Living on Davie Street I am surrounded by countless choices for takeout. There are dozens upon dozens of restaurants all competing for space in my stomach. KFC, McDonalds, Greek, Indian, sushi, Himalayan, pizza, burgers, Thai, poutine, sandwiches, comfort food, Chinese…the list goes on and on. How does one rise above the rest, and earn a spot in my stomach? Marketing.

McDonald’s and KFC rely on their strong brand to drive customers through their doors, a brand that has been acquired through the billions of dollars they’ve spent on advertising campaigns. However most restaurants on Davie are small businesses and as such aren’t so firmly entrenched in the average consumers mind. They’re forced to rely upon creative means of promotion in order to alert the consumer to their existence.

What does this lead to? Promoters. Signs. Coupons. Takeout menus. Hourly specials. Free samples. As a student I have very little loyalty to any restaurant, and find price to be the determinant variable when I decide what to purchase. As such I have a schedule made up of every deal occurring each day on Davie, in order to save as much money as possible.

As I was gorging myself on a half price burrito (Available between 3:30-5 PM on weekdays) I chuckled to myself about my frugality. However in the midst of stroking my ego I started to reflect on my consumer behaviour. I had been to the burrito restaurant several times in the past week, and actually had been a couple times when the special WASN’T occurring. The special had alerted me to the restaurants existence, and through product excellence differentiated itself from the other various restaurants. The restaurant was utilizing a relational marketing approach, they weren’t concerned about the profit they were going to make from one burrito. They were interested in the profit they would make off me in the coming months. Considering they’ve managed to alter my “takeout schedule”, I would say it’s paying off.