A finished MKT-650 Topic 4 capacity and demand plan example, matching a restaurant's fixed seating to uneven demand through pricing, reservations, staffing and scheduled capacity rather than stock. Searches like "mkt 650 topic 4 assignment example", "mkt650 topic 4 sample" and "mkt-650 topic 4 example" land here.
What a finished MKT-650 Topic 4 capacity and demand plan looks like
A demand chart opens the finished plan, showing illustrative covers by hour across a typical week against the sixty-seat ceiling. Saturday from seven to nine sits above capacity, with an estimated forty parties turned away, while Tuesday and Wednesday evenings fill barely a third of the room. The plan then separates the two sides of the problem. Demand is shifted with an early prix fixe on weeknights, deposits on Saturday reservations to cut no-shows, and a published guide to quiet times. Supply is flexed with part-time servers scheduled to the chart, cross-trained staff who can move between kitchen prep and the floor, and a seasonal patio adding twelve seats from May to September. Sasser's contrast between chasing demand and holding capacity level frames the choice, and the plan explains why it mixes both.
How an MKT-650 Topic 4 example is structured
Measured demand comes first, then the two sets of levers, then the choice between strategies. An initial section states the capacity limits, seats, kitchen output and staff, and identifies which of them binds first at each peak. The demand section presents the hourly chart and separates predictable peaks from random variation. Demand-side levers follow, each with its expected effect on covers and its risk, such as regular guests resenting a deposit. Supply-side levers come next, including scheduling, cross-training and the seasonal patio. A strategy section sets chasing demand against holding capacity level and explains why a restaurant with a fixed dining room must combine them. Revenue management is treated at a descriptive level, covering deposits and time-based pricing. The plan finishes with a revised weekly schedule and the two measures to watch, turned-away parties and weeknight covers.
Seats, kitchen and staff as three limits
Capacity is stated three ways, and the plan shows that on Saturdays the kitchen's output binds before the dining room's sixty seats do.
Predictable peaks separated from noise
Friday and Saturday evening surges repeat every week and can be planned for, while a rainy Thursday rush cannot, so the levers target the first kind.
Deposits that protect the busiest hours
A small deposit on Saturday reservations reduces no-shows at the hours when an empty table cannot be refilled, at the cost of some goodwill among regulars.
Weeknights given a reason to come
An early prix fixe and a published guide to quiet times aim to move flexible diners from Saturday into Tuesday rather than simply discounting everything.
Staff scheduled to the demand chart
Part-time servers and cross-trained cooks expand and contract working capacity by shift, the chase element in a plan that otherwise holds seating level.
Chase and level combined
Seating stays fixed while labor follows demand, and the plan explains why a restaurant with one room cannot rely on either strategy alone.
Where marks go in MKT-650 Topic 4
Plans that treat the problem as low demand and answer it with promotion are penalized first, since the restaurant already turns guests away and more advertising would deepen the Saturday overflow. Proposing to smooth demand as though tables could be stored, holding Tuesday's empty seats for the weekend, misses the perishability that defines the topic. Graduate papers are expected to state which resource binds first, and many assume the dining room when the kitchen sets the limit. Discounting weeknights across the board is common and costly, because guests who would have paid full price take the discount too. Drafts often leave out the customer's reaction to demand management, although deposits and time limits can offend regulars. Omitting any measure of turned-away demand leaves the plan without evidence that it worked.
Get an MKT-650 Topic 4 example written to your instructions
Send the MKT-650 Topic 4 instructions and the rubric your classroom posts, with the service organization or demand data your section assigned. We write a custom example to those criteria, with capacity limits identified, peaks separated from noise, demand and supply levers weighed, chase and level strategies combined and measures named, in 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free.
MKT-650 Topic 4 questions, answered
How do chase and level capacity strategies differ?
A chase strategy adjusts capacity to follow demand, adding staff, hours or equipment at peaks and cutting them in quiet periods. A level strategy holds capacity steady and tries to move demand toward it through pricing, reservations and promotion. W. Earl Sasser's work on matching supply and demand in services is commonly cited for the contrast. Most services combine the two, as the example does, because some resources flex easily and others do not.
What is revenue management in services?
Pricing and allocating fixed, perishable capacity so as to earn the most from it, by charging different prices at different times, requiring commitments such as deposits and controlling how much capacity is released at each price. Airlines and hotels developed it at scale. For a restaurant it usually means modest steps, time-based menus and reservation policies, and the example treats it descriptively rather than as a pricing model.
Why not simply advertise to fill quiet nights?
Because advertising tends to raise demand overall, including on the nights already full. Unless a promotion is tied to the quiet period, such as an early weeknight menu, it can worsen the peak it was meant to relieve. The example uses offers that only work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and measures whether weekend overflow falls, not just whether weeknight covers rise.