Competing with the Chains – Restaurant Marketing
If you look at thriving restaurants that exist next door to the giants of the restaurant world, one thing is abundantly clear; you can compete and win the war with mega-corporations. Is it easy - maybe not, but it is done frequently and many times in spite of not understanding why. By studying the differences between successful independents and the chains, we can develop marketing plans that give the entrepreneur an advantage that is very difficult for a corporate foodservice operation to duplicate.
One of the first steps is understanding what makes chains work. It’s basic. They meet or exceed the customer’s expectations. The key is what expectations? Here is a universal list of what chains do well;
- They are the masters at consistency. Every menu item, portion, package, presentation and the process to obtain them is the same.
- They deliver value. Value is subjective. Wendy’s may deliver value for a $1.99 burger and Ruth Chris’s may deliver value for a $35 steak. What a “value” is to the guest depends on the item and delivery system to the customer.
- They train employees very much the same. Most have service guidelines that are imbedded and repeated in the minds of staff many times before there is ever customer contact.
- Chains spend millions of dollars on demographic studies and customer habits that rarely cause a location to fail because of missing the mark on a customer convenience.
If we know a chain’s strengths, we can find their weaknesses. This list is where the independent restaurateur can out market the big guys.
- Chains don’t react well to situations that fall outside normal operations. For instance, if you walk in a Taco Bell and ask if they have any gluten in their menu items. Watch what happens. You will throw the whole restaurant into a panic trying to find an answer. Try it – watch what happens.
- One on one direct marketing doesn’t exist in the corporate world. You won’t find a Dairy Queen manager making calls on the surrounding businesses to drop off menu’s and meet prospective guests. Try to call in a lunch order to Chipotle Grill to be ready at 11:50 AM every day. It won’t happen.
- Chains may have national and regional charitable efforts, but when it comes to local community involvement, they fall way short of the mark. Participating in Rotary, Sertoma, Optimists and similar clubs is not what chains focus on. While a small number may sponsor a team or two, how many Pizza Huts will you find making themselves known to the local high schools and middle schools for help with events and school fund raising.
- You won’t find chains forming mutually beneficial business alliances with other merchants to cross market their products.
- The most important advantage the individual restaurant has over the cookie-cutter chain philosophy is caring. They can train all they want, but no one will compare to the independent owner’s passion for the customer.
Using these weaknesses is the beginning of your plan to propel your restaurant in front of the chains. Don’t try to match advertising dollars, just exploit their weaknesses.
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