks, five-dollar Jager- bombs, four-dollar Redbull vodkas, and half off all appetizers. From 10 p.m. until closingeveryday they offer the same prices on drinks listed above as well as a discount on all draft beers, not just domestic.

Hooter’s advantages are that they have a globally known brand that is synonymous with chickenwings and sports. A huge disadvantage for them, however, is their Hooter Girls because thisappeals to men mainly, while women are being left out of their target market.

Legends Sports BarLegends was established in 1979 by the Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Dennis Harrah and businessman John Morris. They opened this bar in the heart of Long Beach, Belmont Shore,which is a quaint neighborhood filled with “mom and pop” shops, restaurants, bars and coffeehouses.

Legends Sports Bar’s target market is sports fanatics as well as families. They cater to sports

fans by showing every sporting event from the NBA, NFL, and NHL to college basketball and soforth. They also have the largest HD projection screen for showing these events, whichmeasures in at 326 inches as well as a 220-inch projection screen, and over 30 HD televisions.Legends also accommodates families with children by showing animated films if they are notinterested in watching sports.

A strength for Legends Sports Bar would be showing all genres of sports instead of just focusingon the main ones. This is a huge advantage because it gives them so many more targetcustomers to go after. On the other hand a disadvantage for them would be not expanding andopening more bars in local areas so people who either have not heard about it or are too far awaycan also enjoy the experience that Legends provides.

Economic Growth and Stability

In 2008, The United States experienced the worst financial and economic crisis since the GreatDepression. The U.S. government immediately reacted by adjusting the macroeconomic policyalready in place to try and stabilize the crumbling financial system. In 2010, the Unites Stateshad a shocking unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, which was a 0.3 increase from the previousyear. Our inflation rate has also increased this year compared to last years. In 2010, the United



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States had an inflation rate of 1.64 percent. In 2011 so far, the inflation rate has jumped to anastounding average of 3.15 percent. This increase is a huge rise in level of prices of goods andservices in our economy. It is eroding the purchasing power of consumers’ money by decreasing

the amount of goods or services we can buy with the same unit of currency.

Unfortunately, these devastating figures are having a negative effect on the consumers in theU.S. The consumer confidence index has yet again declined from 46.4 in September of 2011, to39.8 in October 2011. This decline is a bad sign for our economy because it means thatAmericans are not optimistic about their own financial situations as well as the overall economicconditions of our country. The more confident consumers are about their income determineshow much they are willing to spend in the market; the more consumers spend in our market, themore it boosts the economy.

Legal & Regulatory Issues

A new ordinance passed in March of 2011, which prohibits smoking cigarettes or cigars withinten feet of an outdoor dining area. Many people who do gather to watch sports and drink

alcoholic beverages do enjoy lighting up a cigarette in the designated outdoor patio of restaurantsso this new law will definitely affect many patrons from coming to Lazy Dog Cafe. They mayinstead choose to watch their sports in a cigar shop, where they can smoke and watch football or they may choose to stay at home or go to a friend’s house. On the other hand, this law can also

help Lazy Dog Cafe. Many people cannot stand the smell of smoke. This law caters to thosewho are against this habit and who enjoy going to restaurants or bars where smoking is prohibited.

Technology

In today’s economy, everyone is doing what they can to save the most amount of money. There

is no exception of this when it comes to watching sports as well. Restaurants and Bars have beenstruggling to get consumers into their businesses for sports events. Many people either download games from the Internet, or watch it streaming live from an illegal source on theInternet as well. It has become so easy for customers to avoid paying for programs such as NFLSunday Ticket or DirecTV, by sharing with friends or illegally retrieving them from a “black

box.”

Technology can be a huge threat for Lazy Dog Cafe, but it is also one of our biggest assets aswell. Since implementing the Aloha Point-of-Sale system, Lazy Dog has been able to automaterestaurant operation systems, measure its performance, and manage every aspect of the restaurant business. The Aloha Enterprise system has various categories in which each separate one do aspecific job.

Aloha Operations offers tools that efficiently help run a table service restaurant, such as:1. Providing faster service. 2. Increasing the accuracy of customers’ orders, which in

turn, improve their experience. 3. Enabling the highest possible productivity.

Aloha Back Office gives managers the tools needed to successfully control food andlabor operations. This application allows management to: 1. Analyze the business



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effectively. 2. Reduce the cost incurred from food and labor. 3. Improve problemsolving in the work place.

Aloha Management is used to maintain the entire system by: 1. Resolving and decreasingthe cost of support. 2. Diminishing the risks of compliance. 3. Setting that allow you tocross-control each separate variable.

Aloha Marketing allows businesses to increase revenue by: 1. Encouraging repeat business. 2. Collecting customer information. 3. Connecting with current and possiblecustomers online.

Sociocultural Trends

Many argue that society plays the biggest role in influencing consumers. Consumers mimicwhat is hip and cool from role models, celebrities, friends and opinion leaders. When crazes become popular, everyone tries to jump on the craze bandwagon.

In recent years, there have been dozens of diet crazes from low carb to liquid diets. These dietshave tremendously affected the restaurant business. Restaurants are now required to post thecalories of all their meals, either on their menu or on a pamphlet on the table. Consumers arenow aware of just how unhealthy most of these dishes are. They contain high sodium, fats andsugars, which is probably why there are so delicious! Because of these popular diet fads, many people have either stopped eating out, or now order off of the low-calorie menu, which is becoming increasingly popular. Many restaurants have either had to change their ingredients tomake a healthier meal or have completely changed the menu, which causes the restaurant toincur high costs.

Many consider the most popular trend today would be “going green.” This issue has become the

fastest growing trend in our country’s history. Numerous patrons refuse to dine at restaurantsthat are not considered to be “green.” Being a “green” restaurant includes: water efficiency,

waste reduction, recycling, sustainable building materials, sustainable food, energy efficiency,recycled and bio-based disposables, and chemical and pollution reduction. If a restaurant canfulfill the previous requirements then they are considered a “green restaurant.” Byaccomplishing this title, a company can have an upper hand in business and on its competitorswho are not “green.” Since this has become so popular in our society, it is well worth it for anyfirm to become green, not only to increase traffic, but many of these “green” techniques also

save the firm tons of money from high energy or water costs.

Situation Analysis: Customer EnvironmentCurrent and Potential Customers

Lazy Dog Cafe caters to many different demographics from young adults to senior citizens.Lazy Dog Cafe is striving to be everyone’s favorite restaurant, and they believe the way tosucceed in that is to target as many people as possible. This is evident based on a wide selectionof beverages, entrees, kid’s meals and desserts. A customer of any age would be able to findsomething on the menu that they find appealing. Although Lazy Dog accommodates thesevarious demographics, their loyal customers are middle class professionals, ages 25-45. Theseconsumers are less price sensitive than others, and have more disposable cash.



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Lazy Dog Cafe targets very distinct segments in regards to the VALS framework. They focus onthese three main groups:

Innovators: This group is targeted because they have the highest incomes and are morelikely to indulge in dining out. They are also opinion leaders, which is why Lazy DogCafe wants them to choose their restaurant over competitors.

Achievers: Achievers are hard working people who enjoy being with their families.They have a good amount of disposable income and enjoy prestige products and services.

Experiencers: These consumers also have high incomes and are also the youngest of theVALS groups. Lazy Dog Cafe targets this segment because they are young, trendy andhave money to spend on eating out and drinking. They enjoy social activities, and newand upcoming products or services.

Along with these VALS groups, Lazy Dog Cafe also targets consumers with medium to heavyusage rates. They operate under the 80/20 principle, which states that 80 percent of sales comefrom 20 percent of the clientele. It is imperative that Lazy Dog retrieve consumers’ information

so that they can send promotions and specials to them, until they return. Once a customer keeps

receiving deals, and if they enjoy their experience, chances are that they will become a loyalcustomer.

Locations

All Lazy Dog locations are conveniently located in either a shopping center or a mall.Customers can go eat while they doing their shopping, before watching a movie, or after bowlingwith friends. These locations are strategically placed in certain areas of the shopping centerswhere traffic is high, and surrounded by lots of stores and venues with fun activities for all ages.There are a total of nine restaurants at the following locations:

Huntington Beach at the Target Pavilions Shopping Center Irvine at The Market Place

Orange at the Stadium Promenade

Thousand Oaks at The Oaks Mall

Torrance at Del Amo Fashion Center

Valencia at The Valencia Town Center

Temecula at The Promenade

Cerritos at the Los Cerritos Center

West Covina at the Westfield West Covina Shopping Center

Peak Time for Customers

Lazy Dog Cafe is most frequented during the usual dinner rush from 5:30 p.m. untilapproximately 8:30 p.m. Another busy time for Lazy Dog is between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. because these are the times of most businesses that are located around these restaurants.Since the all of the restaurants are in a mall or shopping center, workers of surrounding businesses and consumers who are shopping frequently visit them.



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Lazy Dog Cafe also must take the season into account. Studies show that restaurants are busiestduring the holiday season, from November until January. Lazy Dog should take this intoaccount and give more deals and promotions during these months as well as maybe a price cut oncertain popular menu items. Lastly, Lazy Dog is extremely busy when it comes to Happy Hour.People are always looking to save money so they will go out to eat or get drinks during these

times so they can get a great deal and food.

If Lazy Dog were to track when customers came most often, this would allow them to preparefor such a rush of customers, and it could give them an opportunity to offer great deals. Thiswould please the consumers, which would cause them to come more often.

Selection

Lazy Dog Cafe has become one of consumer’s favorite full service restaurants. Customers not

only come here because the food is outstanding and the service is top notch, but also because it islike no other restaurant in the business.

Lazy Dog allows customer to bring their dogs to dine with them on the beautiful, spacious patios. Not only do waitresses serve the people, but dogs also get one of a kind treatment. They areserved water and many times, owners have bought meals for their dogs so they can eat together.The service is not the only variable in which customers continue to make this one their favoriterestaurants.

As soon as you step into a Lazy Dog Cafe, you are greeted with smiles and immediately feelcomfortable in the soothing environment. The restaurants are deliberately designed with warmtones, wood decor and finishes and gives of a very homey presence.

Although Lazy Dog provides excellent service for its customers in a nice environment,customers are becoming harder and harder to please. Because of so much competition in the

restaurant sector, each business must find new and innovative ways to lure customers into their businesses, rather than the rivals. Lazy Dog is trying to accomplish this with their longer happyhours to give customers a greater value, allowing them to bring their dogs to eat with them, and providing a visually aesthetic look that consumers enjoy.

Noncustomers

Although Lazy Dog appeals to a large number of consumers, there are still number of consumerswho they have not yet reached or attracted into their restaurants. These consumers may not findLazy Dog Cafe’s food appealing, or they may not like the fact that customers are allowed to bring their dogs onto the patio. Many people can be allergic or just might not like animals,

which will cause them to choose another establishment to eat at.

Consumers may choose other restaurants because of specials they offer or because of a certaintype of food. For example, if a customer were in the mood for pizza, they may choose to go toBJ’s because this is what they specialize in, or because their pizza selection is superior to Lazy

Dogs’.

Lazy Dog can attempt to fix this problem by advertising more in shopping centers, colleges,movie theaters, arcades and many more venues like these. If Lazy Dog were to advertise with a



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special price promotion, or their happy hours, noncustomers may decide to give them a chance.By communicating to as many people as possible, Lazy Dog is increasing the probability of anoncustomer giving the establishment a chance, which can lead to a repeat customer.

Situation Analysis: Internal Environment

Current Marketing Goals and Objectives

Lazy Dog Cafe’s current marketing goals are to increase consumer satisfaction, customer

awareness, and sales revenues. These goals are consistent with the firm’s mission to provide

every customer with the same hospitality that Chris Simms was shown in Wyoming when he was

a young boy. These goals that Lazy Dog has set are on track to achievement because since they

were set, Lazy Dog has expanded, which means that profitability and customer awareness has

definitely increased.

Market ing Performance & Organizational Resources

Lazy Dog is currently performing relatively well in comparison to other rivals in the restaurant

industry. Lazy Dog, which is privately owned, does not rely on the stock market or shareholders

to determine whether or not they are succeeding in business. Lazy Dog relies on their finances

and sales revenues, as well as the growth rate of their company, which is at a steady two new

establishments per year. This growth can only mean that Lazy Dog is achieving or exceeding

their marketing performance goals and objectives.

Lazy Dog is able to reduce its costs, and increase revenue, by having a strong relationship with

its vendors. Lazy Dog only uses Cisco as its food vendor and by establishing this loyal

relationship, Cisco in return gives Lazy Dog a discount on large orders. They also have a greatrelationship with Southern Wine and Spirits, which is their main alcohol vendor. They too give

Lazy Dog price cuts on certain items that are seasonal or if they see a particular brand doing well

in a certain restaurant. If Lazy Dog continues to maintain these vendor relationships, they can

keep saving money, and build their bargaining power.

Current Cultural Issues

Lazy Dog currently has a very strong base of loyal customers. These customers are generally

middle aged, dog lovers, and live in suburban areas. They have created a culture in the

restaurants, which is great, but it can also prevent those who don’t necessarily fit in from coming

to Lazy Dog because they do not feel comfortable. Lazy Dog must be able to continue pleasing

their current customers while marketing to other types of cultures. They must make all groups

feel as comfortable as their current customers are.

SWOT AnalysisStrengths



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1. Wide selection of food items. This strength is keen for giving all different varieties of

customers something that they will enjoy eating. This strength allows the firm to be

different, because unlike their main competitors who focus on a signature dish, Lazy Dog

caters to all different pallets.

2. Knowledgeable work staff . This strength allows its employees to be empowered and

also to increase sales by suggesting more items. Because all employees attend a class on

the different types of beer, they can suggest the one that compliments their meal more,

which in turn will make their experience a more pleasant one. This is an advantage over

competitors because many of them do not take this issue into account.

3. Extended happy hour. Extending the happy hour times is a strength because, unlike its

competitors who offer a maximum of 3 hours, Lazy Dog Cafe has a longer promotion

time for beverages and appetizers, which will lure customers into their establishment.

4. Company size. This is a huge advantage over the rival companies because Lazy Dog has

nine nearby locations that can easily communicate with one another and offer a consistent

experience for their customers.5. Delivery and takeout services. Lazy Dog Cafe offers these services to better fulfill the

needs of the customers. It is ideal to have the customer dine in the restaurant but by

allowing delivery and takeout, Lazy Dog is still able to make their customers happy by

providing them with delicious food and excellent service.

6. Cozy and homely store ambiance. When you walk into a Lazy Dog restaurant you

immediately feel welcome and wanted. This atmosphere is usually hard to come by in a

fast pace restaurant that targets sports fans and families. Lazy Dog has definitely

succeeded in creating this balance between an exciting and warm environment.

Weaknesses

1. Hours of operation. Unlike some of its competitors who stay open until 2 a.m., Lazy

Dog Cafe closes its doors at either 10 or 11 p.m. This four-hour gap between Lazy Dog

and its rivals is a weakness for Lazy Dog because for many consumers who like to stay

out and drink until 2 a.m., they must find a different location to do so.

2. Weak brand. Lazy Dog Cafe is a relatively new company compared to some of its

competitors. Because of its weak image, many consumers may choose to dine or

socialize at a more popular restaurant or bar. This weakness hurts Lazy Dog because

those customers who do not choose Lazy Dog over the competition could be missing out

on a more appealing experience.3. Advertising. This is a weakness for Lazy Dog Cafe because they are not allowing

potential customers to find out about their restaurant. If they advertised more, their brand

name would become increasingly popular and more people would flock this

establishment over the competitors.

Opportunities



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1. Expansion. A huge opportunity for Lazy Dog Cafe would be to expand throughout

California. By starting in only California first, Lazy Dog would be able to increase its

brand name and popularity so when it went national, there would already be knowledge

of its name. If this proved to be a successful move then they could eventually go national

or international. Lazy Dog Cafe has a casual California ambiance and many people

around the country and world desire to be a part of this “lifestyle.” By expanding, these

patrons outside of California would go to these restaurants to get a taste of California.

2. New products. Lazy Dog Cafe has a great deal of opportunities when it comes to new

products. Not only could they sell shirts, mugs, and glasses, but they could expand into

dog apparel. They could begin making doggie clothes with the Lazy Dog name on it or

even come up with cute catch phrases such as “I love my LAZY DOG.” They could also

sell doggie accessories such as water and food bowls, leashes, collars, and beds. A

majority of the people who do go to Lazy Dog Cafe either like dogs or have dogs so this

could turn out to be a huge market for the firm.

Threats

1. Current economy. With the current economy crisis, many consumers feel that dining

out is a luxury that they need to learn to live without. People are doing everything they

can to save money, and that includes eating out and going out for drinks. If the economy

doesn’t start to improve, the restaurant industry will be threatened and consumers who

still have enough disposable income to eat out will have fewer options because of

businesses closing down.

2. Opening of Buffalo Wild Wings. Buffalo Wild Wings is one of Lazy Dogs’ main

competitors. In summer of 2011, they opened their new location at the Los Cerritos

Center, which is where Lazy Dog Cafe is also located. Since Buffalo Wild Wings has a

similar target market and focus on sports events, they pose a huge threat to Lazy Dog

since they have a more established brand, and consumers may choose to eat there instead.

3. NBA Lockout. With the current NBA lockout, many sports bars are facing a huge loss.

From September through June, Lazy Dog Cafe shows all NBA games throughout the

week. Since there is no NBA season people will choose to stay at home rather than go to

a sports bar with nothing to watch. The NBA is particularly special to people who live in

or near Los Angeles because we do not have a football team to root for so we are

especially proud that we have the Lakers. Lazy Dog can prevent this from diminishing

sales by putting an extremely large focus on the football season and making consumersforget that there is a NBA lockout.

4. Price wars. Restaurants are doing whatever it takes to get customers to visit their

establishments over rivals. Many have them are slashing their prices by up to 30 percent

to lure consumers into their restaurants. They are able to do this by using cheaper

vendors or because some of them have such high bargaining power, they are demanding

their food at a lower cost. Since Lazy Dog is much smaller than these competitors, they



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do not have the same bargaining power, and Lazy dog refuses to use a lower quality food

product so their prices are not as easy to lower. Lazy Dog can stress to its customer that

they support local vendors and farmers, they use fresh meat and vegetables, and they

have the utmost respect when it comes to the quality of their customers’ food.

5. Intense competition. The full service restaurant industry is one of the most brutal and

difficult to succeed in. There are so many new competitors every day trying to make a

business of their own, as well as huge established corporations with hundreds of food

chains. Because Lazy Dog is such a small company compared to its rivals, they must

work extra hard to get their name in the minds of consumers. There is at least three other

restaurants located within a quarter of a mile of every Lazy dog Cafe so it is imperative to

their company to stand out from their rivals and win the customers over with their

outstanding customer service, unique outlook on our furry friends, and a wide array of

delicious menu items.

SWOT Matrix

Strengths: Wide selection of food items Knowledgeable work staff Extended Happy Hour during

weekends Company size Delivery and takeout services Cozy and homely store ambiance

Opportunities: Expanding throughout California New products

Weaknesses: Hours of operation Weak brand Advertising

Threats: Current economy Opening of Buffalo Wild Wings in

nearby locations NBA lockout Price wars Intense competition

Matching, Converting, Minimizing, & Avoiding Strategies

If the firm continues to tromp its rivals when it comes to happy hour, then they will win over a

majority of customers who go to watch sports and this will lead to a significant increase in

revenues. With this increase, Lazy Dog would be able to expand throughout California and



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maybe throughout the nation. This expansion would serve customers needs by providing a

unique dining experience, with a laid back California feel around America.

Lazy Dog can definitely convert all of their weaknesses into strengths and minimize their threats

substantially. If Lazy dog extended their hours during the weekends, they could match the hours

of their competition and also increase their sales and customer satisfaction. By satisfying their customers, Lazy Dog would become a stronger brand because consumers would be buzz

advertising by telling their friends, families and acquaintances how great this restaurant is. This

would lead to a more prominent name, which leads to sales, which gives Lazy Dog more cash to

advertise with. In terms of Lazy Dog Cafe’s threats, it is key for the company to keep giving out

great customer service and delicious food, because it is very common for huge corporations to

forget that every customer counts, and once a company begins to lose their customer base, they

will look for a restaurant who gives impeccable service and great tasting food.

Marketing Goals & Objectives

Objectives for our marketing plan are to increase alcohol sales by 2-4 percent and marketshare by 10 percent in a period of one year.

Our last goal is to raise consumer awareness for Lazy Dog Cafe as a sports bar andrestaurant, so that local consumers think of Lazy Dog when they want to watch any genreof sports.

Marketing Research

In developing the marketing plan for Lazy Dog Cafe, we will need various types of information.

We must know the demographics of our target market, such as: age, occupation, income, gender,education, and marital status. This information will help us target these customers easily, andwill help us to get their attention by marketing to them with things that interest them. For example, if we are marketing to teens and young adults under the age of 21, we will not marketspecial promotions with alcoholic beverages. Instead we could offer a complimentary meal or inform them of our happy hour appetizer deals. For males over the age of 21 we can offer specials and promotions on beers and appetizers during Sunday and Monday night football. If we want to target a married couple with children we can offer our appetizer platter or suggest our kid’s menu deals to these families.

Our focus is on mainly males and some females, ages 21-35, which are sports fans. Lazy Dogcan do many things to find out who these consumers are and how to market to them. Lazy Dogmust first retrieve the information from customers when they come into the restaurant. This can be done by surveys or forms at each table where customers put their information to get promotions online, through email or mailed directly to them. Lazy Dog can also ask them whichteam is their favorite so when that team has a game schedules, Lazy Dog can send them an emailreminder of the game date and time, and a promotion to get them to come and watch the game atLazy Dog with friends and family.



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Customers can also go online to the Lazy Dog website and sign up for a sweepstakes or contestto win a free super bowl party for the contest winner and 10 of his or her friends. When peoplesign up they will have to give their information, which is a great technique for Lazy Dog to gainthis information, and once a the given deadline has approached, all nine restaurant locations willgive one lucky person all you can drink beer and appetizers for the super bowl game.

Lazy Dog Cafe will be using qualitative and quantitative method for retrieving this information.In terms of quantitative research, Lazy Dog will be giving surveys to each table where they will be asked to fill in their information and rate their experience and customer service. This willhelp Lazy Dog to better understand the needs of the consumers, which will help themsuccessfully fulfill these needs. They can also use qualitative methods of research, such as focusgroups or interviews to find out if a new entrée is up to the Lazy Dog standard or if the restaurantneeds any improvements. Both of these methods will help Lazy Dog become a better restaurant,and it will help them appreciate and realize the needs and wants of their target consumers.

Target Market & Segmentation StrategiesIn our marketing strategy we plan to target one major segment. We are segmenting our consumer market based on behavioral differences and descriptive characteristics. For theseconsumers we also feel that the best approach is that of an undifferentiated targeting strategy,due to the low marketing budget. Behaviorally, we are focused on segmenting heavy users,meaning those who consume alcohol and watch football often. It makes sense to target heavyusers, especially heavy consumers of alcohol, because they even though they are a smaller of themarket, they account for a higher percentage of total consumption. So it is over all moreefficient for Lazy Dog to differentiate and segment light from heavy users. We are also focusedon segmenting based on three descriptive characteristics: geographic, demographic, and psychographic.

Geographic: Our marketing efforts will be directed locally by targeting people and businesses in Lakewood, Cerritos and Long Beach, which is within a ten-mile radius of our Cerritos location.

Demographic: We will also be targeting individuals specifically between the ages of 21and 35.

Psychographic: We will focus on those individuals who like sports, and morespecifically, those who like football.

We feel that targeting nearby consumers is most efficient because there are many alternative bar/restaurants and people who live in close proximity are more likely to actually make the trip.Demographically, because a big portion of Lazy Dog’s menu includes alcohol, targeting people

over 21 years of age will help to allocate more sales per customer. Our chosen target market lieswithin the Generation Y category and is known for being tech-savvy, family-centric,achievement-orientated, team-oriented, and attention craving. This market has grown up with,and relies on technology to perform their jobs better and spends countless hours on the web. GenY individuals have a new perspective of the workplace and are more interested in flexibleschedules and a better work/life balance. They also grew up playing team sports, which has ledthem to become loyal, committed, and filled with a need to be included and involved. Lastly,these consumers crave attention, appreciate being kept in the loop, and seek frequent praise and



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reassurance. We have taken all of these needs, desires, and attitudes into account and feel thatour marketing plan will appeal to the majority of these characteristics.

Marketing Strategies Primary Target Market

Our primary target market includes sports fans in the 21-35 year age range, residing mainly inLakewood and Cerritos and Long Beach, California. This target market has a need to watchfootball, however many NFL games are not shown on cable channels and can only be seen withsatellite TV. They also have a desire to eat, drink, and socialize with family and friends. Muchof our target market works all week and looks to the weekend as a time to let loose, relax andenjoy themselves. Millions of people all over tune in to watch football on weekends andMonday nights, and this trend shows no signs of letting up. College football airs all day onSaturdays and NFL plays all day on Sundays and Monday nights, and many sports enthusiastsstrive to watch every game. Our culture has also grown accustomed to the idea of eating snacksand finger-foods and consuming alcohol while we watch sports games. For these reasons, wefeel that local sports fans within the 21-35 year age range are the best possible target market toutilize.

Product/ Service

Based on the facts that our target market has a strong need to watch football, and also eat anddrink with their friends, our marketing plan offers to provide these consumers with a service thatwill help to satisfy their needs. The service we are offering is a new extended happy hour thatwill take place on Saturdays from 10am-7pm, Sundays from 10am-close, and Mondays from5pm-close. These new hours were chosen because many nearby competitors didn’t seem to provide a happy hour at these times. We want for the Lazy Dog Café to be known as a place for

people to enjoy football games with their friends in a great environment. The Lazy Dog Caféwould also set itself apart from other bar/restaurants by subscribing to DirecTV’s NFL Sunday

Ticket, which allows for every single NFL game to be viewed. The bar/restaurant also providesa vast assortment of alcoholic beverages including their own Lazy Dog brews. Lazy Dog’s menu

is extremely diverse and the food is very good, so everyone can find something they enjoy.

Lazy Dog’s differentiates itself from other bar/restaurants and ads customer value through its

customer service and general environment. The log cabin interior and exterior, along with thewarm and comfortable yet energetic ambiance, all provide a pleasing escape from day-to-daylife. Our customer service strategy is to provide the staff additional training so they can beeducated in all of the alcoholic beverages offered. This knowledge will not only help customers

make a more informed decision when ordering, but also make them feel important because theemployees actually took time to interact with them. While working Saturday through Monday,employees will wear football jerseys instead of their standard uniform in order to provide aspirited environment and encourage customers to feel comfortable enough to wear their own.The staff will not only be friendly and spirited, but educated enough to be informative andresponsive to all customers.

Pricing



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The pricing in this marketing plan is only focused on the happy hour menu changes. Theobjective is to offer attractive pricing to compliment the great service Lazy Dog Café provides.We chose to use competitive-based pricing because there are many places that offer the samefood and beverage selections, and also because this industry tends to have an elastic market. Byoffering similar prices compared to competitors, along with an extended happy hour, a superior

environment, and strong customer service, we feel that we more customers will be attracted tothe Lazy Dog café. The happy hour times and prices will help to increase traffic during slow periods, and are explained in the table below. Additional price cuts will also be offered for specific promotions, which are described in the promotion section of this plan.

Day of the Week Time Food Prices Drink Prices

Saturday 10AM-7PM $3, $4, $5 & $6

favorites$3, $4, $5 & $6

favorites

Sunday 10AM-Close $3, $4, $5 & $6favorites $3, $4, $5 & $6favorites

Monday 5PM-Close$3, $4, $5 & $6

favorites$3, $4, $5 & $6

favorites

Distribution

The Lazy Dog café is located in the Los Cerritos Shopping Center just of the 605 freeway inCerritos. Customers can easily access the café because there is ample parking and the location is

on the outskirts of the mall, nearest to the parking lot. Currently, the Lazy Dog café is gettingtheir food, dishes, utensils, and other restaurant hardware from local independent distributors.We feel, however, that because they use such large quantities, they should be doing businesswith a much larger distributor like Restaurant Depot. With Restaurant Depot they would be ableto order all of their food and hardware from one source, which will help to cut down on upstreamdistribution costs.

Even though Lazy Dog has been using its current alcohol suppliers for many years and has beenable to achieve solid relationships with them, there are other areas that could use improving. Atthe moment, Lazy Dog only takes inventory on its alcohol once a week, but with the increasedsales predicted from the extended happy hours we think inventory should be taken Sundaymorning and Tuesday morning. Although it would be ideal to acquire an inventory system

where each alcohol supplier could see what is being sold directly, at the moment there is no budget for this. We would, however, communicate with suppliers to establish specific levels of inventory needed for each supplier. Once these inventory levels are set, Lazy Dog could just telltheir suppliers what they currently have and the suppliers could efficiently fill their own orders.

Promotion



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The General IMC strategy we are proposing is to raise awareness and increase customer trafficand sales, during the mentioned happy hours, through promotions on Facebook, eventsponsorships and donations, and collaborations with local businesses. The total budget for promotions will be 1 percent of total sales. We feel that a huge budget is not required because aFacebook page is already set up, and the only money needed will be for events and

advertisements in local businesses. Through Lazy Dog’s current Facebook page, we will engageconsumers by encouraging them to upload pictures and videos of their dogs wearing or playingin sports apparel from their favorite teams. Lazy Dog, along with other Facebook users, will beable to directly comment on this user-submitted material, which will help to forge a directrelationship between consumers and the Lazy Dog brand. We feel that this will be effective because people naturally want to show off their pets and most likely already have photos of their pets on their Facebook page. In order to increase repeat customers, the Facebook page will alsoinform people that if they “check -in” at Lazy Dog Caf e during the happy hours, they will receivean extra dollar off drinks if they come in the following week. Friends of friends can also seewhen people “check in” at Lazy Dog Cafe, which will help to raise awareness.

Lazy Dog can also become involved in local high schools and donate a percentage of sales to

help out their football teams. Pictures of the football teams that Lazy Dog sponsors will be putup in the restaurant and on their Facebook page, along with special dates when two percent of thesales made during weekend happy hours will be donated to these teams. A Lazy Dog E-Z Upwill be set up at the specified football game to interact with the community and also help createawareness. The Lazy Dog corporate website will also have information about its affiliationswith local schools and sports teams. We feel that this sort of cause marketing will allow peopleto become involved in their community and also show Lazy Dog as a positive influence onsociety.

We believe that there is also potential to collaborate with local sporting goods retailers within theCerritos mall to help promote weekends at Lazy Dog. We are focused on building relationships

with either Champ Sports or Fanzz, both of which sell collegiate and professional sports appealand accessories, in order to bring in additional customers. We would have small displays,located specifically by football jerseys in these stores, which encourage people to wear the jerseys they purchase into the Lazy Dog Cafe Saturday through Monday in order to receive greatdeals and support their local football teams. In exchange, Lazy Dog would offer coupons for Fanzz or Champs Sports to customers in its restaurant. The Lazy Dog Facebook page andcorporate website would have links to the websites of the businesses it collaborates with to help promote one another. We feel that these sporting goods stores will be eager to team up withLazy Dog Cafe, not only because their interest in sports makes them cohesive, but also becausethey have the potential to increase sales for each other.

Marketing ImplementationStructural Issues

The implementation of this proposed marketing strategy will not call for many changes to LazyDog’s structure. The manager would be responsible for talking with local businesses, so no

additional positions would need to be added. Lazy Dog already has a Facebook page, so the person responsible will just have take on a few more tasks. If the activity on the Facebook page becomes too overbearing, than an additional employee can be hired if need be. The new,



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extended happy hours on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are predicted to bring in morecustomers, so extra staff will either be scheduled or on call in order to meet the new demands.Additional employee training will be required to make sure that the staff is knowledgeable in allof the alcoholic drinks that Lazy Dog cafe offers. We also feel it is important that bartenders andfood runners be trained in one another’s basic duties so they can help out when different areas

get busy. Employees will of course be paid for their time during this training and it will beoffered at the Lazy Dog cafe in order to make it easy on them and help to overcome anyresistance.

Bar and restaurant employees make more money when they not only have more customers, butalso when customers are happy and satisfied. On this basis, employees shouldn’t be opposed to

the new marketing plan because its intent is to bring in more customers. The only real changefor the staff is that they will be required to wear football jerseys when working Saturday throughMonday, but because these jerseys will be provided by Lazy Dog and a change from their everyday uniform, we feel there won’t be any opposition.

Internally, employees will be encouraged to support and communicate their favorite teams with

one another, as well as with customers, to help create a true, spirited environment. Managers canalso put up pictures of their employees and/or their dogs at sporting events, in jerseys, or in other sports-related scenes throughout the restaurant and Facebook page to go along with the family,friendly vibe that the Lazy Dog cafe offers.

Tactical Marketing Activities

Financial Projections

Through a financial analysis done by Lazy Dog Café’s current CFO, Steve Price, we have

estimated that the proposed marketing effort should increases alcohol sales by 2 to 4%. If the

Subjective Tactical Activities Person ResponsibleRequired

Budget

Completion

Date

Product Activities1. NFL Sunday Ticket Lazy Dog Cafe manager $211.96 09.01.11

IMC Activities1. 5 hour training class for 25 people at

$8.50/hr

2. Jerseys for 25 employees

3. Sign advertisements for sporting

goods stores

4. Lazy Dog E-Z Up

Lazy Dog Cafe manager

Staff and manager



$1,602.50

$875.00

$300.00

$399.00

09.01.11

09.01.11

09.01.11

09.01.11



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average total sales per month is $110,000 the current average alcohol sales is at $19,800 to between $22,000 and $24,000. That is an extra $4,200 per month in sales in alcohol alone. Asseen above, we have allocated no more than $3,400 to the new plan. If we meet the estimatedgoal we will see a return on the investment in the first month. From there we will allocate anadditional 1% of total sales, per company policy, or about $1,100 a month to the continued

effort. Although a return on the investment will be seen through the increase of alcohol sales,additional returns will be created through an increase in sales of first time customers, word-of – mouth advertising, and repeat business generated through the new marketing plan.

Evaluation & Control

Input Control Mechanisms

A large part of increasing alcohol sales is to provide knowledgeable staff that is able toeffectively sell drinks to customers. To do this it is necessary to train employees on all availablealcohol, including beer, wine, spirits and mixed drinks. To teach them about the drinks, Lazy

Dog Cafe should provide alcohol training classes, have featured drinks of the week, and test their employee’s knowledge. Once a server is comfortable with their knowledge of alcohol they areeasily able to recommend a certain drink or answer any customer questions.

Process Control Mechanisms In order to encourage servers and bartenders to push alcohol sales Lazy Dog Cafe should providean incentive program. Each day there should be a featured drink that the employees learn aboutand whoever sells the most during their shift receives a free meal. There should also be a longer competition where over three months servers compete on the total alcohol sales with appealingrewards at the end.

Performance Standards When servers suggest any specialty drinks to guest it is important that they enjoy it, this in turnwill have them coming back and be more willing to try other drinks. To ensure this, Lazy Dogshould extend the policy “if you try something new and do not like it we can get you somethingelse, no questions asked” to alcohol beverages as well. Another way to ensure the product is in

line with customers’ standards is to allow them a free tasting of draft beer and wine before theyorder to ensure the drink fits their satisfaction.

Marketing Audits Management should check marketing efforts weekly. To see if the marketing plan had the

desired effect, management should check the percentage of alcohol sales to see if it has made anincrease to 20-22% from the initial 18%. They can also check the number of guest that dined inthe bar during happy hour specials and game days to see there was an increase.

Informal Marketing Control An informal way to monitor the effects of the marketing effort is for managers and employees totalk to guest and see if they are enjoying themselves, the game, and the food and drinks.

Lazy Dog Café

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