Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the managed operator, has identified six different customer groups and seven different leisure “needs” following interviews with 8,000 consumers.
The six consumer groups are:
- Explorers. “Adventurous consumers that like to discover new things”
- Indulgers. “An older hedonistic group that are living for today”
- Social butterflies. “No responsibilities but love eating and drinking out -providing they can get a deal”
- Squeezed families. “Squeezed in terms of time and resource, but want to eat and drink out of home with their children”
- Worldly wise. “An older group more concerned about health and more conservative in tastes”
- Habituals. “Consumers that embrace the familiar and chase value for money ahead of new experiences or provenance”
In a presentation to analysts, Steve de Polo, M&B’s director of insight, innovation and brand strategy, also outlined the seven consumer “needs”:
- Refuel. “Looking for somewhere to make a quick pit stop, either to grab-n-go or to recharge between activities”
- Convenience. “Looking for somewhere familiar, quick, and local with inexpensive food/drinks”
- Family time. “Looking for somewhere fun and stress-free that will be suitable for the whole family”
- Wholesome. “Looking for somewhere comfortable and relaxing with wholesome, good quality food/drinks”
- Temptation. Looking for somewhere with good quality, great tasting and appealing food/drinks. Want good value more than low prices”
- Social. “Looking for somewhere with a good atmosphere that can help bring friends/family together”
- Make it special. “Looking for a high quality, memorable experience that makes you feel special”
M&B said the information on tells the company who it needs to target and how to engage with them, and what type of needs and occasions its brands need to address to be relevant. The 8,000 consumers were interviewed about 10,000 eating and drinking out occasions and 4,000 leisure occasions.
