This report outlines a new strategic plan for Raising Cane’s, consisting of seven components. These seven include the vision and mission statements, SMART goals and objectives, industry analysis, a SWOTT analysis, a perceptual map, and key performance criteria. The fast-food industry is at its most competitive with both increase in customer populations and the ability to offer superior quality and faster product creation. Because the focus of Raising Cane’s within the food industry is on a limited but high-quality menu consisting of chicken fingers, the vision and mission statements can continue to reflect this aspiration for a specific and high-grade product.
The company’s mission statement should define its business, objectives, and methods of reaching said objectives. As such, the proposed mission statement is that Raising Cane’s aims to ‘offer a unique variety of chicken finger meals that are nourishing and of excellent quality, and create more opportunities for customers to enjoy our products for fair prices and at easily reachable locations’.
The vision statement offers insight into the desired future position of the company. The proposed vision statement is that Raising Cane’s aspires to operate restaurants in all major cities in the U.S. and become the number one eat-out for chicken-related products, to grow a balanced and cohesive work culture, and bring local communities together. The offered mission and vision statements incorporate Raising Cane’s values of the past while expanding in a way that correlates with the planned growth of the company in the coming years.
SMART goals define objectives and targets that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. It is also essential to categorize these goals to restaurant-specific themes such as menu changes, monitoring preparation speeds, and many other factors. The first goal would be to increase the number of promotional events the restaurant hosts, especially in the cases of new menu items. These can include monthly special events that can offer discounts or coupons for free items on smaller menu items. This can increase interest and motivation to return to the restaurant on a monthly basis. There can also be special promotional events, in the case of new menu items, restaurant re-decorations, new openings, and seasonal celebrations. It is important to acknowledge the involvement of the local communities in the growth of the company and celebrate their participation as customers.
Additionally, the staff should also feel respected and stable while working with the company. It is essential to retain staff that is experienced, adaptable and works well with other employees. As such, the company would benefit from standardizing certain aspects of work culture within policy such as respectful language being a guarantee, mentorship programs being available to newer members, issues and inquiries that are brought to managerial teams can be assessed without fear of punishment, and re-form the paid leave to be more in tune with current needs for work-life balance.
The industry of fast food has seen a number of significant changes within just a single year. Due to restrictions on the food businesses due to the pandemic, many companies were able to rely on technology to continue to offer customers products in convenient and safe ways. It is likely that even after lockdown, some of these implemented methods may be popular. For instance, Taco Bell will soon be integrating a ‘Go Mobile’ feature that seamlessly communicates orders between clients and employees, which are then prepared and available for pick up. The application also monitors the quickest available route and parking spot near the restaurant (Klein, 2020). Such strategies are customer-focused as a substantial number of Americans own a smartphone and spend a few hours on it daily. The industry is incredibly competitive, with large businesses like KFC, Burger King, and McDonald’s leading as the most popular fast-food firms. The industry is also beginning to focus on privacy as technological advancements also allow for breaches and information theft when not properly monitored. Currently, companies are developing safe applications that incorporate more levels of location tracking, more permissions, and compatible and agreed-on data collection.
Raising Cane’s is a smaller firm within the large and highly competitive industry of fast food, which provides both advantages and disadvantages. Some of Raising Cane’s strengths within the field of fast food include over five hundred stores with one location outside the U.S., a substantial philanthropy program, resistance to limited time offers on products, and 1.8 billion dollars in annual sales in 2019 (Kelso, 2020). The main weaknesses include the lacking of healthier food and drink options, limited variety of menu, and little expansion outside the U.S. Raising Cane’s also presents a number of opportunities which are additions to the menu that reflect the style and specifications of the target products, a friendly environment, satisfactory work culture, involvement in the community, and options to continue opening stores in major U.S. cities.
Some of the threats to Raising Cane’s include other companies, especially industry titan, that sell chicken products, customers that do not like chicken, and limited restaurants in certain states. The current trends in the market are heavily oriented towards customer satisfaction and technological advancements, which Raising Cane’s is currently implementing through an app that allows users to order, track, and pick up their orders. Further steps can be made by following the examples of competitors, which include moving to automated facilities to optimize the fulfillment experience. Additionally, Raising Cane’s is likely to follow the industry standard and improve the safety of their client’s information and privacy when using apps and other software.
The perceptual map below displays Raising Cane’s and competitors in the fast-food industry such as McDonald’s, Subway, and Taco Bell. It also includes direct competitors that have chicken-specific products such as KFC, Wendy’s, and Burger King. The criteria by which the perceptual map is measured are the selection of the menu and available locations. The reason these two criteria were chosen instead of factors such as pricing, quality of food, or customer service is that Raising Cane’s scores with satisfactory results in these areas. However, the menu selection and restaurant locales are aspects which can see improvement and the map illustrates the room for growth the company can experience in the coming years. Currently, Raising Cane’s scores low, with other smaller fast-food chains, in both menu variety and number of locations. This is especially true for Raising Cane’s as the firm has only one location outside the U.S. The map provides an outlook that actions should be implemented which increase interest in the Raising Cane’s menu which can lead to an increase in client population. Subsequently, this can allow for expansion into other cities, and eventually, into other countries.
References
Kelso, A. (2020). Raising cane’s now offering ‘Industry-leading’ compensation, including the chance to make $1 million. Forbes. Web.
Klein, D. (2020). What will the fast-food experience look like in 2021?. QSR Magazine. Web.