This Is My Favorite Word

Many restaurateurs believe that if they have built what they think is the very best steak or pizza, French, vegetarian, chicken, pub or you-name-it restaurant, the public will beat a path to their door.

Wrong.

‘Best to forget about that ‘Field of Dreams’.

There are too many food service outlets and not enough customers. There are too many choices too.

The customer is both King and Queen.

Being successful in this business today means picking a niche, and then targeting.

This is made possible only by asking and answering the most important question in your marketing plan: Who?

Before you ask and answer: what, why, when, where and how, you must determine the ideal target of your business and your marketing dollars. First, you must ask WHO.

“Who” answers the most critical question: who is the market for your proposed restaurant/outlet and service?

•    What are their needs and wants?
•    Does your idea meet their needs?
•    Does your concept provide a solution to a problem they might be having with other     competing outlets?
•    Will your proposed guests recognize the intrinsic value of your proposed menu and service? Would they consider this restaurant to be a ‘need to visit’ or a ‘nice to visit’?
•    Importantly, do these people in your target group have the money and opportunity to buy such a concept as you envision?
•    Are there enough of them living in your trading area to justify the investment and risk?
•    Even more importantly these days, how far would they be prepared to drive to reach your intended location?

Before you take over a lease, build a new building, retrofit an existing facility, be sure to ask yourself WHO.