Everyone’s concerned about Google keeping tabs on your privacy. Here’s one group of businesses that apparently don’t keep tabs on you – restaurateurs.
Here’s the story.
I bought a Groupon for a restaurant. I actually buy lots of them – Groupon has taught me never to pay full price for a meal – but that’s another story. I actually buy more food than the Groupon is worth so the restaurant can actually make money – but that’s another story.
Here’s the story.
My wife and I went to the Goda Cafe, a superb hole-in-the-wall restaurant (and I say that with all due respect. Most hole-in-the-wall restaurants are great). They served Ethiopian food. The owner was marvelously charming.
He immediately welcomed us and called us “friend.” Nice touch.
We asked him what was good. We understood steak, chicken and tilapia, but didn’t know anything about the spices. He gave us a good overview and we ordered.
Then we sat down to wait for the takeout order. The restaurant was in a dicey part of town and we thought it might be better to eat at home and watch TV.
Two minutes later, he brought out two bowls of soup and two bottles of water – on the house!
Nice touch.
Twenty minutes later, the food was cooked and placed in white, Styrofoam containers. But instead of getting our money and sending us on our way, he asked my wife to sample the food to make sure it was good.
It was!
Very good.
We paid and as we left, he gave us two more bottles of water.
“In the Sahara,” he said, “People give water to friends when they leave their house.”
Nice touch.
That would have been the end of a nice customer service story, but here’s the rest of the story.
I told this story to my buddy Stuart Gray who consults with restaurants. I thought he’d be bowled over by this wonderful customer service story.
Stuart Gray's Remarkable Service for restaurant owners
Instead, he replied, “Did they put you on a list? Do they know how to reach you again?
Uh, no.
Well, I guess Groupon knows, but I hear that Groupon will gladly sell that info to the restaurant. I wish my new friend had thought to ask.
Oh well.
Do you know who your customers are? Do you give visitors a way to identify themselves to you and join your lists, read your blogs or connect with you on Facebook (which is going to become the dominant search marketing tool and customer retention tool)? If not, why not? You are letting repeat business slip through your fingers.
2012 Marketing and Publicity Trends Predictions
I’ve been correctly predicting Internet marketing trends since 1994 when I wrote one of the first books on Internet Marketing. I’ve been right before so there’s no reason to think I won’t be right again. You can bet the farm on most of these trends and get even money on the others.
1. Mobile marketing will take off in ways you never imagined.
2. People will be saying, “Visit my app,” in addition to – or instead of - “Visit my website.” The app will be the brochure, website, and starting point of interactivity.
3. Small businesses on Main Street will have apps that provide basic info and coupons – even if they don’t have a website.
4. Doctors, dentists and other appointment-based businesses will rely on text messages and other mobile communications to confirm appointments so they don’t lose money on no shows.
5. Your prospects will think all types of written or spoken intellectual property –ezines, books, articles, webinars, teleseminars – ought to be free.
6. You will think that all information ought to be free – except your information, of course.
7. It will be harder and harder to convince people to pay for intellectual property that is available online. They will pay for customized services specifically for them. Start planning your services menu accordingly.
8. Entrepreneurs will finally heed Michael Gerber’s mantra to work on the business, not in the business. But they will take action by HIRING outside professionals who can do the work for them instead of waiting to do the work themselves. Productivity and profits will increase while procrastination will decrease.
9. This phrase will be on everyone’s lips and t-shirts: “If you get something for free, then you aren’t the customer. You are the product.” I didn’t make this up. I wish I did. Think about it. We aren’t Google’s customer, or Facebook’s customer. We are the products they are selling to advertisers. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being considered an “eyeballs.”
10. Spam will invade social media sites in overt and covert ways, making visits to those sites less enjoyable.
11. There will be more people showing you how to sell speaking services than there will be companies who can hire speakers. Okay, that one was low. <g>
What are your predictions?