Brand ratings across the eating out sector are remaining relatively static while customers are demanding more and being more selective in their recommendations, a new report has shown.
CGA Peach’s Looking for Tomorrow’s Growth report, in partnership with Barclaycard, also points out the qualities diners are looking out for – with restaurants principally rated for quality and pubs for value.
Data from the BrandTrack survey shows that across the seven attributes of ambience, environment, food quality, food choice, hygiene / cleanliness, service and value – roughly 20% to 25% of ratings are strongly positive. Two attributes attract slightly better ratings: good quality food and good service, which 27% and 26% of brand customers strongly agree they received.
But reviewed across the last four years of surveys, the industry’s overall ratings as of April 2016 were lower than in any of the three previous years on four of these seven attributes: food choice, value, service and hygiene / cleanliness. The report says this suggests consumers are getting harder and harder to impress.
The April 2016 survey showed pub-restaurant brand ratings were lower than in any of the three previous years on four of the seven attributes, including food quality, service and value for money. For restaurant brands, this can be said of six of the seven attributes. In April 2013, for instance, 37% of consumers strongly agreed that they had received good food quality from restaurant brands – but by April 2016 the figure had dipped to 33%.
In terms of overall customer satisfaction, 30% of these major brands’ customers, in aggregate, are very satisfied, but another 18% are either undecided or actively dissatisfied. These results have been broadly static over the last four years’ surveys.
Across all brands, just over a quarter (28%) of consumers say they are extremely likely to return to a brand – a figure that has changed little over the last four years of the BrandTrack survey. A similar proportion (27%) can be defined as brand advocates, rating their likelihood to recommend to a friend either nine or ten out of ten.
Restaurant brands perform rather better than the pub-restaurant brands here, with average advocacy percentages of 32% and 27% respectively. However, both these results are two to three percentage points lower than the equivalent survey in 2013.
The report concludes: “All these ratings point towards only modest levels of perceived excellence among consumers.
“What’s more, they suggest that the branded market has not been driving up standards in the eyes of their customers, and that is compromising brand advocacy. It leaves many customers of individual outlets vulnerable to defection to other brands, particularly in an era of high levels of new openings.
“That is a major threat to underperforming brands – but for those who can engage and impress their guests, it’s a big opportunity too.”
