Movement:

Congratulations, you have just completed your journey through 2007. Movement has power beyond understanding. Keep on going! Keep creating customer advocacy!

May 2008 bring peace, understanding and greater customer advocacy!

Tableside tracking

Lindsay Paulson at stuff4restaurants, post, “New Apple Device WiFi to Cut Waiting times in restaurants” deals with wifi technology making inroads in restaurants.

“Orders could be placed through a media player, wireless PDA, or cell phone. The obvious benefit to customers would be in avoiding the wait in line to order their favorite coffee drinks or hamburgers.
But the system would also have benefits to restaurant owners beyond providing better service. Each customer using the system would get a unique identifier for tracking the establishments they visited and what they bought. The information would be stored in the devices and synchronized with the computers of participating merchants.”

An expectation has been created by parcel delivery services, that customers can track their purchases online. The natural outgrowth of the WiFi protocol is that restaurant customers would have the ability to follow their order from the moment the order is placed, through the preparation, until the food is delivered. This functionality will enable customers to time the experience at your restaurant. The discomfort caused by the ambiguity of wondering when their meal will arrive will be eliminated.

The technology exists today, however at price points that are not feasible. This vision however will quickly become the standard. Whether you are ready or not, customers will demand tableside tracking.

Opportunities Abound:

National Restaurant Association’s November Restaurant Performance Index reports the following:

”Restaurant operators were also less optimistic about sales growth in their establishments. Twenty-nine percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), down from 39 percent who reported similarly last month and the lowest level on record. Twenty-eight percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, up from 25 percent who reported similarly last month.

Restaurant operators are also scaling back on plans for capital spending. Fifty-one percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, down from 55 percent who reported similarly last month.

National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index
Values Greater than 100 = Expansion; Values Less than 100 = Contraction

Source: National Restaurant Association

It would seem that some of your brethren are battening down the hatches. It is much easier to differentiate yourself and provide an exceptional customer experience when your competition is focusing on survival.

Seize them because Opportunities Abound!

Everyone does not need to be your customer:

Everyone who walks in does not need to be your customer.

In fact if everyone wants to be your customer, that is a problem If you are very good there will be individuals who do not like you, that’s Ok. For passion to be real there will be both a positive and a negative reaction. You have an obligation to treat everyone in the same manner, however everyone will not have the same reaction to you.

Everyone will not be your customer.

Why not be Great?

Seth Godin crystallizes a New Year’s resolution for your business:

“you have the power to change everything that's to come. And you can do that by asking yourself (and your colleagues) the one question that every organization and every individual needs to ask today: Why not be great?”

New Years is a time to reassess, I personally use the Winter and Summer Solstice. Whatever the metric, why not be great?

Venture Capital Lawsuits:

Patrick Hosking, Times Online commentary The law is now an asset is very disturbing.

“The notion of litigation as a separate asset class is a novel one. It's hard to imagine fund managers one day allotting a bit of their portfolio to third-party lawsuits, alongside shares, bonds, property and hedge funds.

But some wealthy investors are starting to dabble in lawsuit investment, bankrolling some or all of the heavy upfront costs in return for a share of the damages in the event of a win.

Profiting from other people's lawsuits, a practice known as champerty, is illegal in some jurisdictions and risks accusations of ambulance-chasing, is concentrating on backing business plaintiffs, where the practice is better established and more accepted.

Pursuing legal claims can be frighteningly expensive. Plaintiffs have to commit management time and cash years into the future with no certainty of success. Getting an outside investor to share some of the financial pain can be very attractive. So can tapping their litigation experience. While most large companies are well resourced with in-house lawyers, few have litigation experience. “

An unfounded lawsuit can put tremendous strain on your restaurant, even if you are properly insured. The United States needs meaningful tort reform where genuine wrongs are righted and where cases brought about as a fishing expedition (cases taken on a flyer to see what shakes from the tree) are costly both to the plaintiffs and their attorneys.

(Link Marginal Revolution)

Cell Phone Strategy:

Quinn Bowman of QSR Magazine examines Cell Strategies:

“customers bring up the coupon on their cell phone screen and present it to the clerk to redeem the coupon.

With cell phone coupons, restaurants can learn a lot more information about who is asking for and redeeming coupons and can follow the coupon process from start to finish, as opposed to only keeping track of how many coupons go out and how many come back.

Cellfire shares demographic information with its merchant clients. Moore says it gives merchants the ability to almost look over a customer’s shoulder.”

The coupon is based on permission marketing where the customer has given permission to have coupon of restaurants marketed to them. Cell phone use is pervasive in the younger demographic that will grow into an older demographic and expect your restaurant to market to them in channels that they are comfortable with?

What is your restaurant’s Cell Phone Strategy?

Christmas Bells

Christmas Bells by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play, 

    And wild and sweet 

    The words repeat 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

And thought how, as the day had come, 

The belfries of all Christendom 

    Had rolled along 

    The unbroken song 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

Till ringing, singing on its way, 

The world revolved from night to day, 

    A voice, a chime, 

    A chant sublime 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

Then from each black, accursed mouth 

The cannon thundered in the South, 

    And with the sound 

    The carols drowned 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

It was as if an earthquake rent 

The hearth-stones of a continent, 

    And made forlorn 

    The households born 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men! 

And in despair I bowed my head; 

"There is no peace on earth," I said; 

    "For hate is strong, 

    And mocks the song 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" 

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; 

    The Wrong shall fail, 

    The Right prevail, 

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

(Link Poets.org)

Twas the night before Christmas::

A visit from St Nicholas
by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;



The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;



The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,



But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.



And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.



But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Google Truths:

Google has a list of ten things they have found to be true. Three apply directly to any restaurant business.

1. “Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It's best to do one thing really, really well.

10. Great just isn't good enough.”

Creating Customer Advocacy requires first and foremost a myopic focus on the customer. Nothing else matters, focus on delivering an exceptional experience every time.

Two it really is best to do one thing really, really well. There are not too many sushi Italian delis for a reason.

Third, great is not good enough. Here others seem to differ, however let’s exam that. The essence of not good enough is to test, measure, implement and improve

Benefits of Community:

Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand discusses the benefits of community in her post.

The spread of the pride of being associated with a brand that delivers consistently it's brand promise, with a brand that puts them at the heart of the promise, a brand that exists to create value for them....creates the community. A community is a powerful, free salesforce - all it asks for in return for all this wonderful free work they do on your behalf, is to be respected and for you not to break that trust.

Anna’s most salient point is that when you create customer advocacy, your advocates will tell your story with glee to whoever crosses their path. There is an exponential aspect to this type of word of mouth advertising. Over deliver on your promise and you will reap the vast Benefits of Community!

Deconstructing a Brand:

"Every Good and Excellent Thing Stands Moment by Moment on the Razor's Edge of Danger and Must Be Fought For” Ross Perot

Fast Company’s Chris Dannen article about Entrepreneurship in an entertainment family has implications in your business.

“…entertainers are. But no matter the niche, startup owners have to be almost myopic about preserving the integrity and reliability of their brand. Lose the trust and regard of your customers, and any further efforts your business makes will be laughably disregarded…

…they reinforce each other, compounding the knot of incompetence and rendering each of their brands' values -- and their common brand -- increasingly devoid in value. Rarely does celebrity news have too much to teach the business world, but in this case, take some heed: no one operates in a vacuum, especially a family. And personal life and business are rarely as divorced as anyone would like.”

Chris’ point is that your business is interwoven with your personal life, that of your employees’ and your business partners. Part of the deal that a business makes is to behave in fashion that encourages further interaction. The price of breaking that trust with your customers tends to be insolvency of the brand.

Eternal vigilance is the price to avoid Deconstructing the Brand!

Test, Measure and Implement:

The secret of Sam Walton and WalMart is that he conducted hundreds of small tests every day. He measured the results and made changes based on those results. Sam did not create huge all compassing tests, rather he would move a product from one aisle to the other and record the difference. He discovered what worked and what did not work. He implemented what worked and discarded what did not. No lengthy evaluation phase, no committee reviews, something either worked or it did not. He tested, succeeded and failed, and implemented. Do not be afraid to test. Small tests are much better than huge ones.

Great organizations have a culture where it is ok for everyone to test recipes, steps of service, menu and marketing placement. Give yourself and your team that freedom.

Test, Measure and Implement!

Passion is the Source:

"The only thing that predicts success is passion." Scott Adams

Life or business, it matters not, persistence is the vehicle however the source of limitless energy is passion.

Listen to Tomorrow’s Customer:

“Riskiest Strategy is to play it Safe!” Fred Smith, FedEx

Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan advises “listen to tomorrow’s customer.” The myopia that sets in when a concept is flowing is frightening. The restaurateur believes they can do no wrong. They believe that they have it all figured out. They are perfectly in tune with the customer and meeting every need. In this type of mindset the future looks pretty much like the past, so if it is not broke, do not fix it.

Life is non-linear. The past does not predict the future. If you are not listening to tomorrow’s customer, how can you be prepared to meet those needs.

Web 2.0:

Chris Muller at Restaurants & Institutions has a good piece about “Web 2.0”

Here is a short list of some must know terms.

• Blogs (short for Web logs) are online journals or diaries hosted on a Web site (you’re reading a blog now).

• Online games include both games played on dedicated game consoles that can be networked and “massively multiplayer” games. These involve thousands of people who interact simultaneously through personal avatars in online worlds that exist independently of any single player’s activity.

• Social networks allow members of specific sites to learn about other members’ skills, talents, knowledge, or preferences. Commercial examples include Facebook and MySpace. Some companies use such systems internally to help identify experts.

• Web services are software systems that make it easier for different systems to communicate with each other automatically to pass information or conduct transactions. A retailer and supplier, for example, might use Web services to communicate over the public Internet and automatically update each other’s inventory systems.

• Widgets are programs that allow access from users’ desktops to Web-based content.

• Mobile marketing is direct cellphone text couponing and personal messaging.

• Collective intelligence refers to any system that attempts to tap the expertise of a group rather than an individual to make decisions. Technologies that contribute to collective intelligence include collaborative publishing and common databases for sharing knowledge.

• Mash-ups are aggregations of content from different online sources to create a new service. An example would be a program that pulls restaurant listings from one site and displays them on a Google map to show where they are located.”

Creating customer advocacy is integrated because there are many ways for your customers to tell others about you. The myriad of social networks offer limitless opportunity for your customers to interact with their friends and with you. It is possible to have your daily specials as a widget that updates the desktops of all subscribers. Smart phones will be Web 2.0 enabled. Online gaming is the fastest growth segment on the planet. Mash-ups are unbelievable, Google Earth street view will show everyone your front door and beer garden. Web 2.0 is here and you need to participate.

After you integrated Web 2.0 into your business and life here comes Web 3.0 followed closely by Web 4.0.

Facebook

Communal Tables:

Crystal Yednak has a thought provoking piece in the Chicago Tribune about Communal Tables.

“If local restaurateurs have their way, Chicago diners may have to become a more social bunch, embracing a new level of closeness.”

People go out to be with other people and in the company of other people, however when they get there, they are shy! What if a restaurant starts seating complete strangers together at the same table. Yes there are going to be times where you will think this is not a great idea, however in order to grow human beings need to experience new things. It is no different than sitting next to complete stranger on a plane or train. If some authority figure, the host or hostess seats you next to someone, that is more comfortable than you picking a seat next to someone that you think might be interesting.

OK Chicago, starting January 1 every restaurant in the city will have a Communal Table, what do you think?

2008 Trends :

The National Restaurant Association releases 2008 Trend forecast.

“This growth is largely driven by consumer demand for convenience, eating on the go or elsewhere off-premise, and the trend toward changing meal-occasions and types.

Ranked as the number one challenge for restaurant operators, recruiting and retaining employees will be an industry priority in 2008 and into the future.

Today’s restaurant customers are more demanding than ever and expect more from their restaurant experiences than great meals.

The cost of food and beverages account for approximately 33 cents of every dollar of restaurant sales and is one of the most critical items on their income statements (along with labor costs, which also represent about one-third of restaurant sales).”

The forecast reinforces the need to provide your guest with an exceptional experience every time. Creating customer advocacy is your competitive advantage!

Gross Margins:

Gross Margins according to Wikipedia is calculated by subtracting Cost of Goods Sold from Revenue. Cost of Goods Sold include the cost of food and beverage and the labor necessary to produce and deliver that product. Though everyone’s focus is on top line revenue, Gross Margin is the workhorse because everything gets paid from that number. Maintaining Cost of Goods Sold in line with expectations is clearly necessary to the health of the enterprise.

Rent, advertising, decorations, promotions all get paid from the gross margin number. Top line revenue may be glamorous, however never forget everything is context.

Keep those gross margin percentages high!

Drilling for Oil!

Aditya’s post “Mantra for Entrepreneurs’ reminds us to just get out there and do it. Forget what the “experts” and well meaning friends tell you, just drill! Do not stop until you find that oil well.

This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells. You may think you're finding it when you're drawing maps and studying logs, but you have to drill. -- John Masters

That's why I said, if you have some idea that you want to start, just drill it. Don't worry about not having related prior experience or competency. Don't worry about the domain knowledge …. There are tons of ways to acquire that knowledge and get started.

New Years Ritual:

Tom Peters’ has a suggestion on how you should spend New Years Eve Day,

“I spent eight or nine straight hours one New Year's Eve on my office phone. I called close to 100 people I worked with…to thank them for their help in the prior year. In addition to enjoying the chats, … I admit that I was purposefully engaging in an ADRE ... Act of Deliberate Relationship Enhancement.

While I fully buy "If you aren't sincere, it won't work," I nonetheless urge you to develop some similar ritual. Moreover, I urge you to do it in the next couple of weeks!”

Creating customer advocacy is about engaging the customer and doing so at a personal level. Restaurateurs have the ability to positively impact that advocacy by making phone calls to your best customers, vendors, even employee’s and thanking them for being the reason for the achievements during the last year.

Go ahead pick up the phone and start a New Years’ Ritual!

Untargeted Advertising:

Nathan Gilder of Restaurant Revolution quoted in a prweb.com article offers some salient advise.

"It's remarkable that most restaurants miss out on a golden opportunity by failing to get to know their customers and, using a few simple tools, draw them back to their tables over and over," he says. "Yet, at the same time, they spend money on untargeted advertising that doesn't bring in new or repeat customers and drains their wallet."

Restaurants spend inordinate amounts in a misguided effort to get anyone through the door. The best ROI is always marketing to your best customers and having them create new customers for you.

(hat tip: Lindsay)

Save your Mop:

Guests are enjoying a wonderful dining experience at your restaurant, five stars, excellent service, fantastic libations, culinary delights abound and then inexplicably someone brings out a mop and starts the clean up process. Why, why, why? Save the mop, broom, and vacuum cleaner until all the guests have departed for the evening. No Exceptions!

(idea: Mary Ellen)

Surveillance Integration:

Valerie Killifer article at fastcasual.com “Surveillance Integration”, highlights the latest in high tech.

“…a convergence program designed to enable single or multiunit restaurant operators to view real-time video of operations, point-of-sale transaction detail, employee time and attendance data, and temperature, weather and traffic information for each location…”

The article focuses on the cash management issues in the restaurant space, however this post is about how integration of surveillance and POS enhances customer service. You have the opportunity to view customer interactions, customer patterns and customer preferences in real time. This functionality enables you to remotely study how different promotions and initiatives translate into sales. This aspect of surveillance integration will yield far more information and translate into substantially more positive cash flow then whether a sale is registered properly.

What Should I do Right Now?

The litmus test for any initiative in your restaurant is elementary.

What actions taken today will be important one year for now?

That is what you should do Right Now!

Cash Flows Rules:

Tim Berry has a really great post about Cash Flow.

“Profits aren't cash; they're accounting. And accounting is a lot more creative than you think. You can't pay bills with profits. Actually profits can lull you to sleep. If you pay your bills and your customers don't, it's suddenly business hell. You can make profits without making any money.”

Profits aren’t cash. That is the most difficult lesson for restaurateurs to learn. Even after three or four locations, the perception is still that if the restaurant is making “profits”, then everything will be ok. When auditors review your financial record, they do not care what your profits are, all auditors want to see is the cash flow. “follow the cash” is the popular mantra because that is the real lifeblood of the business. Income statements reports on trends in the business, balance sheets detail the actual health of the business. Please take Tim rules to heart, “you can’t pay bills with profits”

Cash Flow Rules!

Taking Notes:

Tim Ferris’ post about taking notes really applies to entrepreneurs.

“I trust the weakest pen more than the strongest memory, and note taking is—in my experience—one of the most important skills for converting excessive information into precise action and follow-up.”

Too often in the mania of day to day we forget what we should remember. Take copious notes and review them at the end of the day when life has settled down to a manageable chaos.

The Rise of Small Plates:

Kim Severson piece in the NY Times “Is the Entrée headed for Extinction?”, is very entertaining and I recommend you read the entire article.

“Influences from the global pantry have also had their effect. More exposure to meze, dim sum, sushi and tapas has changed how Americans think of the structure of a meal. As a result, chefs feel free to break out of the traditional French model of restaurant dining by offering small, intense tastes of global flavors, said Eve Felder, an associate dean at the Culinary Institute of America.

“It’s more of a reaching back into the way in which people celebrate the table,” she said.”

The American dining experience is changing, there is a lot more adventure at the dining table. Spicy foods, different ethnic flavorings and more of a global awareness to different cultures has injected variety into the menu. General ethnic concepts such as Italian, Vietnamese or Chinese are focusing on more specific regional areas further differentiating their offerings from their competitors as well as continuing to educate a customer base searching for the next delicious trend.

The reordering of the menu from the hierarchical entrée has implications on the revenue streams and theoretical costs to produce the menu. Those inflows and outflows need to be examined with a fresh perspective.

The “go large” mantra appears to be getting moderated by the $1 value menu items, the de-emphasis of the big protein entrée, and the Rise of the Small Plates

Every Experience Outstanding:

Fred Smith the CEO of FedEx was explaining his company’s philosophy in a recent interview, he said “Every employee is empowered to make every FedEx experience outstanding”.

The requisite culture is simple, put the customer first, give your front line associates the tools, authority and the responsibility to make every customer experience in your restaurant outstanding. Let them do it.

That is the formula for making every experience outstanding!

Rewarding Inertia:

Jeffery Phillips at Thinking Faster is mystified why businesses take the difficult path.

“What I can't figure out is why so many decisions are made from panic or desperation, or in the face of an emergency, rather than as a reasonable decision considering the risks and returns. Inertia plays a big part I suppose…Most businesses reward the avoidance of risk and any heroic effort, even if the heroic effort was caused by a lack of decision making. Few businesses reward a good decision that was made with the correct information on a timely basis, so there's really no incentive to make a good decision without additional pressure or an impending problem.”

Restaurants have a well earned reputation for being reactive instead of proactive. Creating customer advocacy is all about meeting the customer’s expectation and exceeding it. That process requires effort and planning. Is your restaurant Rewarding Inertia?

Cialdini in his own words:

Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion” is truly a must read for any restaurateur. Lindsay Paulson at Stuff4Restaurants points to a link on You Tube where Robert Caildini speaks about his principles to an audience on video.

I recommend you invest the time to view the video, buy the book and refer to it often.

Tattoos’

James Challenger’s article “Tattoos’ are here to stay, embrace them or risk talent drain” poses a very relevant question about body art.

“Employers faced with labor shortages will have to welcome the growing number of tattooed candidates with open arms.” … “why let some body art get in the way of hiring the best qualified candidate? A growing number of employers recognize the benefits of diversity in all its forms and are embracing the unique attributes that make people stand out from the crowd.”

Talented, energetic, customer maniacs with tattoos’ want to work for your restaurant. Will you welcome them with open arms or risk them taking their talent to your competitors?

Single Tasking:

“All the guide books say, don’t behave like a tourist” John Robie “To Catch a Thief”

Single tasking, the forgotten middle child of business organization, has returned to vogue. Studies have determined that all the multi-tasking disciples are not more productive than their single tasking brethren. Actually “all the guide books say that should focus on one thing and do that better than anyone else”, with that as a premise it is easy to see how trying to multi-task is not all its crack up to be.

Less is more, forget about multi-tasking and return the serenity of single tasking!

The Collaborative Leader:

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that our aim is too low and we reach it." Michelangelo

Nelson Schwartz’s article in the NY Times portends the rise of the team oriented leader.

“Now, management experts and longtime watchers of corporate America say the current environment demands, and is attracting, yet another kind of chief executive: the team builder.

“It’s someone who can assemble a team that functions as smoothly as a jazz sextet,”

The superstar leader is passé, the new paradigm is the leader who builds teams, who can assemble teams quickly. The successful restaurateur is one who has a team oriented perspective, who values the contributions from employees, who understands that customer advocacy is created when the all the aspects of the operations are executing cohesively. A restaurateur can not pontificate from on high and have his minions scurry about with any expectation that their restaurant will create advocacy.

Long live the Collaborative Leader!

Emotion trumps Logic!

Think back to the last time you walked into a restaurant and had a culinary adventure. Was the purchase decision based on a logical analysis of all relevant data? I doubt it. Human beings experience events with emotion not logic. They especially experience dining with emotions. Why then do restaurateurs tailor their offerings to appeal to the logic in the consumer? Forget about logic, you need to reach into the person and touch their emotions.

Resources utilized to address the logical aspects of the process miss the point entirely. Marketing efforts trying to convince some one how logical it is to come to your café will yield no visitors. McDonald’s “I’m lovin it” tagline works because it connects on an emotional level with the customer. Touch them emotionally and you will create a customer advocate because emotion trumps logic!

Curiosity:

Scott Ginsberg at “Hello, my name is Blog” offers tips to make the ordinary, extraordinary.

So, if you want to use curiosity to attract more ideas (and more customers!), follow this four-step game plan:

1. NOTICE. On a daily basis, take the time to stop what you’re doing and say things like, “Huh. That’s weird,” or “Now that’s interesting…”

2. EXPLORE. Study ordinary things intently. Then, start a dialogue. Ask other people questions like, “So, why do you think she said that?” “Hey, did you guys notice that?” and “It would be interesting to see if…”

3. RECORD. Remember, if you don’t write it down, it never happened! So, consider keeping a Curiosity Journal. Make daily entries about things you noticed and what you learned from them.

4. EXPAND. Continue to learn, ask and research these new ideas you’re curious about. Constantly run them through your personal filter of expertise by asking, “How does this fit into my picture of the universe?”

Smart customers gravitate to smart restaurants. The very first step in becoming the kind of place that smart customers want to come to and tell others about is for the restaurateur and all the associates to notice the world around them. Scott’s tips offer a checklist to help you to be curious!

Curiosity!

Pizza Fork:

Lindsay Paulson at Stuff4Restaurants.com points us to the latest in cutlery!

Sea of Sameness:

Ronald D. White’s LA Times article “Eating out is getting Lonelier” chronicles restaurants struggling with current macroeconomic conditions.

"…There are just a lot of people here worried about higher costs and debt, people we know who are trying to save enough just to make their house payments."

The slowing economy is giving restaurants heartburn, with experts calling this the worst period for eateries in years…

“…But the chains that appeal to a less affluent crowd are feeling it, and they were not prepared to weather a sudden challenge.

"These chains need to be rejuvenated and given a new life. Their menus are too similar. In discussions with consumers in focus groups, you often hear that they can remember a commercial advertisement, but they couldn't remember whether it was for an Applebee's or a TGI Friday's or a Ruby Tuesday. It was a sea of sameness," said consultant Paul of Technomic.”

Sea of sameness is the antithesis of creating customer advocacy. Yes, there are economic conditions over which you as a restaurateur have no control. The customer experience is what you have control over. Focus on creating a memorable experience that is worthy of telling other people about. Focus on creating customer advocacy and avoid the adventure of drifting in a sea of sameness!

What do you need to start a business?

Michael Cooch’s post at BiggerSmall.com “How to start a business” provides a concise answer.

“So if you don’t go to business school to learn how to start a business, where do you go?

I think the best way to learn to start a business is to work in a start up or small company that is in the industry you are interested in, and take on as much responsibility as possible.

The next best way is to just start one.”

That is how simple it is folks, just start one! Remember courage is ability to function in the presence of fear, not the absence of fear.

The Golden Ratio:

Roger Dooley’s post “Art, the Golden Mean and The Brian” reminds restaurateurs that many variables comprise that customer experience, not the least of which is design.

the Golden Ratio and the Golden Section. Approximated as 1.618, the Golden Mean plays a prominent role in math, science, and art. Mathematicians know it as “phi” - the ratio between number pairs in the Fibonacci series. Biologists find it in the proportions of Nautilus shells and leaves. Architects, painters, and sculptors have incorporated the ratio into their works because it seems to impart a pleasing balance. The facade of the Parthenon, considered to be one of the most perfectly proportioned buildings in history, matches the Golden Ratio.

The Golden Ratio creates a pleasing balance, a natural harmony in the spatial environment. Ratios in harmony soothe the spirit below the level of awareness. The sensory experience occurs below the conscious level. Make your guests feel harmonious by utilizing in your restaurant design the Golden Ratio!

Mental Blocks:

Steve Pavlina’s post “2 Mental Blocks to Making Money” reminds us restaurateurs that it’s all about the customer.

“…By focusing on trying to get money, you’re missing the point. The point is to provide value to others. This means serving people in a way they aren’t already being served, in a manner that aligns with your unique creative self-expression. Share what only you can share. Express what only you can express in the way that only you can express it…

…Try to look past your own needs and recognize there’s a pretty interesting world around you. Through your actions you can have an impact on it, for better or worse. Think about how you can provide something that people want or need in a way they aren’t already being served, something that will make a positive difference. Then act on it.”

Focus entirely on the customer and then act upon it. A bias for action is tantamount. Too often we spend our energy preparing to act, yet take no action. We have the resources all about us, however we do not use them.

Focus on the customer and acting upon that focus is the only way to break through Mental Blocks!

Utilize the Resources:

Anna Farmery’s post at The Engaging Brand, “Social Media Is” breaks down the factors necessary to create value, in this case a Picasso:

“A canvas was needed to show the world. Ideas are great but unless you find a way to share the idea then no one will see it, no one will buy into it.

Only through the brush, the paint, the canvas, the easel coming together with Picasso was the painting born. No matter how talented you always need a diverse set of resources around you to bring the dream alive”

Two points need emphasis when you are creating lasting value, 1) there are many variables that go into creating your masterpiece restaurant, 2) those variables need you to organize them. Anna’s example above, a brush, paint, canvas and easel does not create a Picasso. The artist creates value by utilizing the resources.

2008 Trend Forecast

Quantified Marketing Group has come out with a “2008 Trend Forecast”

“Restaurants can't just be concerned with good food, good service, and good ambience anymore. Experiential branding is a restaurant's opportunity to build lifelong relationships with guests.

The guest experience is everything. Operators must ensure the restaurant's brand is in action through all touch points, including culinary offerings, service, uniforms-- even wall decor-- to win credibility and loyalty with customers.”

Creating customer advocacy is a competitive advantage is an increasingly commoditized marketplace.

Law of Thanksgiving:

Everything is a gift and we are but stewards of those gifts.

The secret to happiness is to accept all that comes along with Thanksgiving and want for nothing more.

The secret to wealth is to give away the first ten percent of all you earn until you can give it all away.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Americans are choosing to dine out on Thanksgiving:

Restaurants and Institution’s article “Some Deliciously Unpuritanical Thanksgiving Menus” reviews some of the creative menu’s for an increasingly large percentage of the population.

“More than 10% of Americans dine out on Thanksgiving Day, according to the National Restaurant Association, and restaurants are stepping up to the plate with mouth-watering holiday menus. Some evoke home-spun memories with traditional fare, others favor more-contemporary seasonal recipes and the rest fall somewhere in between. To satisfy the diverse dining preferences of any family or group, many operators hedge their bets by offering tastes from across the spectrum”

…further 53% Percent of consumers who use restaurant-prepared takeout items for all or part of their holiday meals.
National Restaurant Association

Increasingly consumers are coming to the realization that the essence of Thanksgiving is sharing abundance with family and friends, not slaving away in the kitchen and not being able to enjoy your guests. This realizations creates business opportunities for entrepreneurs. Are you up to the challenge of Americans choosing to dine out on Thanksgiving?

Negotiation: Law of Silence

“It’s good to shut up sometimes.”

Marcel Marceau

The philosophy of negotiating that welcomes collaboration, creates joint value and treats all interaction as part of an ongoing relationship is preferable to limiting constructs of a zero sum win-lose proposition.

A restaurateur negotiates constantly with employees, suppliers, bankers, landlords, designers, architects and even customers. There are many great sources of references in the negotiation universe. Some are listed on the left hand section of this blog. I will explore other negotiating topics in future posts.

Silence is perhaps the most powerful gambit in your array of negotiating strategies. Whenever you are in any negotiating situation utilize silence. After someone ask you a question or completes a presentation, think about the question or the presentation, wait a breath in silence before responding. It is from the silence that clarity flows. When you have completed a presentation or asked a question, take a breath and remain still and silent. Be still and silent, do not disturb the silence, do not add anything else, do not try to judge what the other person or persons is thinking, do not help them with their answer, be still and silent.

Silence.

Answer to a Thank You!

Patrick Williams’ post at The Selling Sherpa “You are welcome” advocates changing how a business responds when a guest says “Thank You”.

“ As strange as it seems, people hearing my “you are welcome” usually respond with a pause and a broad smile. Call me crazy, but I think using that simple phrase actually makes buyers feel better about their purchase.

If nothing else, it certainly makes me stand out in the world of selling.”

A guest has just enjoyed a delightful dining experience and feels that they have received value, in gratitude they say thank you. The response should be “you are welcome”. There are other opportunities to thank the guest for their patronage, however “You Are Welcome” should be the Answer to a Thank You!

Malleable Memories:

“As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it” Albert Einstein.

Gerald Zaltman’s excellent book “How Customers Think” explores memories and how they relate to the perception of the customer experience. Our memories are unbelievably malleable, a work in progress, “not a single unchanging structure within the brain.”

“…how we remember an experience…hinges on whether the triggering cue for that memory is positive or negative. If a friend describes a positive dining experience, then we may recall our experience as less offensive than it actually might have been, if our friend describes a negative experience then even though we had a positive experience , we will tend to remember what could have been better.”

The challenge for restaurateurs is to create nothing but fantastic memories for everyone. There is also the notion of priming, leaving clues along the way below the level of awareness that enhance the experience. By way of example, if the guest who walks into your restaurant and sees nothing but happy smiling people, they will tend to be happy smiling customers regardless of their own experience.

A restaurateur’s work is never done, the design, the menu, the presentation, the customer interaction and after all that you need to deal with malleable memories!

Waiting for Good Joe?

A recent article at Slate.com, “Waiting for Good Joe”, stated that:

That's the conclusion of American economist Caitlin Knowles Myers. She, with her students as research assistants, staked out eight coffee shops (PDF) in the Boston area and watched how long it took men and women to be served. Her conclusion: Men get their coffee 20 seconds earlier than do women. (There is also evidence that blacks wait longer than whites, the young wait longer than the old, and the ugly wait longer than the beautiful. But these effects are statistically not as persuasive.)

It is also hard to attribute the following finding to a female preference for wet-skinny-soy-macchiato with low-carb marshmallows: The delays facing women were larger when the coffee shop staff was all-male and almost vanished when the servers were all-female.

I would suggest two additional questions could be asked 1) Does the theory hold in a wider cross-section of concepts (i.e. Italian, Mexican, Indian). 2) Ask how the experience was. Measuring time spent in the process does not address the quality of the experience in any fashion. Throwing this biased ill conceived study into the maelstrom does not seem to add much to the discourse or improve the silence.

The study does not answer the question is someone Waiting for Good Joe?

Listen Then Respond:

Ken Blanchard’s book “Customer Mania!”, provides advice about the manager / restaurateur table visit a during a guest meal. Rather, than the ubiquitous “Is Everything Ok?” Blanchard’s suggestion is “Hello, my name is Joe, I am the manager / proprietor, is there anything we could have done differently that would have improved your experience today?” If the guest says “No everything was fine”, follow up with “are you sure that there is nothing we could have done differently?”

There are two reasons that restaurateur’s are afraid to engage the customer. One, there is a concern that they might alienate the customer with the interruption. Two, there is this perception that the restaurateur needs to respond right then and there to the guest's answer.

Creating customer advocacy is all about engaging the customer so get over it.
Two, Blanchard’s view is that you owe the customer your undivided attention in listening to their answer, however you do not need to respond right then and there. That is a very liberating because restaurateur’s have this notion that they need to respond immediately to customer queries. Certainly the customer needs a response, however the response can be, “that is very interesting, Thank you I will consider the view you have graciously expressed to me today.” The response acknowledges the input of the guest, while allowing other variables to be factored into the decision.

Listen, then Respond!

Smart Phone Marketing:

Creating customer advocacy is going to be augmented by evolving smart phone technology. A TechnologyReview.com story “Smart phone suggest things to do”

“When a person first opens a phone that has Magitti software, she will instantly see a list of recommendations. If it's noon, the software might suggest local restaurants... If it's 9 P.M., a list of pubs might appear. Over time, these recommendations will change as Magitti learns more about the user's behaviors and preferences…,…If, for instance, a person is using Magitti to find a restaurant for dinner, and she gets a text message from a friend suggesting sushi, the software will put recommendations for sushi and Japanese restaurants higher on the list.”

The phone will learn your customers preferences and convey those preferences to other people your customer interacts with. Creating customer advocacy now is being integrated into Smart Phone Marketing.

Social Context:

Gerald Zaltman’s book “How Customers Think” brings into focus several aspects of the context in which the dining experience occurs and how that influences the experience.

“The social context of eating has enormous impact on consumers’ experience. The experience includes how foods taste, what sounds seem pleasant or harsh, and what strikes a person as repulsive or appealing. The exact same dinner will taste different depending on whether one is dining with a close friend or an unpleasant stranger.”

If your guest’s frame of mind influences the perception of the dining experience, then what is a restaurateur to do? You can not put happy faces throughout the restaurant, can you? In a way you can. Servers always adjust the frequency and vigor of a table visit to the discussion that is occurring. If the guests need some space, an experience server picks up the clues and accommodates.

A guest in a happy frame of mind always seems to have a better dining experience than one in an unhappy frame. Make your place a happy one by doing the unexpected. Surprise you’re guest, smile, even if their frame is an unhappy one, reframe their experience. They came into your restaurant to solve an issue. Solve it for them and you will alter their experience regardless of the social context!

Saying No!

Lindsay Polson at Stuff4Restaurants.com has a great post “How many times a week do you Say NO to a customer?”

“The owner now came to the table, obviously a little miffed that a mere customer would have the temerity to willfully challenge their restaurant policy. Sir, is their a problem? he asked. No I responded, purposely allowing him to take the conversation to what ever next level he wished. My waiter says you want a salad with your main course sir. Yes? I responded. well sir, I’m afraid we can’t do that, it’s not our policy to change our servings from those described on our menu”

It seems unfathomable in this day of citizen marketers that any restaurateur would evoke that old discredited philosophy of not changing the menu policy, yet here is Lindsay’ example. In a long ago era some restaurants had the cache that they could do as they liked and you could leave if you did not like. Those days are forever gone. Today the customer not only has the expectation that the restaurant will be flexible, but also has the tools to punish the restaurant for refusing to be flexible.

There are times when a restaurant has to say no to a request. Those situations should be few and very far between. It is rarely a springboard to creating customer advocacy by Saying No!

Thin Slice:

Malcolm Gladwell’s book “blink” offers an insight into how we all think without thinking.

“Bias occurs beneath the level of our awareness”

Two customer walks into your restaurant. One is a funky artsy dressed young woman with blue green orange hair, and knee-high black boots, the other is a woman with grayish hair in an understated blue pant suit. How do you and your staff react to these women? You are thin slicing.

Here is an interesting experiment that every restaurateur should do. Sit back and observe how your staff reacts to specific customers either when approaching the table or the counter. Notice your staff’s physiology as they interact with the customer, notice the reaction of the customer to how they are being treated and throw in some variables like having your server being especially nice to some one who might seem nice.

In a perfect world we would treat every customer that crosses our path the same, however as Gladwell’s book illustrates, we bring so much that is beneath the level of our awareness to the experience that it is very easy to incorrectly thin slice!

Sell the Experience:

B. Joseph Pine and James Gilmore’s book “The Experience Economy” lays down the gauntlet.

“Those businesses that relegate themselves to the diminishing world of goods and services will be rendered irrelevant. To avoid this fate, you must learn to stage a rich, compelling experience."

Restaurants do not sell food and beverage, they sell experiences. The book actually does drill down even further by emphasizing that the rich compelling experience needs to be dynamic because the definition of experience continually evolves.

Sell the Experience!

Secrets to success!

Seth Godin post “Small Business Success” (reprinted below in its entirety) crystallizes the use of a business plan perfectly:

“Three things you need:
1) the ability to abandon a plan when it doesn't work,
2) the confidence to do the right thing even when it costs you money in the short run, and
3) enough belief in other people that you don't try to do everything yourself.”

The elements that comprise the secret to success are finding out what the customer wants, formulate a plan to deliver them, execute that plan, adjust, execute, adjust, execute, adjust, execute. The courage and persistence to stay the course when all else is against you and the faith to trust people by letting go.

Easy really, these secrets to success!

Creating something that you like:

Patrick Williams’ post at The Selling Sherpa “Brother Louie” highlights the dilemma every entrepreneur eventually encounters:

“The way I see it, you have two options:

1) You can create something that you like and hope others like it, too. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.

2) You can listen to your customers, determine what they want, then provide it for them.

Which option do you believe will be most successful?”

You are in business to create customers and have those customers tell others about you, otherwise it is just a hobby. The marketplace is a very able taskmaster that gives no quarter. If what you want to produce and what the marketplace wants are not in synch, a climatic battle will ensue and your business will not be victorious.

Business is about creating something the customer wants, hobbies are about creating something that you like!

Who’s telling their friends about YOU?

Scott Ginsburg’s post at the “Hello, My name is Blog” offer a set of answers every entrepreneur must respond to continually, here is a sample:

“So, if your customers are not ACTIVELY telling their friends about your business…

1. That means you’re probably selling a dead brand.

2. That means you’re probably different, not unique.

3. That means you’re probably doing something wrong”

Address the problem immediately if you discover that your guests are not telling their friends about YOU.

Catering Anyone?

The Arizona Republic’s Karen Fernau and Susan Felt article “Catering to Newbies” highlights a growing trend toward catered functions at home.

”Catering is decidedly mainstream. Today, record numbers of Americans are hiring others to do their cooking, from grocery-store deli managers to chefs at four-star restaurants.

"Catering has gone from being affordable only to the elite to a practical service for anybody and everybody," said Bonnie Fedchock, executive director of the National Association of Catering Executives in Maryland.”

Times are changing, not long ago no one thought about hosting a dinner party, holiday gathering or a backyard BBQ and having all the fixins catered. Now you will receive strange glances if you slave in the kitchen all day preparing for the party. Clearly there is an opportunity for an enterprising restaurateur.

Catering Anyone?

Honey you can have anything on the menu!

Perhaps you might want to rethink that grand gesture. A recent AP story highlights a pricey dessert:

"Associated Press

11:28 AM CST, November 8, 2007

NEW YORK - This is one rich cup of haute chocolate: A New York eatery is offering a $25,000 dessert bulging with top-grade cocoa, edible gold and shavings of a luxury truffle.

The Frozen Haute Chocolate was declared the most expensive dessert in the world on Wednesday by Guinness World Records.

The dessert is a frozen, slushy mix of cocoas from 14 countries, milk and 5 grams of 24-carat old topped with whip cream and shavings from a La Madeline au Truffle.

It is served in a goblet with a band of gold decorated with 1 carat of diamonds and served with a golden spoon diners can take home.

The dessert was created by Serendipity 3, a restaurant popular with tourists and once featured in a John Cusack movie."

There is a business opportunity at every price point on the menu.

Service Recovery:

A guest highlights an issue that did not meet with their satisfaction. This is an opportunity to create customer advocacy. An opportunity exists to turn a bad experience into a positive one and create a lifelong customer.

Five elements are present in a correct response to customer interaction that did not go well.

1) Listen.

Listen completely and totally to the customer. Do not interrupt or be distracted in any way. Give the customer your undivided attention for as long as it takes for the customer to express themselves.

2) Get mad with the customer.

Your restaurant let this customer down in some fashion. You as the restaurateur should be mad along with the customer.

3) Find how the customer would like to resolve it.

You have listened to customer and expressed your personal outrage at the failing of your restaurant, now ask the customer how they would like to resolve the issue. Do not offer suggestions at this point, simply listen.

4) Resolve it.

If the solution the customer suggests is quickly attainable, do it. If the solution is more complex, step back, tell the customer that you will review the suggested solution and get back to them at a specified time and then follow through

5) Say Thank You.

Implementing these five very simple steps will create customer advocacy in abundance. Your guest felt that an injustice was done to them in some fashion, they are only seeking to be heard. Listening is the critical component of this equation.

When a mistake occurs in your restaurant there is an opportunity to make a connection with your guest by following the five simple steps of Service Recovery!