Wendy’s SWOT Analysis
By: Megan Gilbert, Victoria Friend, & Marci Warner
Introduction-
Wendy’s is a fast food chain restaurant with an international presence. The first Wendy’s opened November of 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. Within 100 months, over 1,000 locations across the nation and in Canada had opened their doors for business, which broke the industry record. Wendy’s was the first fast-food restaurant to feature a “quick-service Pick-Up Window with a separate grill,” a milestone accomplishment in the fast food industry. Wendy’s is most famously known for their hamburgers, fries, and Frosty’s, and as January 2016, with 6,479 locations and counting, Wendy’s falls third in the running to be the largest hamburger fast food chain in the world, right behind McDonald’s and Burger King.
Competition-
There are many fast-food chains competing to be the biggest and the best. Burger King and McDonald’s pose the largest threat to Wendy’s due to the similarity in menu options. All three restaurants are competing to be the biggest “burger boss.” While McDonald's and Burger King seem to be the biggest threats to Wendy’s, there are thousands of other companies making their name known in the industry. Other fast food restaurants that pose a threat to Wendy’s with their rising popularity and diverse menu options, include Taco Bell, Chick-fil-a, Arby’s, and Dairy Queen. All of these companies offer menu items that specialize in food different than Wendy’s but their restaurants operate in a fast-food fashion. For example, Chick-fil-a is a convenient, affordable option just like Wendy’s is, but instead of offering a variety of hamburgers, they offer a variety of chicken entrees.
SWOT Analysis of Wendy's:
Strengths:
Recommendation:
In order to take advantage of some opportunities and improve certain weaknesses of the restaurant, Wendy’s could get rid of their current cash register operating systems, and replace them with technology similar to the Ipad. Many restaurants are taking advantage of the easy-to-use and convenient operating systems presented by the Ipad. Not only do they make things easier on employees, they are aesthetically pleasing, and help clear the front counter of a cluttered appearance, overall simplifying the entire ordering process.
Another possible improvement that Wendy’s could make would be improving their in-store customer service experience. Not many Wendy’s employees are willing to go out of their way to help a customer. In order to achieve maximum customer satisfaction, Wendy’s employees should be trained to be more personable, and friendly. They could achieve this goal by offering specialized training and promoting staff initiative within each location.
By: Megan Gilbert, Victoria Friend, & Marci Warner
Introduction-
Wendy’s is a fast food chain restaurant with an international presence. The first Wendy’s opened November of 1969 in Columbus, Ohio. Within 100 months, over 1,000 locations across the nation and in Canada had opened their doors for business, which broke the industry record. Wendy’s was the first fast-food restaurant to feature a “quick-service Pick-Up Window with a separate grill,” a milestone accomplishment in the fast food industry. Wendy’s is most famously known for their hamburgers, fries, and Frosty’s, and as January 2016, with 6,479 locations and counting, Wendy’s falls third in the running to be the largest hamburger fast food chain in the world, right behind McDonald’s and Burger King.
Competition-
There are many fast-food chains competing to be the biggest and the best. Burger King and McDonald’s pose the largest threat to Wendy’s due to the similarity in menu options. All three restaurants are competing to be the biggest “burger boss.” While McDonald's and Burger King seem to be the biggest threats to Wendy’s, there are thousands of other companies making their name known in the industry. Other fast food restaurants that pose a threat to Wendy’s with their rising popularity and diverse menu options, include Taco Bell, Chick-fil-a, Arby’s, and Dairy Queen. All of these companies offer menu items that specialize in food different than Wendy’s but their restaurants operate in a fast-food fashion. For example, Chick-fil-a is a convenient, affordable option just like Wendy’s is, but instead of offering a variety of hamburgers, they offer a variety of chicken entrees.
SWOT Analysis of Wendy's:
Strengths:
- Wendy's is a chain restaurant, meaning they have locations virtually everywhere.
- You get a good amount of food for the money you pay.
- Wendy's appeals to a large target market by offering diverse options. For example, they offer a kid's meal for children and salads as a healthier option as well.
- Many of the Wendy's are modern and feature up-to-date designs.
- Wendy's has tons of different methods of advertising, so many people have heard of it.
- Wendy's offers free refills on drinks, napkins, utensils, etc.
- Offers many meals and deals that are unique to Wendy's menu.
- Offers quick and convenient serving times.
- The meals can be customized to fit a customer's preferences.
- Has a highly recognizable logo/symbol.
- The design of the restaurant is not cohesive across the board. Not all are modern and updated.
- Employees are not the most helpful.
- Features some very unhealthy food options.
- Not all cash registers are user friendly.
- Some could say the menu is limited in the options. For example, if people do not like hamburgers, they would most likely go somewhere that is not famously known for its hamburgers.
- Not all locations excel in cleanliness.
- High employee turnover rate.
- Very low presence on social media, which is very popular in today's society.
- Does not offer a breakfast menu.
- Has a high operating cost
- Employees could be trained to be more helpful and friendly.
- Update all the stores to be the same.
- Continuously updating the menu.
- Continuing to expand across America and in foreign nations.
- Could consider a delivery option
- Could consider a "pay ahead" or "order online" option.
- Wendy's could improve on their cash register situation, making the operating systems more user friendly.
- Could offer more coupons/deals that are advertised outside of the restaurant.
- Could "go green" to attract a wider variety of customers.
- Be more present on social media.
- Other fast-food chain restaurants such as McDonalds, Burger King, etc.
- Many Americans are looking at healthier alternatives for fast food.
- Some locations have been shut down due to sanitary regulations.
- Some may say Wendy's is "old news" compared to the up and coming fast food stores.
- There are many fast food chains that are beginning to offer at-home delivery.
- Competitor chains feature updated technology.
- There are many health issues related to excessive fast food consumption.
- The price of products are increasing. EX: meat is not cheap.
- Imitation by other companies.
- Other chains offer more menu items (ex: breakfast, coffee, etc), making them more appealing to a larger group of people.
Recommendation:
In order to take advantage of some opportunities and improve certain weaknesses of the restaurant, Wendy’s could get rid of their current cash register operating systems, and replace them with technology similar to the Ipad. Many restaurants are taking advantage of the easy-to-use and convenient operating systems presented by the Ipad. Not only do they make things easier on employees, they are aesthetically pleasing, and help clear the front counter of a cluttered appearance, overall simplifying the entire ordering process.
Another possible improvement that Wendy’s could make would be improving their in-store customer service experience. Not many Wendy’s employees are willing to go out of their way to help a customer. In order to achieve maximum customer satisfaction, Wendy’s employees should be trained to be more personable, and friendly. They could achieve this goal by offering specialized training and promoting staff initiative within each location.