Frank Left His Basic Sundae Sign example essay topic

Title: Guidelines in Increasing the Number of Sales (applicable in any Industry; most Applicable in the Food Industry) Researcher: RuthLenlea B. VillelaProfessor: Dr. M. PangilinanSchool: Technological University of the Philippines Year: 1st Sem School Year 2004 Problem How to increase the Sales in a Local Ice Cream Parlor Summary / Findings PROBLEM ONE: NO SUNDAE DESCRIPTIONS The first problem we saw was that he was only listing the names of his sundaes, since there was no room for a description of each sundae. While this wasn't a problem for his Basic Sundaes, after all, everyone knows what's in a Pineapple Sundae, or a Hot Fudge Sundae, it was a huge problem with his Specialty Sundaes. Many of his Specialty Sundaes had fun, 'creative' names, like The Lala Palooza, The Zombie and The Razz ana. Maybe Frank and his staff, and a few of his long-time customers, knew what those sundaes were, but we were certain that most of his customers didn't have a clue. Frank had assumed that his customers knew what those sundaes contained, or if they didn't, they would simply ask. People don't buy what they don't understand.

And few are going to ask. They will take the path of least resistance and just buy what they are familiar with -- Pineapple Sundaes, Hot Fudge Sundaes, etc. PROBLEM TWO: NO PICTURES We " ve all heard that a 'picture is worth a thousand words. ' Well, that saying is especially true when it comes to food. When you show pictures of desserts in restaurants, you will sell a lot more desserts. Some restaurants are even more savvy, and actually display the desserts or bring them right to your table for you to see.

The bottom line -- visuals sell! Frank had never really thought about his menu system. The plain white letters on the black display boards had been his system since the day his business opened. He never considered adding pictures to his menu. Conclusion: Our experience in marketing, and our knowledge of how people buy, made it clear to us, that these two problems -- obscure sundae names with no descriptions, and no pictures of the sundaes themselves -- were making it nearly impossible for Frank's customers to order his higher-priced sundaes. Having pinpointed the problems, the solution was relatively easy.

We suggested that Frank take pictures of each of his Specialty Sundaes, and have them enlarged. Frank then had two large signs made to be placed at both ends of his ordering counter, above his cashiers to make it easy for his customers to see the Specialty Sundaes and what they contained. The heading at the top of each sign said, 'SPECIALTY SUNDAES,' in big, bold, red letters. Below that he displayed a large photo of each Specialty Sundae with the name and a list of the ingredients of each sundae along with the price, right next to each photo. Frank left his basic sundae sign as it was, just plain text without pictures. The signs looked fantastic -- because the sundaes looked irresistible!

Where do you think Frank's customers' eyes were drawn to when they stepped up to the counter to order a sundae -- the plain text Basic Sundaes, or the Specialty Sundaes with the large colorful, mouth-watering photos and complete descriptions of ingredients?