* Mike Wittenstein is a consultant who designs experiences in hospitality and retail.
OK, the title is a paradox. "How," you may be asking yourself, "could customers who are scrimping on everything from groceries to vacations possibly benefit my quick service restaurant?"
It's too bad that customers and restaurateurs alike have been convinced by the aggregate of gloomy news messages that opportunities are not rising. Our current economic climate doesn't quite fit any of the patterns we have convenient labels for. We're not having a meltdown. We're not in a recession. We're in something different.
Year-over-year sales are down; customers are spending their money differently, but they're still buying. Where are customers spending? What are they buying? Most importantly, what do they really want? A market in flux creates opportunities, but where? For whom? How can a savvy operator like you spot the opportunity to create and keep new customers?
Have you noticed any new patrons? Are any of your very low-end guests missing? Some of these have probably fled down-market to another restaurant with an even lower average ticket. (That's not really bad news, is it?) What else have you noticed?
Chances are you're getting some new diners, people who are moving down market from higher-end choices, checking out your restaurant as well as your competitor's. There are a few conclusions you may infer about these new guests: She's trading down, but she wants to preserve as much of her family's lifestyle as she can. She wants to keep dining out, entertaining, pursuing the same leisure activities and seeing the same friends. But, she is also bravely trying to lower her expectations, maybe even persuade her husband and her children to try something different — rather like a new adventure. Being a frugalista is the new chic in some circles.
He drops by mid-day for a business lunch. Obviously, he has a professional job, but he has at least one buddy who has lost a job in the past 15 months. He may not be worried about his own financial status, but he thinks he should be. A purchase he once made routinely — say dropping 50 bucks on a sushi lunch with friends — he now carefully considers. He's scanning your menuboard and lobby flyers for a better deal. He wants to buy smart while still hanging on to his now-tenuous sense of status — and that's where you come in.
In short, you have a new customer with internally-conflicting emotions and expectations, but also a degree of open-mindedness. This is a very interesting place to start a relationship. Are you starting to see opportunity rising? A customer who is trading down to an unfamiliar market is looking not just for less expensive goods and services, but also for reference points and decision criteria. All these restaurants look alike, thinks the slightly bewildered visitor. Which one is the best?
What can you do, using the resources you currently have, to create an experience so attractive that s/he will come back with a friend?* The restaurateur who gives this temporarily-trading-down customer the better experience creates the opportunity to build a relationship with the guest over time, earn the guest's loyalty, and continue doing business with him or her when the current trend reverses and people begin buying up again.
What I've just handed you is a design problem. Like the architect who figured out how to put a dome on a square building, you have a customer experience design problem/opportunity on your hands — one that urgently needs to be solved.
Where do you begin? Let start at the front door. A person you haven't seen before approaches your front door. "Thank God," you whisper. "We have a new diner." What will your greeter do?
- Commiserate with the guest because we're his or her trade-down?
- Broadcast (to everyone within earshot), "Well, look who's here." (And to the customer), "Let me tell you a few things about how we do things in our empire"?
- Decide to take a break, because the guests are all acting differently these days, and the greeter doesn't know how to deal with him/her?
- Approach in a friendly yet respectful manner saying, "Welcome! We're so glad to have you here. How can we make this visit/meal memorable for you?"
An ideal scenario might look something like this: As the greeter smiles at the customer and warmly asks if he knows what's new on the menu, he is soothed by a familiar feeling of being attended to graciously. Or at a busy drive-thru, a greeter welcomes customers and takes the order before they reach the menuboard.
Congratulations! Without making any changes in floor plan, design, menu selections, or signage, you've surprised a guest who was expecting little or no service. By exceeding the customer's expectations, the greeter has earned your restaurant at least a second visit. (You might want to say "Thanks!") Your greeter may have captured some data that can inform your whole business.
Can you imagine helping one scenario like this happen at your restaurant(s) in the coming week? Whether you have to coach a small group of greeters or get a message out to thousands of them, I invite you give it a try. Next week, I'll be talking more about how to empower your employees to be market researchers, sensors of new trends and co-designers of the customer experience.
Now, I better let you get back to work.
*By the way, if you want to learn more about customers who broadcast their positive (and negative) experiences to a wide network of friends, check out Malcolm Gladwell's definition of "Connectors," at his Web site.
Mike Wittenstein designs experiences in hospitality and retail. His is a fresh voice on the speaking circuit with a lot to say about customer experience. You can reach him at Mike@MikeWittenstein.com.
