Alberts Shed Business Report PDF

**Component 1: Exploring enterprises** **Alberts shed** **Introduction.** Albert's Shed is a business located in Manchester. Their full address being 20 Castle Street, Manchester, M3 4LZ. The owner of the enterprise is Jim Ramsbottom, he is a sole trader, however the family business was first mad...

**Component 1: Exploring enterprises** **Alberts shed** **Introduction.** Albert's Shed is a business located in Manchester. Their full address being 20 Castle Street, Manchester, M3 4LZ. The owner of the enterprise is Jim Ramsbottom, he is a sole trader, however the family business was first made by Jim Ramsbottom's uncle Albert. Albert's shed is a medium enterprise as there are within 249 employees that work at the establishment. Albert's Shed is an unlimited company meaning Jim is responsible for all debt that the company acquires. Albert's Shed is a business to customer enterprise that accommodates for all customers. For example, they offer vegan options and gluten free options. Additionally, Alberts Shed offers two courses for £14.95. Albert's Shed has a physical and online presents. They have 4 physical restaurants and is in partnership with another business Duke 92. Their rooms are extremely versatile and allows 25 to 250 attendees for any type of event. Not only do they supply a room for an event, Albert's Shed also offers a full event planning service if needed. One important thing to note is that Albert's Shed is a card only business. Being located in the UK and being in the hospitality and catering business increases their profit by a lot as in 2019 just the hospitality sector brought in £59.3 billion for the UK. However, offering their restaurant out for events increase their sales as dinner parties are on the rise and people in the UK on average hold one once a month. **Task 1A** Albert's Shed aims for 3 main things: - Maximising their profits - Expansion - Customer Service **[Maximising Profits]** Albert's Shed is a business to costumer enterprise and they offer food and beverages to all. For example, they offer Albert's Fish and Chips which are unique to their enterprise. They also have a wide range of vegan and gluten free options, this not only maximises their profits but also creates a good customer service with their customers as it shows them that they are able to compromise to fit a specific need and can accommodate accordingly. This is because 15% of the UK's population is vegan, and around 10% of the UK are vegetarian. Albert's Shed also holds afternoon tea, this broadens their target audience as 74% of the UK indulge in afternoon tea and is most popular with 25 to 34 year olds. Furthermore, Albert's Shed also maximises their profit by hosting events. By hosting events for any type of corporate event or private celebrations allows them to widen their target audience as many restaurants do not offer the same service on such a large scale like the Albert's Shed does. Albert's Shed also offers gift cards on their website, they don't only offer gift cards for Albert's Shed they also offer gift cards for Dukes 92. Gift cards help maximise their profits as they can only be used at their restaurant and nowhere else, this allows them to push out their business and enables them to gain new customers. However, they are only open at 12pm -- 10pm everyday besides Monday. This is a drawback as this limits their customers to only 6 days out of the week where some companies are open 7 days out of the week, this would give their competitors an advantage as customers are more likely to go there instead if they aren't opened. This does not maximise their profits as they are likely to lose some customers as they aren't available all week. **[Expansion]** Albert's Shed has expanded by becoming partners with Duke 92'. Dukes 92' opened in 1991 and has been Manchester's favourite summer eating and drinking destination ever since. Not only are they in partnership but both establishments provide gift cards that can only be used at either restaurant, the gift card go from £10-£200 and can be purchased on the Albert's Shed and Dukes 92' This is expansion as they have a part in the company and profits will go to them. This not only expands and helps push out Albert's Shed but it also helps Jim Ramsbottom with money to expand and improve their business, this is because through effective collaboration, businesses can increase their profits, gain a better understanding of the market, and gain a stronger presence in the industry. In addition, Albert's shed has been open since 2004 meaning they have been through many historical events that would have affected their customer base such as Corona Virus but have been resilient enough and not let it affect their work or attitude towards working. This demonstrates their loyalty to the company and their drive for hard work, therefore creating a better image of the staff that are employed at Albert's Shed as only 75% of new businesses survive their first year and only 50% of new businesses survive their 5^th^ year. However, Albert's Shed has not only survived but thrived for the last 20 years. **[Customer Service]** Albert's Shed is praised on their great customer service. For example, Jason Shiers states 'Great meal here enjoyed the place and service would return'. They had also given them a 5-star review on their websites. This not only demonstrates their great attitude towards their customers but also helps attract new customers which will also maximise their profits. Albert's Shed has over 5,000 reviews that are mainly positive as on average they have 4.4 stars on google reviews. **[Task 1B ]** In order to have a successful business you have to have to have the relevant skills. Skills in an enterprise are important as it helps people understand consumer habits and organizational behaviour so they can use this information to promote the success of the company, some examples of good skills include: Focus, Passion, Versatility and Resilience and willingness to risk adversity. Skills also help customers understand the aims and owners dedication to their business. Skills are not the only component in order to have a successful business, you also need to have good characteristics. Characteristics can help you establish the weakness and strengths of a business and if they apply to the owner as a whole or a wider reason, some examples of characteristics include: Industry/ sector knowledge, Planning and researching and leadership and teamwork. An example of an enterprise that is successful because they have good skills and characteristics is Nike, as it is seen as a strong, fit, energetic and determined brand. This is why Nike is such a massive brand that is known world-wide as they are determined to achieve their aims and are a strong brand that works together. **[Resilience Skills]** Albert's Shed has a skill of resilience as even through a pandemic the enterprise thrived and survived. Not only does this show Jim Ramsbottom's resilience it also demonstrates the employee's dedication towards the enterprise and their belief in Jim and the company's aims. By believing and having resilience towards their business this creates a good relationship between the owner and the employees, as it shows that Jim Ramsbottem has a belief in the company and is willing to risk adversity for the sake of his company and his employees. Due to Jim Ramsbottem creating a good relationship with his employees, it will make them want to continue working in the establishment and will make them enjoy their work. In return they will be happier meaning they will have better customer service. Through resilience Albert's Shed have and will continue prosper as this skill of their business improves many aspects of their enterprise. **[IT Skills]** Albert's Shed successfully demonstrate their IT skills through their carefully structured social media pages. Albert's Shed has multiple social media pages such as their Facebook and Instagram. They are very consistent on each social media and post on Instagram almost every day. On their Instagram Albert's Shed have multiple posts and include highlights of their special and events, this is helpful to customers as they will have a better understanding on how Albert's Shed thrive to satisfy customers' needs and wants. However, Instagram and Facebook are not Albert's Shed's only form of IT skills as their impressive website also demonstrates this skill. Albert's Shed has a remarkable website that is not only easy to access and use but also is highly advanced and well made. The website includes many different pages that tell customers what their enterprise is really about. On their website they include an up to date menu, facts about Albert's Shed and how to book a table or event. Their booking system is easy to use and reliable, this helps people book a table who are incapable of making a reservation on the phone or in person as they might be too busy to make long phone calls or take time out of their day to book for a table. Moreover, this creates a better customer basis as Albert's Shed includes multiple alternatives on their website if booking a table or event is needed. Their website also includes phone numbers and links if there is a problem with booking or any other problems with their enterprise. On the other hand, the website and social medias are not managed by Jim Ramsbottem and he has a social media team that is able to keep up with their social media pages and update anything on their website. By having a website that is managed for him he is able to spend his time on improving his physical business rather than being concerned about his businesses social presents. Despite this Jim Ramsbottem will also have to provide pay for the team rather than using that money to improve his physical store or expand. This establishes Albert's Shed's IT skills as they are able to not only manage a well-made website but also keep up on their social medias, therefore keeping their customers up to date with their businesses progress and changes. [Passion for the industry] Passion for the industry is a valuable characteristic to have, as it is shown based on how employees interact with the customers and can increase the successfulness of the enterprise as customers are more likely to come back if they can tell that many people have who work at the enterprise have passion for the industry. It is shown that Albert's Shed has passion for the industry based on the website, presentation and customer service. This is shown on their reviews as many reviews are based on how well they were treated by the staff and how well they were welcomed, it is also demonstrated on how well the Albert's Shed website is made and how they cater for all people. Albert's Shed also interacts with people on social media therefore demonstrating the passion Jim Ramsbottom has toward the industry a group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product before it is launched, or to provide feedback on a political campaign, television series, etc. [Creativity ] Creativity is also a valuable characteristic to have, as it demonstrates how much they care about their business and how it is portrayed to the public. Albert's Shed's creativity is shown in how the physical building is decorated, it is important that they are decorated as it helps appeal to those who are looking for a visually appealing restaurant to enjoy a meal at. They decorate their enterprise in a more sophisticated and formal way rather than visually obnoxious and loud decorations. Albert's Shed also demonstrates the characteristic of creativity in how they provide their space for different events, not only letting people use their space but also offering the service of planning and providing everything for the events. Creativity is also shown as for each event they hold they create a new menu for each one. By doing this it allows Albert's Shed to prosper in achieving their aims and creativity helps keep people interested in their enterprise. This allows the enterprise to expand and gives them a competitive edge on their competitors as their menus are unique to them. **[Task 2]** In order to maintain a good and successful business you would need to conduct both primary and secondary research. Primary research is research that is collected by you first hand and has never been collected before for example: focus groups, observations, questionnaires and taste test groups. Secondary research is research that is collected by someone else for example: census or government statistics sites, online research and competitor's websites. Research allows the enterprise to understand what their customer basis want and need from their enterprise, this also allows them to know what their customers would be expecting from them. Primary and secondary research methods help enterprises identify the customers' needs as it secondary research gives you a foundation to work on and primary research fills in the gaps. This means that the enterprise will have access to what the price, quality, convenience and choice should be. Not only does this give the owner the knowledge of what the customer wants but also helps them achieve their aims. Additionally, primary and secondary research helps owners understand competitive behaviours. For example, a primary research method that demonstrates this is observations of other enterprises that are in the same business sector as the enterprise allows the business owner to gain a better insight into how the business operates, the type of customers that go there, decorations and types of products that are sold. An example of secondary research method that also demonstrates this is online reviews of the other enterprises as it helps gain a better understanding of what the competitor is succeeding at and what competitive advantage they can have due to the competitor's drawbacks. [Observations] Albert's shed uses many primary research methods, including observations. Observations are when someone goes to a different enterprise to gain a better understanding on what their competitors are doing well or are struggling with. This not only gives them a better understanding of their competitors but it also helps them acquire the knowledge on what their customer base will be expecting. Jim Ramsbottom used observations when he was initially starting up Albert's Shed by going to competitor's restaurants such as Dom's Italia and watching in how they serve customers and how they satisfied customer needs. However, now that Albert's Shed is a well-established enterprise that not only has succeeded in staying afloat but also having 4 other physical stores, Jim Ramsbottom has no longer got the time to go out and spend his time at competitor's business, so instead he uses observation by noting what is the most sold item on their menu is and noting what customers would like. There are many benefits to undertaking observation as it is an easy way of gaining customers honest opinions and is very accessible. Whereas there are some drawbacks to preforming observations as it can be very time consuming as you have to go out of your way and stay at somebody else's enterprise instead of being at yours and improving your business. This also leads to a decrease on their profits as instead of staying in their enterprise and keeping it open, less money would be produced as no customers will be able to access the business due to the owners not being there. At Albert's Shed observations help Jim Ramsbottom achieve his aims by maximising profits as improving their business and understanding what the customer wants or needs helps them create a better customer relationship, therefore increasing their amount of customers due to word of mouth. [Regular Questionnaires ] Another primary research that Albert Shed undertakes is regular online questionnaires. On their social media they ask many questions such as what people favourite and least favourite dish from Albert's Shed is and what improvements they could make to their menus or website. Asking these kind of questions to their online followers helps them gain better knowledge on what they should be producing more of and what they should stop producing. This feedback not only helps them improve their business it also helps them achieve their aims of expanding and maximising their profits. Regular questionnaires not only help improve the enterprise but also helps improve the customer's experiences and needs as Albert's Shed can change the price, quality, choice and convenience on their products based on the feedback on the questionnaires. Using social media helps Albert's Shed to access a wider range of customer as on average in the UK 57.1 million people are active on social media since January 2023. Another benefit of using social media to do regular questionnaires is that it doesn't need a lot of time or money to set up but still gives Albert's Shed the information that they are wanting. It is also quick and easy to access for upcoming customers as it allows them to gain honest answers from pre-existing customers. Using regular questionnaires as a primary research is extremely helpful to owners of any business since it falls under both categories of quantitative and qualitative data as answers can be both numerical or worded. Nonetheless there are some drawbacks to using questionnaires as a form of primary research, such as if answers are long and worded they might not be entirely related to the matter at hand, this could also be extremely time consuming as many people may write an in depth reply to their questions. There are also many drawbacks to using questionnaires that are more quantitative (numerical) such as not having enough detail as may have needed to help improve the enterprise. [Reviews online] Albert's Shed have a lot of online reviews regarding customer service, choice of food, opening times, taste, events etc. This is a form of secondary research as Jim Ramsbottom is not actively seeking for the information and is given the feedback second hand. There are both good and bad reviews toward Albert's Shed. Reading online reviews gives a business an advantage as the reviews are often completely honest and open, therefore allowing them to gain a better understanding on what the enterprise is doing well and what they are needing to improve on. Albert's Shed has over 5,000 reviews on google and overall has a 4.4 rating. Some example of the online reviews that Albert's Shed has acquired are "Excellent food and staff! Lovely location down a cobbled street, and great value. Good for any occasion: family, dates, girl's night" from Mark on Saturday 17 February 2024 who not only left a great review but also gave Albert's Shed a five-star rating. Mark is not the only customer of Albert's Shed who enjoyed the food and services provided as there are many positive reviews on Albert's Shed mainly talking about the food, services, value and ambience. Online reviews not only help the enterprise but also helps future customers to gain more knowledge about the business whilst knowing that the reviews are from paying customers who are open and honest about their experience at Albert's Shed. Jim Ramsbottom could also use this secondary research method to expand on their knowledge on their competitors. Reading Albert's Shed's competitor's reviews allows Jim Ramsbottom to understand what his competitors are doing well and what they can improve on, this then gives Albert's Shed a competitive advantage over their competitors. On the other hand, there are some negatives towards receiving online reviews as there could be negative reviews that can discourage some customers from eating at the restaurant. This is a major negative as this will impact them achieving their aim of maximising their profit extremely negatively. Online reviews are a good form as secondary research as they are easily accessible and can be found when you search the enterprise in on google. [Cook Books] Cook books are an extremely good form of secondary research as they allow an enterprise such as Albert's Shed to gain new skills with improving their recipes or create new ones. Some examples of good cook books that can be used are 'Nadiya Bakes', 'Davina's Kitchens Favourites' and 'Gordon Ramsay Quick and Delicious'. By using cookbooks as a secondary research method, allows Albert's Shed to satisfy customer needs and wants by using cookbooks that cater to all. There are many advantages to using cookbooks as they aren't that costly and if they get damaged it is easy to replace unlike using a tablet. Cookbooks help Albert's Shed to improve their recipes and menus, where then it is possible to make it their own by adding their own little twist on it or using a substitute to make a dish more accessible to all. For example, having a vegetarian patty available for people who don't eat meat or would rather have a vegetarian burger over a normal meat burger. This secondary research method is also a more easily reachable method as cookbooks can be bought from anywhere such as amazon, they could even be taken from nearby libraries. Using amazon to buy cookbooks is a good way to buy them as people are able to gain the knowledge on which cookbooks are good and worth it to buy. Whereas there are also disadvantages to buying cookbooks as they can be outdated and may not state when they were published. This is a disadvantage as cookbooks may use ingredients that are no longer produced or may use unsafe amounts of a certain ingredient if they are extremely outdated. Another disadvantage of using cookbooks as a secondary research method as they are not catered to that one enterprise and anyone could access them therefore customers may choose to get the cookbook and make it at home instead of going to a restaurant. Not only customers could access these cookbooks but Albert's Shed's competitors will also have access to these cookbooks meaning they would no longer have a competitive advantage. [Recommendations for primary research methods] Primary research methods are extremely important to enterprises that allows them to understand their market better by gaining knowledge first hand. Albert's Shed uses many primary research methods to allow the enterprise to be successful. However, if Jim Ramsbottom was to conduct one more primary research method he would be more inclined to reach his aims. I would recommend that they undertake the primary research method of interviews or focus groups. Interviews can be both informal or formal but this research method will help Albert's Shed gain more qualitative data on their enterprise. They would be able to grow more easily due to the more open ended answers and feedback that the person they are interviewing will be giving them. Focus groups are a group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product before it is launched, or to provide feedback on a political campaign, television series, etc. This will allow owners to find out their views and experiences with their enterprise. Nevertheless, this primary research methods drawbacks contain people not necessarily being honest enough to businesses face to face. [Recommendations for secondary research methods] Secondary research methods are also extremely important and valuable to an enterprise that allows them to understand the market they are a part of by gaining second hand information. Albert's Shed uses many different secondary research methods and that is why they are able to reach their aims and maintain their successful business. If Albert's Shed were to use another form of secondary research to further improve their enterprise, I would recommend they use market and government reports and statistics to gain a better understanding on their customer basis. This would help them gain a better understanding on where would be the best place to expand as this research method would allow them to reach their aim of expansion. A government report and statistic that they could us is the census. By using the census Albert's Shed would be able to assume how many people are near them and where their market would thrive in a certain location. However, there are drawbacks to using government statistics and reports as they can be outdated, for example the census is only updated every 10 years so most of the information will be outdated if it was not recently updated. This will therefore not help the enterprise as the information is not going to be relevant to what Albert's Shed may want or need. **[Task 3A PEST]** [Political Factors] Political factors not only affect the enterprise but also affects the customers, there are many political factors that not only dictate what businesses have to do but also as a result of certain political ideas, may affect the profits made by the enterprise. Some political factors that affect Albert's Shed are: BREXIT-Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union, Customer Rights, Wages and Consequences of meeting legal obligations. If enterprises do not acknowledge and accommodate to these political Factors, employers could find themselves in court or an employment tribunal, meaning they would have to pay expensive legal fees. [BREXIT- Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union] One political factor that affect enterprise is BREXIT, BREXIT is the name given to the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union, the objective was to restore the UK's status as a sovereign, independent country. Although, BREXIT was not entirely a positive for the UK as it also reduces the amount of people allowed to come to the UK from the EU. This then leads to less tourists visiting popular cities such as Manchester, meaning less visitors to Albert's Shed. In addition, it would result in a reduction of sales and profits made by the enterprise. This will not only affect Albert's Shed's profits and sales but would also affect all restaurants throughout Manchester, therefore Albert's Shed would not find it easier or harder to keep up with its competitors. Due to BREXIT most businesses are worse off as they are losing money from the lack of tourism from EU. Along with a decrease in customers there are also issues with supplying shortages as some ingredients would have been imported from the EU. [Consumer Rights] Another political factor that affects enterprises such as Albert's Shed is, customer rights. Customer rights include allergy labelling and the right to return and get a refund. This is a negative for Jim Ramsbottem as this would add cost for him. One law that was passed for customer rights is The Food Safety Act 1990, this meant that the businesses apart of the food and beverage sector are to serve or sell food of the nature, substance or quality which consumers would expect, and that food should be labelled, advertised and presented in a way that is not false or misleading to the customers. This law ensures that customers are getting what they have paid for and that enterprises would be fined if they are not following these laws. Another law that was passed for customer rights is The Customer Protection Act 1987, this law is designed to ensure that products are safe. This meant that businesses that produce and not just sell, are liable for any damage caused by poor quality or defected products. If Albert's Shed does not accommodate for these customer rights, they are liable to be shut down by the government (or the environmental health officer if the issue poses a risk to the public). To accommodate for this, Albert's Shed could have allergens labelled clearly and in bold. [Wages] Similarly, another political factor that affects businesses in the food and industry like Albert's Shed are wages. This political factor affects enterprises because there are many laws on wages in the UK such as the increase in minimum wages. This is a negative as Jim Ramsbottem will have to increase the prices of the meals to cover the extra cost. This then leads to less profits made by Albert's Shed, and less money that could be used to invest in Albert's Shed or even expand their brand more. Due to not having money to invest they may decrease their popularity and limit the success of the enterprise as he will be unable to afford the cover of the higher wages. There are two main laws that affect enterprises that relate to wages, these include The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 requires all businesses to pay their staff a minimum hourly rate, with no exemption for small enterprises or discounts for geographical areas. This law was passed to try to increase the incomes of the low paid. These rates change each year by the government, in 2024 the hourly rate for ages 21 and over is £11.44 but these rates vary for different ages. Also these rates vary if the job is an apprenticeship, like in 2024 the rate for an apprenticeship is £6.40 an hour. However, if this is not met, it will issue a Notice of Underpayment to that employer which sets out the arrears to be paid to the workers together with a penalty imposed on the enterprise. The Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal for a business to pay people different rates if they are doing the same or similar jobs. The law aims to protect people from discrimination in the workplace and in a wider society. For example, people can no longer be payed a different rate for the reason of being a part of a protected characteristic. Protected characteristics include: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and finally sex. This means that employers are prohibited to pay higher or lower wages to those who are included in these characteristics. [Consequences of meeting legal obligations] Not only will meeting these legal obligations increase Albert's Shed reputation as a reliable and trustworthy enterprise but it also significantly reduces the chance of the business getting sued. For example, in 2015 at a Pret a Manger in an airport there was a young girl aged 15 called Natasha Ednan-Laperouse and she had gotten a baguette however the ingredients were not labelled correctly. This caused her to have a severe allergic reaction which then led to her death [Economic factors] [Inflation and wages ] Inflation affects many people and businesses; this is due to them not earning enough wages to live on. Inflation is a general and sustained increase in prices over a period of time. For example, in 2010 the price of a Freddo was only 17p, whereas in 2022 the price had increased to 30. The target of inflation in the UK is 4.2 but due to many different factors, in 2022 it had increased by 6.3% and reached 10.5%. Employees may ask for these higher wages as inflation has increased the prices of household items and food that are essential for people meaning they will need extra wages to live on. The reasoning for the drastic increase in inflation was due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, as they are both countries that are global suppliers for the UK, and Covid. Due to the rapid increase of inflation and the income not also increasing at the same time, many people are worse off financially. As Albert's Shed does not sell products or services that are classed as 'essential', and inflation continues to rise, they will have a negative effect on the businesses finances. As well as this, employees may ask for higher wages as they may need more to financially stabilise themselves, this will therefore decrease the businesses profits and not allow them to successfully reach their aims. Profits would also be negatively affected if the interest rate and rent increases as well, as they would have to factor out more money on the rent of the business. [Covid] Covid affected many people and businesses as people were unable to leave their homes and all physical businesses were closed all of 2020. Due to people being unable to leave their homes many people began to work from home and not eat out as much as most restaurants were closed. This is a negative for enterprises as they will no longer be maximising their profits therefore not reaching their aims. Similarly, some potential customers will not be able to afford to regularly eat out as some may have been let go from their jobs, this is worse for Albert's Shed as they charge a higher rate than some restaurants. However, during the Covid 19 outbreak most enterprises had to adapt to be able to stay open and stay afloat. For example, many restaurants like Albert's Shed expanded their outdoor space so that the businesses could stay open during Covid times, they had also put up gazebos for their outdoor areas so that even when the weather was not good enough to stay outside people were still able to leave their houses for at least an hour or 2. In this situation, Albert's Shed could also think to offer a delivery service, as this would allow them to still maximise their profits during times like this. [War in Ukraine] In the UK, many businesses were impacted by the war between Russia and Ukraine as both countries are global suppliers, therefore Albert's Shed's suppliers may increase the prices of their products. Along with the decrease in stock like the materials, ingredients and products that are used to run the enterprise. Not only does this have an effect on the amount of products they have to sell to customers, the war also increased the prices of gas, electric and oil. This means that the enterprise would have to spend more of their profits to have their products. Likewise, both petrol and diesel prices have increased, meaning for the ingredients to be delivered they would also have to spend more money on them. In order to compensate these high prices, many enterprises may need to buy cheaper ingredients and lowering their staff wages. However, by making these decisions the quality of the products may decrease and the enterprise may lose staff if they are unhappy with the amount of wages they are receiving. The war in Ukraine would significantly impact the food and beverage industry as they are the main suppliers for wheat and grain meaning there will be less products available that use wheat or grain, such as bread. This negatively impacts Albert's Shed as they will need to find a better alternative in order to keep certain items on the menu and not remove dishes entirely. [Social factors] [ ] [Age ] The social factor of age plays a significant role in the success of an enterprise that is in the food and beverage industry like Albert's Shed. Different age groups have distinct preferences, tastes and dietary needs. For example, younger generations often seek trendy and innovative food options, while older individuals may prefer traditional and familiar dishes. Understanding these age related preferences allows businesses to tailor their menus, marketing strategies and overall customer experiences to cater to specific age demographics. At Albert's Shed they would need to factor in the idea that in Manchester most people are aged 20 to 24(insert snip it from power point) Therefore, meaning their age demographic would be younger and would have to create a trendier and more innovative menu to appeal to this customer basis. By considering the social factor of age, enterprises can effectively target their desired customer base, build a strong brand loyalty and ultimately thrive in the competitive food and beverage industry. When it comes to advertising, the age range of the target audience plays a crucial role in shaping the marketing strategies. Different age groups have unique preferences when it comes to how they consume information and make purchasing decisions. For example, for younger generations social media platforms like Instagram, Tiktok and snapchat are incredibly influential. As stated in previous paragraphs, Albert's Shed has an active Instagram account, this allows them to promote their business to younger generations. These platforms provide opportunities for businesses to showcase visually appealing and shareable content that resonates with the younger audience. Eye-catching food photography, engaging videos, and influencer collaborations can help create buzz and generate interest among the younger individuals. On the other hand, older age groups, may respond better to more traditional forms of advertising, such as TV advertisements or print ads in newspapers or magazines. These methods allow businesses to communicate their brand message and highlight the quality, reliability and experience associated with their products. It's also important to consider the language and tone used in advertising. Younger audiences often appreciate a more casual and conversational tone. You can see in Albert's Shed's Instagram posts that they use a more casual tone rather than a more formal and informative tone like older individuals may prefer. Tailoring the language and style of the advertisements to match the preferences of different age groups can enhance their effectiveness and ensure that the message resonates with the intended audience for Albert's Shed this would be a younger audience. By understanding the differences in advertising due to age range, enterprises in the food and beverage industry like Albert's Shed, can craft targeted campaigns that effectively capture the attention and interest of their desired customer. [Religion] The social factor of religion has a significant impact on businesses in the food and beverage industry. Religion plays a crucial role in shaping peoples dietary choices, food restrictions and even their dining preferences. Different religious beliefs and practices often dictate what individuals can or cannot consume, how food should be prepared and where it can be sourced from. For example, in Islam, adherents follow dietary laws known as Halal, which specify the types of food and ingredients that are permissible. Businesses that cater to Muslim customers need to ensure that their products and preparations processes align with these requirements to attract and retain this customer basis. This is vital for Albert's Shed as in Manchester, Muslim is the third largest religion with Christian and No religion being above it. Then again besides Muslim, the other religions like Christian and no religion have no dietary restrictions and therefor Albert's Shed does not need to provide alternatives for them. However, there is a small percentage of Hindus and Jews in Manchester who do have dietary restrictions. Similarly, in Judaism there are kosher dietary laws that dictate the types of food, preparation methods and supervision needed for food to be considered kosher. Establishments that offer kosher options can appeal to Jewish customers who adhere to these dietary guidelines. Moreover, religious holidays and festivals often have specific culinary traditions associated with them. Businesses can leverage these occasions to offer specialised menus or promotions that cater to the needs and preferences of customers celebrating these religious events. For instance, during Ramadan, businesses may extend their operating hours to accommodate Muslims who fast during the day and seek places to break their fast at sunset. Additionally, some religious beliefs may discourage or prohibit the consumption of certain ingredients or beverages, such as alcohol or pork. Businesses in the food and beverage industry need to be sensitive to these restrictions and ensure they provide suitable alternatives or clearly communicate ingredient information to their customers. By understanding and respecting the social factor of religion, businesses can create inclusive environments, cater to specific dietary needs and attract a diverse range of customers. This not only enhances customer's satisfaction but also fosters a sense of community and respect within the food and beverage industry. [Technological Factors] There are many technological factors that can help an enterprise to reach their aims and become successful. Some technological factors include social medias, technology trends and research and development. Albert's Shed uses technological factors such as social medias, like Instagram and they also have their website. Having an active social media account helps promote their business as they have better access to their target market. By having an Instagram handle that regularly posts updates on their feed helps promote and share their business everywhere and allows them to access a larger part of the public without having to spend money and spend excessive amounts of time on promotion. Tagging a business in a social media is a fantastic way to promote a business and increases its visibility. When you tag a business, it creates a direct link between your posts and their profile, making it easier for others to discover and engage with the business. Firstly, tagging a business allows their followers to see your posts. When you tag a business, your posts may appear in their tagged photos or mentions section, exposing your content to their audience. This can lead to an increase reach and potential new followers for your account. Secondly tagging a business provides an endorsement or recommendation. By associating your posts with a specific business, you are essentially vouching for their products or services. Your positive experience can inspire others to check out the business and potentially become customers themselves. Lastly, tagging a business provides valuable user-generated content. When you tag a business, you're essentially providing them with free advertising in the form of authentic content. Businesses can showcase user-generated posts on their own social media accounts or websites, demonstrating real-life experiences and testimonials from satisfied customers. Overall, tagging a business in a social media post is a win-win situation, it helps promote the business, increases its visibility and can lead to potential collaborations and engagement. [Social media promotion ] As stated in the previous paragraph Albert's Shed use social media such as Instagram to help achieve their aims of maximising their profits as accessing social media is a very easy and convenient way of promoting and pushing out their business. It is also a convenient way to speak to the owner about reserving a table or any dietary questions you may have about the enterprise. Another benefit of using social media is that most platforms are completely free for use therefore small to medium enterprises can still promote their business without having to spend all their money on promotion. This means that they can put their money into expanding on their enterprise and making their products with a better quality products and ingredients, whilst also achieving their aims of maximising their profits. By people in the comments of Albert's Shed's Instagram tagging their friends, family and loved ones also helps promote their business for free. Using social media can have a significant impact on a business in today's digital age. It provides a platform for a business to connect and engage with their target audience in a more direct and interactive way. Social media enables businesses to engage with their audience on a more personal level. It provides a direct line of communication, allowing enterprises to respond to customer inquiries, address concerns and provide timely support. This engagement builds trust and fosters positive relationships, enhancing the overall customer experience. Additionally, social media offers businesses valuable insights and data. Through analytics tools provided by social media platforms, businesses can track engagements metrics, audience demographics and post performance. This data helps businesses gain a better knowledge on their target market, refine their marketing strategies and make informed decisions. Furthermore, social media provides a platform for businesses to showcase their enterprise and thought leadership. By consistently sharing relevant and informative content, businesses can position themselves as industry leaders and gain credibility among their audience. This can lead to increases trust, customer loyalty and even potential partnerships or collaborations. In conclusion, using social media has a profound effect on businesses. It helps increase brand awareness, facilities direct engagement with customers, provides valuable insights, establishes thought leadership and drives traffic and leads. Incorporating social media into a business's marketing strategy is essential in today's digital landscape to stay competitive and connect with the ever-growing online audience. [Recommendations ] One recommendation that Albert's Shed could also add that will further advance their technological factors are QR codes at the tables instead of menus. This would be a positive improvement as QR codes allow customers to access the menu and order whenever they need, it also provides an advantage as its more hygienic to have a QR code instead of picking up a menu that has been touched by other people before. By having a QR code also decreases the amount of waste produced by the enterprise as if they need to adjust an item on the menu they do not need to print of tons of menus and instead just using a QR code menu. Not only this but it also creates a more comfortable environment for those who may have social anxiety and find it hard to speak to strangers. **[Task 3B]** [Strengths] Albert's Shed has many strengths that allow them to be a successful enterprise and thrive as a company. Some of these strengths include having a great reputation and good customer service also being a dog friendly enterprise and offering events at their establishment. Firstly, having good customer service and a great reputation is not only a free and easy way to create a good customer relationship as to have good customer service all that is needed is to be a nice person and give the customers a pleasant experience at your establishment. Furthermore, it is an easy way to help the business to reach their aims of maximising profits as having good customer service leads to loyal customers that would most likely spread the enterprise through word of mouth. It can be seen that Albert's Shed has a great reputation on the reviews on google, many reviews talk about how nice and welcoming the staff are towards customers and how they made their experience at Albert's Shed better and more comfortable. As seen in the review below Not only does having a great reputation increase their chances of reaching their aims it also minimizes their threat of losing customers, therefore decreasing the chance of them losing profit. This also increases Albert's Sheds competitors threat of losing customers as they are more likely to come to Albert's Shed as their reputation and customer service is highly admirable. Finally having good customer service and a great reputation can also be used as a form of promotion to increase their customers and further reach all their aims. Another important strength that Albert's Shed has is being a dog friendly restaurant. Even though they do not allow dogs inside of the establishment, they do have a dog area outside of their building that also provides dog water bowls. This is an advantage as being situated in the middle of a town centre where many people own dogs and may walk their dogs, therefore customers are more likely to stay and eat whilst their dog can be outside in a safe area with water provided for them. Being a dog friendly enterprise helps Albert's Shed maximise their profits as they have adapted their enterprise to help accommodate those who find it hard to leave their dogs at home. Finally, the last important strength that Albert's Shed has is having the ability to host an event. This is an important strength as it creates a larger customer basis as it opens their enterprise up to people who need an establishment to host an event. Some events that Albert's Shed hold include weddings, birthdays and corporate events, this shows how versatile the enterprise is and how willing they are to help create any event that their customers need. These events would also give Albert's Shed a competitive advantage over other restaurants around their area as not many enterprises that are in the food and beverage industry rent out their whole establishment and also offer to plan the events for their customers. Moreover, Albert's Shed could also open these events up to create game nights and quiz's to allow more people to socialise and also help promote their enterprise to a different customer basis than they would generally target. By using all these strengths Albert's Shed has become a successful enterprise with a loyal customer basis that is always growing. [Weaknesses ] Albert's Shed doesn't have many weaknesses, however they do have one main weakness and that is having high prices. Albert's Shed charge such high prices as they are situated in the centre of town meaning their rent would be incredibly high especially after 2022 as rent has increased 19.6% in the last 2 years. They also charge high prices as their food and ingredients are expensive and they include many alternatives meaning they are spending extra to accommodate for all customers. This is a weakness as Albert's Sheds customers are not able to come to their establishment as often as they would like due to the high prices that are charged. To help Albert's Shed they could open a less upscale market place that charge lower prices, however the amount of preparation and presentation would be lowered due to this. The effects of opening a less upscale market place that they would be able to serve more customers but at a lower quality. To expand on the reasoning on why charging high prices is a negative, the UK's economy is not as high as it should be meaning people earning an average wage in Manchester are only earning £37,500 per year or £19.23 per hour. This means that the average wage in Manchester is not enough to be a frequent customer at Albert's Shed, so they will not be able to eat out as often as they would like. [Opportunities] There are many opportunities for Albert's Shed, some main opportunities include location, being dog friendly and social media. Location is an opportunity for this enterprise as Albert's Shed is located in a busy area rather than a remote, secluded area. This is an opportunity as customers having easy access to the establishment meaning it is more convenient. By being a more convenient restaurant that is located in a busy area appeals to a customer as more people are likely to want to go to a restaurant that is close by rather than having to walk, drive or take public transport for a long time for food. This makes Albert's Shed more accessible and increases their profits. Albert's Shed is located in a higher end area of Manchester meaning the average wage there is higher. This has the effect that they can charge a higher rate for their services as their customer basis earns higher. Another opportunity that Albert's Shed has is being dog friendly, we know that Albert's Shed has an outside area for dogs and that they provide water bowls for them but if they had an inside area that is strictly for dogs their target audience would change and this would therefore increase their profit. Albert's Shed could also offer dog treats for the customers that frequently bring their dogs, this would create a better customer relationship as many dog owners care for their pet deeply and with showing interest in their dog with offering treats will make them want to return. Lastly, Albert's Shed has the opportunity of social media as it is a great way in promoting their business and reaching their target audience. Albert's Shed already has an Instagram that they frequently update, but they could also use more popular social medias such as Facebook and Tiktok. This will not only help them promote their enterprise but will also allow them to gain new customers. Gaining new customers would lead to them reaching their aims of maximising profits in a free and easy way. To help promote Albert's Shed they could make posts that are informative and fun, they could also talk about competitions that may promote their business like "tag 2 friends and earn a gift card at albert's shed" or something along the lines. By offering a competition this would help them maximise their aims. [Threats] All enterprises have many threats towards their business, Albert's Shed is not an exception to this. Some threats that Albert's Shed face are competition, cost increase and difficulty recruiting and retaining staff. The main threat the Albert's Shed face is competition as they are located in a town that has many enterprises in the food and beverage industry. This is a threat as having competitors gives their customers options. This means that Albert's Shed has a chance of losing customers to their competitors if they are not satisfied with the quality or services they are receiving. Some examples of Albert's Shed's competitors include Salvis Deansgate Square and The Banyan Tree. These are competitors as they are in the same business sector as Albert's Shed and are in close range to the enterprise. If Albert's Shed lose potential customers to these competitors, they will not be successful in reaching their aims. However, to avoid losing customers to their competitors, Albert's Shed could offer new and different items on the menu and expand on their business to gain a better establishment that looks more appealing. Another threat that Albert's Shed face is the increase in cost, as in 2022-2024 the national minimum wage in the UK increased and electricity, gas and mortgage interest increased a significant amount. This means that the business was focused on trying to keep their finances in check without going bankrupt, instead of focusing on improving their customer's experiences and their menu. Therefore, leading to potential customers not being satisfied or excited when eating out at Albert's Shed. Due to the increase of cost the products that Albert's Shed produces may be forced to be made with less quality ingredients than they used to have been made with. By decreasing their quality, the business may lose some customers as they are not satisfied. Albert's Shed's final main threat is having difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, as waitressing is a profession that is more commonly carried out by students and younger people who aren't trying to stay in the profession very long. In addition to them not staying for long it also means that the enterprise is wasting money and time on training new staff again and again. This is a major disadvantage as Albert's Shed will be having to spend more time and money on advertising for new staff instead of focusing on reaching their aims.