Why Being Better Rarely Leads To Success In The Restaurant Business

On 11th Oct, last week's Blog I presented, creating or clarifying your restaurant's unique “Experience Proposition”. I mentioned that one of the most important elements in the experience proposition is the one or possibly two differentiating characteristics that truly set your restaurant apart from your competition. Hopefully you don't believe that merely having good food and service will cause customers to flock to your restaurant. Maybe 20 years ago in a good location, but not anymore. Good food and service barely gets you into the game TODAY!! Of course, good food and service is important, but unfortunately not sufficient for a restaurant, in most markets, to attract any more customers than the competition. Sustainable success today generally requires at least one differentiating characteristic or point of difference, to cause people to become loyal, enthusiastic customers. To be effective, the characteristic MUST stand out. Understatement or subtlety will very likely not translate into the results you want. Consumers must desire your differentiating characteristic enough to break out of their normal routine or pattern to get it. Now, as I’ve highlighted in the experience proposition blog, a differentiating characteristic is generally connected to some aspect of operations, service, product or ambience.

For example, Mc Donald, a QSR chain, focuses intently on operation excellence. In speed of service and order accuracy they are unmatched in the industry (in fact their service times are 4 times faster than their top competitor and they average 1 complaint in every 4,000 orders). As a result, their over 300 outlets average over RM1,500 of sales per square foot, possibly the highest in the industry.

Sushi & Pasta Zanmai serves lunch and dinner in Shopping Malls. I believed that this brand would excel by serving an exceptionally high quality Japanese fusion meals in a casual upscale atmosphere. By delivering on that strategic vision and adding some unique specialty items to the menu, they have effectively differentiated their restaurants to such a degree that their customers are willing to pay higher prices and often wait up to an hour or more for a table to enjoy that one of a kind Zanmai experience.

Then there's Johnny Rocket. While they are certainly very competent operators, we've talk to many people who say the best thing about going there is their exceptionally personable, polite and capable employees who are famous for smiles, eye contact and habitually replying "my pleasure" to appreciative customers. Not to mention their in-house entertainment gives a twist to the dining experience. We'd have to agree that every Johnny Rocket that we've ever been to is in a class by itself when it comes to caliber of staff in the QSR segment.

While having "better" food, service and/or atmosphere is preferable to the alternative, in most markets merely being "better" is not sufficient to differentiate your restaurant in a meaningful way. The three concepts above enjoy "significantly" higher sales volumes and customer counts than the norm because they excel at their core competencies to the point they are not just perceived as "better" but as fundamentally "different" than their competition. What is your restaurant known for? What does your restaurant do better than anyone in your market? What could you begin doing today that would elevate your reputation or competency to the point of making your restaurant stand out as being not just better, but essentially "different" than your competition? Take some time to ponder these questions. The answers could provide the seeds of a future that is significantly more successful than the past.