The Most Powerful Weapon in the Marketing Arsenal

Now’s the time to hunker down! I’m not exactly sure what that means but I think it’s military terminology for hold on to your BVD’s or something like that. When I think of “hunker down” in the marketing world I think it’s about focusing on what you can control and not being preoccupied with what you can’t. That brings me to the most powerful tool in the marketing arsenal – Customer Service.

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand that it’s much more cost effective to bring a guest back than it is to go out there and bring a new guest in. The guest that is already visiting your restaurant is already positively predisposed to your product. When you focus on serving her better it’s arguably a less expensive approach to building your business.

Here’s what I see happening particularly in restaurant marketing. There are lots of deals – 2 meals for a price, smaller portions and lower prices, burgers you can eat in one bite, etc. I’m not saying this is particularly a bad strategy in these tough economic times. What I am saying is if restaurants aren’t placing an emphasis on improving their customer service they are missing the boat. The problem with discounting is you may get em in once, but this doesn’t do much to build a loyal customer base over the long term. If the experience is same ole, same ole the investment in the discount is not worthwhile.

I get that desperate times call for desperate measures. However, just like you can’t spend your way out of debt you can’t discount your way out of declining guest counts. So why aren’t more companies spending their time and energy on honing their service delivery? I think it’s because you can’t hold service in your hands. It’s not like a food cost initiative where you can measure the impact on a week to week basis. Customer service initiatives take time. The results aren’t tangible week to week. You have to be in it for the long term to realize the results.

I just think the state of customer service is marginal at best in the U.S. While I’m sure some of the discounting is necessary it’s not a long term fix. Companies that understand the most cost effective way to market their business is through providing extraordinary customer service will survive in this economic mess and thrive in the long term when the economic pressure is less intense.