Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] There is a question that I love to ask often from the stage when I'm giving a talk on marketing, I'll be in front of a room of 3, 4, 500 restaurant owners and I'll say, so when we talk about marketing and marketing restaurants, what is the most powerful marketing tool available to us? And the answer comes back in chorus. You know, hundreds of people saying word of mouth. And I say, great, I agree with you. So what's your word of mouth strategy? And I get a bunch of blank stares and they go, oh, that's not really how word of mouth works, right? We just, you know, people come in, they have a great time and then they go tell people that that's word of mouth.
[00:00:35] And that sentence sounds humble, right? It's a humble explanation. It sounds confident, it sounds good because it's earned.
[00:00:43] But here's the reality. Word of mouth is not a strategy, it's simply a result.
[00:00:49] And most restaurants using word of mouth as an excuse, are unknowingly choosing randomness over growth.
[00:00:57] So today, on today's episode, we're going to dismantle one of the most misunderstood ideas in hospitality. This idea of wor of mouth and how it happens. And I want to replace it with something far more powerful. All of that on today's episode. Don't go anywhere.
[00:01:13] There's an old saying that goes something like this. You'll only find three kinds of people in the world. Those who see, those who will never see, and those who can see when shown. This is Restaurant Strategy, a podcast with answers for anyone who's looking.
[00:01:35] Foreign.
[00:01:44] Thanks for tuning in. My name is Chip Close. I am your host of this, the Restaurant Strategy podcast. We put out two episodes every single week. This show is geared towards independent restaurant owners looking to increase the profitability of their restaurants. Again, two episodes every week. You can find me all over the Internet, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, sharing what I have learned about running profitable restaurants. I run a membership site and I also run the P3 mastermind group coaching program where I work with successful, very, very competent, capable restaurant owners. But they are not making what they feel they deserve. Right? The average independent restaurant in this country makes 5% profit. So on a million dollar restaurant, that's $50,000 cleared to the bottom line. And the average independent restaurant in this country is co owned by multiple owners. So $50,000 gets split two, three, four ways. It's not enough. You deserve more. If you have a great restaurant and you make a lot of people happy, you feed a lot of people, but you are stuck at single digit profit margins or 10, 11, 12. I'm here to tell you you deserve more. And there is a way to get more. We target consistent, predictable 20% returns. And if any of that resonates, if that feels interesting to you, then reach out and let's just have a conversation. RestaurantStrategyPodcast.com Schedule. You grab time on the calendar. We'll ask each other a bunch of questions. You'll chat with me, someone from my team, and let's just see if you're a good fit. There's zero pressure. The program We've already put like 500 people through the program. Currently nearly 150 members enrolled in the program and I share the numbers. Just so you know you are not alone. We have four unique groups so that 150 people are spread out. It's an incredible community. You're going to find a whole lot of people who are dealing with the same crap you are. RestaurantStrategyPodcast.com Schedule this begins simply as a conversation. That link is in the Show Notes now. My friend, my colleague, one of the coaches in the P3 mastermind is a guy named Rev Ciancio. Some of you may have heard him on this podcast. He has a podcast? He's been on stage with me tons of times. He is probably the smartest restaurant marketer I know. He works with hundreds of restaurants all over the country and is an operator himself. He owns a place called Handcraft Burgers and Brew in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
[00:04:00] Every time he works with a new restaurant, he insists they use Marquee. We recommend Marquee to all of our P3 members for SEO Listings Management and reputation management. With Marquee, you can manage and respond to all of your reviews on Google, Yelp, OpenTable, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Grubhub, Uber Eats, you name it, all in one central place. They help you improve your star ratings with consistent review responses and will even respond for you if you don't have time. Marquis also makes sure that all your hours, menus and other online information is accurate across the entire Internet, which helps place you higher in near me searches, which we both know ultimately helps you get more butts in seats. If you're curious to learn more, visit marquee.com that's M A R Q I I dot com. As always, you'll find that link in the show Notes.
[00:04:54] Word of mouth is powerful, but it's not magic. At best, it should be mechanical. So I want to start this whole conversation by stripping away the romance word of mouth isn't luck. It isn't hope. It isn't destiny. It isn't, you know, people just loving the place and they can't help but talk about it.
[00:05:15] Word of mouth happens when the expectations are clear and they are exceeded. When experiences are consistent and or above and beyond, when emotions are triggered, when there are stories to tell, when there are stories that become easy to tell.
[00:05:32] And if any one of those breaks, then word of mouth disappears. Yet most owners treat it like the weather, right? Like something that either happens or doesn't happen.
[00:05:42] And again, that's not how word of mouth happens. At least that's not how I want you to to think about word of mouth. See, most restaurants confuse no complaints with we're awesome. But here's the brutal truth. Guests don't talk about restaurants that are just fine. How many times have you heard me say that on this show? I'm simply repeating it. Nobody talks about restaurants that are, okay, fine, mediocre. They talk about moments, surprises, emotional contrast, and stories.
[00:06:13] Most restaurants deliver adequacy. Adequacy does not spread.
[00:06:20] It does not create evangelism. It does not inspire people to want to go out and share anything. Right? No one complained. Is not a marketing win. It's neutrality. It's table stakes. You got to do what you say you're going to do. You got to make sure the food is good and it comes out on time and the service is, you know, is good.
[00:06:40] The service is generous. Neutrality doesn't spread. Mediocrity doesn't spread. The only thing that spreads. And I know you know this, but let me just say it is the five stars and the one stars. Somebody had a great experience. They're like, oh, my God, I have to talk about this. And the terrible experiences, they have to say, oh, my God, you'll never believe how bad this place was.
[00:06:58] Anything in the middle, man, people just stay quiet. People love to talk about the great stuff and the bad stuff. I do it all the time. I dine out a lot. My entire life is in restaurants. Guess what I talk about the great stuff and the horrible stuff. The bagel place, right? Where I get my bagel sandwich down the street after I drop my kid off at school. I've never talked about it except to talk about how I never talk about it, right? But the great restaurants I go to with the really great, you know, with a really great new menu or the great drinks or the cool vibe or whatever that I'll talk about, or the terrible experience I have, like, oh, my God, Again, you'll never believe, man, one thing after another. What a disaster.
[00:07:34] Anything in the middle? Nope. So word of mouth, if you don't know this already, let me tell you. Word of mouth requires a story.
[00:07:42] Has nothing to do with the menu or what you actually serve. It's the story behind what you do and what you serve. See, guests don't tell their friends, oh man, like the chicken was seasoned correctly.
[00:07:54] They say, man, you'll never believe what happened when we walked in. Or did you know, they remembered my name? Or they did this one thing that surprised us.
[00:08:02] See, word of mouth requires a hook. It requires a moment, it requires contrast. And if your experience doesn't change the emotional state of your guests, there's no story.
[00:08:14] Now, most owners hope for word of mouth. They don't design for it. And again, I've said this before, I'll say it again. Hope is not a system. Restaurants that rely on word of mouth usually don't define a story. They don't train to the moment. They don't reinforce behavior. They don't measure what is repeatable. They simply hope guests notice that something was special.
[00:08:39] But the very best restaurants out there, the most profitable restaurants, decide what should be noticed and build that into their systems.
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[00:09:40] Now, this is very important.
[00:09:42] Word of mouth actually starts before the food even arrives, right? So here's a misconception. Let's just get this out there. Most owners think that word of mouth is about the food quality. And again, it's not. It's about the story. It's about the emotion. See, food is table stakes. It better be right. It better be good.
[00:10:00] Word of mouth starts with the greeting, the energy, the vibe, the confidence, the feeling of belonging, that sense of community, that sense of surprise.
[00:10:11] Emotion is what drives word of mouth. You'll never believe.
[00:10:15] You'll never believe because I was taken by surprise.
[00:10:19] See, people remember how you made them feel long before they remember what they ate. We still talk about incredible experiences when we travel. And I can hardly remember what the dish was, what the meal was, but I remember the tour they gave my son of the kitchen. I remember the extra course they sent us. I remember the gift they brought my wife. I remember little things. I remember the story of the wine cellar, right? A restaurant brought us down to their wine cellar, which was, you know, an old path to sneak. To sneak the, you know, the early Christians out to the coast when they were being. When they were being sought out and, you know, broug to the, you know, brought to the Roman emperor.
[00:11:00] Those are stories. I could walk through that, what's now a wine cellar and visit the tunnel that leads out to the coast to help people, you know, leave, flee persecution.
[00:11:11] Consistency is what turns all those moments then into momentum. See, one magical night doesn't create growth, but if you can make those repeatable, those moments repeatable, they do.
[00:11:24] So if the experience only works when a certain server is on, or when the server is in a good mood, or when the owner is present, or when the restaurant is not busy, well, then word of mouth will always be fragile. And that's a really important word to understand.
[00:11:39] See, consistency is what turns a story into a pattern.
[00:11:44] So we have to understand the emotion behind the experience, and we've got to make that repeatable. We have to systematize that. We have to make it consistent. Here's the deal. You can't outsource word of mouth. See, no. No agency can fix this. No consultant, no ad can fake it. No influencer can replicate it.
[00:12:03] Word of mouth lives inside the operation, which, guess what, good for you means. You get to control it. It lives in service standards. It lives in the training. It lives in the culture you establish. It resides in the leadership that you provide.
[00:12:20] Marketing can amplify word of mouth, of course, but it cannot create it.
[00:12:26] And here's the real shift I want you to make right. Word of mouth is not a marketing plan. And it will not be your marketing plan. It is simply the reward for operational excellence and a focus, a dedication to stories, emotion, consistency. So if you want more of it, stop wishing for it and just start designing it. Bake it into the recipe.
[00:12:50] Here's what I want you to do this week. I want you to ask this question honestly. What story do we want guests telling about us tomorrow? I want everybody walking out of here and telling people what.
[00:13:00] And if you can't answer that clearly, well, then word of mouth will always be accidental.
[00:13:06] Here's the deal. The restaurants that grow don't wait for word of mouth. They simply go out and engineer it, they design it, they bake it into the pie.
[00:13:18] Again, I want to thank you guys for being here. Appreciate it. I know there's a lot of great shows you can listen to. I appreciate you making this show part of your week. Again. My name is Chip Close. I am your host here of this, the Restaurant Strategy Podcast. I will see you next time.
