The Objectives of this Toolkit

An effective merchandising strategy in your restaurant(s) can help:

• Increase restaurant sales and profits
• Speed thru-put
• Improve the consumer experience
• Develop a competitive advantage

This toolkit contains hands-on tools to selfevaluate how well your current merchandising is accomplishing these objectives and identify areas for improvement.

The Process: Consumer Zone Improvement

Restaurants consist of many different "consumer zones" (see illustration). Consumers behave and operate differently in each zone. This toolkit will help you understand each zone and develop improved merchandising and communications strategies for each zone.

How to Use this Toolkit

There is an assessment module for each consumer zone. Use the modules to analyze your merchandising and create an action plan for improvement. Focus on those zones that:

• Currently have weak merchandising and communications
• Are the source of consumer dissatisfaction
• Represent the greatest Return on Investment (ROI) for your brand

Zone Merchandising Strategies

There are four key merchandising strategies that you will use to achieve your business objectives. Each zone uses one or more of these strategies. As a shorthand, we use graphic icons in the assessment modules to identify which strategies are most relevant to a particular zone. They are:

Promote Combos, Add-on and Up-sell opportunities. This strategy will result in:

• Increased check
• More sales of high margin items
• Faster thru-put
• Increased consumer satisfaction (due to perceived value and convenience)

Promote New Items, LTOs (Limited Time Offers) and Specials. This strategy will result in:

• Increased sales of high margin items
• Increased consumer satisfaction (by satisfying their need for variety)
• Competitive differentiation (due to new and unique menu offerings)

Promote Alternate Dayparts (such as breakfast or snacks) and Occasions (such as kid’s parties, catering, and special events). This strategy will result in:

• Increased sales and profi tability
• Increased frequency of consumer visits
• Increased brand loyalty

Promote PepsiCo beverages and snacks. This strategy will result in:

• Increased check
• More sales of high margin items
• Improved consumer satisfaction (due to perceived quality, value and variety)

Entry Zone Example

For each consumer zone, the toolkit will identify the key strategy (or strategies) most appropriate for that particular zone. The recommended icon(s) will be shown. In the example to the left, we see that the primary strategies to consider in the "Entry Zone" are:

• Encourage sale of combos and high margin menu items
• Encourage trial of new products

Assessment Modules

The toolkit consists of a collection of booklets or modules (one dedicated to each consumer zone).

The first page of each self-assessment module will help you:

• Identify where the zone is (Zone Definition)
• Determine what merchandising strategies and tactics to use there
• Identify what communication elements are appropriate
• Prioritize if/when you will evaluate this zone (At-a-glance Prioritization Tool depicts the ease or diffi culty to making changes and the effect on sales or consumer satisfaction of doing so)
• Learn how consumers are acting in the zone (Research)

Best Practice Examples and Zone Tactic Checklists

The interior pages of each self assessment module contain:

• Various "Best Practice" examples for this zone (illustrating innovative techniques and methods).
• A Zone Tactic Checklist that helps you to assess and evaluate your current merchandising. It is here you can begin to develop a corrective action plan for optimizing merchandising in this zone.

Design Dos and Don'ts

The last page contains:
Communication Dos and Don’ts:

• Visual examples of merchandising/ communication techniques in this zone that are proven to work well and those that are proven to fall short of objectives.

PepsiCo Hints:

• Some useful guidelines and ideas for increasing sales of high margin snacks and beverages.

Supplemental Reference Modules

The toolkit also contains a mini "reference" library that contains helpful supplemental information:

• Beverage and Snack Merchandising: In-depth guidelines and examples to optimize your merchandising of these high margin items
• Benefifit/Cost Analysis: Helpful guidelines for determining the potential value of a solution
• Benchmarking: How to adopt the Best Practices from others (both inside and outside of your category)
• Digital Merchandising: A look at the increasingly popular world of digital signage
• Innovations at the Drive-Thru: Contains innovative techniques that can improve sales and consumer satisfaction at the drive-thru (if applicable)

How to Get Started

• Read the modules to get a good understanding of each zone, appropriate strategies and tactics, and potential impact on your business
• Agree on which zones would benefi t from assessment and improvement
• Decide who will conduct the audits (you may want to create an assessment team)
• For the zones you have selected, use the modules to self-assess your current situation and develop a corrective action plan
• Following implementation, measure results to determine whether key zone objectives have been achieved (increased trial, higher tickets, increased sales or profi ts, improved consumer satisfaction, etc.)