Week 5: Your Target Market_Post 1

I chose to analyze Set Two: Chili’s and Teri Cafe. 

Both Chili’s and Teri Cafe utilize white space and stick to clean grids. They have a small color palette to work with, which reduces distraction from the pictures of the product/service and the company message.

Chili's

The target market for Chili’s appears to be white, ages 25-40, and working class with a low to lower-middle class income. The lifestyles that the company appeals to is sports fans, beer drinkers, and somewhat patriotic as the menu and tone of the website is mostly Americana cuisine like Tex Mex fajitas and American burgers. With the amount of choices in the menu, Chili’s engages the working class who want variety but with good value for the money, especially with the advertised $7 Lunch Combos and Dinner for 2 choices. 

Chili’s has several calls to action throughout their site. Right on the homepage, their slogan “Chili’s is back, baby” is a play on words from prior advertising jingles and campaigns. Since they are “back” it implies Chili’s has returned to its former glory and is welcoming the old customers to come back to the community. They also have a red button “Start Order” for online ordering, which is complimented by the fresh, bright green background. Another smart feature is the search bar that remains at the top of the page while scrolling, encouraging visitors to “Find [Your] Nearest Location.”

Chili’s also appeals to people who like to meet up with others at a familiar place for a kickback. In their “Our Story” page, they have a timeline of the history of the restaurant through the decades and with pictures to accompany the blurbs. Their message is clear in their opening line “It all started with a dream: to create a place you’d want to go and hang out with good friends over a burger and a beer.”

Teri Cafe  

 Teri Cafe’s website and overall message was much more minimalist than Chili’s. There seems to be a lot of overlap in target markets between the two restaurants in that they appeal to the working class that might have lower incomes but still look for variety and value. They have daily dinner and lunch specials with often include a side and a fountain drink. Although, I think Teri Cafe’s age range expands younger from 18-35. 

Since Teri Cafe is not a franchise, the differences from Chili’s is the appeal to those who appreciate family, entrepreneurship, and the “mom and pop” quaintness of the two locations. Given their locations in two shopping centers, and one being down the street from MiraCosta, they are able to garner the younger groups of students that are getting an education, as well as the staff and faculty who have high level degrees.  

Another psychographic that Teri Cafe targets is the “foodies,” those who look for adventurous and authentic cuisine, which is found with the Japanese style food and Hawaiian atmosphere. Under the About section, the owners are pictured to showcase their expertise having run the business for over 30 years as a family. The Millennial generation could subscribe to this tone and message. 

The Calls to Action on Teri Cafe’s website are not explicit, though there are hints throughout the different pages. Listed in the restaurant info section, it states “phone orders welcome” and there is a simple subheading “where to find us” under the main Locations tab. Another implicit call to action is on the main homepage where there is an accelerated video of the front counter. This shows how popular Teri Cafe is and how the workers there will provide quick service.