RIA Unplugged: July 2010 Archives

Courting the Once-a-Year Diner

I was talking to the savvy owner of a successful casual fine dining restaurant yesterday about restaurant marketing.

"Well, Ellen," he said, "the thing about a fine dining restaurant is that if you look at the metrics and study the data, 99 percent of your customers are once-a-year visits. That's just the bottom line. If someone is a five-time annual diner, you should build him a throne."

It was shocking to me, of course, seeing as most casual fine dining business plans I see postulate that diners will come to eat $30-an-entree meals once a week.

I am not saying that there aren't a few precious diners who can and do eat in semi-fancy restaurants that often. And I am not saying that a restaurant can't be successful with once-a-year diners. My friend proves year in and year out that it absolutely can be done.

I am just wondering how a business plan would change, how the marketing would change, if a restaurateur knew, prior to opening, that this 99 percent once-a-year thing is the reality.

How to Use a Journalists' Obsession to Your Advantage

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I have a problem with everyone's fixation on breaking news.

In the olden days (2007/8), breaking news kinda made sense. Journalists stayed relevant and seemed "on it" by being the one outlet with the story -- because if you had the story, no one else could report it until ... later.

Then, everyone became a tiny version of a news outlet. And news started leaking out all over. I still remembered the day when I figured out that the staff of an opening restaurant needed to know the opening day so they could show up, no matter what the owner wanted the media to know. And that staff had Twitter feeds.

Today, everything breaks nearly simultaneously. Or at least simultaneously enough that, unless you are someone with a bank of eight computer screens (or, soon, the fancy new 27" Apple Cinema Display), monitoring all the various social media outlets, blogs, and MSM websites, it is really quite impossible to know who broke what, when. Unless, of course, the "news" includes some variation on the outdated, self-aggrandizing announcement, "You heard it here first."

But there are a few things you should know about this madness of breaking news so you can use journalists' obsession with it to your advantage.

Breaking News Axiom #1: In a world where breaking news is the holy grail, journalists are digging, digging, digging. And they will report what they find.

Cautionary tale: A restaurateur I know got a little sideswiped by a journalist who followed him on Facebook, where he was posting updates about an exciting new restaurant he is opening. He wasn't ready to announce it to the media. I'm not even sure if the people who owned the space he was going into, a restaurant still in operation, had even told the staff about the eminent closing. But there it was, out there for all to see -- because he posted it on Facebook -- and a new restaurant is breaking news, so the journalist wrote about it. Within nanoseconds, another outlet followed suit. Then everyone else.

The Lesson: Use the fact that journalists are following you on Facebook to your advantage. If you are developing a new venture, as above, as soon as you can get the word out and before you really even have the details, start posting. A lot of people assume they should hold back, be cautious, wait until they're ready. Why? That only shortens your news cycle when you want to extend it as long as possible. So, develop a name, develop a basic concept, and post away -- you'll be in control of your news, not someone on surprise attack.

Breaking News Axiom #2: In a world where breaking news is the holy grail, journalists are all begging, begging, begging to get the news first so they can break it and be the only news outlet for 35 seconds who has reported that particular news.

Cautionary tale: Another restaurateur who is gearing up for an important opening is getting cornered by a journalist -- a powerful journalist -- who wants an exclusive. The journalist who posts the story, of course, takes advantage of all the links that come with breaking news. It's what I call the "Breaking News on the Internet Promotion Loophole." You see, the new trend in breaking news on the Internet is that each journalist who covers the story that has already "broken" includes a link to where the information originated.

The Lesson: Break the news yourself. If you break it yourself, they'll all loop back to you, and all those readers will be sitting on your front doorstep, ringing madly for you to let them in.

Just do me a favor; make sure you -- and your website -- are ready for company.

Abraham Lincoln. President. Statesman. Peacemaker. Motivational Coach for Chefs.

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Digging around, I happened upon some quotes from Abraham Lincoln and was struck by his words. Used to galvanize a nation, they also translate to restaurant marketing. Surprise!

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe."

Lincoln was known for his wise words and here are some mighty wise words, all around. Especially for marketing. Chefs usually spend a lot of time putting together the elements of a menu. They understand the investment in the process pays off with dishes that are well thought-out, balanced and delicious in every way. Then, they turn to marketing and assume that they can do one promotion and it'll move the needle on their profits overnight. Unfortunately, great marketing takes longer to hone than a great dish, or even a great menu. It happens slowly, customer by customer, because you've paid attention to details, thought things through and dug in for the long haul.

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."

Remember when your high school basketball coach clapped his hands and exclaimed "Let's hustle!"? What he really meant was, "Get off your lazy, distracted, teenaged ass and move." Do something. Often. A lot. More than the next guy. Thinking that good things drop into the laps of people who are sitting around, lazy and distracted, on the bench, is bunk. They come to those who hustle. How do you know if you are hustling enough? Answer yourself one question: Are you achieving your dreams?

"That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well."

Okay, here I think Lincoln let us down just a bit. I kinda wish that Lincoln had added some sort of hustle or axe-sharpening quip to the end of this quote, because I think a lot of people think great success just falls from the sky (see above). But he did say "achieve." And to achieve is to act. You have to act. Maybe more than the next guy, maybe less. But still act.

"Reputation is like fine china, once broken it's very hard to repair."

Reputation is more than just how tasty your food is. Reputation is not swearing at line cooks, it's returning phone calls to media. It's being respectful to your publicist as a professional, and not trying to squeeze every last penny out of the farmer who is trying to raise food respectably. I know one chef around town who owes just about every publicist money -- and believe me, when the new publicist called me up to ask me about working for that chef, I suggested that above all else, above however nice that person seemed now, all funds should be gotten up front. Unfortunately, the chef didn't have that kind of money, and so couldn't afford the work. That's what Lincoln was talkin' 'bout.

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

When you are a chef, the public talks about you so there is always a great opportunity out there to be pissed off about something someone said or wrote. Or, you could be happy that someone is writing something or saying something about you. Take the long view, and if the long view is a bunch of bad press, refer to the quote above.

"The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can..."

Notice that Lincoln didn't just call out the food, the cooking. He was a smart man. He said every way. Being a chef today is more than just the kitchen work you have to do. It is about honing your writing skills and interview skills and calling-reporters-back skills. It is about learning what makes an idea a great story and how to develop a compelling promotion with advance notice. It is about attending to your chefdom in every way.

Four score and seven years ago (87 years), Escoffier had just published his Guide Culinaire. Chefs were tradesmen, toiling in the back of kitchens for the most part.

One score ago (twenty years), TVFN was on the verge of launching. The age of the celebrity chef was upon us.

Seven years ago, Facebook didn't exist and blogs were still a fringe movement. Things have changed a lot in not such a long time -- but the wisdom of Lincoln remains relevant.

Pitfalls of PR

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Gather journalists for a panel session on dos and don'ts for successful media placement, and the pet peeves that emerge are typically the same. I thought it might be helpful to just bang out a list today, just as a reminder or a primer for anyone and everyone who is communicating with the media:

Pitfall: Calling to see if a press release or information has been received. I have a client who calls me each time he sends me an email to tell me he sent an email. It is really annoying because it interrupts my day with, well, nothing. I am sure this is how journalists feel every time someone calls to see if a press release email arrived. Only times a hundred or more. Seriously, you need to trust that your email got where you sent it to. They'll call if they are interested. Or they'll just use the info if they need it.

Pitfall: Sending information to the wrong person. By this I mean sending something like new beer information to the wine writer or a pork council promo to the copy editor. In chef terms, it would be like having a sushi chef vie for a job as your pastry chef. Bizarre, lazy-looking and another time-waster. It may take time to make sure that you have researched and read the works of every journalist to whom you send a press release or pitch, but like investing in finding great suppliers who can deliver you great product at a decent price, it pays off in the end.

Pitfall: Claiming that you are the first, best, or only. Everyone says they are first, best and only. In fact so many people claim they are first, best and only that anything that contains the words first, best or only tends to turn off the journalist. Better to let the journalist figure it out for you. And please don't go inventing convoluted new cuisine categories in order to stand out. That's not the way you want to stand out.

Pitfall: Sending information after the deadline or last-minute. Would you hand a customer a menu from yesterday that contains a bunch of dishes they can't order? 'Nuf said.

Pitfall: Complaining to a journalist about a story that's been published or broadcast. Unless it's a true factual error for which there should be a correction (note the word factual), the only thing this is going to accomplish is making the journalist avoid you in the future. Oh, wait, they will likely tell their journalist friends that you are a whiner. And so I am wondering, aside from feeling all temporarily powerful and important, where does that get you?

Pitfall: Sending erroneous information or not including important facts for an event, such as a time or date. Think of all the information that someone needs to do what you want them to do (in journo-speak, this is the five W's: who, what, when, where, why and sometimes how), and then double-check the information and then check it again, concentrating on details like making sure the 5th is really a Wednesday, for instance. Remember to look for what's missing; just because you know your own address, phone and web url doesn't mean everyone else has them in their mental speed-dial. (P.S. If a p.r. firm sends out a release on your behalf, insist that the restaurant's phone number be listed somewhere in the release, not just the p.r. firm's.)

Pitfall: Changing the event or promotion after the information has been published. All it takes is one call from a viewer or reader to the journalist to question the validity or accuracy of your information and your chances of being covered in the future fade to black -- or at least grey.

Pitfall: Not communicating all details of the event/promotion to the entire staff. Journalists (most journalists) call to fact-check information and nothing says "cut that story" faster than being told by the random staffer who answered the phone that no such event is planned or there's no one around who can answer their question(s).

Pitfall: Sending bothersome physical materials to get attention. Just because the round press kit folder, confetti-filled invitation, or giant box containing tiny menu seems clever and noteworthy, you don't want to stand out for the wrong reason.

Guest Post from Mike Gebert, Sky Full of Bacon

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Today features a guest post from Michael Gebert. Michael does the video podcast and blog Sky Full of Bacon (skyfullofbacon.com) and writes about food for several local publications.

I don't have anything to add specifically to the whole Lollapalooza-Graham Elliott Bowles-vs.-Chicago Mag kerfuffle, even though, or maybe because, I attended the perfectly pleasant event Monday night. That it blew up so badly the next day left me feeling sort of like, "Nice baptism! Hey, did anybody hear that Moe Green got shot?"

But there's one point that I've been kind of kicking around in my head. Various commenters have said words to the effect that Chicago Mag's writer "knew the rules" or "broke the rules" when they reviewed the food. This is clear, they suggested, "because we all know what the rules are."

We do? Do we know where they're posted? Is there anywhere good to eat around there?

One problem is a term I've had my own tangles with before: "review." Obviously if you invite journalists to try food, the presumption is that some may write about it. (That might even be the intention behind inviting them.) But at what point does "write about it" become a "review"? Letter grades, a blunt instrument of reviewing to be sure, are one pretty good indicator, I guess. But is any comment at all a review? Did the sentence or so I wrote about Sunda's pork belly bao oblige me to follow the full regulations of the Tribune's reviewing policies and responsibilities? Because I have a pretty short, Bowles-esque response to anyone who tries to saddle me with all that, unless they're willing to cough up the expense account that goes with it.

But here's a bigger, more practical question which nobody seems to be asking. If the discussion is all about what responsibility journalists owe to restaurants... what's the goal? What is it that restaurants and their PR folks are after here? What business objective is it serving for you, holding journalists to the fire like this?

The goal, presumably, is to generate coverage. But I sometimes see behaviors that seem to be working strongly against that goal, especially when it comes to bloggers, or blogger-freelancer-whatevers like myself.

I went to one of your typical Wednesday afternoon PR events a while back, and then blogged about it-- generally favorably, but I had some issues with this or that. I soon heard about my ingratitude from the PR firm, who've never invited me to anything since. Clearly, I'd have been wiser to keep my mouth shut-- and, indeed, when I talked to other writers who'd gone that day, they admitted that they almost never wrote directly about such events, in part to stay on the gravy train.

Similarly, I attended a special dinner with other bloggers/whatever at a noted restaurant, and afterwards I was the only one to write anything of consequence about it-- quite favorable compared to an earlier experience at that restaurant, as it turned out. Sure enough, it wasn't long before I heard some grumbling about some minor details which seemed to rankle the host. If only I'd managed to keep my mouth shut like everyone else did, it would have been a perfect event.

Now, I'm a grownup and neither of these is any big deal, really. But the point of blogging is freedom; God knows if it's going to be revenue free, it'd better be free in every other way too. And I'm pretty sure the point of publicity is to encourage coverage-- not to feed journalists and then incentivize their not talking about you.

The point is, well, as Ellen said the other day, if you're Graham Elliott Bowles, you can do anything and see where it goes. But for mere mortals the point is, if you want publicity, if you want to cultivate this new media world of bloggers and quasi-professionals and who knows what, you need to do so in a way that doesn't immediately make them wary of you and how you'll react to what they write. Because we don't have the institutional backing and ability to blow off pressure that staff writers do, and so we have to protect ourselves in other ways.

The fact is, incidents like the ones above, minor as they were, have made it harder for you to get me out for something. If I suspect your new place is going to be a dog, I'll just turn down your invite rather than risk having to figure out how to post diplomatically about it without pissing a powerful PR firm off. Your $16 worth of salmon ceviche and signature Appletini don't seem worth the headache to me-- which is undoubtedly a disservice to some genuinely talented chef every now and then. Is that really the access and new media savvy clients are paying for?

Ultimately, you need the sang-froid to attract bloggers, freelancers, journalists en masse and then let them be their real selves, even if a few of them bite the hand that (literally) feeds them. And trust that in the long run you and your clients will be better off being talked about than not being talked about-- because, really, nobody like me would do this for the opportunity to smear good restaurants and chefs. We do it because we love food, we love how great the scene in Chicago is... and part of what keeps it great is that the conversation we have about it has pretty high standards and is willing every now and then to whack a place that doesn't cut it. The alternative, frankly, is cultivating only hypercooperative writers whom nobody will want to read after a while-- because they're so obviously in somebody's pocket.

Getting ready for lift-off

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I don't plan anything I don't need to plan. I don't make decisions until I need to make them and usually, I don't even seriously think about something unless I have to. For the record, though it has nothing to do with this blog post, I hardly remember anything that isn't mission-critical.

That said, in yesterday's tech meeting, we were at a place where we could project out to a stealth launch and a Beta launch of our new RIA products: spoonfeed, mediafeed and soapbox.

Spoonfeed is a web-based marketing and communication tool for chefs. It solves just about all the problems I encountered as a restaurant publicist. It's a closed social network for restaurants around the country to engage with each other and take their shoes off. It seems that many chefs are really attracted to this idea. On FB they have to be more on-point because they can't get away from diners or media.

It's got:

A private social networking site for the restaurant industry -- giving, say, GEB, a chance to mouth off "publicly" but without as much fallout
A calendar for charity event information where we store the paperwork and can loop in staffers involved -- because they always want to know what events are coming up and I always got sick of resending the paperwork a million times because the chef "lost it"
A platform for collaborative communication so everyone knows what everyone else is saying without having to hit "reply all" -- cause most restaurant staffers didn't read the instructions on "reply all"
A way for us to ask a lot of chefs a lot of questions (cause we need to ask little piddly questions like "what kind of food truck would you open?") and yet chefs get justifiably frustrated about receiving "too many emails, some that are a waste of time" in the middle of finding out the fish order never arrived
A scheduled pinger for holidays so no one has to remember to ask if anything is going on -- cause no one ever remembers to plan far enough in advance for journalists since only journalists have editorial calendars to remind them
And a few more bells and whistles specifically designed to make chefs want to visit the site each day -- cause they aren't gonna go online and get their marketing work done unless we make it rocking awesome

Mediafeed is our portal for media of all kinds. It solves the problem of tracking media requests and making sure answers are completed fully.

It's got:

Search and filter functions designed for finding chefs and restaurants -- because a good search system can really make life a lot easier
Structured communication tools to help journalists understand all the questions a restaurant has when they get a media request -- cause no one would ever believe the confusion that reigns when journos ask for a simple photo
Structured distribution of the request to ensure it gets to the right person who is gonna make things happen, not just the person the journalist thinks they want to talk to (why, just yesterday I got a nasty email from a journo who was upset the restaurant owner hadn't responded to a photo request)

Driven by spoonfeed, Soapbox is a public-facing website that features structured, lifestream-style biographies for restaurant personnel. This solves the problems of 1) dated, dusty biographies that all contain a reference to grandma and her recipe for short ribs, and 2) the fact that LinkedIn doesn't really work for restaurant personnel and Facebook is too general.

It's got:

Essential and extended information that answers the basic questions of employment, education, awards, stages, accolades -- cause Facebook totally misses the great opportunity of sharing chef stages and accolades in an organized way
Structured profiles for various categories of restaurant staff, starting with the glamoury ones of chefs, mixologists, sommeliers, owners, etc. -- because each job has its own unique and compelling stories to tell
Questionnaires that cover everything from inspirations, off-duty passions, philosophies, ideas on the state of the industry, etc. -- because we realized that although chefs need to blog to share who they are, they don't really know what to say (but we do!)
The opportunity for chefs to tell their own story, as it unfolds, each day -- because one dinner can change a chef's inspiration and focus and his bio should change with it so we understand who he is today and not who he was when his bio got penned

So, we launch in stealth on August 6. What that means is that we'll invite in a bunch of free beta users -- all the Chicago-area people who have inquired about RIA in these last few months since we stopped taking clients so we could concentrate on all this work -- and all our friends from around the country. If you've already inquired with us via email, you'll get an invite. If you called me and asked for a meeting and didn't follow up via email, I am sorry I am quite sure I forgot (see last sentence, first paragraph). If you want to get on the list, email GJ at restaurantintelligenceagency.com and it's first-come, first-served until we hit capacity.

This will give us a few weeks to redesign the site (currently the design is based on RIA and our best guess how it will work) and make the necessary changes we discover with actual usage. It also gives users a chance to fill out the questionnaires and spruce up their profiles.

Then, on September 17, we launch our Beta -- and we'll get to see if I aimed right when I started building this bomb a few years back.

Who defines your success?

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Who decides your success? You or someone else?

The chef who sits around wondering why the media aren't writing about him. His success is dependent upon whether someone else finds him interesting.
The author who sits around waiting for a publisher to pick up his book. His success is dependent upon whether someone else thinks other people will find him interesting.
The publicist who sits around wondering how to get a story written when her clients isn't making news. His success depend upon whether someone else will think someone else is interesting.

These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to build software that manages the measurement of our success. What I mean by that is that I want our users to decide if the product does what it promises to do based on what we create the software to do. Not based on their idea of what the software should do.

I want my success to be dependent on me, be defined by me. Not someone else.

Who defines yours?

And Now This: Chef FBs "Fuck Chicago Magazine"

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Seven people sent me an email last night about a chef and his Facebook post. Graham Elliot, a chef I don't rep or even actually know that well, had posted "Fuck Chicago Magazine" on Facebook. Presumably, though because his Facebook profile didn't elaborate, because of this article.

I dunno about you, but I was expecting something a lot more salacious than the mild, obviously-trying-to-find-a-fresh-angle-because-everyone-is-reporting-this-story event report from Cassie Walker. I was hoping for Scandal! Intrigue! Slander! Possibly a photo essay of GEB in flagrante delicto with a server in the walk-in!

His FB posts seem to have deleted or hidden comments, either that or some gal named April Lee is having a rather odd conversation with herself. So, one can only guess, unless they know him and can ask. I don't, really, so I am left to guessing that GEB is upset that Walker reported his comments about wanting to sell stuff. Or maybe because there was an admission that a PR firm was involved. Some people hate when that happens. I mean, there are some negatives in the food critique, but it's no hatchet job.

Or maybe that is just part of the brilliant marketing strategy of GEB. He who makes a name for himself by way of Speedo-clad profile pictures, lashing out at Yelpers, and in general unleashing the whole of his larger-than-life personality writ large across the pages of every blog, magazine, and foodie Twitter feed.

I had been completely immune to the Lollapalooza Cheffie Fest, not being a festival-goer myself. That is until this morning when I finally took a peek at GEB's FB, Googled the article, read it, slavered over the food (I want to eat that food! Who cares about egg dripping down my face!), drank some coffee and started this post.

And now certainly a number of you are clicking, reading, drooling, thinking, and possibly running over to Sunda and demanding a delicious Bao. Now.

Because GEB does this to us. He wills us to pay attention, even to his Lollapalooza preview. Even if we decided long ago that going to the inaugural Lollapalooza was enough (Jane's Addiction rocked that party), and even if we have a personal credo to not eat chef food while standing up -- and thus don't care about the standing-up food that will be served to the Lollapalooza crowd. And he has worked at this for a good long while. Even, it seems, when he doesn't mean to.

GEB is a polarizing figure. Some love his food. Some are so dazzled by his persona that they think they love his food. Some hate him. Some hate his food. Some haven't eaten his food and decided they don't like it just because he is who he is. But we all know him -- or of him. He is everywhere.

And (this is the part you should really pay attention to) magically, he is monstrously over-exposed but in an amazing way that somehow maintains relevance. He keeps the story going. He keeps it interesting. He pulls us back in. When we see another story about him, we don't roll our eyes because we've seen it before. We read it because there is always something new.

GEB isn't afraid, never has been, to be himself and speak his mind. And once social media hit, his ~~character~~ personal brand simply grew as he navigated the new platforms, deciding how to make them work for himself. To everyone who demands there is a right way and a wrong way to social media, I simply say, "GEB." The dude is still following No. One. on Twitter! Though at least he is now interacting with people.

And he works hard at all that (apparently while simultaneously living hard and cooking hard). While everyone else fusses about how they can't possibly post a status update to Facebook because they are working so hard in the kitchen, GEB works hard in the kitchen, powers a FB page and a Twitter feed, makes his own music, does interviews, wrangles in a music festival to his world, and so on.

Not that I am condoning that chefs go out there and drop the F-bomb about an important local publication. That's an exploding IED only a few people should dare to detonate. But I think any chef who is sitting around wondering why no media seem fascinated and entranced by their Contemporary American with French Influences Small Plates Cuisine with a Twist should study GEB. Study his development of a personal brand.

Because the journalists write about him. Even the ones who (while being journalistically impartial) seem to hate him, flutter around him like moths at a light.

So, as far as marketing goes, I'm thinking GEB should be a class at culinary school. And probably business school as well. If nothing else, you, chef, should school yourself in the world that is GEB.

Bravo, Chef. (But do run for cover.)

More philosophies on restaurant success, including a submission!

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99.9 % of people don't go to dinner to be "educated."
97.2% of people don't go to your website to "experience the restaurant," they want to check the menu and confirm the address.
What people want to hear is more important than what you want to say.
If a critic can "order wrong" there is something wrong with your menu.
If you ask someone what they think and they like everything, disregard their opinion.
Don't ever tattle on the journalist who dines and dashes.
No one cares "how hard you tried," they care about their experience and the meal's value vis-a-vis their lives.
Telling a chef you didn't like something is like telling your girlfriend she looks fat. Only difference? Chefs have knives.
Don't ever write a nasty note to a critic.
Giving away free stuff to "food mafia" is better than any advertising.
Crappy reviews are a blessing if you choose not to disguise it.
It isn't that people don't get you, it's that you don't get marketing.
Press releases are mostly spam mail and often deleted before they are read.
If you want to be famous, get your ass out there and meet people (not just journalists).
If you can't write a blog because you have nothing to say, why would anyone else find you interesting?
You have the time, you haven't made your dreams a priority.
Most national journalists don't find out about you from a publicist.
Critics like to think they are anonymous, just go with that.
"Everybody" isn't a target market.
If you want to know your target market, go stand and look at the people eating in your restaurant.
Unfair is just another word for life.
One person's formula for success is another person's trip to the poorhouse.
If you want to know why journalists ignore you, read forty press releases. If you are still awake, read yours.
It isn't that the location is wrong, it's that you put the wrong restaurant there.
Your chef coat is your own personal retail frontage. Not even Tiffany's storefront looks good during a NYC garbage strike.

From Paul Fehribach, Big Jones
Every single day, remember that you are in business.
Make your numbers.

This was also inspired by Hugh MacLeod. He is brilliant. Cartoonists are often the most brilliantist of all.

My philosophies on restaurant success

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Cooking isn't the only hard job on the planet.
Be nice to your suppliers.
Chefs who are dicks aren't cool, they are dicks.
Relish in your obscurity so you can improve first.
An overnight sensation isn't.
Customers are more important than media.
Media coverage doesn't always make customers.
Don't let your ego dictate your goals.
You are responsible for your words.
Learn to type so you can send an email, tweet or write a blog.
Get a camera and share.
Your servers are more important to success than your cooks.
Cook from your heart.
Concept is everything.
Just because everyone likes everything doesn't mean you'll stay in businss.
The hip 1000 move on.
Fame is never bestowed, it is attained.
Being on "Iron Chef" is not a realistic goal.
Nobody cares about you, no matter who you are.
Participate in the community.
Don't back out of events.
If your success depends on being discovered, you'll likely fail.
A bunch of adjectives cleverly strung together is not a valid concept.
Develop a good story.
The pace of change in the world is speeding up.
Fancy plates don't make the food taste better.

Inspired by Hugh MacLeod

Communicating Vision

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You know what you are doing. You know how to make great food. You know how to deliver an experience people will love. You know what is in your heart and that you can create something great.

You know your vision. It is about your dream. The dream you will make your reality.

Communicating that vision is something else, though. Getting me to understand your reality and believe in your dream before I eat your food is hard.

It starts with your name. It needs to be something you believe in. Something that makes you sing with joy. But it also needs to be something I can understand, say, and remember. I'll be too embarrassed to recommend you to friends if I can't spell it. The cab won't know where to take me when you first open and I pronounce it wrong.

It extends to your opening announcement. It needs to explain who you are, something you feel explains your brilliance. But it also needs to be something that intrigues me, that lets me know you are different and something I need to pay attention to.

And everyday, after you open, I need to feel captivated by your vision.

When the goes gets tough, the tough turn to tactics. It is survival mode. The world of every day a new promotion, a new special, a new meal deal.

It wears on people, it doesn't captivate them. It brings them in for the day but doesn't wrap them in for the long haul.

Vision is about the long haul. It is working hard at something that you may not be good at but you know you know. And that is finding the words to express who you are and why you are relevant.

But vision is precisely what can pull you out of the tough times and so it is the first work that must be done if you are gonna survive and thrive.

Getting our head out of the sand

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Yesterday, my beloved Consigliere and I got into a disCUSS.I.O.N. over whether to store our company files on Dropbox or something else. (For the record, I'd vote for ANYTHING else.)

She strongly disagreed with me and then, in true Lauren-like fashion, offered up precisely the solution that would help me get over my damn self and use the program, which she argued was the best organizational tool around.

I tried to listen to her and not just be a close-minded asshole, but to be honest, I was having a really difficult day already with wildfires flaring up like a California forest. So, I didn't really want to listen, I didn't want to try, I just wanted the problem to go away and for her to magically make up something that would just work perfectly the way I wanted it to and not the way it does.

So, do I sound like a whiner?

Or do I sound like every other overburdened person out there, who actually has a job to do that isn't just emailing people all day long, and instead finds themselves confronted with so much information that has to be addressed, managed, processed, filed, addressed again, and so on that, well, ya want to see if your computer will blend or possibly waffleize.

And doesn't that sound like the predicament of many a chef?

In fact, to me it sounds precisely like the chef with whom I am working on a large project that involves compiling tons of information between a bunch of different people who all have brainstorms on the project at one moment or another. (Hint: It does sound like him/her.)

The thing is, like me and Dropbox, the chef is resisting putting the working documents on Google Docs, where we can all access them and make changes, updates, additions, comments, and so on. He (or, um, she) thinks it's easier to just have the information emailed all nice and neat in one (now huge) email. It was workable for the first email, but we all know happens when a whole bunch of people are included on an email string ... you guessed right, verbal spaghetti. (Well, that assumes everyone actually does "reply all," some people haven't graduated from Email 101 class just yet.)

So what this chef is doing by insisting on email is also insisting that everyone else in the group try to make sense out of a big unorganized mess of information while tracking down the bits and pieces of random crap that participants think up and send in along the way. Which might be easiest for him but ensures he isn't getting the best work from anyone, either. Er, or she.

The thing is, new technology is a pain in the ass to incorporate into daily life. When the prospect of having to learn one more system bubbles up, it never seems like it will make life easier. Nope. It just seems like one more thing to deal with when what you really want in life is to find a sensory deprivation chamber and live for a week with just your thoughts and your dog.

But life is just getting more complicated, with people sending messages via Facebook, Twitter, SMS, voice mail (curses to anyone who still leaves a voice mail), and everything else. And sticking your head in the sand is, well, short-sighted, ensures you won't get the best work out of anyone, and likely means missed opportunities.

So maybe, like me trying Dropbox, you should give a little try to something new this week. Here are some ideas:

Get your recipes on Google Docs or in Dropbox or in some other online file system so your culinary team and your PR team can access them regularly.

If you aren't on RIA, put your press materials up there, too, so you can share them with media who need them, when they need them, and not when you/your publicist gets around to digging them up and checking to make sure they are current.

And stop resisting using the tools that can make your life easier just because it seems ... hard. In fact, know this: it seems hard because you aren't using tools and so likely the communication/document portion of your life is completely unmanageable, which is exactly what these tools were designed to resolve for you.

Shift your thinking, you change your life

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I read the most amazing quote this morning, from a blog post called "How to Get Exactly What You Want" from Dave Navarro, whose blog, Rock Your Day is pretty awesome (you should subscribe):

When you believe strongly enough that you will succeed at something, success is practically guaranteed - not because your belief creates the result, but because you don't give up taking action on a massive level until you get what you want.

The quote hit me hard because I face a lot of chefs whose restaurants are not busy and when I ask them what's up, they never seem to entertain the idea that they, personally, could be doing anything differently. Seriously, that frustrates the hell out of me because I want people to succeed and this kind of thinking pretty much ensures they won't.

Now look, before you freak out, I am not suggesting that anyone's food is anything less than life-changingly wonderful. That's not even the point. The point is that the idea of "my food is great" is a belief.

And belief doesn't create result. Taking action on a massive level until you get what you want does.

I would love it if you would take a few moments this morning to really think about this: What would it look like, to take action on a massive level until you got what you wanted?

Now believe me, this exercise sucks. So if you are already in a kinda bad mood or you haven't had your coffee yet, I'd stop reading now. But if you are up ready to attack the day, this shift in thinking just might be the beginning of a life-changing way of approaching your restaurant.

Would taking action on a massive scale look like you standing around your half dead restaurant, shrugging your shoulders and not being able to figure out why people don't get it? Or would you assume that it is you that doesn't get it and work hard to make changes necessary so that you and your customer's ideas about a great restaurant started to sync up enough to make you busy? Because in the end, you want to be busy, right? The goal isn't "make my food my way, no matter what!" The goal is get paid -- trying to achieve that with as much realistic integrity as is possible.

So, if the old thinking was "people don't get it," what can you change?

Would taking action on a massive scale look like you sitting in a meeting bemoaning your bad location and thinking there isn't much you could do about that, since you can't move the restaurant? Or would you assume there are no bad locations, just wrong concepts for a location, and then work on figuring out what would make a restaurant in that location buzz with business? Because the location ain't gonna change, so really, you need to. Or you need to get a new job, I guess.

So, if the old thinking was "our location sucks," what can you change?

Would taking action on a massive scale be you continuing the serve the same food, at the same price, in the same way every night because it is awesome, everyone says they love it, even though your numbers are dwindling? Or would you assume that the hard facts are more telling than the adoration of customers who comment and that if the numbers aren't there, then that means the adoring customers aren't there and that must mean that really, they just don't like what you are doing enough to sustain you.

So, if the old thinking was "we are dead, dead, dead but we must be doing everything right because everyone says they love us," what can you change?

You get the idea. Now go, change your ideas.

Trust is more important than saving pennies

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Every time something milestone-y happens with my company, my editor/mentor/surrogate mother/friend and I celebrate with a really nice bottle of wine over dinner at her house.

It is important to me, with all the sacrificing I have done while starting up this company, to take a moment to celebrate the really significant milestones with something of an expensive treat, shared with people who have really been "the wind beneath my wings" in this project.

So, I pick out something really lovely and I save the bottles for posterity.

Well, over the weekend, we planned on one of these celebrations. We were celebrating the momentous occasion of spoonfeed launching as well as the fact that, because of investor money and a significant ramp-up in technology building and deployment, I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, after three years of barely having enough money to get by, gaining a whole bunch of weight from stress, melting my brain with crazy amounts of thinking and creativity that often has to be done on the spot -- and has to at least aspire to brilliance, if not achieve it -- I was really looking forward to celebrating that light.

And so I told the wine guy at the local liquor store. I have been trying to support this little store, because they are local and family-owned, and are trying to sell great quality product in the middle of a neighborhood filled with Indians, Muslims, Koreans and Hassidic Jews (not exactly a hard-drinking group).

The guy at the store pointed me to a sign that touted a rosé as "The Best." So, I bought two bottles, one for each celebration.

You can probably guess what happened. When we stood up to toast and took a sip, we were greeted by wine that was past its prime.

Businesses face a lot of decisions that often translate to an attempt to saving pennies at the potential risk of disappointing a customer. Some busineses, it seems, don't think twice and default to saving pennies, despite risks involved (*Cough* *Cough* BP *Cough*).

And whether or not you the reader can point to a hundred cases where the story ended on a positive note, risk is risk, be it a wine teetering on the edge of flavor or deep-water drilling, and you have to be prepared to lose the trust of valued customers if the risk doesn't fall in your favor.

I am sure the wine shop was trying to move the product quickly, knowing it was peaking/had already peaked. And I am sure they were happy to get rid of two bottles to what they thought was an unsuspecting customer. I mean, really, how many people in Lincolnwood/Skokie/Northwest Chicago are certified sommeliers? I am sure there are some, I know there are some, but there aren't a lot. Unfortunately, they sold the wine to one.

Not only am I a certified sommelier, I was also a committed customer (I was even the Foursquare Mayor of the place!). And really, I'll never go back, never recommend it, and even blog about how disappointed I am about the wine they sold me.

So, what does this have to do with restaurants? Well, I just wanted to remind the restaurants out there: building and maintaining trust with a customer base is more important than short-term sales. So don't serve dishes that aren't your kind of perfect, don't give servers a dish to push because the product is going bad, don't screw a customer out of a reservation because someone more important walks in at the last minute, and don't, don't, don't ruin anyone's celebration.

Lessons from the Power Ten

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I have this great row coach, Chauncey, over at RowFit. She keeps an eagle eye on me and happens to notice whenever my splits creep up, signaling to her that I am not working as hard as I could.

And she calls a "Power Ten." Power Ten is ten killer strokes, as hard as you can jump out of the catch position, to drive down your split beyond what you thought you could do. On the tenth stroke, Chauncey always reminds us to keep the split where it is, now that we know we can do it. To keep the power on.

In the end, if you are rowing a distance, it is easier to keep a consistent, powerful stroke going than it is to row fast for a while then slow, then fast, then slow. And anyway, your teammates would hit you with a paddle if you did that.

Chancey's Power Ten is a great lesson for marketing.

To be successful in marketing, you have to keep the power on every day. You can't blast out of the gate with a promotion to boost your dead restaurant, make a bunch of noise, hope people will pay attention, then fade away until the next promotion. Because you'll always find yourself back where you started, in a dead restaurant wondering what happened.

Not to mention it is hard for a restaurant staff, just like a rowing team, to try and keep pace when the pace is changing all the time.

Meaningless Copy

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I. Hate. Meaningless. Copy.

The NYC supplier who tells me that his sales pitch to Chicago restaurants is that he's "got a Chicago way of doing things." Meaning, what? Like, is it Al Capone Chicago? Where you kill people with Tommy guns? Is it Teamster Chicago? Where you stand around doing nothing most of the time? Is it Daley Chicago? Where you have hundreds of freaky-deaky surcharges that make your product ultimately unaffordable?

And not to bash New York, I know a lot of nice people there, but what is with The New York Times advertising that they have "The best local coverage" in their headline, noting that Sam Sifton's (NYC) restaurant reviews are part of the fantastic coverage I get if I am a subscriber? Further down, in what seemed at the time like smaller type, they then alluded to my getting the best local news, without any of the sort of specifics they offered up for Sifton.

The New York Times has a TON going for it. Its food section really rocks. I read it most every week because it is super high-quality and on-point. But. It ain't no kind of local.

Trying to be so clever in your advertising/promo copy that you attack the barrier to entry with a meaningless catchphrase or a fantasy world is just plain old overthinking it -- while simultaneously not really thinking at all.

Take the NYT for instance. I can only surmise that the dude writing the copy was trying to keep his boss happy by trying to address the one thing they all feared most: that Chicagoans wouldn't subscribe because all news is local. Guess what, all news is local. A smarter strategy would be to sell the NYT's perspective, great writing, amazing columnists, the ability to write about more topics than the local paper (which is knee-deep in local news).

It has been said before that if you have to advertise, your product is a failure and should be improved. I kinda subscribe to that theory because, if you really think about it, it makes sense.

But I'd like to add to that theory: If you have to advertise with meaningless copy or fantasy world copy, well, I don't want to call you a failure this early in the morning.

The art of the BCC

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There seems to be a lot of it going around, so I thought I would send out a friendly reminder that copying long lists of journalists in an email is not kosher, no matter your religion.

If you are sending out a blast email, please don't forget to put the media list in the BCC, instead of the To: or CC. That way, no recipient can see everyone else's email address.

You could argue that it is a bit outdated, as a concept, but like all good manners, never goes out of style.

P.S. for anyone who doesn't know how to manage this, please email me for further instructions, it is THAT important. ellen@restaurantintelligenceagency.com

Yelp isn't always toxic

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A friend of mine sent me this excerpt from Yelp! I don't even know what restaurant it is about. But I thought I would share it anyway.

I really want this place to succeed. We certainly need more restaurants in this neighborhood. However, I have some reservations. I hope the owners are reading this so they can improve their business.

I've been a couple of times in the past month and the food has been pretty good. I'd still like to try more items. The major issues with this place are that it really doesn't have its act together. While the staff are friendly, they are clueless and forget to do basic things. My friend and I both were given things that we didn't order and I had to remind the staff several times to give us things like our drinks and side items. It's like they don't even know the menu. There are also small little things that just show the owners need to play catch up...they gave me a flyer with their website on it and the site doesn't exist! Their menu board doesn't match their printed menu...etc.

Anyway, like I stated before, I want this place to stick around because we really need a cafe in the neighborhood...but I'm afraid if they don't start operating like a successful business, they'll never be one.

If you are a restaurateur, you could likely go either way on reading something like this. The blindly prideful will decide this customer has no idea what he is talking about and write it all off as yet another Yelp! Flame -- further proof that Yelpers have no idea what they are talking about.

And there will be a lot of reasons given about why the menu board doesn't match the printed menu, why the website isn't done yet, how there was one server who was new and they were let go anyway.

Another way to go, though, is to do the things that need to be done to stay in business.

Advice

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Always remember the value of a grain of salt when taking advice.

How not to solve problems

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I tend to talk in metaphors. So, when presenting an idea, a novel idea, I tend to grab some story or truism that the listener likely has heard before and understands in order to help them understand what I am trying to say.

So, let me say this: it is never a good idea to have a baby in order to solve a troubled marriage. A baby just compounds the problems, it doesn't alleviate them. In fact, couples would do well to make sure they have worked through even seemingly minor problems before having a baby makes those minor problems major.

This is my metaphor for restaurants to explain why stepping into huge marketing programs (say group discounts) isn't a good idea when there are problems to be solved about the restaurant itself.

There are times, sure, when a huge marketing program can get the word out effectively:

Your opening
Though I would argue that since the media are panting for new, they'll cover you enough to get the word out -- and you can do that cheap, just gather up all your facts and call them up yourself. (Note: I said "facts." Don't try to be all fancy and convince them to establish a new dining category because of your brilliance, they'll roll their eyes and shove you in "Contemporary American.")

When you start a new service period, like, say, brunch
Though I would argue that if you are starting a new service period and don't get much coverage about it -- after all, it is news -- likely your restaurant is kinda boring and that's a problem you need to fix.

When you want to reach a new audience
Though I would argue that cultivating a new audience takes a lot more creative work than tossing a discount on the wall and seeing if it sticks. After all, if they aren't your audience now, what makes you think they will want to be your audience later, after the discount expires? (If your answer is, "because they will see how great we are" then I would ask you to ask yourself, wouldn't they have figured that out without a discount, if it were indeed true?)

Actually, now that I think of it, when it comes to the kinds of restaurants I deal with, a huge marketing program is never the answer. What is: drill down on your concept and stop trying to be all things to all types of people, getting real about who you really are and how you need to change to be who you want to be, understanding what people really want and delivering your version of that instead of your ego on a nice Bernardaud plate.

July 2010 Archives

Courting the Once-a-Year Diner

How to Use a Journalists' Obsession to Your Advantage

Abraham Lincoln. President. Statesman. Peacemaker. Motivational Coach for Chefs.

Pitfalls of PR

Guest Post from Mike Gebert, Sky Full of Bacon

Getting ready for lift-off

Who defines your success?

And Now This: Chef FBs "Fuck Chicago Magazine"

More philosophies on restaurant success, including a submission!

My philosophies on restaurant success

Communicating Vision

Getting our head out of the sand

Shift your thinking, you change your life

Trust is more important than saving pennies

Lessons from the Power Ten

Meaningless Copy

The art of the BCC

Yelp isn't always toxic

Advice

How not to solve problems

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