how to create meaningful gathering places & grow voluntary meal plan sales by transforming your...
TRANSCRIPT
HOW TO CREATE MEANINGFUL GATHERING PLACES & GROW
VOLUNTARY MEAL PLAN SALES BY TRANSFORMING YOUR
CAMPUS DINING PROGRAM
Your Hosts
Arlene HoseaAssistant to the Vice President & Director of Campus DiningIllinois State University
David PorterAuthor, President & CEOPorter Khouw Consulting, Inc.
What Is Social ArchitectureTM?
Compelling Benefits of Social ArchitectureTM
Recruitment Yield Rates Retention Graduation Rates Make Campus More Sticky Alumni Housing Student Unions Recreation Centers
College & University…..
Socially Engage Study Plan Wholesome Social Flipping The Classroom Live & Dine On-Campus Face-to-Face Social Electronic Social Media Get A Good Job High Cost of Low Education
Classroom Outside of the Classroom…..
Social ArchitectureTM
Our Hunger for Love and Affirmation is Greater than our Hunger for Bread… Mother Teresa
#3 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs To Socially Connect
Did Facebook Create our Need to Connect to Others?
If we keep fighting for our limitations, we will most likely get to keep them……
Lifestyle/Living Student Clock Portability Healthy Menu/Food
Gluten Free Food Allergy Vegetarian Vegan Paleo Performance Dining
College & University Program Trends…..
Sustainability Farm to Fork Locally Grown Organic
Facility – State of the Art….. Branding
National, Regional, Self-Branding
Meal Plans Catering Financial Due Diligence
College & University Program Trends…..
How To Determine the Optimum Dining Program
Ask Yourself These Questions
What is the optimum dining program for our unique campus?
How do we organize dining in order to optimize social engagement?
Do we need to enhance facilities? What will it cost?
With so much at stake, it's critical to use independent & objective experts to facilitate a proven process to design the optimum dining program.
Seek Independent Insights
Determine Who You Are What makes your campus unique?
Demographics
Geography
Culture
Traditions
Preferences
Growth plans/enrollment
Political environment
Financial realities
GOAL: To expand & enhance the student dining experience.
Determine Who You Are Ask these questions:
What is your retention rate? What is your missed meal factor? Is meal plan participation up or
down? Are the meal plans a good value or
not? Can students use their meal plans when they want to?
Is there a lack of social connectivity on campus?
Does the program attract or subtract from student life on campus?
Market Research
Market Research Interview students & stakeholders.
Directors of admissions, housing, res life and advancement (retention & recruitment)
Residential & commuter students Faculty & staff Catering customers & conference planners Campus administrators
Determine customers’ perceptions regarding: Hours of operation Monday-Friday & Saturday
and Sunday Menu variety Meal plans Methods of service Locations Ambiance Speed of service Customer service
Market Research Survey the campus community including students, faculty & staff.
Where are customers eating off campus/calling for delivery? What time of day/night? How do they pay for purchases? What they do now is a better indication of what they will do.
Use market research determine where the program is lacking & where opportunities lie.
Market Research Evaluate your facilities.
Do they meet today’s standards or are they in a time warp? Are they competitive with your cross applicant schools? How much deferred maintenance exists?
Optimum Dining Program Develop the optimum dining program for YOUR campus. Elements should include:
Concepts Brands Hours (Monday-Friday & weekends) Menu variety Meal plans Methods of service Methods of payment Locations Ambiance Speed of service Customer service
Optimum Dining Program Financial consequences
How will meal plan participation change?
How much more labor will you need or how can the current labor be better utilized? Can you reduce labor?
If you open new locations, how many operating days will they be open and what will the average check be?
How will your operating expenses change?
How much can you anticipate growing your bottom line in a five-year period?
Optimum Dining Program
Identify necessary facility changes. Facilities should be designed to
functionally support the optimum dining program.
Do the current spaces need to be enlarged or redesigned to ensure easy customer throughput & the ability to provide top-notch service?
How many customers does each facility need to support at the peak meal period? Will this change in the future?
How much will it cost to make changes?
Before
After
Value Proposition
Promotes less food waste/consumption
Provides ultimate in flexibility
Appeals to parents/easy transition from home
No leftover meals Higher gross profitability Lower food cost (21-
28%) Voluntary meal plan
participation increases
Promotes food waste Unnecessary spending Less gross profitability Meals must generally
be consumed during certain time periods
Leftover meals/dining dollars causes dissatisfaction
Does not appeal to parents
Access Driven: Anytime Dining Consumption Driven: Meals Per Week/Semester
Areas to Consider When Thinking Ahead
How & in what venues will customers be able to use meal plan money?
How do current staffing schedules need to be modified to meet customer demand & extended hours of operation?
What menu offerings are going to be available in each venue? What kind of equipment layout/utilities will be needed?
What changes to the campus landscape (new building, new arteries through campus) could impact the success of the dining program?
Are our current facilities undersized & how large do they need to be to accommodate any changes in enrollment?
What impact will these proposed changes have on your department’s bottom line?
Creating a campus-wide dining services master plan will
help answer these questions!
A New Vision for Dining at Illinois State University
Public four-year university Enrollment: 21,000 Self-operated dining department Department includes:
2 residential dining commons Watterson Dining Commons: Renovated in 2010 Marketplace at Linkins Center
Multiple retail locations around campus & in the Bone Student Center
Catering Central bakery
Total annual revenue: $31 million #of meal plan holders: 7,585 # of residential students: 6,400
Illinois State Campus Dining At A Glance
Before
After
Case Study – Illinois State
PKC was retained by ISU in 2004 to develop long-term campus wide strategic master plan for CDS. Recommendations included customer-friendly, value-added anytime
dining meal plans, extended hours of operation and other significant program enhancements.
Planning project resulted in a design initiative to renovate Linkins Dining Center.
The study also included a review of the feasibility of central production.
PKC prepared extensive financial models, staffing matrices and developed a payback analysis (ROI) for proposed foodservice venues and reviewed current business systems.
The Results
When ISU introduced the new changes to the dining program (after pushback from students & marketing efforts by CDS to explain the benefits of the new program), the then student-body president said:
“The meal plan options now fit every student’s lifestyle and needs, whether they are on campus, off campus or commute. It’s great to be able to find a meal plan that fits me. With the addition of off-campus meal plans, it allows those students to once again enjoy a great dining experience with convenience of being right on campus.”
The Results
Since CDS implemented PKC’s recommendations, they have increased the number of off-campus meal plan sales (from fewer than 200 in 2005 to more than 1,200 in 2010 and more than 3,000 in 2013*). At new off-campus apartment complex, 2/3rds of
student residents purchased meal plans in 2013. Customer satisfaction is high. Increased participation among faculty and staff
who now eat in the residential dining venues again.
The social architecture on campus has been strengthened by creating meaningful dining/learning commons on campus to provide safe and inviting places for students to gather.
Unlimited Access Meal Plans: 7-Day Unlimited (unlimited access to any residential dining center, seven
days a week) plus $265 Flex Dollars/semester. Cost: $2,236 5-Day Unlimited (unlimited access to any residential center, Monday-
Friday only) plus $340 Flex Dollars/semester. Cost: $2,067
Traditional Access Meal Plans: 19-Meal Traditional (access to any 19 meals per week – unused meals
expire each Sunday) plus $436 Flex Dollars/semester. Cost: $2,344 14 Meal Traditional (access to any 15 meals per week – unused meals
expire on Sunday) plus $485 Flex Dollars/semester. Cost: $2,158
Block 225 Meal Plan: 225 Block Meals (access to any 225 meals throughout the entire semester) plus $339 Flex Dollars/semester. Cost: $2,051
)
ISU Customer-based Meal Plans
Methods of Payment
Meal plan money/unlimited access
Flex Dollars Cash Credit/debit cards
Unlimited access featuring unlimited seconds & made-to-order food seven days a week at Watterson Dining Commons & The Marketplace at Linkins Center.
Hours of operation: M-Th: 7 a.m. -10 p.m., Fri.: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sat.: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sun.: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Expanded menu variety to improve
customer satisfaction. These venues are now functioning as
dining/learning commons & provide meaningful, safe and wholesome social gathering places for all campus community.
Anytime Dining in Residential Dining Centers
The DNA of a Successful Anytime Dining Program
ISU’s Thriving Campus Dining Program
Meal Plan Counts
Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Fall 2012* Fall 2013
Traditional Residence Hall 5897 6457 6378 6337 5146 4828
Cardinal Court 725 743
Off-Campus 751 804 1200 1797 1997 2337
Total Meal Plan Counts 6648 7261 7578 8134 7868 7908
ISU’s Thriving Campus Dining Program
“The Future”
Other program enhancements: Dining Services Advisory Council
Changes planned for Fall 2014:
Renovation of Student Center Addition to Watterson:
- Culinary Innovation Center
Available on Amazon.com
“David Porter is a leader in the transformation of dining in higher education. He and his dynamic team challenge their clients to think progressively and creatively….I was one of those clients. The work he has done in the area of meal plan design and development has helped universities grow their meal plans to rates that exceeded all expectations. We judge our success by how satisfied our students are with the dining program. At the end of the day, that is what truly matters on a college campus.”
Arlene HoseaAssistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Campus Dining Services, Illinois State University
