Week 2 - Course Project Proposal Team C Richard Hung Khristine Jackson Rob Lawlor Paul Mann Kevin McLeod Kevin McWhorter Rebecca Michel Keller Graduate School of Management Instructor - Jacqueline Awadzi Calloway MIS 535: Managerial Applications of Information Technology November 8, 2015 Subject The focus of our project will be on the use of technology to solve business problems for Texas Roadhouse restaurants. This could be a long list of technologies that can help a relatively new and up and coming restaurant; however we have chosen ChowNow who has software and specifically designs business processes to complete customer transactions that maintain customer intimacy. Our focus will revolve around the internet company ChowNow and there solutions. \"ChowNow, LLC, a software company, provides mobile, Facebook, and Web solutions for online ordering in the self-service model restaurant industry in the United States. The company's application suite uploads the restaurant menu to the user's system to receive orders. It also enables users to receive notifications by fax, email, and Web software. The company offers its products through resellers and distributors. ChowNow, LLC is based in Santa Monica, California.\" (Bloomberg internet article, May 2015) Problem Statement The business problem is the challenge of small businesses to get the appropriate level of market share and exposure to a solid customer base to be successful. Product development and the benefits of profitability have challenged them since they don't always have the needed funds to market themselves in advertising. Increased sales, which should equate to profits, elude them at every turn. \"All businesses, regardless of industry, have become what I like refer to as O2O (online to offline) businesses. Their primary marketing objectives are focused on driving people online to drive them offline.\" (McFadden, Quora internet article, Sep 2014) Name of Company The restaurant in need of ChowNow is Texas Roadhouse. Texas Roadhouse is a US-based company that operates a chain of restaurants. Founded in 1993, the company now owns over 400 restaurants and even has four locations in the Middle East (Texas Roadhouse Inc.). The restaurant is growing rapidly and has quickly become an exciting and up and coming place to dine. They specialize as in steaks but they offer a wide variety of meals including chicken, salads, and beverages. The companies' websites state that they serve 300,000 meals a day and serve 5,000 guests a week, which is one of the highest averages in the industry (NASDAQ). Proposed Solutions Our proposal is to utilize the services that ChowNow offers to a restaurant like Texas Roadhouse to provide customers with interactive ordering services. This will engage the customers and gain market share with the younger generations who enjoy technologically advanced businesses. \"With the ability to make real-time menu changes, send out new marketing campaigns, and track past orders and customer locations quickly, ChowNow is fast becoming the must-have for restaurants that have both customer pick-up and delivery. Imagine everyone can place and pay for their own order but it will all arrive together for your group lunch -- you can now stop imagining and start ordering from restaurants using ChowNow.\" (Waits, examiner.com article, May 2014) Possible Benefits In addition to the serves of ChowNow we believe there are also opportunities with social media similar to what companies like Wow Bao. "At Wow Bao social media is an important part of the mix. The restaurant partnered with Exit 41 to create Facebook pages that allow customers to "Like" the restaurant and order food directly from the page. The result: a 10 percent increase in online order volume within five weeks of implementing the system." (Newman p.41) Marketing is also another added value to the restaurant. The ordering function seamlessly ties in with social media such as Facebook and Yelp, thus driving additional traffic into the online system of the restaurant. Liking a restaurant page automatically populates in all of your friend's feed, generating buzz, excitement, and curiosity. The saying "pictures are worth a thousand words." is especially true when it comes to photos of food. Users go on yelp to read reviews and look at food photos, and a nice photo speaks volume about the restaurant, and entices the user to decide dining. Once the customer decided, they just click and bring them to the online ordering menu. Additionally, the following benefits can be seen when companies are able to embrace new and exciting technological approaches to enhance their ordering processes: Improved accuracy of order information Reliable billing of orders in the form of financial security Clear/Crisp communications between the customer and the business Increased Sales (more options available and visually more appealing) Target Audience Our target audience will be the key ownership of Texas Roadhouse including the board of directors. ChowNow created an advanced online ordering system to enhance restaurants ordering process. Their products are priced to accommodate the needs of small and large restaurants. \"Also, despite using some very sophisticated technologies to power ChowNow, anyone can use it.\" We believe Texas Roadhouse and its customers will benefit from using these solutions which will increase sales and create a buzz in the industry (Webb, DailyNews article, April 2012). References Bloomberg Internet article, May 2015, retrieved on 11/6/15. http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=206239031 How Texas Roadhouse Sizzles Despite The Cost Of Steak. (2015, May 22). Retrieved November 8, 2015, from http://www.nasdaq.com/article/how-texas-roadhouse-sizzles-despite-the-cost-of-steakcm479782 McFadden, Pat. Quora Internet article, September 2014, retrieved on 11/7/15. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-small-business-owners-biggest-struggle-in-marketing-themselves-online Newman, Katie. Cheers Magazine, July/August 2011. A Revolution in Online Ordering, p41. Texas Roadhouse Inc. (2015, January 14). Retrieved November 8, 2015. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=ed26af43-be5a4454-93ca-7a01e1a90153@sessionmgr113&hid=120 Waits, Pam. Examiner internet article, May 2014, retrieved on 11/6/15. http://www.examiner.com/article/chownow-the-answer-to-the-staff-lunch Webb, Christopher. Daily News Internet article, April 2012, retrieved on 11/7/2015. http://foodservicedailynews.com/Column.cfm?S=T&AT=L&ID=17