What follows is the story of a wealthy businessman who had owned many successful businesses and traveled the world dining in the best establishments from New York to Paris.
He had created and built many successful businesses and always had a dream to own a restaurant. After all, some of his biggest business was done and some of his best moments were in restaurants around the world. He just had to have one.
With all his wealth and experience, he opened his first restaurant. It was a great place. He hired the trendiest designers, bought the best furniture, and selected the most comfortable and trendy chairs in the industry. Next, he hired the most sought-after chef in town, who bought the best meat and seafood available. He then hired the manager of all managers, a talented staff of 20, and an experienced sommelier who created the 200-bottle wine list.
On the night of the grand opening, the tablecloths were ironed and the fine china polished. The candles were burning and the stove was hot. The proud manager opened the doors with all the attentive staff. They waited… and they waited…
Around 10:30 pm, they all looked at each other and thought, “Well, I guess no one is coming.” The manager made the call to close for the night. Leaving, he sighed, “Maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow night.”
A week came and went, and they had only served 27 guests.
The owner was no stranger to business, and he knew that in all businesses there comes a time when help is needed. So he called in a highly recommended restaurant consultant who quickly took note of the elegant décor, excellent cuisine, and well-experienced staff.
The consultant immediately knew what the problem was. He’d seen it too many times before, and he knew the owner wasn’t going to like what he had to say. But it was his job, and he had to say it.
So he sat the owner down and said, “I need to ask you the most important question. I’m sure you don’t know the answer, but luckily I do… And then we’re going to save your business.” .”
Here is the #1 most important question in the restaurant business.
Do you know what business you’re in?
The owner responded. “That’s easy: I’m in the food business!”
“Wrong!”
the consultant explained. “The problem is simple. Like most restaurant owners, you didn’t see the most important rule in business, and that is…”
—“KNOW WHAT BUSINESS YOU ARE IN”—
“Once you figure out what business you’re really in, we’ll have this place up and running in no time.”
The owner, eager to know the answer to the million-dollar question, asked, “Okay, you got my point. What business am I in?”
“Well, if you want to sit here with empty seats, stay in the food business. But if you want to pack the house, you have to be in the marketing business. That’s right, the marketing business.”
Feeling like Steve Martin in the movie The Jerk, the owner said, “OH HA! It’s a marketing thing! Marketing! That’s the ticket. We have to be in marketing!”
As the owner quickly shifted his priorities to marketing his new business, he soon discovered that it was no easy task. There were plenty of places to spend money on marketing with no results. And this was a very competitive business. It was then that his years of business competition kicked in and he was motivated to win, as he had won in so many other businesses. There are many marketing tricks that don’t cost a dime. He totally focused every day on coming up with new marketing ideas to outwit the competition. And they worked: he soon had more deals than he ever dreamed possible.
The moral of the story is: if there’s an empty seat in the house, look at your marketing.
plan… The competition is!
