 Positioning is where you put yourself on the ladder of success. Test yourself by filling in the blanks: My restaurant is the one that....
Here are a few examples of national restaurants that have positioned themselves near the top, and note that except for one, all have inadvertently left room for competition:
Quick! Name a seafood restaurant! We’ll bet anything, Red Lobster will come to mind immediately. In most other categories, however, chains have found it more difficult to define themselves. Steakhouse? It’s a toss-up between Outback and Longhorn. Maybe Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris, if we asked for a pricier place. In fact, any regional or local steak house that tries harder and has positioned itself as a leader has a good chance to be number one in the mind of the consumer – people in Jacksonville swear by The Tree, in Brooklyn, it’s Peter’s Steak House, and on and on.
Ask the name of an Italian restaurant, and the results may be even more open to competition. Olive Garden, Carrabba’s, Johnny Carino’s, or whichever one, chain or private, is in the neighborhood.
We could go on and on citing examples. Family restaurants? Applebee’s, Chili’s, and dozens of others. Rib places? We won’t even start listing the contenders.
Yet for all their seeming success, scope and financial clout, none of these chains own their concept outright like Red Lobster. In fact, its position is so strong, that many would-be seafood restaurant chains went out of business trying to compete next door, across the street or even in the neighborhood where a Red Lobster had dug in its claws.
Strong positioning is preemptive and the strongest defense against competition. So why don’t more restaurants have it? Often, they don’t know how. Or more often, they just don’t see what their customers see. The best positioning ideas are so simple and obvious, that people overlook them.
And remember, it’s not what you think, but what people think that counts.
And who do you think of when we say, “let’s go out for a cup of coffee”? Starbucks. Their positioning is clear and simple. They do a great job with their internal merchandizing and their menu is very focused. They don’t spend money on mass media and instead focus on a core product line and flawless execution.
Ask yourself where your restaurant ranks on the positioning ladder. Do people know what you represent? Is there a restaurant with your concept nearby? If not, would they dare to be? If you are known, what are you known for?
If the answer to any of the questions above is less than satisfactory, put QMG to work.
Contact us to find out how Quantified Marketing Group can help your restaurant.
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