Quick question, what business are you in? As I ask you that question, I am expecting to get a very quizzical stare. Yes, I know that you are in the restaurant business. That’s a given. Peel back a few layers though, what does that really mean? That you are in the service industry? That you are in the making great food and serving guests? Dig a little deeper, what business are you really in? Give up? Let’s look at a few things first and see if we can figure this out together, ok?
First, I will admit that one of the products you create is great food, hopefully. With so many choices out there, if you are not making great food there are too many choices out there. You will struggle to stay in business. People just don’t have the time nor the money to put up with mediocrity anymore. I know that I don’t and I hope you feel the same way I do. You demand top notch food and service from you staff.
So far I am assuming that we are in complete agreement. I have just stated what you were trying to tell me earlier. Except for one thing, what happens when you have great service and great food but no customers? You are no longer in business. The reality is the great service and the awesome food is the product that you are creating. What most people miss is the fact that it is vital to have a stellar marketing program that goes along with a great food.
Don’t believe me? Do you think that great food is all that you need to have a successful business? Let me ask you this. Can you or any one of your chefs/cooks create a better meal than what McDonald’s creates? I would be highly surprised if you couldn’t. McDonald’s knows that they don’t have the best tasting food. What they do have are systems in place that generate revenue.
Now let me ask you this, have you ever seen a McDonald’s close? I haven’t. The reason for this is simple. Their product, their food, is perfected long before they ever build a new restaurant. Thus everything they do is completed focused on marketing. From the location of the restaurant, to how they look for new customers, everything is about marketing.
Another reason that McDonald’s has remained as successful is that they know marketing does not end when a customer enters their restaurant. Be in the ever changing “Happy Meals”, the free birthday desert for kids, various promotions that generate repeat business. All of these things are going on inside. All of this is marketing with one main goal in mind, get you to come back and spend money as often as they can.
Now I don’t know if you are a casual counter style restaurant or a 5 star white table cloth dining experience. What I do know is that marketing is what drives revenue. Most restaurateurs don’t they focus on how many covers they can get in an evening. Once a customer arrives they pay attention to table turn times and average customer price, per meal. Few owners understand the life time value of a customer?
Bottom line, you need to have a great product to enter the restaurant game. This is the starting point. If you want to not only survive, but thrive, you need to understand that it is all aspects of marketing that drive your business.
