The importance of conducting market analysis for a food truck business cannot be over-emphasized. Before you can break into the food truck industry and gain your share of the market, you must do something extra that your competitors are not doing.
It is through market analysis you can discover such things. If you want to conduct market analysis for your food truck business, you have to get your research template right else you will be leaving out some key factors that may negatively affect your overall results.
Steps to Follow When Conducting Market Analysis for your Food Truck Business
Step One: Determine Why You Want to Start a Food Truck Business
The first step when conducting market analysis for a food truck business is to determine the purpose of starting the business. Without a clear-cut reason (purpose) why you want to start a food truck business, you may not come up with a marketing strategy that will help you stand out and win a fair share of the market in the city or location where you want to establish your business.
A well-defined purpose will determine the type of foods and drinks you will sell, the right people to hire, the type of food trucks you need to buy, and the target customers that will help shape your business.
Step Two: Carry Out Research on the Food Truck Industry
After defining the purpose, the next step is to carry out research on the food truck industry. The truth is that no one can successfully participate in an industry they have no knowledge about.
If you can do thorough research about the business, you will be able to identify the key competitors in the industry, and the required licenses and permits you would need to legally run the business in your city. Above all, you will know the best location for your business, your target market, and how to appeal to them.
Step Three: Identify Your Target Customer
The next step after you have conducted your research on the industry is to identify your target customers. The purpose of starting a food truck business should give you a clue about your target market. For example, if your purpose of starting a food truck business is to sell and serve vegetarian-inspired food, then your target market will be predominantly vegetarians.
So, when identifying your target market, go to places where you will meet vegetarians. There are some communities with robust vegetarian demography. Once you are able to identify such communities, it will be easier for you to sell your foods and drinks.
Step Four: Understand your Competition
There are competitions in every industry. So, one of the critical steps to take is to make sure you understand the competition in regard to the business you are going into.
When talking about understanding your competition, it means studying their sales and marketing strategies, manner of operation, pricing method, the kind of food and drinks they sell, and their business philosophies among other things. The purpose of studying these indices is to improve on them so that you can effectively compete with them when you eventually launch your food truck business.
Step Five: Gather and Analyze Your Data
Make sure you analyze the data you gathered from the field. There is a lot you can extract from the data you gathered. There are also some experts who can help you interpret data and also give you strategies on how to use the data you have.
As an aspiring food truck owner, you can hire a data analyst to help you with this aspect of market analysis for your business.
Step Six: Draft Your Market Analysis Document and Put Your Analysis to Work
The final step to take is to draft your food truck market analysis document, then put your analysis to work. The truth is that with the data you got and with the help of market analysis templates on the internet, you can successfully draft your own food truck market analysis document with no stress.
Once you are done drafting the market analysis, then take action. You should go out there and implement the strategy that is captured in your food truck marketing analysis.
A Sample Food Truck Marketing Analysis Template
Our Present Business Situation
Our food truck business has been legally registered and we have acquired the required business license and permits to run this type of business in Fort Myers, Florida, and other neighboring states. We have our food handling certificate, the appropriate driver’s license, health inspection certificate, kitchen insurance, and proof of district-issued food manager identification card amongst others.
The required employees have been employed and trained. We have our branded food truck (40 ft. trucks, with standard kitchen facility and cooling system) and all accessories are intact including the supply we would need for a period of 2 weeks. We have an office and kitchen as required by the law in Florida.
As a matter of fact, we have been able to test run our services for 2 weeks in a small community in Fort Myers (15880 Lake Candlewood Drive Fort Myers, FL 33908) and we are set to commence full-time operation from the 3rd of November 2022.
Our Market Goals
Our number one corporate goal as a food truck company is to become the number one choice of people. In essence, we want to become the market leader in the food truck industry.
In view of that, we to achieve the following market goals:
- Sell a minimum of 80 percent of our foods and drinks every day within the first 6 months of operation
- Sell out all our foods and drinks at all times (after 6 months of entering the market)
- Increase the number of people that patronize our food truck business by 10 percent quarterly
- Increase the number of our food trucks to 5 functional food trucks within 3 years of launching the business
What we aim to achieve from our marketing efforts are as follows:
- To compete favorably with the leading food truck companies in the United States of America and Canada.
- Build a successful food truck brand that will enable us to start selling our food truck franchise after 5 years of operation.
Our Marketing Budget
We have saved about $5,000 as our marketing budget for the first year of operation. Progressively, we will budget between 5 percent and 10 percent of our annual income toward the marketing of our food truck business. Note that we are likely going to increase this budget when the need arises.
Our Target Market
Even though the food truck is a business idea that is aimed at serving everybody, especially people you normally find on the streets, construction sites, or in parks, statistics have it that the major customers of a food truck business are young and middle-aged people.
The people that fall within the age range of 25 to 40 are the largest consumers of snacks and fast food from food trucks. They spend an average of $44 per month.
Our idea of starting a food truck business is to sell food and drinks on a mobile truck in areas where people find it difficult to access a restaurant, areas as campgrounds, construction sites, carnival sites, beaches, sporting event centers, et al.
We are also going to take advantage of places like campuses, office complexes, military bases, mechanic villages, industrial parks, farmer’s markets, cinemas, and religious centers.
The Benefits Our Client Stand to Gain When They Patronize Our Foods and Drinks
We are aware of the competition that goes on in the food truck industry in the United States, hence we were able to conduct a thorough feasibility study and market survey to enable us to penetrate the market and also generate the required daily sales that will guarantee the growth as projected in our business plan.
Here are the benefits our target market stand to gain when they patronize our food truck:
- Good quality and healthy food and drinks
- The best price/deal they can get within Fort Myers, Florida, and other neighboring cities and states
- Flexibility in making choice of food and drinks
- Availability of takeaway packs (free of charge)
- Excellent customer service from our competent employees
Our Unique Selling Point; What Makes Our Food Truck Company Superior to Our Competitors
Knowing that in order to gain market relevance in the food truck industry, we must come up with unique strategies that will make us stand out. In essence, our unique selling point cum value proposition is geared towards selling our foods and drinks at prices a little below what our competitors are selling.
Another idea that will give us leverage in the industry is to ensure that our food truck is a one-stop mobile restaurant; we will engage in the sales of varieties of foods, snacks, and drinks (both organic and non–organic food, veg foods et al.) We will not compromise on the quality and quantity of our food.
Strategic Marketing Alliance with Our Competitors in the Food Truck Industry
The nature of the food truck industry makes it possible for companies in the industry to enter into strategic alliances as it suits them. Most players in the industry will ensure that they maximize sales as much as they can.
The food truck business, unlike conventional brick and mortar restaurants, can easily move from one location to another, if there is a need for you to change locations or face more than five locations in one day, you can easily achieve it.
When it comes to strategic alliances, it will only be possible if a food truck company is not a one-stop food truck company where consumers can get every kind of food and drink they want.
For example, if company (A) operates a gourmet cuisine food truck and they are in a location where people are in need of organic food and drinks, they can easily contact company (B) if they operate freshly prepared sushi rolls and organic food trucks.
Both companies can operate as business partners so as to be giving out clues on the best locations to visit based on what people are asking for at a particular time.
Creating Brand Identity for Our Food Truck Company
We are aware that our brand has to do with the way people perceive us to be, which is why we are deliberate when it comes to communicating and promoting our brand.
In promoting our brand and corporate identity, we will leverage print and electronic media. As a matter of fact, it is cost-effective to use social media platforms to promote our brands. Here are the ways we intend to create the brand identity of our food truck company
- Design a unique corporate logo
- Brand our food truck
- Place adverts on both print and electronic media platforms
- Ensure that our workers wear our branded shirts at all times during working hours
- Place our flex banners with our company’s logo and contacts in strategic positions
- Sponsor relevant TV programs, radio programs, and community-based programs
- Maximize our company’s website to promote our business
- Leverage the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snap Chat, Google+, and other platforms to promote our corporate brand
- Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations
- Distribute our fliers and handbills in targeted areas from time to time
10 Possible Questions We Intend Asking Our Customers During Our Market Survey
These are the 10 possible questions we are going to put forward when conducting a marketing survey on our customers/clients:
- Are you satisfied with the taste and quantity of our food?
- If you are not satisfied with the taste and quantity of our food, what areas would you want us to improve going forward?
- What time of the day would you want our food truck to be stationed in your location?
- How would you want us to communicate with you when our food truck will arrive at your location? Text messages, e-mail, or via mobile apps (Twitter, WhatsApp, et al)
- How much are you willing to pay for a pack of breakfast and lunch?
- Is there any food or drink that you would prefer that is not on our menu? If yes please list them.
- Aside from food and drinks, would you also prefer to buy snacks and ice cream from us?
- If you are to change one thing in our Food Truck Company, what would that be?
- Can you comfortably recommend our foods and drinks to your family members, friends and colleagues?
- Are you satisfied with our customer service delivery? If not, what areas would you want us to improve on?
Our Retention Strategies (Ways to Improve Our Customer Experience)
The success of any business is directly proportional to the number of repeated businesses they are able to generate. If a company is able to achieve over 60 percent retention, the company will surely experience huge turnover. We have good plans on how to improve our customer experience from time to time.
These are the ways we intend to utilize when it comes to improving our customer experience so that we can create a good impression and generate repeat sales from them:
- Ensures that our food and drinks taste good and delicious at all times
- Ensure we get feedback from our customers at all times
- Give our customers the flexibility to choose what they want.
- Make use of mobile Apps to communicate the locations of our food truck per time to our customers
- Make use of effective customer relationship management (CRM) software to effectively manage our clientele base.
- Ensures that we carry our clients along when making decisions that directly affect them.
The Ways We Intend to Advertise/Promote Our Food Truck Business without Using the Internet
Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on when advertising and promoting our food truck business in the marketplace;
- Brand our food truck
- Place adverts on national TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers/magazines
- Sponsor relevant community program
- Install our billboards in strategic locations
- Distribute our fliers and handbills to targeted areas from time to time
- Ensure that our workers wear our branded shirts at all times during working hours.
The Ways We Intend to Advertise/Promote Our Food Truck Business on the Internet
Obviously, the internet is the biggest platform when it comes to advertising/promoting any business. Adverting on the internet is cheaper than on other conventional advertising platforms. This is why we will ensure that we explore all available means on the internet to advertise our food truck business. Here are the ways we intend leveraging on the internet to advertise/promote our food truck business:
- Leverage on social media platforms such as; Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snap chat, YouTube, Twitter, Google + et al
- Make use of mobile apps to promote our food truck
- Design an interactive corporate website and use the platform to promote our food truck business
- Place adverts on high-traffic websites
- Engage in blogging and make use of the platform to promote our food truck business
- Leverage email marketing strategy to advertise and promote our food truck business.
Possible Ways We Intend Offering Incentives to Our Customers/Clients (Bonus, Discounts, etc.)
Part of our marketing strategies stated in our business plans is to ensure that we offer our customers incentives in order for us to retain them and continue to generate repeat sales from them. If we are hoping to win our own fair share of the existing market, then we must be willing to outsmart our competitors.
In view of that, we will ensure that we sell our foods and drinks a bit below the average price in the industry while still maintaining good food quality.
We will create a loyalty plan that will enable us to reward our loyal customers, by giving them discounts on every purchase they make and also giving them gifts on special occasions.
After Sales Service and Customer Support
The nature of our business does not warrant that we offer after-sales services or customer support but we will ensure that we try as much as possible to always get feedback from everyone that purchases our foods and drinks. With that, we will be able to know how to meet their needs.
We will ensure that we open several communications channels such as email, telephone, and social media platforms to enable our customers to communicate with us or lodge their complaints.
Creative Marketing Ideas Specific to Our Food Truck Business
With the help of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, it has become easier for a customer to locate where their favorite food or gourmet truck will be at any moment in time.
We will leverage social media platforms to give up-to-date updates on where we are, where we will be in a couple of hours, the type of menu we have on board, and any special discount available per time. With that, it will be easier for our food truck company to attract customers and increase sales.
Technology is a major tool that can be used in marketing the fast food business. As a matter of fact, there are mobile apps that customers can use to track their favorite food trucks.
Another strategy that we will adopt is to ensure that our food truck is well branded, and we will always play exciting music on our truck. People naturally get attracted to colorful designs and good music. We will also network with event managers; they are in a better position to help us increase sales, mostly at outdoor events.