How to stay relevant and listen to Customers

These days the words ‘Entrepreneur’ and ‘Start-up’ are highly fashionable and used with a lot of pomp. And needless to say, that in this free world they are used with no restrictions. Rags to riches stories sell, the hero in all the movies defeats a bigger than size villain or threat which is beyond the capability of normal average beings. It’s always generally the David vs Goliath story. A story of self-belief, wit, courage and doing the right thing over everything else. This is the same reason why the word ‘Entrepreneur’ is glorified. An ‘Entrepreneur’ starts with just the match-stick and the box to set alight to his idea. If the match can set fire and create the warmth required to get some smiles is dependent on a lot of other factors. Not every match will set a lasting fire. And not every idea is a successful business. So the one which is makes a good story and is out everywhere. The public loves them, the media loves them. They become an inspiration. And the success or failure of the ‘Entrepreneur’ is never mathematics, the variables are too extreme to believe in perfect calculations.

At best all we have is to make some calculated risks and hope to give our match the best chance to succeed. And at the same time not go too hard at it and break it. Being an ‘Entrepreneur’ requires a balance between intense focus and at the same time calmness. In all this drama what we miss is the basics and gets blurred with the glorification of this certain word. Every single year, thousands of Entrepreneurs venture out in your city. We never hear about the thousand stories. We hear just a handful and they are the happy stories. But there must be something common in the very few who survive and make it to dream another day. And at the same time, there must be some common pattern in all the missed dreams too. So what is that one trait. Can it even be defined? If it can be, then doesn’t it make it very easy for every aspiring entrepreneur to acquire it. Of course not. Knowledge how doesn’t guarantee success in achieving it. There is a reason the best coaches were never the best players and vice versa.

Knowing the Inner Potential

It’s not that important to be an entrepreneur, what is most important is that ‘why’ you are one. And the reason ‘why’ will have to surpass everything else and be your strongest urge. So as long as we have the urge to stay irrespective of the results, we are only going to observe, analyze and improve and put up a better show. You can use different words to describe this urge – self-belief, conviction, persistence. It’s all of them, you’ll have to have the self-belief in the idea and yourself, the conviction to fight through the tough waters, and the persistence to last for longer than required with the same intensity. All this combined will make sure a majority of the conventional logic which leads to negativity is thrown under the towel. This urge is what will tap into some power in you which is beyond the intelligence and logic you understand from the books, it taps into a power you already possess which is your ‘instinct’. And ‘instinct’ never works with self-doubt and half measures. It is the biggest and the most natural strength we as humans have and the most necessary one for an ‘Entrepreneur’.

It’s all About the Instinct

Why do you want to do what you are doing? It can’t be because you hated your previous job or your boss. It has to be something pure and very directly related with what you are doing, maybe it is just the passion in creating something new and giving it to the world, maybe it is the feeling of responsibility and giving back to planet earth and the beings by making the world a better place, may be its about spreading smiles and making your customers comfortable, may be its about making money and creating value. But whatever it is, the conviction and the self- belief in the same needs to be bonded by life. Nothing can come change and question this and it is this belief what’ll pull your instinct out and make sure you last long enough to be successful. I personally don’t believe in exit strategies, if your house is going to be on fire, you have an option of killing the fire early be looking at the solutions, or you can just look at the exit and run. Exit strategies don’t make an ‘Entrepreneur’ they make him doubt his very existence.

The world needs entrepreneurs to succeed, they balance the capitalistic world we live in. Nations and multi-nationals live on proved and tried formulas, but every formula was the birth child of an idea. And, every idea started in a small mind of some entrepreneur. Check out Elon Musk, Jackma, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Henry ford, Jeff Bezos, Larry page & Sergey Brin and many others. Yes of course they are just the minute few successful ones of the millions who’ve tried. But they all did have this common urge, the complete focus and being super sure on ‘why’ they do what they do. “Failure was never their fear. Not trying was.”

Note: please note that use of his/her in the article is of no particular reference or preference to any gender. It is just for the ease of flow of thoughts through the article.

For any business to run successfully it require more than just capital.It requires a good force of strategy, marketing, research, promotions, quality and packaging. Today’s consumer is a lot more aware and conscious about what they are buying. They believe in verifying the authenticity of the brand, safety of the products, its values and its vision.

Packaging represents the brand; first contact of a brand to its consumer is through the packaging. It is considered as an opportunity for any brand to communicate their message visually and plays a pivotal role across industries. In retail sales, the packaging attracts the customer’s eye and affects the buying decision. If a product has unique packing it instantly gathers the customer’s attention.Packaging is considered as a differentiation tool, which aids consumers to recognise one product from the other and helps them in making a choice among a wide range of similar products.Packaging excites the customers and people often tend to rebuy products from the brand that use attractive packaging.

Packaging depends on various factors such as colour, logo, design, fonts, and material used. Colours help in differentiating one product from competitor’s product. Colours used in packaging, not only helps to draw consumer attention but can also be used in context of marketing goals. Similar type of products often adopt similar packaging styles in terms of colour and design,for e.g. black, silver and gold are often used for luxury products. Brands that aim to present an edgy look will often pair bright colours with black, which alsoshowcases energy and sophistication. Similarly, each colour has its own relevance and importance.

Different products have different designs in packaging, for example- Tech products come in sleek and innovative packaging, beverages in different types of bottles and food in such packages that it is convenient for the customers to consume.Design helps in recognising the category of the product.The packaging designed to be easily carried, used and stored will perform better in the marketplace as compared to others. Even the shape of packaging speaks for the product like angular shapes are associated with masculinity and femininity can be visualised in curved shapes. Innovative packaging attracts consumer and helps in adding value to the product.

Labelling on products provides information on the category of the product, its ingredients, and instructions for using, consuming them. This works as a guide for consumers, to know what actually their products contain, like nutritional fact, and when the product was manufactured, by which government authority the products are certified and whether it suits their need or not. The language used on packaging also influences consumer behaviour, if the text is clearly readable it is appreciated more.

The material used in packaging has a strong impact on buying behaviour. Good quality material not only safeguards the product during transportation but one of its main objectives is to protect the product from any damage or loss in its nutritional value. It saves the product from UV rays, and other elements that can harm the product. Nowadays consumers are becoming environment sensitiveand they prefer eco-friendly packaging which can be recycled easily.

There are many factors that affect buying decision of consumers in one or the other way. These are quality, price, brand value and ethics, brand history and reputation, packaging and availability of products. A brand needs to equally focus on all of these to build a trust amongst its target audience.Loyalty of the consumer is build basis the product quality and its worth vis a vis the price points. A loyal customer is hard to gain but once earned, their word of mouth helps the brand grow and influence the purchasing decision of the prospective customers.

More and more customers these days are relying on social media and online reviews to make decision when selecting a restaurant to dine in or when ordering a food from any place. And in today’s world, where customers are very instant on posting their feedback on social media about their experiences at a restaurant, ensuring that information remains positive is becoming critical to success.

Also, it is imperative for a restaurant to have a strong online presence in today’s digital world. With social media marketing growing rapidly, the risks associated with brand image have gone up. Therefore, it is important not to underestimate the impact of social talks. Creating trustworthy, shareable and readily available content is the best defence against any negative comment or review. Here is four ways expert believes can help gain online reputation:

Update your Restaurant Website: First impression first, your own website is the first go to for any customer visiting online, so make sure it is worthy of browsing your website. The landing page, menu, product offerings, contact information and other aspects such as any offers or promotions running at the time in restaurant is properly mentioned on the website. A bio page is good to start with a detail about owners and its beginning. Also, mentioning about team attracts more people to associate with your restaurant and brand because people love working with organizations that takes pride in its people.

You can also add your recognitions, awards and accomplishments, which gives consumers a detail picture of who you are and what your brand is. Also, never ever forget updating the site.

Write a Restaurant blog: Over the years blogging has become one of the easiest methods to get connected to a brand and read what’s the inside story. It can add more value and not just your visibility in search engines. You can post new recipes, food stories and travel videos behind finding some menu and ingredients. It will act as a catalyst in building relationships with guests. Also, you can update the blog with global trends and give insights on industry which will keep you ahead of your competitor. Do not forget to produce quality content as customers are smarter than what you think!

Manage online reviews: Over the years restaurant customers have trusted online and guest reviews more than any other options. According to experts around 90 per cent people look at online reviews before making a decision. Also, people these days trust word of mouth and they look out for their closed ones for recommendations. So, you need to be very attentive on what people write and comment about your brand online. Also, try to be responsive. No matter whether people write a negative or a positive review about your brand, always and forever revert to them. This adds into your brand value. The best way to get more positive reviews for your business is to value your customers with respect on and offline- and they will come back with a positive feedback.

Be more Social: It is not necessary to be viable and viral on online on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram but also put yourself and your restaurant place in such a way that people love interacting with you in these sites. If you’re doing something newsworthy, make sure your customers know about it! Sharing recent press, upcoming events or notable company announcements over social media is a great way to make sure that you stay relevant and updated.

Pic Courtesy: Elevatemybrand

Family business, new leaders & young start-ups with unfamiliar know-how have successfully navigated today’s new normal of tough consumer demands, high-quality menu expectations and game-changing technology. These young guns have got the winning formulas of leading growth chains set to be tomorrow’s big brands. And, hence we can say that the Generation Next is all set to change the restaurant industry.

Savar Malhotra whose grand-dad started The Embassy restaurant in 1948 in CP is now actually the third generation from the family who is eating at the same table. “More than the food it was the consistency that we have to play upon. So, someone who has visited us in 1970s still expect the same in 2018,” shared Malhotra whose oldest employee is working from last 45 years and the youngest one is 25 years old in the business. It is not only the food but the guest want to see the same employees and that’s where the connection is and the brand continues to grow.

Each and every thing you do in a brand, you have to give importance, value to it. You have to see each brand needs to be taken and given that life. “The biggest problem is to get the people who can build that story and get that connect. And, we have given attention in filling these gaps. So, we have focused in getting people in every brand who have acted as the owner for the particular brand,” pointed Varun Kapur, ED, K Hospitality Corp that runs iconic restaurants chains like The Copper Chimney, The Bombay Brasserie and The Irish House to name a few.

Glamorizing the humble Dosa

North Indians have not loved dosa so much before than with the opening of this small restaurant at New Friends Colony that started almost six years back and has now expanded to two more outlets at GK2 and Gurgaon respectively. “Dosa is everyone’s most accepted comfort food. Retaining the classiness and recipe of a Dosa is very important and that’s what we have done at Carnatic Café,” said Pavan Jambagi, Co-Founder, Carnatic Café who has grown up eating the best dosa in Bengaluru, Malleswaram area which is known as the mecca for the best dosa. “I think it’s coming from reminding my life and reminiscing the same dosa,” added Jambagi who relicated the same here in Delhi.

Scaling it Right!

Scalability is not the starting point of a show when you take a brand. You take a concept and you do the best you can. Once that goes into the play then you can look into scaling. You know the product is right, what the customer want and then you can obviously sit down and plan this out. “I don’t think the business plan needs to be put first. Once you get it right, you think and make the plan to scale,” added Kapur.

Similarly, the owners at Embassy also wanted to scale their restaurant at one point but thinking about the speciality that they are serving or catering to, they dropped the plan. “We wanted to expand at one point in time and then we thought are we McDonald’s? or are we serving speciality cuisine. So, created the value of the brand,” added Malhotra who is expanding their catering and all over India.