WHNetwork Blog

I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday, who happens to be a brilliant speaker and trainer (Debbie Maier). We were talking about how companies can stand out in a sea of sameness.

Location, service, personality, product(s): all are ways to stand out and differentiate your company. However, before you try to differentiate yourself, don't you need to know how you are perceived by your customers now? After all, without first getting a clear picture of what your customers think, there is no way to know how to get to where you want to go. It's like going to Map Quest and asking for directions to New York - only having no starting location!

How do you find out exactly what your customers think about your company, your products, your service? Ask them! It's fast, it's easy. it's inexpensive, yet there number of companies that do it is still relatively small.

I can tell you why I go where I go when I go out, and why I avoid some places:

* One place has terrible lighting and uncomfortable chairs in the bar, especially on a rainy day, it's just too dreary.

* I met a girlfriend for a quick nibble and drinks at one local place and got a $100 check. It's been two years and I haven't been back.

* The entree I got at one place wasn't very hot. It was the first time I'd been there in a long time and I haven't been back. After all, maybe that's their norm...

* A friend and I sat at the bar for dinner and a glass of wine at another local place, and they poured us an extra 1/3 glass when we were though with our wine, but still had a few more bites of dinner. It was a nice gesture, and left me feeling really good about going back.

* There are a couple of local wineries that are always on the list to stop at when people are here from out of town. I can count on having a great time, tasting some great wines, and they have personality plus. There's also a few I avoid...

None of these places have ever asked me what I think - some of them don't know they lost business, and some may not know why they keep getting me back!

Where have you stopped going, and why? And does anyone know they've lost your business? Let me know! (email margie@wineandhospitalitynetwork.com)

Call me for information on how fast (and inexpensively!) you can find out just what your customers are thinking. Call 707-933-0687 or email me at margie@otlconsulting.com.

-Margie
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Margie,

Great article. There is one place that I have not been back to since my first time, Good Time at 1104 Pine St in Paso Robles. When I went there the tables and floors were dirty, the wait staff was slow and did not know anything about the menu, the food came out cold and the bill equaled that of a fine dining restaurant.

On the other hand 10th Street Cafe in San Miguel (805) 467-3141 has been one of the best restaurants I have ever been too. The food is always top notch, the staff are attentive and excited about helping out with special dietary needs and they cater to children. I frequent that restaurant on most of my special occasions and when friends and family come into town.

Mike Sanchez
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Great points for sales people in all industries to consider. When I was in sales at CIBA Vision my territories changed annually; my first step when introducing myself to new accounts was to ask them for their opinions of CIBA Vision and our products. This simple question (and how I handled the information received in the responses) was a contributing factor to my quick success when assuming new territories.

Tom Furlong
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Was at Bouchon on a Friday evening a couple years ago. Crowded, of course, which is to be expected for a Keller restaurant. We had been going to Bouchon about six times a year, so while not regulars we did frequent the place. Had a reservation for two and we were seated near the kitchen door in the back of the room…no big deal, someone’s got to sit there. After placing our order for appetizers and entrees, the apps came, fine, we finished. Dishes were cleared along with silverware. Twenty minutes later the entrees appeared. Literally ten minutes after that fresh silverware appeared. Laughable… After we finished our meal the waiter approached with our bill, but then tucked it away after seeing our dinner plates had yet to be cleared. We hadn’t even been offered coffee. Amazing. Haven’t been back in over two years. (And no, we are not high maintenance patrons.)
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I have certain special wineries that I always take people to. And what they all have in common are four things:

1. Good wine

2. Friendly wine servers

3. Knowledgeable wine servers

4. Attractive surroundings

If the people visiting are wine geeks, then the surroundings don’t matter. While attractive surroundings do make a visit more pleasant, if the wine itself is of superb quality, then tasting in an industrial warehouse works just fine. But as for the other three points, obviously if the wine isn’t good, why bother. And an unfriendly server—and there are many—can spoil the experience. Wine knowledge is important, especially for the people I take to visit. It’s not crucial if people are just out for a good time.

What I find interesting is that some wineries just don’t care. I have let wineries know if their tasting rooms have cost them visitors and purchases. And yet often no changes are ever made. I know firsthand where the hospitality director hired secret shoppers to comment on the experience, and then, when the shoppers reported “the worst experience ever” at that tasting room, the owners refused to make any changes at all. The hospitality director then quit, leaving the inmates in charge of the asylum as the tasting room people now had free reign to ignore customers completely.

Wineries which depend on direct sales will generally offer a better tasting room experience than wineries which sell mostly through the distribution channel. It all depends on whether the management sees the tasting room as a sales channel producing income or as a public relations effort that simply costs money.

Larry Chandler

Wine Editorial | Sales | SEO Marketing | Winery Support Services
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Hello Margie, You are absolutely right that a way to know what your customers think about you is simply to ask candidly the question. Among other ways to also find out what your guests like or dislike, is to look at your product mix reports. People vote with their money therefore read what they buy or don't buy. When you analyze your sales buy price point, day par, protein, or flavor profile, you can determine what you should remove from your menu, what to improve on and what to keep as is. To go back to your title, I think that a certain amount of "sameness" is desirable because we all need a taste profile reference. When I order a grilled cheese sandwich or a minestrone soup, I already know that it is supposed to taste like. We all have a taste and flavor memory bank and sometimes we don't feel like being adventurous. But you are right to imply in the title that "sameness" is not desirable. A certain amount of novelty creates appeal and interest. This said, too much uniqueness could incite decision confusion. The hard part is to determine a just balance. That's were intuition and experience come into place.

Alex Smida
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I agree that speaking with customers is a part of defining what can make a destination stand out. Customer satisfaction or lack thereof can be a gauge to measure how well you deliver on a promise of value. However, customer satisfaction alone is not a good indicator of how well you've differentiated the destination. There are many other things to consider. Our publication, The Wanderlust Report on travel marketing and destination branding, discusses this subject in depth from a different perspective n each issue. Volume I | Issue no. 4 covers Brand Positioning For Tourism Marketing, the core to achieving meaningful differentiation. You can find it here: http://www.createwanderlust.com/marketing-tourism-defining-a-brand-positioning

Mark Shipley
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I read the title of this post as how to stand out in a sea of sameness... but it's all about "whining." That's easier to do than to make recommendations on how to stand out. Most restaurants unfortunately don't stand out and don't understand the concept of WOW and differentiation. Standing out and WOWing your guests is as simple as a table by table approach to conversing with your guests, handing out a business card with a unique title, or giving your guests a "kiss" -- a Hershey Kiss, rather than those same old boring, boring lousy tasting mints that every restaurant gives out.

Joel Cohen, Publisher of WOW www.RestaurantMarketing.com www.RestaurantMarketingBlog.com
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Great Topic! Word of mouth and personal referrals still seems the best and most reliable way to promote in my business. Treat your customers right, bend over backwards for them and they'll keep coming back... and bring you lots of referrals! I also hand out raffle slips during my tastings between the whites and the reds that collects contact info and comments. I collect them at the end and conduct a fun raffle. I often get feedback about the tasting and many referrals to people who would want to host a tasting or even join my team as a wine consultant.

Michael Schwartz Independent Wine Consultant & Team Leader Grapevine, Texas http://www.thetravelingvineyard.com/michael7856
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Thanks, Margie! You just helped me a realize a quick and free way that I could ask people what they think. My blog has a sidebar heading that says, "Recent Comments." So I just modified it to say, "Recent Comments -- Please Share What You Think." So simple, but a world of difference! Most appreciatively, Sue http://blog.lovingmyself.com/
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Some great points here... 1. Small gestures of hospitality leave lasting impressions and usually don't cost much. Careful about watching margin too closely in lieu of pursuing great hospitality. 2. Hospitality involves more than just friendliness. Would you invite someone over to your home and have them sit in an uncomfortable chair? Or turn off half the lights so you can't see each other. 3. I'll bet if the place that charge you $100 had the world's best hospitality, you might remember the $100 but you would also remember the experience. Thus...more willing to make another visit. I talk to my regulars each and every shift to get the pulse of the restaurant. Talking involves more than a greet, sometimes I actually sit and drink a cup of coffee with them. I've gotten more valuable feedback from this...I keep in mind that one regular speaks for probably 10 other customers.

Scott Temme
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Margie, this is well said and appropriate for any business. I think it's a trust issue for many people. They don't trust that outsiders could know better than they do. After all, they've spent their life savings and every waking moment for the last year to build this thing that came from within them.

My wife tells me that she knows me better than I know myself, she's right.

Jeff Schacher
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I'm in total agreement here. The EASIEST and BEST way to get the measure of one's business is to ASK the patrons who use it. It's not complicated or rocket science, and it's usually inexpensive. Highly effective, too. This could quite possibly be the most important post on this site, and most people are going to miss it.

Chef Zig Thomas
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There was a restaurant that I once went to late one evening where they allowed this "couple" to do some things in a booth that weren't meant to be done in a restaurant. Haven't been back there in years. I doubt they know I've quit going there. And given what went on, I doubt they care.

Harold http://www.sellmoremeals.com
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This is something we are struggling with as a company right now. While we have the "secret shopper" program, that only tells us from a checklist point of view how our restaurants are meeting our standards. It does not tell us what our clients think about us or what they think we should do to improve. We have a feed back form on the website, but that requires guests to seek us out. So, we have been experimenting with survey technology. Creating a web survey and adding a message to the check out receipt. But that still does not get us in face to face conversations with our guests. Our next step is to investigate a different kind of loyalty program, one that emphasizes restaurant level events where we can interact with our most loyal guests and give something back. We are tossing ideas around, monthly wine tasting, new menu item tasting, fan club meeting, etc. Rather than the old points type system we want to bring our fans together and have an open dialogue and reward them with free food, drink, and the opportunity to participate in making our restaurants better.

David Curtis
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Hi Margie, I love the topic and the feedback. I agree with Michael about treating your costumers right. As Darby said some companies only allow you to use there "cookie-cutter" sites, so it is up to the individual to make the most of every opportunity. Nothing, but nothing beets one to one contact with a client. You should be in contact with a customer at least 4 times a year, and not to sell them anything. Asking them about a new product they have tried, if their delivery came in a timely manner, (in my case) what they thought of the tasting and what they would like to see in the future. At the end of every tasting I talk to everyone in the room, whether they placed an order or not, and ask if they enjoyed themselves and if there was something they would like to see different at another tasting. I am always looking for productive comments...something more than "it was great". So I ask specific questions. I think this shows your clients that their opinion is important to you and help with your business. Great topic!

Sabrina Porter spgreatwine@aol.com"