Red Lobster Analysis Essay Example

customers for casual ding chain. They are particularly profitable and less price sensitive. By 2010, internal reached found that customer satisfaction rate was up by 14 percentage points since 2004. The chain was outperforming the competition. The company had an industry-leading role in setting standards in the seafood business.

Farm-raised salmon and shrimps was cost consistent. Sea food was not perceived anymore as high end product but rather as affordable mainstream. In casual dining category they have reached their success position and most locations could accommodate a 50 % increase in quests counts. Red Lobster has worked on current concept since 2004. Should they change segmentation of the target customer now? Successful retail concepts always peak at some point. What next?

Red Lobster get brand envy: if only we could get some better customers while not revamping our existing customers. The value of a brand is twofold: it communicates about the product offering: the category, quality, service, price, but in addition it also stands for the target market it serves - “what to whom”. It’s easier to change the “what” than it is to change the “whom”. Re-modelling the stores, changing the prices, advertising, all it takes is money and commitment.

But the point of a brand is to create an image in the minds of consumers of what you stand for. To change it is to throw it away. In my opinion, Red Lobster shouldn’t change target segment and modify positioning focusing on experientials stealing share from premium casual chain. Instead they need to think how to serve existing customers with increased profitability. Step two is to ask if there is

a way to attract the more profitable customers without alienating the existing ones. If it is not possible, maybe they need a new brand, not a stretched one.