Linda Duke is the author of the IACP Reference & Technical Category nominated book Four Star Restaurant Marketing Cookbook-Recipes for Restaurateur.  This book is full of 'recipes', but not for food, instead the Four Star Restaurant Marketing Cookbook is a reference resource of marketing tactics for restaurateurs. 

As part of our IACP awards celebration we asked Linda to discuss the impact of the tough economic climate on restaurants and offer tips for restaurateurs. 

Below her guest blog you'll also find an example 'Recipe' from the Four Star Restaurant Marketing Cookbook for how to create a great guest experience…

Engaging Your Guests During a Tough Economic Climate

By Linda Duke

Recently many restaurant operators are looking at empty dining rooms and slower than usual sales.  In times of a tough economic climate, it's no secret that consumers have become increasingly cautious and fearful.  Today, as fears of losing one's job and looking at their dwindling 401(k) statement, chances are, consumers are scared.  So what can a restaurant really do to attract cautious guests?

A pause in consumption prompts personal reflection.  Consumers are asking, "What's really important to me?"  Not surprisingly, the one constant that will remain important is time.  Time will remain the ultimate luxury.  Recession or no recession, "time well spent" will remain the ultimate goal and how guests feel eating at a restaurant needs to be "time well spent".  

If time becomes the highest currency of the day, restaurateurs should take heed.  People love spending time well. However, "time well spent" is not just about finding balance in life or connecting with loved ones.  Nor is it a high priced luxury experience such as limo rides or four-star vacation resort.  Ultimately, consumers spend a great deal of precious time going out to eat. Therefore, tying a brand to quality time is a concept with huge implications.

For instance, consumers surround themselves with brands that engage them and make them feel they are spending their time well.  They're gravitating more toward experience than assets and goods.  Finding ways to make your restaurant brand "add life to the experience" should be a priority on any restaurant marketer's to-do list.  

The approach of creating a meaningful experience starts with engaging your guests.  Engagement is the new awareness.  And return-on-engagement (ROE) is the new ROI (return on investment).  Put another way, ROE is more customer-centric, a more outward approach than ROI.  

So restaurants need to boost ROE.  How?    As with any broad scale change in a company's thinking, a true commitment to engagement requires senior management to commit first.  That said there's much that restaurant marketers can do.  The first step is learning to be a proverbial fly on the wall.  Don't launch that new website unless you have a clear idea about who your guests are and experience they perceive. It is also essential to be creative about adopting ways that customers can give you input.

When creating your brand messaging, consider employing public relations.  What is going to get my guests truly engaged?  Understand the importance of associating your brand with something authentic. 

For example, Boudin SF, (the fast casual concept developed by the 100 year old San Francisco sour dough Boudin Bakery company), gave away daily bread, 365 loaves, to the first 100 guests at a recent grand opening. Guests lined up the day before and spent the night. In the morning, guests learned the history of Boudin and shared their love and memories of Boudin's sourdough bread. Boudin entertained kids and parents alike in bread toss games for prizes, and were treated to signature menu samples before the doors opened. Overall, guests shared in an authentic experience that proved to be a great return on their time, while Boudin SF got to know and share their favorite tradition with guests.  

When searching for restaurants worth their time, consumers do not want to dig through the clutter.  Other public relations strategies such as sampling, tasting events and fundraisers allow brands to further engage guests, keeping them at the top of the list when they go out to eat.   For example, Pacific Catch, a San Francisco Bay Area restaurant with three locations, hosted a Sushi & Sake tasting event to introduce new menu items to VIP's, community members and the press. A large crowd attended and enjoyed samples of the delicious sushi and the restaurant's sake vendor provided sake pouring and tasting education.  As guests departed, they were given gift bags with a Pacific Catch menu, a coupon for a free appetizer on their next visit, and a special gift from the Sake vendor. Pacific Catch impressed the local community and established positive relationships with their guests.  The event also garnered positive publicity.

Finally, realize that your guests are a source of feedback and ideas, even about menu items.  Don't underestimate the power of direct interaction with your customers.  During a recent in-person "voice of the guest" initiative, I learned first-hand how one-on-one involvement can provide R & D folks with a far richer and holistic view of both their jobs and the people they serve.  

I don't suggest moving ROE to the forefront of a company's branding efforts means that ROI disappears from a marketer's arsenal.  Indeed, it can't!  Businesses must be efficient and investments prioritized.  But so long as the current economy puts sour and skeptical faces on consumers, it is more important that ever to look at those faces and engage your guests.

Engaging your guests will ultimately develop a lasting bond with your brand.  Additionally, these engagement activities, which include promotions, events, focus groups and round table discussions with your customers, leads to loyalty, frequency and word of mouth.  The ultimate goal for a restaurant marketer in today's challenging economy is to "add to customer's life experience" and by engaging them, it will be the best return on investment of time and energy when the economy swings north.

Recipe: Creating a GREAT guest experience

From Four Star Restaurant Marketing Cookbook-Recipes for Restaurateur by Linda Duke, Duke Marketing Publishing, 2008.

People remember restaurants when they have a unique experience. By creating your restaurant's unique guest experience and brand personality it will stand out from competitors and generates word of mouth, increased sales, guest loyalty and frequency. Creating a great guest experience is not always easy. It has to be in line with the company's overall positioning, brand, values, and tied to operations on an on-going and consistent basis. This recipe will give you ideas to create your own unique experience at your restaurant.

Ingredients

• Great ideas that tie into your company's brand and are unique to your restaurant.

• Create an experience that caters to your guests.

Directions

1. Determine what makes your brand unique. Maybe your employees sing to customers that tip them or you offer awesome menu samples to waiting guests. What makes your company stand out against all the others? Is it the people, the product or the place? How can you turn that into part of the experience?

2. Answer the question: what makes your restaurant brand unique? Brainstorm with your employees, ask guests, friends. Make sure to record the answers. Test some of the best ideas on your guests.

3. Some different approaches:

• - Personalize: Offer guests the ability to create their own experience by offering customizable options.
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• - Special starters or appetizers: (bread baskets work, but that isn't very creative).
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• - Complimentary samples, displays, chips or salads, also help customers remember you because everyone loves something free!
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• - Fun events, demonstrations, and/or fundraisers can help the community recognize your restaurant.

• - Colorful uniforms and unique cups, bibs and napkins.
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• - Menu items. Offer unique and signature menu items no other restaurant offers. Use a sizzling platter of your signature menu item, tableside mixing, or special serving technique. Create special menu items geared towards kids which creates a great family experience and keeps them coming back.
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• - Anything that touches the customer-try to create an experience for each of the five senses: taste, touch, smell, hear, see. Table displays, tableside serving techniques, fresh flowers, local art, hand lotion in restrooms, music or entertainment.
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• - Offer a unique experience that makes life easier. Back pack storage area, easy access to bathrooms, unique check presenters. WIFI is the latest trend for guests to surf the web.
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• - Educate and involve customers about fun facts or the history of the company products, by word of mouth of your employees or even in a short newsletter to mail your guests or pass out in your restaurant.

4. Try different promotions that create traffic and drive sales for particular items or times. Kids eat free night, Two for Tuesday or Saturday balloon day.

• - Get your whole staff involved. You have to count on staff to make your guest experience work. Be sure they like the ideas. If your staff is having fun, guests will too.

5. Test a few different approaches. Pick one that your guests and staff seem to enjoy the most and incorporates your brand personality.

Tip: Have guests fill out cards and ask what they find unique about your restaurant. Guests opinions are very important and should always be considered first.

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