Tourism

Outback Steakhouse is a casual dining chain of restaurants that operates internationally in more than 900 locations across 21 countries within North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Australia. Founded and based in Tampa, Florida, Outback Steakhouse had gained popularity all over the world for its USDA Choice and Premium steaks along with many other sumptuous treats on their menu. This paper will study the various aspects and qualities of this restaurant chain that contributed to its worldwide popularity and unwavering success.

Just like many other casual dining restaurants all around world, Outback Steakhouse offers a wonderful and wholesome dining experience ideal for families and groups of people like friends and co-workers. Full table service is also being offered to guests. Their ambience is Australian-inspired with a wholesome and casual atmosphere. This restaurant chain highlights consistent high quality service to all its guests which is the companys strategy in order to set it apart from other restaurants with a similar concept. Moreover, it also emphasizes on its friendly service that provides a lasting impression to all its guests. Excellent service coupled with a warm, suitable ambience is something that is being offered by Outback Steakhouse. While it is apparent that this factor contributed to its overwhelming success, it is not the only reason why it conquered the other parts of the world besides the U.S. And besides, many other casual dining restaurants would probably claim the same level of service to its guests. From this perspective, anyone can conclude that there must be something more beyond service excellence that positioned Outback Restaurant to such particular level of success in the restaurant chain industry.

People go to restaurants primarily to satisfy their hunger and need for food while others consider it as the best venue to celebrate special occasions with their family and friends, conduct an informal gathering with colleagues, have a casual date, meet new acquaintances and conduct corporate events like business meetings among many others. Outback Steakhouse offers an ideal venue for all these occasions and events. The place itself is versatile and caters to all people from all walks of life across all ages. These aspects make it a very accessible place to dine for everyone whatever the purpose or occasion  whether to simply have a meal or to celebrate an event. Accessibility is one factor that a restaurant must have in order to attract more people apart from what it offers in its menu.

Outback Restaurant, being a family-oriented and wholesome place to dine, also offers superior cleanliness. It is apparent that every store or branch pays enough attention to its sanitation and cleanliness. The store facilities and the entire area are well-kept and well-maintained to ensure their guests satisfaction and comfort.

Now, let us examine the best part  what is in their menu and what is the price range
People naturally want to go for something that is reasonably-priced and guarantees value for their money. Secondly, they prefer a restaurant that has a lot to offer in their menu with delightful specialties that serve as all-time favourites. Thirdly, since consumers have different preferences when it comes to food, a wide variety of choices (vegetarian, seafood, high protein etc.) should be available. Outback Steakhouse can offer all of these. The huge amount of success it has earned over the years can be attributed to its delicious and mouth-watering offerings ranging from juicy steaks, freshly cooked vegetables, tempting sea foods like prawns and succulent Snow Crab, dressed baked potatoes flame grilled chicken, fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs, a variety of shrimp dishes and their famous Aussie fries and coleslaw among many others. Clear enough, what is on Outback Steakhouses menu is a major contributory factor to its success. Adding up to this is their wide selection of beverages and cocktails and topping off a satisfying meal are the mouth-watering desserts which include key lime pie. Outback Steakhouse created a name for itself because it offers delicious food that caters to all taste buds. On top of that, this restaurant also provides reasonable amount of servings. Prices are moderate to high end but are perfectly at par with the quality of the food and service. Customers will not feel deprived at all nor will they feel that they did not get value for their money.

Outback Steakhouse also holds special promotions for special occasions that further attract consumers. The company highlights occasions such as Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Thanksgiving and other occasions with special productsmenus specifically for these events. Rewards programs are also implemented to gain customer loyalty and to get the attention of new ones. Outback Steakhouse gives importance to its target market and continues to reach out by initiating special menus such as Spanish menu and Gluten-free menu. Another key to its success is that it continues to create innovations in the form of new products. Furthermore, it acknowledges the special needs of certain consumers who follow a specific diet. In this manner, Outback Steakhouse broadens its target market as its productmenu line grows.

Multi-media advertisements also play a great role in generating promotions and building awareness among its target consumers. Outback Steakhouse has billboards, magazine print ads and official website and to date, the presence of social networking sites gave rise to a new level of online marketing through fan pages. There are also TV ads and radio ads but they are not strongly implemented.

Finally, the strongest selling point of Outback Steakhouse is the name itself. It had created strong identifying characteristics that represent everything it has to offer  food, service, ambience and dining experience. Its name also speaks out the brand image that it managed to build over the years across different locations.
Outback Steakhouses positioning in the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry along with its over-all concept, menu and product line, accessibility to a wide range of customers, multimedia advertisements and marketing strategy had all contributed to its success. With proper treatment of all of these aspects, it is expected that Outback Steakhouse will continue to become more competitive in its playing field in the years to come.