Online communication: Comparison between American and French franchises in classical restaurants

Résumé du document

To better understand the issues of online communication for businesses today we suggest to previously introducing the internet marketing concept and strategy.
- What is the importance of internet marketing today?
- What internet provides to businesses?
- How businesses mix traditional and innovative ways of communication?

From traditional marketing to internet marketing

Creating websites is a way for companies to reach every internet user everywhere in the world.Thanks to internet companies build and reinforce their brand image.

It seems that traditional marketing communication tools are no longer sufficient. As we are in a global and digital era marketers must consider and use a new communication tool: Internet. This is a tremendous opportunity to expand into new markets, offer new services and compete on more equal footing with larger businesses.

For those who work within organizations that use Internet, it gives them the opportunity to develop new skills and to improve the competitiveness of the company.
John Deighton of Harvard Business School identifies the following characteristics inherent in a digital medium (Deighton, 1996):
- The customer initiates contact
- The customer is seeking information( pull)
- It is a high intensity medium- the marketer will have 100% of the individual's attention when he or she is viewing a website
- A company can gather and store the response of the individual
- Individuals needs of the customer can be addressed and taken in account in futures dialogues

Extraits

[...] New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. [...]

[...] The word-of-mouth marketing permits to establish one-to-one contact that links directly the sender and the recipient. The sender is independent of the product/service under discussion, as most often it is a friend of an independent consumers who plays the role of the marketer. The most relevant aspect of word-of-mouth marketing is the fact that it develops a sense of commitment and enhances involvement. It is crucial for companies to dedicate their E-marketing techniques to their corporate global strategy, thus more and more firms combine the internet and other marketing platforms to reach their potential customers and purchase their products or services. [...]

[...] - Customer service improvement: interactive enquiries of databases containing frequent asked questions or suggestions for example Traditional and innovative ways of communication For many years we just identify corporate and specialized websites as current ways of communication. People working in communication department focused on this kind of websites for advertising, recruit future employees or attract potential investors. However the digital world changed and traditional ways of communication are no longer sufficient: in France there are 34 millions of internet users millions in the United States, internet users have an high speed connection, and e-commerce businesses is growing increasingly. Companies must consider these changes and adapt their communication policy to be sure to be talked about. [...]

[...] They propose to show you the entire menu, the location of Famous Dave in US, the service of delivery, the email club, the shop and the saucy stuff. Member being of the club give us the chance to receive BBQ tips, special birthday offer via mail and staff slather us with famous news. BUFFALO GRILL The concept : This is a french chain of restaurants specialized in “steakhouse” and others specifics meals from North America .Cow boys and far west decoration give the client the impression to had crossed the ocean. BUFFALO GRILL is the leader in the “steakhouse” restaurant theme in France. [...]

[...] Goals and strategy No information about it Communication policy How to attract new franchisee? On the website, there is some information about franchising but it is not very visible and you have to look after it. Nevertheless, this restaurant is ranked in Entrepreneurs' franchises, but the link to access is not working. They insist on their values which are Ownership, Support and expansion; this could convince a potential franchisee. They created an open house where you can learn more about the brand, and you can pre-registered for becoming a franchisee, or contact by phone to get more information. [...]