Your guests define 'value' by the totality of the experience: the service, the décor, the food and its flavors and aromas and the cost: all details that create a memory. The most memorable experiences come from an organized, well-rehearsed and communicated performance. Great 'word of mouth' is built note by note, scene by scene, act by act, so that by the end of the visit your guest walks away 'wowed'. Or bored. Or, worse of all, disgusted. It's your choice.

At a recent gathering of the Marketing Executives Group of the NRA, Gerry Khermouch, an Associate Editor of Business Week, spoke about 'Buzz Marketing'. In brief, effective 'Buzz Marketing' uses product pitches that are disguised as hip social events, trendy vernacular or mock news. It endeavors to convince early adopters to get on the bandwagon. Once on, their enthusiasm propels the sales of the product in ways that conventional advertising cannot. No amount of paid advertising can match the power of an opinion maker's approval.

Khermouch shared several examples:

• The use of web marketing and a mock documentary to promote The Blair Witch Project
• The use of the phrase, "I see dead people" to create interest in The Sixth Sense
• The use of the razor scooter promotion to celebrities to generate awareness

These marketing techniques are 'viral' in nature. They look to achieve a kind of critical mass of hipness that makes the product or service a must have event. I listened to his remarks intently, because the search for a tool to overcome ever-increasing consumer cynicism is much like the search for The Holy Grail. Ads don't do it. They can and should share the features and benefits with the consumer. Beyond that, it is a fool's errand to rely on advertising to create 'Buzz'.

How does this apply to restaurants? Oh sure, there are those savagely au courant establishments, which generate biz with PR 'Buzz'. Their frisson is a product of power folks and wanna-bees gathering and gossiping, while dining on divine cuisine. What about the rest of the world? For those establishments that occupy the great and bountiful middle, they should rely on the 'Buzz' of the current guest.

I learned this anew, when I recently conducted some in-store focus groups. I invited several regulars to share their opinions and feelings about a restaurant with me. What struck me, knocked me out actually, was the level of their passion for 'their place'. I could see the conviction in their eyes, hear the belief in their voices as they shared story after story which detailed the magic of personal service done in the spirit of hospitality. They trust the servers, bartenders and managers. They feel they have a special bond, which protects them and ensures them of absolute soul satisfaction. Are they ordering lamb shank with garlic aioli? Nope, just burgers and the occasional special.

There is no greater strength than the power of your current guests' praise shared with others. It is not a mysterious deity who decides, with fickle abandon, which restaurant to grant its manifold pleasures and which to leave to the crows. It is the product of hospitality and the attention to service detail that you offer. It isn't easy, but it is The Promised Land. What do your guests say about you?

 

Copyright © 2003 Richard K. Hendrie , LINK Inc. Method Marketing
9 Centre St. Cambridge, MA 02139 (v) 617-335-1011
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