Week 4 Post 1 - Comparing Target Markets

 Subway vs. Hungry Bear

This week in our social media course, we were asked to examine the websites for two companies in the same field and compare each company's target market. I chose the two companies that sell sandwiches--Subway and Hungry Bear. My initial impression was, "This looks delicious!" Now I know to eat a full meal before completing my assignments for this course. Subway is a larger company, and it reads in the website. The company provides the reader with a wealth of information offered across a variety of tabs. Hungry Bear is a small, local business based in Vista. Their website is still clean and has good design, but it is simpler than Subway's website.

Subway is considered fast food, but the company is marketing to a consumer who wants a healthier lifestyle on a budget. There is a "responsibility" tab on the website, which implies that Subway is targeting a more socially and environmentally responsible consumer who cares about sustainable practices. On the main page they also seem to be targeting young men (and possibly families, as there was an image of a couple) with mention of the NFL and home-gating. Sunday football can be enjoyed across genders, but the dark colors with bold sandwiches--and full photos of men--suggest that they are encouraging men to enjoy the sandwiches during their sports games.

Hungry Bear is marketing to a consumer looking to support local businesses and has sense of pride in their community. Hungry Bear has a "small business" mentality because there is a tab called "accolades" on the website, to convince new customers of the value and quality of the food. The company seemed to be marketing to males too (again through photos), but they also seem to be marketing to an older, more financially secure consumer than Subway. They are not trying to compete with the fast food restaurants since they showed a picture of a plated salad with silverware. Also, the prices of their sandwiches (without drink or sides) are almost twice the cost of a meal at a hamburger place. The typical consumer would probably be middle-aged, living in the north county area, and looking for a casual sit-down meal. 

One of the concepts that was new to me this week was the idea of a "call to action." While I gave it little thought before this course, once I learned I was looking for a statement to promote an immediate action or sale, I saw it used several times in both websites. Subway used it to encourage consumers to "order now" on the main page and any time a photo of a sandwich was featured. They also directed consumers to "Call us!" for catering requests. Hungry Bear also had a call to action on their catering page, saying "inquire now." There was also a large, bold statement in the jobs section telling viewers to "work with us." The call to action statements were used in similar ways across the two websites. A subtle difference was that due to the size and scope of Subway's website, Subway included more of those types of statements in sheer number, which gave their website a more commanding feeling to it.

In a reference to the blog about a well-CRAPHTED website from last week, both sites looked professional and inspired customer confidence. Subway used color blocks consistent with their logo (green and gold), tying everything together. They also made blocks and information stand out when they used a color besides green and gold. The information was also spaced and grouped well, with consistent formatting in the different pages. Hungry Bear stuck very closely to green and red throughout the website, which are also the colors on the logo. The logo was promoted in the transition between pages. The menu page cleverly caught the eye of the viewer by only featuring photos for popular sandwiches, instead of offering photos for every menu item.

My mouth still waters when I look at the sites!