Institute of Business Administration

Advanced & Applied Business Research The Burger Factory Submitted to: Dr. Huma Amir

Mujtaba Mansoor Akhtar Raafay Ali Muzammil Malik Hassaan Usmani Ali Tariq 6/14/2014

1

2

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank our course instructor Dr. Huma Amir for giving us an opportunity to

study the course, Advanced & Applied Business Research. The course was taught through great

zeal and fervor. The manner in which she communicated the theoretical concepts with real life

practical examples gave us a meaningful insight to the marketing research issues related to

Burger Factory.

Also we would like to extend our gratitude for her sincere cooperation in helping us to compile

our term report. She not only gave us a sense of direction but also contributed with her thoughts

for our term report. Our course instructor was always there when we needed help and never

refused to listen to our queries. Her positive attitude and optimistic nature encouraged us to take

up challenging tasks and deal with it equally. During our course, her words of encouragement

facilitated us to strive harder to achieve our goals.

Finally, we would like to thank our respondents who made our term report possible. We

appreciate their cooperation and opinions which made this exploratory research an unforgettable

experience.

3

Executive Summary

This report reviews the fast food industry, provides analysis of growing trend of burger outlets

particularly in Karachi and in the end focuses on the consumer perception of Burger Factory as

compared to other brands on different variables identified.

The methods used include consumer surveys, hypothesis testing, and perceptual mapping to

provide an accurate picture of how Burger Factory has performed so far and what are lags that

need to be addressed.

Results from the analysis shows that consumers do not attach much importance to the price

factor however consumers put great emphasis on convenience and other service factors.

Burger Factory is seen as a low quality and high priced brand by consumers and it faces criticism

when it comes to location as well. The brand should work closely to expand beyond Clifton

while also ensuring that food quality remains consistent across all its outlets.

The report finds that Burger Factory is doing a lot of things correctly as pointed out by the

analysis however; it must look deeply into the given recommendations and make minor tweaks

to realize the potential of the idea i.e. Marvel Themed burgers.

Although much care has been taken to provide as accurate a picture as possible some limitations

of the analysis must be kept in mind. Some of the limitations were: The sample size was small

and hence a larger survey might have been needed; Time to conduct and submit the results was

limited to less than 4 weeks along with budgetary constraints made it hard for the researchers to

reach a much larger target audience.

4

Table of Contents Acknowledgement .......................................................................................................................... 2

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 3

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 7

About Burger Factory ................................................................................................................. 7

About the industry....................................................................................................................... 7

Research Design.............................................................................................................................. 9

Research Objective ..................................................................................................................... 9

Research Model .......................................................................................................................... 9

Quantitative and Qualitative Data collection methods ............................................................. 11

Quantitative Data Collection Method ................................................................................... 11

Qualitative Data Collection method...................................................................................... 11

Secondary Data Analysis Literature Review ............................................................................. 13

Behavior Differs With Age ....................................................................................................... 13

Pricing ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Fast Food Consumption in Pakistan ......................................................................................... 14

Quality of Service and Food ..................................................................................................... 15

Impact of Gender ...................................................................................................................... 16

Impact of Marketing and Communication ................................................................................ 16

Changing Demographics ........................................................................................................... 17

The SERVQUAL Model........................................................................................................... 18

Competition............................................................................................................................... 19

Exploratory / Qualitative Research ............................................................................................... 21

Analysis of Focus Groups ......................................................................................................... 21

Evolvement of Fast Food Industry ........................................................................................ 21

Location Strategy .................................................................................................................. 22

Discussion and Key Findings on Burger Factory ................................................................. 23

Behavioral aspects towards quality, quantity and price ........................................................ 24

Brand, Quality and status symbol ......................................................................................... 24

Quality of service .................................................................................................................. 24

Location ................................................................................................................................ 24

5

Pre-purchase expectation ...................................................................................................... 25

Purchase Decision ................................................................................................................. 25

Sampling Design ........................................................................................................................... 26

Target Population ...................................................................................................................... 26

Sampling Element and Sampling Unit ...................................................................................... 26

Time .......................................................................................................................................... 27

Geographical Extent.................................................................................................................. 27

Sampling Frame ........................................................................................................................ 27

Sampling Technique ................................................................................................................. 27

Sampling Size ........................................................................................................................... 28

Sampling Process ...................................................................................................................... 28

Inferential Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 29

Hypothesis Testing........................................................................................................................ 42

Quick Summary ........................................................................................................................ 51

Perceptual Mapping ...................................................................................................................... 52

Quality vs. Taste ....................................................................................................................... 52

Ambiance vs. Menu .................................................................................................................. 53

Accessibility Vs Price ............................................................................................................... 54

Menu vs Taste ........................................................................................................................... 55

Menu vs Quality ........................................................................................................................ 56

Ambiance vs Quality................................................................................................................. 57

Price vs Quality ......................................................................................................................... 58

Accessibility vs Quality ............................................................................................................ 59

Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 60

Ambiance ...................................................................................................................................... 60

Accessibility .................................................................................................................................. 60

Menu ............................................................................................................................................. 61

Quality........................................................................................................................................... 61

Deals ............................................................................................................................................. 62

Superhero themed souvenirs ......................................................................................................... 62

Facebook Reviews/ Competitions ................................................................................................. 62

6

Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 63

Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 64

Transcript Focus Group 1 ...................................................................................................... 64

Transcript Focus Group 2 .......................................................................................................... 86

Burger Factory Questionnaire Form ............................................................................................. 95

7

Introduction

About Burger Factory The increasing trend of outside eating, due to several factors contributing to the culture, has

created an opportunity in the food industry. Burger Factory being one of the new entrants had

decided to take part in the competition specifically in the burger market. Founded earlier this

year, Burger Factory has introduced itself with a brand that aims to bring adventure to the Fast

Food.

Burger Factory serves Marvel themed burgers to its customers, with one take away outlet in the

area of Defence, Karachi.

About the industry Burger Factory is located in Pakistans biggest city Karachi which is also the provincial capital

of Sindh. Over the years there has been a huge rise in the number of fast food outlets and

restaurants. Nowadays new international fast food franchisees are opening up shop all over the

city. This has also given rise to intense internal competition in which restaurants and fast food

outlets compete with each other to gain market share, brand loyalty and customer base.

Burger Factory is a relatively new entrant to the Burger fast food outlet business in Karachi.

Established competitors in the market are:

Mc Donalds

KFC

8

While the newer entrants are:

Burger King

Hardees

Burger Shack

MYOB

Johnny Rockets

The most established of the competitors is Mc Donalds as it enjoys the market leader position

with first mover advantage as it started operations in late 90s with many branches all over the

city. Competition is fierce in the new entrant segment and the segment is dominated by Burger

King due to several outlets, Brand image, and level of service, ambiance and Quality levels. Also

being an international chain similar to McDonalds and KFC, Burger King is very popular among

the population who has eaten Burger King before in foreign locations. Johnny Rockets caters to

the high end market segment with prices significantly higher than its competitors. Hardees has a

limited customer base due to being situated in Nazimabad as the area is considered as being too

far away from the Burger eating majority in Defence and Clifton.

9

Research Design

Research Objective

The objective of this research is to understand the fast food market particularly burger outlets,

consumers attitude towards casual eating, factors affecting consumers purchase decisions,

competition and saturation affecting new and existing entrants, differentiation of products in the

same category i.e. burgers, concept testing, and the four Ps being applied to the product.

In short, we will be finding gaps between what is currently being done and what is actually

required to gain customer share.

Research Model

Consumers today receive a lot of differing marketing messages which create clutter. To remove

the clutter companies are developing unique solutions in order to grab consumer attention.

From our studies of the Burger Factory business proposition we see that they have applied the

AIDA model in a way to generate consumer chatter about their product and service. First Burger

Factory has developed an overarching theme based on the well-known Marvel Superheroes.

These characters are well known to their target audience and hence generate the awareness

portion of consumer behavior.

Interest in superhero culture has been developing at a rapid pace in recent years. The success of

Hollywood films based on the exploits of these characters has taken the world by storm and

Pakistan is no different. Burger Factory has exploited this growing culture to entice its young

target audience.

10

Consumers due to the superhero subculture which has transcended from being a small

phenomenon into a dominant force are highly taken with living a macho lifestyle. This desire to

be a hero in todays world is especially apparent amongst the young generation. Burger Factorys

Marvel theme has tried to create a link between its large juicy burgers and the famous superhero

characters.

Our research focuses mainly on the Action phase of the AIDA model. We seek to understand

whether the marketing and links created by Burger Factory have been reciprocated with

consumer action through such factors as Accessibility, Taste, Quality and Value for Money.

11

Quantitative and Qualitative Data collection methods

Quantitative Data Collection Method

The quantitative methods majorly depended upon random sampling & structured data collection

which further helped to summarize, compare & generalize the data. It directly concerned with the

hypotheses testing of the defined variables. In quantitative method there were questions and

participants were given different tests. Data was collected to observe the behavior of the

participants in different situations and then statistically analyzed the variables impact on the

dependent variables.

Questionnaires

In order to collect data for the quantitative research a questionnaire was designed and each

question was assigned a rating to get the response and then converted that response into the

numbers. Same questionnaire was conducted on online social forums.

Qualitative Data Collection method

Qualitative method was the first foundation to get the consumer insight about the problem.

Quantitative research method was used to strengthen the quantitative methods of research like

the development of better hypothesis, strong and strength questionnaire and also helped in

finding of the research.

12

Focus Group

For qualitative research, we conducted two focus groups with different participant profiles for

each. The differentiating point suggested was the age group. Participants of both groups were

picked from SEC A and SEC B since these two classes are the actual target market of Burger

Factory.

13

Secondary Data Analysis Literature Review

The following is a review and analysis of various academic publications that have analyzed the

factors affecting the eating habits of fast food consumers. A multitude of different factors affect

the customers experience at a restaurant that ultimately lead the customer to accepting or

rejecting of the food being served at that restaurant . Factors that are considered important to the

selection of a fast food restaurant and how cultural differences affect consumers in relation to

international fast food restaurants have been identified.

Behavior Differs With Age

The teenagers are different from the adults in formation of buying behavior, perceptions and

intentions regarding the buying of burger Product quality, Product value, service quality, service

value and pre-purchase expectations and these factors directly affects the customer satisfaction

resulted word-of-mouth intensions would spread. If customer satisfaction is more it will spread

positive word-of-mouth and if its negative it will spread negative word-of-mouth. A teenager

directly or quickly develops their behavior, perceptions and intensions according to the word of

mouth. Some external factors like public brand image, social recognition and competitive

advantage also affect the teenagers more in their buying behaviors and developing their

intensions towards brand if these external factors are more than customer satisfaction level

would be high and positive word of mouth more teenagers would bend towards the burger

factory. Adults shows moderate effect on all the factors discussed above because they have

more experience, maturity level and more knowledge so they are less aggressive on these factors

while making intentions about burger.

14

The students also provide more precise results and predictions and statistically valid conclusions.

Due to budget and time constraint convenience sampling was used to gauge the importance of

the factors mentioned above. Over the three cities 600 questionnaires were delivered. The

education, social identity, social learning, life style, income, personality development and

cognitive development in formation of consumer attitudes, intentions and behavior towards

burgers also impact the purchase decision.

The public brand is perceived as public opinion about the brand of burger factory. Social

recognition is the perception that frequenting a restaurant has helped improve other persons

opinions about oneself. Both public brand recognition and the social recognition directly impact

the customer satisfaction and the worth-of mouth which mold the intentions and buying

behavior of the people.

Pricing

Price is the main factor for the teenager buying behavior because they have low income level;

purchasing power and an independent purchase decision that is why theyre buying behavior,

attitude and intentions are completely different from the adults who are independent, high

purchasing power and high income level.

Fast Food Consumption in Pakistan

Research has shown that customers considered price, food variety, promotional deals and service

as the important factors for fast food selection. Pakistan has a growing population that has

15

crossed 180 million and a growing middle class. With the increasing affordability nearly one

third of the population is a potential market for the fast food industry. With the success of

international brands of fast food chains in Pakistan this clearly validates the increasing

desirability of fast food (Austrade, 2009)

The fast food market is defined as where food is available for immediate consumption in a

designated area or takes away. Customers place most value on the quality of service as compared

to the cost of purchasing that food. Therefore it is important that marketers use the quality of

service as an operational tactic. Service quality is an important criterion in decision making

(Cronin, 2000). The growing middle class is shifting away from the staple diets towards the

livestock, dairy products, fruits, fats and oils (Pingali, 2007).

On comparing the fast food consumption patterns over the 3 cities there was not much difference

so the results can be generalized over the entire population. The analysis further showed that in a

week the customers visit the fast food restaurant between 1 to 3 times. Most of the customers

visit with family or friends and majority spend Rs.1000 in a week. Customers from all the cities

gave importance to price, timely service, and promotional deals/offers when selecting the

restaurants.

Quality of Service and Food

The fast food market is defined as where food is available for immediate consumption in a

designated area or takes away. Customers place most value on the quality of service as compared

to the cost of purchasing that food. Therefore it is important that marketers use the quality of

service as an operational tactic. Service quality is an important criterion in decision

16

making (Cronin, 2000). The growing middle class is shifting away from the staple diets towards

the livestock, dairy products, fruits, fats and oils (Pingali, 2007).

Impact of Gender

Males and Females have been found to have different factors of attraction towards fast food

restaurants. For females they have been identified as brand image, location of restaurant, quality

of food and packaging style. For male the factors were cooperation of staff, price of food, taste

and late night offerings (Aziz F.K, 2009)

Impact of Marketing and Communication

Marketers need to emphasize and carefully consider key points in strategy formulation like

affordability in designing their pricing strategy, service timings in service blueprints, variety in

menus, and image in positioning strategy and promotional mix in promotional strategies because

customers are price sensitive. Customers were observed to be price and time-conscious and also

to be more inclined towards attractive promotional deals/offers. This also confirms the

importance of these factors in decision making and strategy formulation

The fast food sector has seen a massive growth in the last few years and the trend continues to

grow as consumers are more likely to have easy to eat, delicious food as part of their daily

routine. Yet, the choices they make regarding the fast food (although not so healthy food) depend

on several factors. Fast food restaurants have started to spend heavily on their marketing budgets

17

as competition increases with demand. Also, customer is more aware and influenced by their

frequently changing taste as they are exposed more this time to multiple environments.

There are several factors that consumers consider to make their decision in the selection of fast

food restaurants. It is incorrect to assume that the fast food market has become a commodity

market. The marketers who understand the factors that fast food customers consider most

important for their choice will emphasize those factors in their marketing strategies and can then

differentiate (actual or perceived) their products and services. These factors include proximity to

the residence of the consumers, relationship building efforts of the restaurant with its consumers

and the how well the taste of the food offered at fast food restaurants matches with the taste

pallets of the consumers.

Changing Demographics

With the increase in number of working woman and influence of western culture to our society

there has been a change in consumer food preferences. Traditionally, cooking at home was

always preferred. Women at home would make their own spices and cook food for their families.

In the so-called poor economies, such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the figure of fast food

consumption is on the rise as the younger generations have started taking to packaged food and

fast food items (Chavadi & Kokatnur, 2008).

The history of fast food can be traced back to the early 1900s, with the opening of the Fast Food

Outlet (FFO) by Automat, rendering simple foods and drinks using a coin based mechanism

through vending machines (Chavadi & Kokatnur, 2008). This concept picked up and became

18

popular with a slogan less work for mothers and changed into a culture in most of the

households (Chavadi & Kokatnur, 2008).

From onion rings to double cheese burgers fast food is one of the worlds fastest growing food

types (Goyal & Singh, 2007). Fast foods are generally preferred because of their quick and easy

availability and reasonable price.

Results showed that going for snacks is the most preferred time for visiting fast food outlet

followed by dinner and lunch. Young consumers are expected to visit fast food restaurant two

times a week or in a month (Goyal & Singh, 2007). Their choice is also influenced by

friends and relative preferences.

A good ambience and hygienic environment of a Fast Food Outlet provides a good place for

friends and family to hang out. After being stressed out with work and other commitments

people plan to hang out with friends and family on weekends for fun and relax themselves. With

more and more acceptability of fast food outlets and change in life style, competition among fast

food outlets with respect to quality of food and customer service will be more prominent in the

days to come (Goyal & Singh, 2007).

The SERVQUAL Model

The SERVQUAL Model is based on 5 dimensions; Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness,

Assurance and Empathy. Consumers expect more from the assurance and empathy

dimension. Fast food outlets generally lacked on these dimensions. Customers did not give high

priority to the responsiveness dimension. This may be attributed to the fact that generally take

19

away is the trend in Fast Food Outlets and customers do not usually spend much time inside the

restaurant (Chavadi & Kokatnur, 2008).

Competition

Product Positioning, Price and Product Differentiation are key to understanding the competition

dynamics in the Fast Food Industry.. The two fast food chains under examination are McDonalds

and Burger King. Both are considered to be competitors and primarily serve burgers to their

customers. Since both the firms are under direct competition hence they should follow the

strategy of product differentiation to increase their profits.

Price competition comes into play between McDonalds and Burger King due the proximity of

location between both firms outlets. Prices are lowest when outlets are close to each other and

increase as the firms are located farther apart and level off when both the outlets are about 2

2.5 miles apart . Hence we see that there is direct relationship between the distance between two

outlets and the prices offered by them. The analysis shows that the impact of competition on

price and profits is larger for Burger King than for McDonalds. Also Burger Kings variable

profits increase with geographic differentiation. The market size also plays a huge role in the

determination of profits as smaller market size means that both the firms are under more direct

competition as compared to areas with larger market size in which both firms can afford to be

located farther to each other. In smaller markets the preferred location for both firms is closer to

the center of the market since it is easier to attract more customer in that location as compared to

the edge of market location which will bring in less customers. Hence profits will be low for

firms opting to be located at edge of market in small market areas.

20

Further for McDonalds it should work on differentiating its product offerings from Burger Kings

product offerings if it thinks that the market size is big enough that both the firms

could essentially monopolize two areas. However in smaller markets it should apply the strategy

to match Burger Kings offerings and use it location advantage to capitalize the market. Thus

according to the author there should be equilibrium if McDonalds locates itself near the center of

the market and if Burger King locates itself on the side of the market. If the market is big then

both the firms will achieve equilibrium if both locate on the sides of the market provided

McDonalds if closer to the center than Burger King (Thomadsen, 2007).

21

Exploratory / Qualitative Research

Analysis of Focus Groups

The focus group discussion was conducted to get an understanding of the factors that are

considered when deciding to go a particular fast food outlet and more specifically a burger outlet.

The focus group also provided insights on why Burger Factory has been struggling to do well

and a few recommendations were discussed on how it can overhaul its strategy.

The participants were young working adults between the age group of 24 32 and another group

of teenagers. Different factors that came up during the discussion are highlighted below:

Evolvement of Fast Food Industry

The concept of eating out has evolved with time for the following reasons:

The percentage of 2 income households has increased thereby increasing disposable

income.

Women have also started working out and are on the lookout for quick and easy food.

Eating out is looked at more of an entertainment activity in our country.

We have a very minor segment that is health conscious and would think twice before

having junk food. Generally, people are not very health conscious in our society.

22

Location Strategy

Following factors were thought of as important with respect to location strategy:

Most outlets are closer to residential areas.

People prefer to visit places nearby their home.

When there is a cluster, people tend to open more restaurants as it is easy to get to the

target audience.

The outlet should be clearly visible and not out of sight.

Start off in a populous area to test the product.

Factors consumers consider when deciding where to go:

Group of people you are going with. Priorities differ for families and friends.

With family more importance is given to fine dining and ambiance.

Generally, with friends you look more for taste and cost effectiveness.

Consumers are always on the lookout for better quality.

If a restaurant is serving good quality food / burgers it is bound to be a success.

Consumers have become more aware and scrutinize things more

Consumers would go to place that offer high quality at a low price. Quality and Price are

the two most crucial factors.

23

Convenience and ease with respect to presentation, waiting time, location, parking space

etc. may also impact the consumer decision.

Consumers also seem to have this excitement of trying new things. Outlets need to be

innovative and keep up-coming with new things; be it in the menu, presentation etc.

Discussion and Key Findings on Burger Factory

The concept of Marvel themed burgers did not work well.

The market for this is very niche here.

It does not go well with the concept of eating.

People do not associate burgers with cartoon characters

They could have offered Marvel themed burgers as a separate category like happy

meals by McDonalds. Instead of this being the only focus.

Their current location is also not the ideal place. Its a remote location with not much

population nearby

Burger Factory may start dine in and offer a play place that goes well with the concept.

This may attract parents to take their kids.

24

Behavioral aspects towards quality, quantity and price

Teenagers are more conscious about the quantity of the burger. They prefer big sized burgers and

quality was not their primary concern. Teenagers are more price conscious due their dependency

on their parents.

Brand, Quality and status symbol

Around fifty percent of the people said that brand is the important factor when it comes to have

an outside meal because good brand represents good quality, while remaining preferred price

over the brand they go for the cheapest price without considering the brand name. The intensions

were that burger eating at big brands is a symbol of prestige. Teenagers were least concerned

about the health factor when it came to fast food.

Quality of service

Service personnel should be highly trained but people gave more importance to the home

delivery aspect.

Location

Location is a really important factor for them since all of our participants were very location

conscious. People associate good quality and taste from particular areas like Defense and Clifton.

They also have a preference to go to a place whose surroundings are clean and secure.

Participants did not prefer to go to localities that have security problem. Some participants

pointed out that some locations have particularly better taste than others like some pizza hut

outlets as compared to other pizza hut outlets at different place.

25

Pre-purchase expectation

In Pre Purchase expectations, the participants mentioned that they expect that the meal they buy

should satisfy their needs. The participants also mentioned that they have expectations from the

staff regarding services. The two most important factors for the participants were quality and

quantity with the lowest price. On a fixed budget they would prefer to buy multiple lower cost

and lower quality meals than a higher cost quality meal.

Purchase Decision

Purchase decision is based on peer review, past experience, social circles and budget. People are

attracted towards a particular outlet based on the positive reviews they hear from their friends.

Past experience holds a key as if they have a good past experience then they will also go again

expecting the level of food and service to be the same as before. People also agree to go to a

place if all of their friends are going there. Another important factor is budget which influences

the purchase decision. People will not go to a place they find expensive. Reviews, Social circle

and past experiences collectively do not influence as much as budget does and the final say on

where to go to eat comes down to budget and the quantity of food one can get at a certain

affordable price level.

26

Sampling Design

Target Population

Our target population includes fast food consumers particularly in the areas of Defence and

Clifton. In order to have a complete perspective of consumers attitude towards fast food and

factors affecting the buying decisions; we included both burger eaters as well as non-burger

eaters. We have divided the target market into two segments i.e. late teenagers to young adults

and people who are married with children. The purpose is to analyse both segments and

determine strategies for each.

Due to time and budget constraints, it is fairly impossible to have survey of the whole

population. Therefore, to counter we have selected the best representative sample to run the

survey process.

Sampling Element and Sampling Unit

Sampling elements for the research are all those individuals who are buying and directly

consuming the product.

Sampling unit is same as of element except in the case of children, where respondents are

parents but actual decision makers are kids. In cases when the target individual is a dependent,

respondent should carefully be identified and separated.

27

Time

Maximum time for the sampling would be 8 to 12 days.

Geographical Extent

The research is to be conducted in the areas of Defence and Clifton since this is where the actual

target population resides. We would be cutting to other areas to find the best possible sample for

our survey. The advantage would be in terms of cost, time and most of all quality of responses.

Sampling Frame

For the sampling frame we selected the targeted population by Facebook. Through the fast food

restaurants Facebook pages the respondents were contacted due to many of them being part of

the target audience.

We also approached respondents visiting fast food restaurant outlets for the completion of our

sample.

Sampling Technique

We performed Internet Sampling due to respondent selection based on Facebook page likes,

using Online Intercept Sampling with the Non Random Technique.

Mall intercepts were also conducted.

For other sampling frames we utilized Quota and Judgmental Techniques.

28

Sampling Size

A sample size of 200 respondents was selected to provide an accurate and representative view of

consumer attitudes towards fast food restaurants.

Sampling Process

The sampling process was conducted through the following methods.

Uploaded questionnaires on Google Forms with the link being sent to respondents who

fulfilled the criteria specified.

Links were sent to respondents until the target of 200 responses were met.

After the required amounts of responses were met the data from the Google Forms was

collected and arranged for SPSS analysis.

For the Mall Intercept sampling process we conducted the Sampling Procedure as follows:

Identify the Burger Outlets suitable for our research data collection.

Identify the respondents meeting the criteria

After completion the responses were added to SPSS database for further analysis.

29

Inferential Analysis

How many times do you visit a fast food restaurant?

Analysis:

The consumers were first asked about how many times they visit a fast food restaurant in a

month. Around 48% responded with 4 to 6 times a month. 30% responded with with 1 to 3 times

a month. It was important to know the general trend of visits by consumer before asking them

specific questions on their preference for a particular fast food restaurant.

It further shows that the respondents have the purchasing power necessary to indulge in eating

outside and have a stable income.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1 to 3 times 4 to 6 times 7 to 9 times 10+

30

Analysis:

To determine what time of the day consumers prefer to visit a fast food restaurant, they were

asked about what meals they were likely to eat at a fast food restaurant. Surprisingly, Lunch and

dinner had more or less the same preference, between 30 to 35%.

The charts show that the respondents prefer fast going food at lunch and dinner because of their

busy and fast life styles and do not like to spend time waiting for food that takes longer time to

be cooked.

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

Lunch Dinner Midday snack Late nightsnack

What Meal are you most likely to eat at a fast food restaurant

31

Analysis:

When consumers were asked about their favorite fast food restaurants, burger outlets were the

preferred option. Around 30% of the respondents preferred having burgers over any other option.

Burger King, Burger Factory, Burger Shack, Burger Lab were all put in one option to understand

the preference of burgers when it comes to fast food restaurants.

Subway with 27% of the share highlights that a different kind of sandwich, taste and assorted

bread is preferred by many compared to the burgers that have grilled and fried patties and factory

supplied buns.

McDonalds still has a good chunk of the share due to its many locations, variety, a price range

that can cater to the larger population.

KFC and Pizza Hut have a very small share which highlights those falling quality standards and

no new products can make customers look for better alternatives.

McDonalds 18%

KFC 8%

Pizza Hut 9%

Subway 27%

Burger(King;Factory;Shack;Lab;MYOB;hardee's

) 30%

Others 8%

Favorite fast food restaurants

32

The highest share goes to these newly opened Burger houses that are offering new kind of

burgers, at right prices and quantity.

Analysis:

From this question, it seems word of mouth is a very important marketing tool. Around 36% of

the respondents came to know about their favourite restaurant through the word of mouth. Word

of mouth certainly spreads fast and is taken with a lot of authenticity.

This highlights that a resturant should try to look after the customers that vist them as they

become the leading reason for the spreading the good word about the services, food and

Others 2%

Word of mouth 36%

Advertisement 27%

Social Media 5%

Recommendation 30%

How did you come to know about your favorite restaurant

33

experience provided. This further leads them to recommeding the same resturant to the people

they know.

Analysis:

After asking about the prefered fast food restaurant, respondents were specifically asked to tell

their favourite burger outlet.

McDonalds leads the way in the favorite burger outlets due to it presense citywide, a large

variety of offerings, a price menu that can cater to all social economic classes.

Internationally recognized brands lead the way in the favorite burger outlet leaving the local

Burger houses way behind . Thse local burger houses are still to create a solid brand name for

them selves.

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

McDonald's Burger King KFC Hardees Others

What is your favorite burger outlet

34

Analysis:

Surprisingly, 32% of the respondents had never heard of burger factory out of a total of 200

responses.

This highlights that Burger Factory has still a long way to go. It can provide better service and

food to create a memorable experience so that people can recommend it to the people they know

and create a good word of mouth about Burger Factory.

Yes 68%

No 32%

Do you know about Burger Factory

35

Analysis:

As evident earlier, Word of mouth plays a very important role in spreading the word. When the

respondents were asked how did they come to know about Burger Factory, 48% answered

through word of mouth. This is a very cost effective tool and can certainly be used to promote

the brand in a positive way.

As previosuly stated those who do know about Burger factory came to know mostly through

word of mouth and social media. Buger Factory can burger increase its online presense to

promote it self and create a word about about it self. The recommendation number is very

alarming which means that very few recommend Burger Facotry as a place to eat and highlights

their disspoaintement in the serive and food .

Word of mouth 32.1 48%

Advertisement 2%

Social Media 41%

Recommendation 7%

Others 2%

If Yes, how did you come to know about it

36

How Was Your Experience at Burger Factory?

Analysis:

When asked about the overall experience at Burger Factory. Majority of the respondents

responded with Average as their answer. This shows consumers do not usually enjoy going to

burger factory. With a meal that is costing in the range of Rs 300-500 an Average experience

will damage the reputation the restaurant and result in it losing customers.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Excellent Good Average Poor

37

Analysis:

When asked about the concept of marvel themed burgers in Pakistan, Around 55% of the

respondents were of the opinion that it was good for Kids. Marvel characters are generally

associated with kids and cannot be expected to attract adult members. Though, this can be used

to attract families who are accompanied by young kids. In a society where comic characters are

know that well know Burger Factory can associate itself with the Marvel Movies that are being

38

shown in Pakistan; this will result in people knowing about the Marvel Themes and create a good

word of mouth for Burger Factory.

Analysis:

Generally, consumers prefer to go to places like burger factory with Friends. This was the

preferred company for 68% of the respondents. Since, it is not a dine in place you can not expect

families to visit Burger Factory very often.

Friend 68%

Colleagues 9%

Family 16%

Alone 7%

With whom do you usually visit Burger Factory

39

Analysis:

Since this is a hangout place for young adults of defence and clifton, over 70% of our

respondents were male. It is not a place where you would expect females to visit often.

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

Male Female

Gender

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

16 to 20 years 21 to 25 years 26 to 30 years 26 to 30 years 35 and above

Age

40

Analysis:

Over 60% of the respondents were between the age group of 21 to 25 years. This is the main

target market of Burger Factory.

Analysis:

Since the majority of the respondents were between the age group of 21 to 25 years, Over 80%

of the respondents were unmarried. Young adults looking for a hangout place is the main target

market for Burger Factory and therefore our survey was mostly conducted on this group.

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

Married Unmarried

Martial Status

Martial Status

41

Analysis:

71% of the respondents were students whereas 18% were working professionals. Having a higher

percentage of student and young respondents again is in line with the potential target consumer

of burger factory

Student 71%

Working professional

18%

Business owner 4%

Housewife 7% Occupation

42

Hypothesis Testing

Hypothesis Testing has been carried out in order to accept or reject whether 30% of the

consumers consider convenience, quick to eat, budget, taste and social group important attributes

affecting decision to eat fast food. The data to test the hypotheses has been taken from the

survey conducted. Importance of each factor has been measured on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being

the least important and 5 being the most important).

1. Convenience

Ho: 35% of the consumers believe that convenience is the most important factor to eat fast food.

Ha: More than 35% of the consumers believe that convenience is the most important factor to eat

fast food.

Ho = 0.35

Ha > 0.35

43

Calculation:

At 5% significance level

Critical Value of Z = 1.645

p = (0.145 + 0.145+0.171) = 0.461

= 0.35

Sp = sqrt (p*(1-p)/n) = 0.035

Calculated value of Z = (p ) / Sp = 3.171

Analysis:

With the 5% significance level the calculated value of Z is greater than the critical value of Z that

is 1.645. Thus it lies in the rejection region and therefore the alternative hypothesis is accepted.

Test results are statistically insignificant at 5% significance level.

The hypothesis provides result that majority of the consumers surveyed consider convenience to

be an important factor for fast food.

44

2. Quick to Eat

Ho: 35% of the consumers believe that Quick to Eat is the most important factor to eat fast food.

Ha: More than 35% of the consumers believe that convenience is the most important factor to eat

fast food.

Ho = 0.35

Ha > 0.35

45

Calculation:

At 5% significance level

Critical Value of Z = 1.645

p = (0.109+0.155+0.109) = 0.373

= 0.35

Sp = sqrt (p*(1-p)/n) = 0.034

Calculated value of Z = (p ) / Sp = 0.67

Analysis:

With the 5% significance level the calculated value of Z is less than the critical value of Z that is

1.645. Thus it lies in the acceptance region and therefore the null hypothesis is not rejected. Test

results are statistically insignificant at 5% significance level.

The hypothesis provides result that majority of the consumers surveyed consider Quick to Eat

not to be the most important factor for a fast food restaurant.

46

3. Budget

Ho: 35% of the consumers believe that Budget is the most important factor to eat fast food.

Ha: More than 35% of the consumers believe that Budget is the most important factor to eat fast

food.

Ho = 0.35

Ha > 0.35

Calculation:

At 5% significance level

Critical Value of Z = 1.645

p = (0.176+0.16.6+18.7) = 0.526

= 0.35

Sp = sqrt (p*(1-p)/n) = 0.035

Calculated value of Z = (p ) / Sp = 5.02

47

Analysis:

With the 5% significance level the calculated value of Z is greater than the critical value of Z that

is 1.645. Thus it lies in the rejection region and therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. Test

results are statistically insignificant at 5% significance level.

The hypothesis provides result that majority of the consumers surveyed consider Budget to be an

important factor for a fast food restaurant.

4. Taste

Ho: 35% of the consumers believe that Taste is the most important factor to eat fast food.

Ha: More than 35% of the consumers believe that Taste is the most important factor to eat fast

food.

Ho = 0.35

Ha > 0.35

48

Calculation:

At 5% significance level

Critical Value of Z = 1.645

p = (0.48) = 0.48

= 0.35

Sp = sqrt (p*(1-p)/n) = 0.036

Calculated value of Z = (p ) / Sp = 3.61

49

Analysis:

With the 5% significance level the calculated value of Z is greater than the critical value of Z that

is 1.645. Thus it lies in the rejection region and therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. Test

results are statistically insignificant at 5% significance level.

The hypothesis provides result that majority of the consumers surveyed consider Tasteto be an

important factor for a fast food restaurant.

5. Social Group

Ho: 35% of the consumers believe that Social Group is the most important factor to eat fast food.

Ha: More than 35% of the consumers believe that Taste is the most important factor to eat fast

food.

Ho = 0.35

Ha > 0.35

50

Calculation:

At 5% significance level

Critical Value of Z = 1.645

p = (0.091+0.041+0.15+0.17) = 0.42

= 0.35

Sp = sqrt (p*(1-p)/n) = 0.035

Calculated value of Z = (p ) / Sp = 2.00

51

Analysis:

With the 5% significance level the calculated value of Z is greater than the critical value of Z that

is 1.645. Thus it lies in the rejection region and therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. Test

results are statistically insignificant at 5% significance level.

The hypothesis provides result that majority of the consumers surveyed consider Social Groupto

be an important factor to eat fast food.

Quick Summary

After conducting hypothesis for the each factor, we have concluded that more than 30% of the

consumers consider the following as important decision making criteria to eat fast food:

Convenience

Budget

Taste

Social Group

52

Perceptual Mapping

Quality vs. Taste

Burger Factory was the least preferred in terms of Taste and Quality when compared to

McDonalds, Hardees and Burger King. Hardees received the highest weightage on both

attributes.

Qu

alit

y

Taste

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

53

Ambiance vs. Menu

When looking at the attributes of Ambiance and Menu, all three restaurants (McDonalds, Burger

King and Hardees) were close to each other between the range of 8 and 9. Burger Factory was on

the lower side falling between 5 and 7 as seen.

Am

bia

nce

Menu

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

54

Accessibility Vs Price

McDonalds and Burger King are located in several areas around the city and therefore, got the

highest weightage in terms of Accessibility. Hardees and Burger King received the highest

weightage with respect to price. While, Burger Factory pricing is perceived same as McDonalds.

Acc

ess

ibili

ty

Price

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

55

Menu vs Taste

When comparing the attributes of Menu and Taste, Hardees received the highest weightage and

is closely followed by McDonalds. Unfortunately, Burger Factory lacks behind on these two

attributes by far as illustrated in the perceptual map.

Me

nu

Taste

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

56

Menu vs Quality

As illustrated in the perceptual map, when comparing the attributes of Menu and Quality, again

Hardees is the most preferred fast food restaurant followed closely by Burger King. Burger

Factory is again at a distance from all the three restaurants.

Me

nu

Quality

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

57

Ambiance vs Quality

Hardees is again on top of the list when comparing in terms of Ambiance and Quality. Burger

king is still close to Hardees, while others are some distance behind as illustrated above.

Am

bia

nce

Quality

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

58

Price vs Quality

When comparing the attributes of price and quality, Hardees and Burger King are the best quality

food providers as per the survey results. Burger Factory does offer low price burgers and quality

is still a concern for them.

Pri

ce

Quality

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

59

Accessibility vs Quality

Here we see Hardees is on the bottom right. The reason being it is not easily accessible as has

only one outlet till now. Moreover, as our target market was Defence and Clifton it is even more

inconvenient for them to visit Hardees. McDonalds and Burger King have many outlets and

doing well on Accessibility. Burger Factory is located at a remote location and is not easily

visible to everyone.

Acc

ess

ibili

ty

Quality

Perceptual Map

Burger Factory

Mc Donalds

Burger King

Hardees

60

Recommendations

Ambiance

By observation of the data collected for Ambiance of Burger Factory and its competitors, we

have shown the results obtained from the respondents in the perceptual map. From the perceptual

map we can observe that the respondents of our survey view the ambiance of Burger Factory as

very low as compared to its major competitors Burger King, McDonalds and Hardees.

This observation can be due to the fact that Burger Factory is a take away only Burger Outlet and

it does not have a dine in facility where customers can sit and eat their food while having a good

time. To improve this situation we recommend Burger Factory to improve their outlay and have

at least a small space for customers so that they may sit and relax for the time it takes to prepare

their meal. Also we recommend Burger Factory to decorate and have proper lighting in the area

to highlight the outlets location and make it more attractive. Another important thing what can be

done is that they could have ambient music playing at the outlet so that the ambiance is improved

according to the customer taste and liking.

Accessibility

The most important observation which we found out during the survey was that many of the

respondents from the target market of Defence and Clifton had not heard about Burger Factory.

This can be attributed to the fact that Burger Factory is located in a relatively inaccessible

location as it is not on Main road. For this we recommend that burger factory put up billboards in

61

the vicinity of their outlet to guide customers and at the same time this will work as

advertisement for their outlet attracting potential customers who happen to be passing by.

Menu

Another major observation from the survey was that customers could not connect easily with

marvel Themed Burgers. It was difficult for them to associate taste with a marvel themed

superhero. Currently Burger Factory has its burgers menu named after superheroes. Example

burgers are sold as Wolverine, Iron Man, Superman, Hulk etc. The customers really did not

know what taste, recipe or size they would be offered from the burger named as Hulk. Hence

we suggest to Burger Factory that they should have the taste, ingredients and size mentioned

along with the Burger name so that new customers who are not familiar with the Marvel

superheroes can also easily decide the burger of their choice.

Quality

As evident from the perceptual maps that Burger Factory is ranked lower to its competitors by

the survey respondents. Burger Factory should improve their quality. Customers do mention that

they have sometimes had a superb experience with Burger Factory while at other times the taste,

quality and service was not the same. Hence it suffers from variable level of service. To improve

this situation we recommend that Burger Factory establish SOPs. They must standardize the

food preparation and the way they serve the food to their customers so that the customer is

treated with the same level of service, food, taste and quality on every visit. Employees must also

be trained on how to take order in a friendly and professional manner to engage the customer and

improve their experience.

62

Deals

We recommend that Burger Factory offer their customers deals like they could offer deals of

evening lunch or midnight deal at discounted prices ie to boost traffic in low rush hours. This

will attract customers by the discount offered and should increase their sales in the low rush

hours.

Further they should offer bundle deals like they could bundle different burgers with different

flavors of shakes in a bundle meal.

Superhero themed souvenirs

Burger Factory should also include cardboard/plastic superheroes matching the superhero burger

the customer chooses. This could include superhero masks or collectors cards. We believe with

this move Burger Factory can better connect with their target population who are aware of the

marvel superhero universe and are fans of their respective superheroes. This will enable Burger

Factory to build a loyal fan base and regular returning customers.

Facebook Reviews/ Competitions

Facebook reviews should be encouraged by offering people a certain discount if they like the

official Burger Factory page. Competitions should be introduced on social media websites

requiring customers to post pictures of their burgers with themselves or their souvenirs.

63

Conclusions

With the Burger segment of the fast food industry becoming increasingly competitive day by

day, outlets like Burger Factory have to win the hearts and minds of their customers in order to

remain in business. This project was done as to identify the causes of low sales of Burger Factory

and recommend them suitable corrective measures to improve their sales and market share. We

have conducted the various steps of marketing research which includes primary, secondary,

exploratory and qualitative research to identify the causes of low sales. We believe if Burger

Factory implements our recommendations then it will achieve greater market share and better

sales of their product.

64

Appendix

Transcript Focus Group 1

Date: 1st March, 2014

Time: 9:00pm

Location: Defence Phase IV, Karachi

Moderator: Mujtaba Mansoor Akhtar

Facilitator: Raafay Ali

Participants:

1) Haider Hassan (Age: 25; Salaried; Unmarried)

2) Ali Khan (Age: 29; Businessman, Married with kids)

3) Saad Ali (Age: 24; Salaried; Unmarried)

4) Atif Bashir (Age: 23; Student; Single)

5) Fazal Shahid (Age: 25; Family Business; Married)

6) Ramiz Malik (Age: 24; Salaried, Single)

7) Musa Bin Hamid (Age: 26; Salaried, Single)

65

Moderator: Assalamoalaikum! Aap logon ko idea toh hoga keh focus group hamara group

conduct kar raha hai, kiss cheez per hail; definitely Raafay ne discuss kia hoga, still I would like

to brief it, but before we start off, aik introduction leletay hain sub to get to know each other,

taakay everybody feels free to talk to each other.

Respondent 1: Mera naam Saad Ali hai aur mai KASB Securities main job kar raha hun as a

reseach analyst.

Respondent 2: Mera naam Haider Hassan hai aur mai ICI main kaam kar raha hun as a

production planning manager.

Respondent 3: Assalamoalaikum! My name is Ali Khan. I am running a shipping company; also

I have a bakery outlet by the name Delicia.

Respondent 4: Mera naam Musa bin Hamid hai aur mai State Bank main kaam karta hun.

Respondent 5: Assalamoalaikum! Mera nam Muhammad Ramiz hai. Mai Pak Oasis Pvt Ltd

main as a civil engineer kaam kar raha hun

Respondent 6: Assalamoalaikum! My name is Fazal Shahid and I am currently unemployed.

Respondent 7: Assalamoalaikum! My name is Atif. Currently I am doing my BBA and in my

last semester. Apart from that, I do volunteer work and social events.

66

Moderator: Okay Great. Our team actually decided to conduct a marketing research on Burger

Factory. I hope you all have heard of it. Its a burger outlet. It serves Marvel Themed burgers.

Okay the objective is to get insight on Burger Factory but for that we need to study fast food

industry as a whole. For that, hamara discussion bhot broad perspective se start hoga but we will

narrow down to burgers and then Burger factory itself. The questions I will do wont actually be

questions but rather be comments; you will then have to tell what you think.

Outside eating ka culture hamari society main bhot ziada evolve horaha hai, aap log iss cheez ko

kese dekhte hain?

Respondent 2: Ab logon ke itnay busy lifestyles hain, aur 2 income households hojatay hain,

uske baad apki disposable income increase hojati hai, you can afford to eat out, if youre short on

time and if you have kids, toh what else would you do in Karachi? Food is the only

entertainment we have here. It is a viable activity actually. Outside eating is not a convenience

but an entertainment. For that, aap nai nai cheezain explore kartay hain. Toh yeh ab

entertainment ki category ke andar ziada agaya hai.

Respondent 7: If you look at our economy it is becoming more independent. Pehle agar ap

dekhain toh ghar main sirf aik kamanay wala hota tha but ab this has changed. More people are

earning. Even larkiyon ko dekhain woh bhi ab kamati hain toh this has given them more options.

Also, they dont have time keh ghar aaen and then cook. If you have such busy schedule you

look for something easy to come. Now, they are two things, aik toh ghar main cook karnay ki

67

hassle se buch jati hain, secondly, when they go out toh they get quality time to spend. And when

you are earning, it is your money. It gives you freedom to spend, nobody questions you. And,

food industry is such that even in conditions like political instability etc. woh chul rahi hoti hain

cuz aur koi entertainment hoti hi nahi hai.

Respondent 3: I think more than an economy it is probably about the demand that is being

created. Economy is going down but like he said food is the only entertainment to the masses.

The other day I was with a meeting with of the guys of China Grill. He told me that over the one

year many burger outlets have opened in Pakistan. You will be very surprised to hear that in

Afghanistan, burger king came in before in Pakistan. Johny Rockets was in Afghanistan. Not

because they were catering to the masses over there but to the forces. Since they are now shutting

down there, they need to have their regional presence and Pakistan being the closest, they are

coming here. It has also to do with the changing culture and as he said here we dont have many

places for entertainment and even cinemas are such places that you do not visit them frequently

due to several concerns.

Respondent 4: Aik aur baat yeh hai keh food ko Pakistan main bhot miscategorize kia gaya hai.

We categorize food as anything edible is food. Theres no differentiation between junk food and

properly cooked food toh iski waja se people just keep consume it more and because of it uski

popularity bhi bar jati hai.

68

Respondent 3: But how do you define junk food?

Respondent 4: Junk food is fast food, for e.g. burger shack, burger factory, McDonalds, KFC

etc.

Respondent 3: I dont think Burger Shack would be considered to be a junk food because its

products have no preservatives in it. It serves you pure meat, all protein etc.

Respondent 4: Junk food has nothing to do with preservatives. Junk food is junk food because

of the nature how it is cooked i.e. in grease. Agar aap uski meat ko kissi restaurant main dedein

and properly cooked karke serve kardia jae, that wont be junk food then.

Respondent 7: I would like to add that in Pakistan hum yeh nahi dekhte keh yeh junk food hai

ya nahi hai. Humain sirf entertainment ka bahana chahhiye. Hum toh uss debate main parte hi

nahi hain.

Moderator: Do you think in our society there is a segment that is health conscious and can

affect this market?

Respondent: 7: A minor Segment.

Respondent 3: Not as yet. Not that can affect the market.

69

Respondent 2: When a person is living in a society, uske har kism ke spheres hotai hain. Family

friends etc. Ab obviously mai apni family ke sath Chips toh nahi jaonga na. but may be if I want

to buy myself a quick lunch, I will go. Aur phir in sub ke conditions aur frequencies aur audience

bhot depend karti hai.

Respondent 6: Its a very niche market. Subway is the one jo cater karta hai health conscious

logon ko. And that is fast food but a healthy fast food. It is a very minor market but it exists and

it is already being targeted.

Respondent 7: Applied to our society, hum kehte hain keh jo bunda akhbar parh sakta hai, he is

educated. Let say educated bunda is a graduate level. At that level he would be somewhat aware

keh healthy food khana chahiye etc.

Respondent 2: Health is a routine thing. But jub aap bahir khanay jatay ho toh its a break. You

turn off your controls.

Moderator: How important is location when it comes to eating out?

Respondent 1: One of the reasons these different outlets have grown so well, ismain aik inki

location strategy is very critical. Agar hum dekhain jitney bhi outletst hain they are close to

70

residential areas. Usmain yeh dimension ajata hai keh people are more comfortable to visit

places that are closer to their homes.

Respondent 2: I think cluster markets ka bhi bara impact hota hai. When opening a restaurant ap

yeh bhi dekhtain hai keh apke paas ready target audience available hai ya nahi. Boat Basin is a

good example. People just keep on opening shops there because they know that no matter what

they will get their share. Same is with the malls. Where there is a cluster, people tend to open

more restaurants for easy to get target audience.

Respondent 7: In marketing, there is a concept out of sight out of point. It means keh jub tq aap

logon ko nazar arahay ho, people will come. Agar ap nay apne ap ko locate hi esi jaga kia hai

keh apki presence nazar hi nahi arahi toh no matter how much you market, it wont work.

Moderator: Take an example of Hardees. It is located in Nazimabad. Not so good from security

point of you. Still people go there? Why do you think it is that way?

Respondent 2: Again that is subject. Nazimabad main sub se pehle McDonalds khula tha

because its a populous area.

Respondent 3: Yes in the short run it is good to test the product because of having a populated

area, but on the other hand the buying power of that area is comparatively low, and this is the

reason such brands then shift to areas like DHA and Clifton. The next goal of Hardees is to move

these areas.

71

Respondent 2: Also, the rent in the areas like Nazimabad is comparatively low, so usually

restaurant owner things they can offset the loss from the rent savings.

Respondent 6: This is can back fire as well. If you see burger king, they opened too many

outlets too close to each other which did not give a good response to this strategy.

Respondent 3: Exactly the problem Burger King is now having that its own outlets are

competing with each other. The reason Burger King did not open in Nazimabad, if u talk to

someone there, he will tell you that it is because we have direct competition with Hardees.

Initially to start with, it did not seem like a good idea.

Moderator: Do you think one reason could be for not opening in Nazimabad was how people

see each brand and consume it? Is Hardees better than Burger King? For example in taste.

Probably people in Nazimabad have different taste preferences.

Respondent 3: I dont think thats the reason. Basically here, the mushrooming of burger outlets

has led this side to be more attractive. Secondly, we should note that Burger King is a big brand

with strong financial position. Even if they have losses in initial years, they can still sustain for a

long time.

72

Respondent 2: Taste cant be factor because the market is so saturated at least in DHA area it is

hard to differentiate one from the other.

Respondent 6: But, these different brands do market their own unique burgers which you will

not find in other burger outlets.

Respondent 1: I personally think that theres a difference in profile between people in

Nazimabad and in Defence. To regularly consume you have to be of a certain profile and

mindset. Also, here per capita income is more than in any other parts of the city.

Respondent 7: In areas like Nazimabad, people only go to taste the new product. In Defence and

Clifton, if people like something, they will go again and again.

Respondent 3: The culture has also changed. When I remember my childhood, I hardly used to

get to eat burgers outside but now, if a kid wants a burger, he gets it as many times as possible. I

totally agree with him when he was differentiating junk food from healthy food. Theres no

concept of it here.

Respondent 1: I think our population is not mature enough to even get into this debate.

Respondent 2: In Pakistan, apki basic needs hi pori nahi horahi, yeh to bhot agay ki baat hai.

73

Moderator: I think our discussion has automatically narrowed down to burgers, but one last

thing, when you go out, you are hoping to find an experience, what experience is that?

Respondent 6: It depends on mood. At times apnay sirf paet bharna hota hai toh for that we go

to boat basin and have Karaie and stuff but at times we are looking to try something new toh for

that we try these fancy brands.

Respondent 2: Also, it depends aap ja kiske sath rahain hain.

Moderator: At one side you have fast food, on the other you have fine dining, where do you go

the most looking at your past visits? And is eating at boat basin is fine dining?

Respondent 4: Firstly, boat basin is not fine dining because in fine dining your ambiance

matters a lot. Secondly, our visits vary from occasion to occasion.

Respondent 1: Fine dining means more expense. If you can afford high prices regularly than of

course you will go there but agar apnay kharcha kum karna hai to hap fast food etc khalo ge.

Respondent 2: Yes, I will totally agree ap ja kiske sath rahain hain. Agar apke group main kuch

dost hain jinke pas itnay pese nahi hain toh definitely you will avoid fine dining.

74

Respondent 6: With friends, you ignore ambiance but with family it is your first priority.

Respondent 7: Also, group mix pe bhi depend karega. Agar apke group main larkiyaan bhi hain

to hap kisi achi si jaga main jaoge, larkon main toh kaheen bhi chul jata hai.

Moderator: Coming back to burgers, since burger market is now so much saturated, if you

would like to differentiate one brand from the other, how do you do it?

Respondent 3: I believe abhi itni saturation nahi hui hai, theres more to come. A time when

these outlets would start getting closed due to high competition. On the other hand, having high

competition is also very healthy. It means that industry is growing. Secondly, the outlets which

have shut down, the reason being is quality. Theres no way that you are serving quality and you

have to shut own. And, innovation must always be there. Nobody just keeps on trying one

product again and again. You to continuously introduce new things for the consumers.

Respondent 5: More importantly, you need to be consistent.

Respondent 4: And consistency is something you will not find anywhere. Not a single place.

For example, I am a regular eater at McDonalds, aur yaar bhot massive changes hoti hain.

Mainay toh infact jana hi chordia hai. I am so disappointed. Itni baar unko phone karke daantna

parta hai.

75

Respondent 6: Same is the case with KFC. They started off with the Zinger burger aur abhi tq

wohi chul raha hai. Nothing new they brought since then. In fact, ab toh size bhi chota kardia hai

and its so oily now.

Moderator: But dont you think Zinger is its selling point?

Respondent 6: Yes, but quality has severely declined.

Respondent 7: They had the advantage of bringing something new because it creates

competition in the market but once there is competition in the market, you go for further

innovation which they havent done.

Respondent 2: Ab toh har dusra fast food apko zinger de raha hai even McDonalds, Hot n Spicy

etc.

Respondent 3: Zinger is its trademark product but the quality is also declining. Ya toh esa ho

keh bunda bolay keh zinger khana hai toh sirf KFC ka khana hai but this is not the case anymore.

Others are providing good taste zinger burgers in cheaper prices in fact.

Respondent 2: Coming back to question, brands main differentiation as such at least mai toh

nahi kar pata. At end where ever you go, you will have a good tasty burger. Han pricing could be

a factor.

76

Respondent 3: I think people are more aware now, and they scrutinize things any more detail

now. Woh dekhenge sauce kitna dala hai, size kitna hai, petty theek tarhan placed hai ya nahi.

And these are not their potential competitors but regular customers khaas tor pe khawateen. With

due respect, they scrutinize even more.

Respondent 1: They have skills to do so.

Respondent 4: I think hamari basic jo 2 cheezain niklenge woh taste aur price niklengi. That is

how you can differentiate.

Respondent 2: I think taste ko ap shyd quantify nahi kar saktay because it varies from individual

to individual.

Respondent 7: For me, even in fast food ambiance would matter. I would be hugely concerned

keh inside the outlet space kitni hai etc.

Respondent 6: But many are just now takeaway. They do not provide ambiance.

Respondent 4: Exactly, if you are taking this as factor phir to hap Burger Shack, Burger Factory

etc ko toh zero zero dogay.

77

Respondent 3: Presentation also matters. If look at Burger Lab, they come up with a very good

idea of a box. It is very different and nice to carry but very impractical. I mean it opens up flat

and you just cannot eat it like in your car which now days people do. Customer like me would

not go to Burger Lab thinking keh yaar khanay main bara masla hota hai. Aur Burger Shack agar

mai nahi jaonga who just because of the waiting line. It gets tiring.

Respondent 4: Ab jo aik cheez innovate kia hai burger factory nay, which I havent seen

anywhere else, woh serving Mutton Burgers.

Moderator: Doesnt takeaway means that you just take the food and eat somewhere proper?

Respondent 4: No, takeaway means you can eat it anywhere you want including while standing.

Moderator: Ramiz you havent spoken in a while. Lets ask you a question. If you plan to have

good tasty burger, where would you like to go with friends?

Respondent 5: I would most probably go place like A-one. Why not any other fancy brand is

because I frequently eat outside and for that I have to look into the budget as well. So, take

expense cut and eat more outside.

Respondent 2: Price and frequency are inversely related.

78

Moderator: Coming to Burger Factory, it differentiated itself by serving Marvel Themed

burgers. Yani har burger ko aik comic book character ke sath associate kia hai. Do you think it

was a good concept?

Respondent 4: That can actually back fire. Because people who have read those comics know

what they are. Aur yahan woh market bhot choti hai.

Respondent 3: And that market is below 15 of age. I mean if I am going with my wife even to

have a burger, why would I go and have a marvel themed burger. Fine, those characters remind

me of my childhood but as a matured person I wouldnt want to have them now.

Respondent 2: What value it is adding to the burgers? If I say I am having Ironman then what

extra it is giving to me? Nothing.

Respondent 3: It is basically a very childish concept. What they could have done it target a

specific market i.e. kids or merge it with other meals like what McDonalds has done. Happy

meal for kids.

Moderator: If you guys remember, Hollywood grill khula tha. Uski saari dishes celebrity ke

nam pe theen It was the same concept.

Respondent 2: It added no value to the food except making it more expensive and thats why it

got closed.

79

Respondent 7: Burger Factory aik kam karsaktay thay keh ussay dine in banatay aur andar pori

theme hi wese hi design karte jese they have in comic books. Ussay kia hota keh buchhay bhi

attract hotay aur aik achi jaga bhi mil jati toh sit in.

Respondent 3: Lets suppose I am in a casual meeting with my colleagues and its time for quick

meal and we want to have burgers. I will not have Burger Factory, I will not have marvel themed

burgers with my colleagues.

Moderator: Let me contradict to it, when it comes to movie, you would love to watch Ironman

or Hulk, then why not when it comes to eating?

Respondent 6: The thing is value addition. When you watch Hulk in a movie, in action, you get

excited. Jese Avengers main jub Hulk aya tha, it created excitement. But Hulk khanay main itna

excited nahi hai.

Respondent 7: Fine I like Batman. But if I am going with a girl, I wouldnt say chalo mujhe

Batman khana hai. Thats so kiddish and immature for a guy of my age.

Respondent 4: A good advice would be keh isko kids section main kardain aur baqi burgers ke

nam generic kardain.

80

Respondent 3: If you look at Burger Shack or Burger Lab, unhon ne apne nam ko hi follow kia

hai further to associate it with their products. Ab Burger Factory ko lelain. What are you

making? Marvel Characters. Doesnt go with the name.

Respondent 4: Burger Studio rakh lete.

Respondent 3: The other day I saw a deal on DealsToday of Burger Factory. 4 burgers in PKR

500. Agar mujhe woh burger free main bhi deta toh I wouldnt have had them. Because such a

bargain is seriously not on.

Respondent 7: Marketing main yeh bhi dekha jata hai keh agar ap koi deal de rahay ho toh at

least there should be limit to a price keh woh ap hi ke brand ko budnam na kardain. Such cheap

deals create curiosity in peoples mind keh ho kia raha hai. Are they making fools out of us.

Because in deals they make profits and if customer sees that toh he will think ap pehle high

prices rakh kar pagal bana rahay ho.

Moderator: If we start targeting these burgers to the kids of age below 15, do you think parents

would actually and frequently spend PKR 500 on burgers for their kids?

Respondent 3: It depends on the buying power, and also if both the parents are working toh for

their kids they might get a quick meal.

81

Respondent 6: If you see, non of the outlets are focused towards kids except McDonalds. It

could be a good strategy to market specifically kids.

Moderator: But as a parent I would be concerned that I am not giving my child healthy food

Respondent 4: Our market is not that educated.

Respondent 3: I totally agree with this concern because women somewhere down do think about

the nourishment of their kids and definitely she will avoid such food items.

Respondent 7: Firstly you completely have to revamp yourself. Secondly, do some activities

like 14th

Street Pizza did on Facebook. Asking people to take pictures of how they eat pizza and

stuff like that. Thirdly play with psyche. Like Vital Soap or Mineral Water. Just add something

healthy to it, youre marketing techniques should include all these aspects. People easily tend to

divert.

Moderator: Jub hum bahir khanay jatay hain toh we are looking for fun experience. Kia

Takeaway hum se who experience leleta hai?

Respondent 3: Yes it does take that away.

82

Respondent 2: Your food needs to be that good keh people are forced to give up any other

experience than the food itself.

Respondent 6: We are mentally prepared for it thats why we go to such places