The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 15, 2002

I just returned from Reno where I addressed a group of quick service franchisees on the importance of reviving and re-invigorating their brand to avoid becoming casualties of the market. This weekend I return to Pittsburgh to deliver the program I was supposed to do last August when I was so rudely interrupted by a heart attack!

THE BRAND IS THE KEY
Perhaps I just have branding on my mind today, but there are a number of concepts that developed in the early to mid-60's -- the heyday of new restaurant chains -- that are now very tired and in need of re-invention. Some will pull it off, some will not . . . but it reminds me of the critical importance of staying fresh and current in the marketplace. I am talking about more than just repainting and replacing the carpet (although few operators do either as frequently as they should.)

Keeping the brand alive means establishing, maintaining and polishing a consistent image in the minds of the public while continually evolving the operation to appeal to your core market in fresh new ways. A brand is really a set of expectations, a promise that you make to the market. Deliver on that promise and you prosper. Break it and you start to undermine the equity in your brand. Break it more than a few times (or fail to establish your brand promise in the first place) and you risk dropping off your guests' radar.

CREATE THE BUZZ
Everybody says that (positive) word-of-mouth is the best advertising, but there is no word-of-mouth without something to talk about. If your restaurant was being reviewed, what would the writer have to talk about that would be different from other operations in your area? If you can't put a list of several dozen points together quickly, you are probably running a boring restaurant. Stop it!

A POINT TO PONDER
This note from Max Hitchins' weekly e-letterColin Powell said, "The day solders stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence in you or concluded that you do not care. Either way indicates you are failing as a leader."

A Note from the Doc:
Would you qualify as an excellent leader by this standard of measurement?

MAKE THE MOVE, SAVE A BUCK
Just a reminder that the early registration deadline for the Super Summit is actually today, March 15. However, realizing that Friday is a tough day for most of you . . . and being a soft touch . . . I will leave the early registration discount up on the Super Summit website (www.hospitalitymasters.com) until Monday. But after that . . .

Even without the discount, the Super Summit is a must-be-there event. Imagine 20 cutting-edge presentations of all-new ideas and insights from nine of the leading experts in the hospitality industry. Imagine this brain trust putting their collective wisdom to work FOR YOU in one-on-one hot seat consultations. Imagine master-minding with 99 of the best operators from around North America. We even have at least one flying in from Australia! Imagine receiving a binder stuffed with best practices -- proven approaches that the assembled group of operators has used to grow their companies, increase sales, reduce costs and generally improve profitability. Imagine behind-the-scenes tours of some of the hottest restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, "research" that can yield dozens of hot ideas that your market has probably never seen before. Imagine six month of follow-up support to help assure that you will actually put your profitable new ideas to work. Can you say "unfair advantage?" All this . . . and an unbelievable "you can't lose" guarantee. You just HAVE to be there!

If you are ready to register, it's time to get busy. You can register online. If you are thinking that you don't have the time or are nervous about what an event of this magnitude is going to cost (you will be surprised at how reasonable it is), you owe it to yourself to get the whole story before you decide to pass this up. Be prepared to be impressed! The Super Summit will be held at Seattle's prestigious Washington Athletic Club on April 29-30. Call me if you have questions, but remember that registration is limited . . . and the clock is ticking!

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