This article will show you how you can begin to make better decisions that will satisfy your customers, get them to come back more often and improve your revenues.
Hi,
Unlike others, I didn’t have to wait too long to earn my investment back and start making a profit. We kept exceeding our revenue targets and my customers loved my food.
As one of my food businesses, I owned and operated food kiosks within movie cinemas across a few cities in India. We prepared hot Pizzas by the Slice and delivered them right to the moviegoers’ seats.
We were very clear that our customers weren’t there to just eat our food.
Moreover, I was even clearer that they weren’t there just to watch a movie. The real reason why they were there was to enjoy their time off.
We knew that is WHY they came.
Also, I knew I wasn’t really in the business of selling pizzas by the slice.
I was in the business of preparing and serving hot food fast to improve upon how my customers enjoyed their time off while watching a movie.
That was WHY I was in business.
Now, because I was very clear why I was in business and why my customers were there, I knew if I opened another food concept and gave them another option for hot food delivered to their seat quickly, with more variety and flavor it would further improve their time off as they watched a movie.
So, one of the new concepts I started was ‘Big Daddy Fries™.’
We sold delicious and unusual potato and vegetable finger food that could be fried quickly and served with various dips.
Big Daddy Fries™ was an instant hit with my customers (old and new).
I didn’t have to wait too long to earn my investment back, nor did I have to wait more than a month to start making a profit. As time passed, my revenues were always close to targets and my customers loved my food.
Knowing WHY MY CUSTOMERS WERE THERE and WHY I WAS IN BUSINESS made it easier to take the right decision to open another concept, I knew doing so would improve how they enjoyed their ‘WHY’.
If you can align the reason you are in business (your why) with the reason your customers come to your restaurant (their why), you too will find that it becomes easier to take the right decisions to make your customer happier and come back more often.
I also knew by helping my customers enjoy their time off; I was helping them relax and by helping them relax and go home rejuvenated. Which for all of us is so important to do for ourselves. It was very satisfying knowing I was making a difference to their lives.
It also made me feel more passionate, creative, enthusiastic and focused on doing more for them.
If you want to identify your WHY and your customers WHY start with answering these two questions:
- Why are you in business? and
- Why does your customer come to your restaurant?
When answering this, remember to go below the surface. Your customers aren’t coming to your place to only eat food.
Understand why your customer is really coming to you. Are they coming to enjoy the company of their friends, enjoy romance in their relationship or take care of their health by eating healthy?
Once you figure that out, identify how your ‘why’ can help their ‘why.’
You will not only see your business grow, become easier to manage, and more fun to have, but you will recognize that you too are making a big difference in your customers lives. Nothing better than that!
Cheers!
Nandu Awatramani
P.S. My intention at F and B Business School is to help as many food business owners like you. I want you to have a better life with your partner/spouse, more time to spend with your kids, more disposable income so you can do things like hire a babysitter anytime you want and create a safety net for your family. I want you to earn more so you can enjoy the good things in life. And work with employees you love who will go on to make your customers happier. And your happy customers will then go on to make a positive difference in your community, because of you.
You can create that change. Share this article with any food business owner who can benefit from changing the way they see and do things and adopting the industry’s best practices in their business, so they too can earn more, upgrade their business and enjoy their life.
Also read: THE MAGIC OF THE GARBAGE BIN – HOW TO FIND PERMANENT SOLUTIONS TO RESTAURANT PROBLEMS
