BY JULIAN RICHARDSON Assistant Business Co-ordinator richardsonj@jamaicaobserver.com
IN a strategic move to penetrate an increasingly fast-paced and competitive market, Mother’s Enterprise has deployed sales staff on streets across the island to bring products directly to customers.In other words, the Jamaican restaurant chain has brought point of sale to the feet of consumers.“We realise that convenience is very important and consumers from all walks of life, whether it be a business executive or a vendor, are all strapped for time,” Rojah Thomas, local area marketer at Mother’s, told the Business Observer yesterday. “We heard this cry from our consumers and came up with the strategy to send the staff out and meet the consumers.”Mother’s has aptly labelled the initiative ‘Do Road’ — a play on a Jamaican slang that means persons are going on an excursion outdoors — and introduced the concept towards the end of last year. All 18 Mother’s locations islandwide have their own ‘Do Road’ staff who are deployed on the streets daily.In addition to its flaship patty products, Mother’s menu offering includes burgers, jerk chicken, hot dog, ice cream and a host of breakfast items.The newspaper’s roving team observed a ‘Do Road’ team member, equipped with insulated bags, serving Mother’s products to customers in downtown Kingston on Monday. Thomas said the fast-food restaurant has gained a substantial amount of new clients through the initiative.“It’s something that is working very well for us,” Thomas revealed.“You can pay for your order through a rep and they take the Mother’s products to you,” he explained, adding that “You get a proper meal that is kept hot in specially designed bags.”What’s more is that regular ‘Do Road’ customers can have Mother’s products delivered to them on the dial.“You can call the restaurants, if you have built that relationship, and we will take the product to you,” the marketer said.The initiative appears to be part of a broad strategy by Mother’s to engage customers more in the highly competitive and increasingly on-the-go market for fast food in Jamaica. Mother’s several months ago launched a “7 Minutes or It’s Free” breakfast campaign, an aggressive move in the growing morning-day segment for fast food that many quick service restaurants (QSRs) are targeting.QSR experts have identified a mature fast-food industry in Jamaica, where the major brands have saturated the market with stores dotting the island across the 14 parishes. With growth opportunities limited, the restaurants have employed innovative strategies to reach the consumers’ wallets and boost sales, whether through value deals or by extending opening hours.It is in line with international trends in the fast-food industry.The world’s biggest hamburger chain, McDonald’s, said last week that it has been using “everyday value offerings” to help drive up results in the US as the restaurant juggles a variety of challenges, reported the Associated Press. With people being careful about their spending, the chain has aggressively promoted its Dollar Menu and other deals to bring in customers. Analysts have expressed concern the strategy could eat into profit margins, but executives say the sacrifice is necessary to keep customers loyal and grow over the long term, it was reported.Jamaica Observer’s roving team observed a ‘Do Road’ team member, equipped with insulated bags, carrying Mother’s products to customers in downtown Kingston on Monday. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)View the original article here
Mother"s takes service to the streets
