Week 4 Post 1: Defining Target Markets

  For this assignment I chose to compare the Subway and Hungry Bear website. I noticed right away the use of CTAs by Subway. Being a national brand, with high volume sales, its probably very easy for them to implement the deals and customer incentive programs. One form Subway encourages potential customers to order a tuna sub online or through their app which they can use a promo code to receive 15% off the order. There were other offers as well. I saw no such deals on the Hungry Bear website. Both website offer picture of their products. The Hungry Bear has their logo right up front on top of a slide show of some sandwiches. The pictures in the slide show are a little dark. It makes it difficult to see the quality of the product. Subway’s slide show has vibrant pictures of their products on the homepage slide show along with a special on each or a CTA.

I clicked on the “About” for each website. The Hungry Bear has a brief statement saying they are located in Vista and offer subs, sandwiches along with salads and sides. I expected a little info about the owner and maybe something about their passion for making great subs. Subway has links to different webpages such as ‘Our Vision’, ‘Nutritional Responsibility’, ‘Community Responsibility’, ‘Environmental Responsibility’ and so on. They are putting it out there that they are involved with things greater than just making sandwiches.

The header on the Hungry Bear website has the address and phone number along with the menu bar. This leads me to believe that there is only one location. The menu bar has a button for location. I clicked on it and the page showed the address, phone number email and hours of operation. I had to scroll down to get the map and a button for getting directions, which takes you to Google Maps. The Menu button takes you to the Menu page. Again, I had to scroll down to get to the actual menu. The menu is broken up into nine sections. There is no option to view the full menu, just the different sections. The Accolades button brings you to a page where they invite you to see their Yelp reviews, a mention about being on a list by channel 10 news, Google reviews, and an invite to follow them on Instagram. The Catering button brings you to a page which you have to click on another button, Inquire Now, which takes you to another page with an online form to fill-out and submit. The Order Online button opens another webpage, in another tab in the browser. Here you can actually see the full menu. At the bottom of the page, on the left side, there are links to five social media sites and email. On the right are links for Jobs, Contact and Email Sign Up.

Subway gives you a choice of languages, a way to locate a Subway near you, careers, Gift cards and a sign in/sign up button. The menu bar has Menu, Nutrition, Catering, Rewards & Deals, Responsibility and Strat Order. While Hungry Bear has similar options as Subway with the way things are laid out, its obvious that Subway offers much more. The layout, use of CTAs, pictures, colors and other features make Subway just appear more appealing. Now, anyone that knows me, knows that I would by-pass a Subway and go for the Hungry Bear. I like supporting small, local businesses. While both places offer some similar menu items, Subway just seems more corporate and I feel like I would be getting a better-quality sandwich from the Hungry Bear. Rewards and discounts offered by Subway are nice and may be appealing to some people. I just don’t eat out enough for those things to matter.

Both businesses have the same target audience. Anyone looing for a good sub in the Vista are may be more inclined to hit up the Hungry Bear. But if you are craving a sub, and the drive to Vista is a little out of the way, Subway is probably your better option. Not to mention they offer contactless delivery.

Subway is trying to reach a world- wide audience, show case deals and show how they care about the environment and community. They are showing depth outside the sandwich world. The Hungry Bear appears to be focused on the food they serve. Being a small business, they might be involved in the community. I just didn’t find anything like that on their website.