Evaluate Rita’s past and present marketing strategy. What should she do now? Should she seriously consider joining some franchise chain? Rita Carmine, the owner and manager of Carmine’s Italian Restaurant, is reviewing the slow growth of her restaurant. She’s also thinking about the future and wondering if she should change her strategy. In particular, she is wondering if she should join a fast-food or family restaurant franchise chain. Several are located near her, but there are many franchisors without local restaurants. After doing some online research, she has learned that with help from the franchisors, some of these places gross

$500,000 to $1 million a year. Of course, she would have to follow someone else’s strategy and thereby lose her independence, which she doesn’t like to think about. But those sales figures do sound good, and she has also heard that the return to the owner-manager (including salary) can be more than $150,000 per year. She has also considered creating a Facebook page for Carmine’s Italian Restaurant but is not sure how that will help.

She knows people go to Carmine’s web page for directions and to see the menu—but why might she need Facebook or some other social media?