DALLAS —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
Whether through an anonymous exchange on a social-media site or a one-on-one conversation with a server in the restaurant, educating customers about a chain’s unique brand image is the best way to get customers invested in the brand, the executives said during a panel discussion at the recent Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference in Dallas. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
Daniel Kim, founding president and chief executive of 55-unit tart-yogurt chain Red Mango, told conference attendees that his company promotes its hip image and engages customers through a strong social-media presence on Facebook and Twitter. The Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based chain now has more than 90,000 fans on Facebook, up from around 2,000 earlier this year, he said. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
“We can communicate to [customers], but more importantly, listen to them,” he said. “It’s real-time engagement.” —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
The chain will occasionally leak information on Facebook or solicit suggestions from consumers on new flavors. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
“We’ll say, ‘We’re releasing a new flavor soon. What do you think it is?’ and within 10 minutes, we’ll have hundreds of guesses,” Kim said. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
Other panelists were Joe Fugere, owner of pizza chain Tutta Bella; Tom Ryan, founder of burger concept Smashburger; Chris Simms, founder and chief executive of The Lazy Dog Café; and Doug Tomlinson, founder and chief executive of Vino Volo, a wine bar specializing in airport locations. The Hot Concepts awards, given each year by Nation’s Restaurant News, are sponsored by The Coca-Cola Co. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
The session was moderated by William Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
Ryan said Denver-based Smashburger, which has 21 locations in 11 states, actively courts local bloggers when entering a new market, sometimes even hosting lunches to let them experience the brand. Because online messages can reach so many people, the chain takes very seriously the potential impact of online media, he said. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
“There’s always been freedom of speech,” he said, “but now there’s freedom to listen.” —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
Once customers are in the restaurants, Smashburger aims to create a strong connection with diners by tailoring between 10 percent and 20 percent of the menu to local tastes and ingredients. The Idaho Smashburger is topped with potato chips, the spicy Arizona Smash-burger features habanero cheese and a Chipotle bun, and the Iowa Smashburger features the state’s Maytag blue cheese. Some markets offer local microbrews. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
At Seattle-based Tutta Bella, employees are trained to get customers excited about the four-unit chain’s adherence to authentic Neapolitan pizza-making techniques, Fugere said. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
“We don’t hire employees. We hire storytellers,” he said. “They can help customers learn that our tomatoes are grown on the hills of Mount Vesuvius, how the volcanic soil affects the flavor, that Neapolitan pizza was a peasant food and now is an artisan food. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
“We’ll ask a guest, ‘Have you had Neapolitan pizza before?’ and if they say no, we light up,” he added. “It’s a matter of wanting to educate the customer and getting a thrill from it.” —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
Vino Volo, which has wine bars in eight U.S. airports, also aims to make guests comfortable through education. To offset that fear factor, Vino Volo keeps prices low and menu language straightforward. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
“Most people love wine, but almost none of them like buying it,” Tomlinson said. “It can be a very intimidating and elitist experience. [But] you don’t need to know how to pronounce Gewürztraminer to order the European whites flight.” —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
Simms, owner of the four-unit, upscale-casual Lazy Dog Café, said employees are his greatest tool in the quest to connect with diners. He describes the Huntington, Calif.-based company’s culture as an “upside-down pyramid,” in which executives are at the bottom and staff and guests are the most important part of the business. —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.
“That empowers the staff to care for the guest, to show them how truly gracious we are that the guest is there,” he said. “It’s important that the guest feel appreciated.”— [email protected] —As cash-strapped consumers continue to think carefully about where they spend their dining-out dollars, the key to standing out from the crowd is creating a dialogue with them, said executives of this year’s five Hot Concepts! award-winning chains.