The repositioning of Ten Ren’s Tea Time (by Eddie Long)

Ten Ren’s Tea was founded in 1953 and now operates one hundred retail stores globally, providing the finest teas to their loyal customers worldwide. Ten Ren’s combines modern technology and traditional methods when processing tea leaves to provide customers with the highest quality tea that aids in improving the quality of life and health for their customers. Ten Ren’s Tea Time, the restaurant, has a total of nine locations in the Southern California area.

New Image:

Ten Ren’s Tea Time recently changed its logo, as shown below. We can say that the marketing team wanted a change of the company’s logo to regain customer’s attention and regain their sales. 

Just like they changed their logo, they also updated the website to fit the new theme. Their website appears more modernized than their previous designs, which can attract potential customers and returning customers. The company wanted to show its target market that they know what customers want and can accommodate any customer’s needs for both dine-in and takeout. The change is reflected upon the shift in generations that make up current customers, ones who enjoy a wide selection of their menu, and expect quality customer service. 

Out of this World Atmosphere: 

Many of the Ten Ren’s Tea Time properties have gone through renovations in parallel with the brand repositioning. The physical changes include a new modern layout to create a different feel and environment that would make dine-ins feel more enjoyable. The restaurant does not have a password for their wireless connection, instead, the company has set up a Facebook WiFi. This intentionally directs customers to visit Ten Ren’s Facebook page every time they log-in to their WIFI. By doing so, it allows for more customers to recognize and be aware of their marketing platform, as well as look over their promotions, offers, and customer reviews. 

 

Additionally, the company has also changed its t-shirts design to match the logo, as displayed above. In addition, Ten Ren’s has included more food and drink options for the customers so that customers will have a chance to try new and different dishes. All customers have recognized this positive change in the restaurant from either the appearance of the new modern restaurant layout, the new logo design, or the new food options.

Online Strategies:

From what I have seen, the business favors two social media platforms, which are Instagram and Facebook. Their Twitter account is not updated nor has the same number of followers than the other two social media platforms. Ten Ren’s had taken the initiative to eliminate the budget for Twitter by focusing on the other two social media platforms. On their social media pages, the company advertises all promotions, discounts, and fundraisers that the restaurant has to offer for the customers. Customers will know if there is a discount on a certain holiday, a happy hour special on drinks or snacks, or if an organization has an opportunity to coordinate a fundraiser with Ten Ren’s Tea Time. Therefore, this company’s online strategy has improved in comparison to a couple years back. 

 

One online strategy that this restaurant could incorporate, however, is a Loyalty Program App that customers can use to participate in rewards. As stamp cards are becoming less common in the tea industry, Ten Ren’s should also update their rewards system. In order to do that, the restaurant needs to transfer to a technological approach, which makes eliminating stamp cards the first step. Just like how Starbucks has a mobile app, customers can pay on the application and be able to receive rewards through the app. Creating an online reward system will encourage customers to continue coming back in order to receive a free drink or snack of their choice. The issue of customers losing their physical stamp cards will no longer exist if the application will always be on their phone. Overall, Ten Ren’s Tea Time has a great online marketing strategy but can improve in certain aspects in order to retain their current and future customers and generate sales.

Summary:

Ten Ren’s Tea Time has been faithful to their customers because they ensure that they are constantly providing the highest quality tea that will improve their quality of life and health. If a customer is not satisfied with their drink, the establishment is always willing to provide a new option so that the customer will walk out the door with a satisfactory smile. However, if they do not leave with a smile and happen to leave a nasty yelp review on their page, Ten Ren’s marketing team will reply to that post and offer them a discount on their next purchase. They will also notify the manager in charge of the specific location about the case so they can resolve the issue with the customer. All in all, this company has a lot of potential of improving their sales because of the new changes they have made to the restaurant as seen from their new discounts, new promotions, more food selections, more drink selections, more fundraiser involvements, and an increased amount of followers on their social media platforms. 

 

So, what suggestions would you like to incorporate for this restaurant to increase their sales? How would it benefit them? How much revenue are you expecting their sales to increase if such a strategy was implemented?

About the Author

Eddie Long is a fourth-year Hospitality Management minor at the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona. His on-campus involvements include being an executive officer for Alpha Phi Omega, a community service fraternity, and a member of the Society of Automobile of Engineers, a professional engineer association that is active globally. He previously worked at Ten Ren’s Tea Time, located in Walnut, California for a total of three years. In the future, Eddie hopes to work in revenue management in the hotel industry.

 

Note: The picture was downloaded from https://www.tenrensteatime.com/