Marketing

Plan Page 1

Marketing Plan
Julia Garyfallou
Dr. Flexo
MKTG 300

Marketing Plan Page 2

Table of Contents
Table of Contents p.1

Advertising p.9

Introduction p.2

Sales Promotion p.9

Product Differentiation p.3

Internet and Social Media Activity p.9

S.W.O.T. Analysis p.3-4

Budget Allocation p.10

Environmental Analysis p.4-7

Performance Measurement p.10

Target Group p.7-8

Bibliography p.11

Marketing Plan objectives p.8

Appendix p.12

Pricing p.9

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Introduction
Simmzys on 2nd, is one of the many restaurants that are included in the Simms Restaurant
Group. It all started with Arthur Simms, and the Coffee Shop that he opened around the 50s, at
the intersection of Olympic Boulevard & Vermont Avenue. Following his fathers steps, Tom
Simms opened the first Mimis Caf, which later was operating in more than 150 locations. Tom
ended up selling Mimis Caf to Group LeDuff for $182 million. Mike Simms, Toms older son,
also followed the tradition with the Lazy Dog Caf. He now owns and runs 12 Lazy Dog Cafes.
Brother Chris and Mike partnered up and expanded the family business to Manhattan Beach,
with the Roof Tin Bistro first, and then the first Simmzys at Manhattan Beach. The second
Simmzys, at Long Beach, opened a little over than a year ago, and it is already one of Belmont
Shores people favorite spots.
Simmzys, and the other Simms Restaurant group restaurants have a one-of-a-kind and
pioneering nature. All the restaurants are unique to the core, but what binds them together and
differentiates them from the competition, is the food and drinks quality and the welcoming
environment that brings customers back and turns them into regulars.
The companys culture, follows religiously four core values that apply to all their restaurants:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Customer first
Strong Passion
Positive energy
Deliver what we promise

Their mission statement: Serve happiness, one guest at a time. From the culture and the
mission statement we can come to several conclusions. First, we can see that customers
satisfaction is their number one priority. They do not care about the dollars as much as they care
about the customer and that is one of the reasons for their success. You are only a stranger here
once is their motto, and it is hanging from the ceiling at Simmzys.
In this marketing plan, I will try to identify how we can increase profits and market share, and
how Simmzys can expand their customer list.

Product Differentiation
There are a few things that differentiate Simmzys from their competitors.
Food: Simmzys is committed in making their food with the best and healthier ingredients. This
is why most of the ingredients they use are locally grown, mainly in Southern California, and are
coming from small farms and small family businesses. They do so for two reasons. One, locally
grown products are fresher, taste better and have more nutrients. Two, they want to support local
farmers and help the environment and lastly, by supporting these local farmers they build a sense
of community with their guests and teammates. Their food is classical, comfort, American food

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with notes of delicacy every here and there. They make a simple everyday recipe in something
that you have never tasted before.
Beer and wine: Simmzys beer is handcrafted and you cannot find it anywhere else besides at
Simmzys restaurants. They have 36 beers on draft every day and they rotate them daily. Mike
Simms started home brewing beer in his garage, when after a few years his wife told him that he
had to stop so he perfected his selection and he took it over his restaurants. As far as the wine, on
the menu there are only ten wines that are in a barrel and go only by glass. The wine selection
comes from Napa Valley, California. They select local wineries to support family businesses and
their friends that make great wine.
Atmosphere: Simmzys has a very friendly, people-dragging atmosphere. The service staff is
excellent, very warm and welcoming. And so are the wooden tables and bar that are so close to
each other, which makes you feel like you are connected with every individual eating at the
restaurant. They do put the customer first and care about satisfying all their requests.
Furthermore, the restaurant has no walls around it. As Tom Simms said: There is no reason for
a wall between a glass of ale and the outside world.

S.W.O.T Analysis
Strengths: Simmzys strengths include the quality of the food in balance with the prices. Nothing
is overpriced, you pay for what you get. The natural, locally grown ingredients is one of their
core competencies. The unique, handcrafted beers, which you cannot find anywhere else, and the
wine by the barrel, is a key differentiator. The fact that is a family-owned business brings a sense
of community, and the friendly, hangout environment assists in turning customers into regulars.
Weaknesses: The location of the restaurant on 2nd street restricts them from serving hard alcohol
such as Vodka and Whisky. The alcohol restriction is a disadvantage since bars that have permits
to serve hard alcohol surround the restaurant. In addition to that, the handcrafted beer might
seem ideal for some, but for other customers that are not familiar with the concept, might be a
deal-breaker, as the beers are not well known or name branded. There is no happy-hour in the
menu, which more if not all restaurants have, even if it is only for certain days a week. This can
drag college students or lunch breakers away as happy hour is a marketing strategy that brings
people in. Lastly, they implement a no reservation policy which makes it really difficult if you
are planning on going to the restaurant with a big party or if you have a special event planned.
Opportunities: Expanding the customer list and generating money from another source (college
students) by implementing marketing strategies, is possible. Also, social media can help bring
our new target group in the restaurant and also assist with advertising the home crafted beer

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which is one of Simmzys strengths. Finally, not many customers know the history behind the
restaurant, and it would be beneficial to promote the family nature of the restaurants.
Threats: Some of the threats that Simmzys is facing, is the competition on Belmont Shore. With
many well-known restaurants and bars, is hard to keep a stable market share. Moreover, the
established, well known beer and wine brands, might be taking customers away.

Environmental Analysis
Competitors: Simmzys has a good share market on Belmont Shore. 12% on beer and wine and
24% on food. Our biggest competitors in the beer and wine category are Panama Joes, Rileys,
and Murphys. In the food category, we are competing closely with Nicks on 2nd, Open Sesame
and Tavern on 2nd.

Beer and Wine

0ther
26%

Panama Joe's
35%

Rilley's
10%
Simmzy's
12%
Panama Joe's
Murphy's

Murphy's
17%
Simmzy's
Rilley's

0ther

Dining
20%

25%

Nick's on 2nd

9%

Simmzy's
22%

24%

Open Sesame
Tavern on 2nd
Other

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Consumer/Social factors: According to a survey by Living Social Dining out magazine, 4.8
times a week is how many times Americans go out to dine. Furthermore, 49% of Western
Americans prefer the American cuisine, to any others. Following is a chart of Americans that
earn more than $50k and how many times a week they eat out:
Americans that earn more than $50k annually:

On a survey by CBS news that segmented population into age groups and how many times a
week they dine out we can see that the biggest percentage is individuals from 18 to 29 years old.

Dining-out
30%
20%
10%
0%
1 night

2-3 nights
18-29

4 + nights
30-44

45-64

On a questionnaire that I made and handed out to 50 people that were walking by Simmzys, I
identified that the age group that is going out the most is 21 to 26 years old, equally distributed
between man and women. 30% of them were found to dine out more than four nights a week. It
might seems a lot, because most people in that age are in college and do not work full time so
their budget is limited, but lack of time for cooking or shopping groceries, are some reasons why
people choose to dine out.

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Technological factors: While social media are taking over, restaurants and bars are taking
advantage of it and the free advertisement that they provide. Check-ins, pictures, hashtags and
likes, all contribute to free marketing strategies for businesses. 55% of individuals that have a
Facebook page said that they check their Facebook several times a day. So did individuals that
have Twitter or Instagram accounts.

Economic factors: On a survey by BLS Consumer expenditure, we can see that individuals that
make $70k or more annually spend only a very small percentage less dining-out that buying
groceries and eating at home. On average, consumers that make over $70k, spend three to six
thousand dollars eating out annually.

We will concentrate on individuals that make between $70k and $160k because it matches with
the demographics on the Belmont Shore area.

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Target group
Our target group will be college students 21 years old and over. There are several reasons behind
the choice of the target group. First, a 20% of the people that live in Belmont Shore are between
the ages of 21 and 34 years old. Second, this age group of new generation citizens is
characterized by needs for innovation, sustainability and care for the environment. Thus, it is a
perfect match with Simmzys culture and mentality. Lastly, college students generate the biggest
percentage of profits at the other Simmzys location, at Manhattan Beach. All those factors make
college students over 21 years old and ideal target group.

Marketing Plan Objectives

! To increase food sales by 15% within a year,
! To increase beer and wine sales by 20% within a year,
! To open two more Simmzys restaurants, preferably in Newport Beach and Santa Monica

beach, within five years.

Positioning
When referring to positioning, we are talking about what makes our company unique, how we
can influence potential customers perception of what we provide, and it is vital when we
develop our marketing mix. Our positioning:

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Simmzys is a family-owned business. We use the freshest, most natural, locally grown
ingredients, and we handcraft our beer. Our food is made with love; from the best ingredients
you can find in Southern California. We like to support small businesses and our local farmer
friends. We create a sense of community, so every time you visit Simmzys, you feel like you are
home.

Pricing
Our pricing will stay the same. There is already a great value between food and drinks quality
and price. For example, we charge a little more for a glass of Sangria so we can keep our wine
and beer prices low, so it balances out. The only change will be the implementation of some
offers, like a happy hour menu.

Advertising
For our advertising strategies, we will make flyers, which we will distribute at CSULB and
LBCC campus, and also at the Belmont Shore area. The flyers will have our logo, a small sample
of what is going to be on the happy hour menu, and a short version of the how it all started
story, referring to how the family started the restaurant business. We will put the same flyer as a
full-page advertisement in the local Long Beach newspaper. Also, we will create a radio
commercial that will play at Kjazz, which is the CSULBs radio station.

Sales Promotion
We will start a happy hour menu that will go from Monday to Thursday. It will be active only for
CSULB and LBCC students and only after they show us their Student ID card. Drinks will not be
on happy hour. In addition to that, we will give a 10% discount to everyone that checks-in on
Facebook or Yelp, or hashtag us on Twitter. They will have to show their check-in or hashtag to
their server and they will automatically receive a 10% off their total bill. The discount will not be
valid during happy hour. The last thing on our sales promotion will be the Passport. The
Passport will be a folder piece of paper with 60 numbers on it. Each number will represent a
different Simmzys beer. The goal is to get a stamp for all 60 beers on the Passport. When the
Passport is finished, the customer will win a free dinner for them and one other person, free
drinks for one night, and their name written on Simmzys wall, above the bar.

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Internet and Social Media Activity

We will hire an expert to first, handle and run our Facebook and Twitter page, and reply on
customers comments on Yelp. This person will need to be on the clock for a minimum of three
hours every day. Furthermore, he or she will create a page with all Simms familys restaurants,
their culture and what makes Simmzys unique. We will also put an ad on Facebook. With that
we can monitor how many people visit our page, how often, the age group and other important
details.

Budget Allocations
The total cost of implementing this marketing plan will be $40,190. Analyzed expenses:
! Flyers cost: $2,750. This will cover the design of the flyers, printing, and the cost of
distribution.
! Advertising: $9,800 (Newspaper ad, Kjazz commercial, Facebook ad)
! Part time personnel responsible for Internet and Social Media: $17,50/hour (preferably no
less than three hours daily)
! The remaining $10,000 will go to the marketing stuff that created this marketing plan.

Performance Measurements
We will measure and evaluate our performance weekly on how often people check in Simmzys,
how often they visit and like our pages.
We will measure our sales every month, and at the end of the first six months period we will
measure how much college students contributed on our sales. Finally, at the end of the fiscal year
we will evaluate everything, including social media, sales of food and sales of drinks.

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Bibliography
http://www.foodgps.com/interview-restaurateur-mike-simms/
http://www.simmsrestaurants.com//concepts/simmzys/culture
http://oursouthbay.com/May-June-2013/Youve-Been-Served/
http://zipskinny.com/index.php?zip=90803&pagetype=main
http://dqydj.net/how-you-stack-up-to-other-americans-in-monthly-food-spending/
http://www.polarismr.com/POV/bid/75090/Marketing-Research-on-Facebook-Users-Shows-Devotionand-Frequent-Use
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500160_162-1060315.html
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/09/19/Americans-eat-out-about-5-times-a-week/UPI54241316490172/
http://www.claritas.com/MyBestSegments/Default.jsp?ID=20#
http://www.simmzys.com/

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Appendix

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