With so many restaurant choices available, how do restaurant owners gain, build and maintain their broad base of clientele? Competition is fierce and the decision as to where hungry patrons go lies completely in experience. You’ve seen it a hundred times! One restaurant has a 2 hour wait while the one across the street has empty tables. Restaurant owners will say time and time again, our food is better, our prices are cheaper, we spend more in advertising, but my competitor still has more patrons.
How do you build up such a loyal following, even if your food isn’t as good as the guy across the street? I challenge you to think about the experience you offer your customers. Does that experience match your advertising? What is your customer’s first impression? More importantly, what is the last?
1) Offer the experience you advertise. I had a client who, two years ago, promoted an event that turned into complete failure. Why? What was advertised and what he was actually offering were two very different things. When you build up people’s expectations, you better be able to deliver. His was offering a great product, it just didn’t align with what people were expecting. We made a few tweaks in his advertising, and a number of changes at his business. Patrons quickly turned around their opinion and became beacons, actually advertising his business for him.
2) Your staff is your marketing team. I feel like we say this all of the time. You may have the hottest place in town, but if your staff doesn’t love it and know it like you do, it doesn’t matter how great it is. You servers, bartenders, greeters and even bussers need to add to the atmosphere and experience. Every detail matters. They are the first point of contact and the last memory. Lackluster or even, so/so performance simply will not do. There are a number of ways to get your staff on board and cheering louder than you do, but that’s another blog!
3) What feeling does your restaurant create when someone first walks in? Are you helping people escape their lives for an hour or two? Do they feel rushed or panicked because the waiting area is packed? Do they feel on edge, or afraid to talk because it is too quite? Does the music match the lighting? Does color of the table cloths match the style of dining you’re offering? Does you restaurant make people hungry, happy or relaxed?
4) Do your patrons feel like they matter? We’ve all been to that restaurant where you feel like no one cares you’re there, or even worse, they act like they don’t want you there. Growing up I went to the same place every Friday night with my parents and grandmother. This casual dining Greek restaurant made decent food and the prices were good. But you could never get a table after 4:30. Why? Every patron knew they mattered. The owners, a husband and wife team, would walk around to every table and make sure to thank everyone for coming in and check on the meal. They took the time to learn everyone’s name. I mean everyone! How many names of your regular customers do you know? It makes a difference. Each person will either tell 2 people they love you, or 10 people they hate you. If they feel like they mean something, which do you think they’ll choose?
5) When you screw up, admit it. Nothing makes a stronger statement about someone’s integrity than when they can admit they’ve made a mistake. Turn off your ego for a second and think about the consequences of your actions. Is it worth the small investment of a comp’d meal, drinks or desert to get that person back? Yes! Of course, every place knows the repeat offenders and you can handle them differently. But always being willing to admit you’ve made a mistake and move on. Trust me when I tell you, it’s not worth the hassle.
