The hotdog solution

I recently read a wonderful story about a chap called Will Guidara, he ran a Michelin-star restaurant in New York called 11 Madison Avenue. Not just any old Michelin-star restaurant, in 2017 it was voted the best restaurant in the world by the 50 best awards. Gaining a hefty 3 stars on it's journey.

In 2010 a group of vacationing foodies were dining in the high-end restaurant, surrounded by suited, stylish, and glamorous diners. As Will was walking past the table he overheard one of the gentlemen mention to his colleagues that they'd had an incredible food trip but lamented the fact that in their time there they had forgotten to try a famous NY hotdog. Yes, a hotdog, a processed meat, boiled hotdog, with sauerkraut, cheese, and relish.

Will had a 'bulb above the head' moment and swiftly departed the restaurant to purchase the aforementioned boiled dog. Knowing full well that his restaurant was famous for its complex, perfection achieving tasting menus, but definitely not street food, let alone a hotdog.

He returned to the kitchen and asked his head chef to present it 'a little better' his culinary genius stared back in disbelief and questioned Will's sanity in asking for this, given it was a very busy kitchen.

The chef duly applied his art and chopped the hotdog into 4 and put it on a plate.

Will returned to the table of foodies and presented the hotdog.

“No one had ever reacted to anything I served them better than they reacted to that hot dog,” Guidara said. “Each person said it was not only the highlight of their meal, but of their entire trip to New York, and they’d be telling the story for the rest of their lives.”?

This prompted Will to employ a dedicated person to create (as he calls it) 'Unreasonable Hospitality', concepts and ideas that wow guests and go way above the norm expected in any restaurant, let alone a Michelin-star restaurant.

Will has dined out (pardon the pun) on this turning point in his culinary career for many years, prompting Ted talks, many features in global publications, and now his own book, titled... yes 'Unreasonable Hospitality'

It's a great story, and Will rightly promotes it as hospitality, but it absolutely is also marketing. After all, the net result of the action was that the table would be 'talking about the experience for the rest of their lives'. Advocacy, customer-led promotion, free marketing, reputation, trust, and loyalty. But also marketing 'gravity' a term I use for companies that excel in generating a buzz, an outstanding reputation that makes people recommend you, promote you and talk about you.

The red apple in the box of green apples.

Many companies fall into the trap of just doing the norm, the average, the everyday. They are crippled by process or by expectations, they aren't willing to shift or be brave to try something new. Even when they do try something new they are scared, and nervous about making the jump so back away quickly.

Disruption is definitely not for everyone, it doesn't fit inside the 'box' that marketing courses teach you, and your everyday marketing strategy plans explode if you try to fit disruption into them. This is because it isn't linear, it's not the norm. It's agile, fluid, scary but incredibly powerful. I'm pretty sure that Will didn't have buying a hotdog in his marketing plan...

The point I'm making (hopefully) is that we live in a very noisy, busy world, where everyone is fighting for the same eyeballs, people can shift allegiance in a moment, moving away from supplier to supplier to see which one delivers to their exacting requirements. Consumers don't have to keep visiting your shop or cafe all the time, they have a wealth of choices, consumers don't have to keep buying from your store or service company, there are 10 hungry competitors waiting to take your place. If you are just a green apple in a box of green apples then why should someone choose you?

I'm not suggesting you start shipping processed meat with your orders or adding them to your menu... rather taking inspiration from someone who was passionate about the customer experience, someone who knew that breaking the rules in his own business would lead to, at the very least, some happy customers who would go on to talk about their experience. Hopefully, promote it on socials and become a lovely case study for the restaurant.

Marketing isn't just about promotion, it's every touchpoint your business has with its customers. From the coffee you serve them (we had a brilliant coffee machine in our agency that actually made customers visit us) to the way you deliver your service to the way you pack your products. (who reading this still has a box for their iphone or ipad, it's too lovely to throw away)

This logic requires a shift in marketing mentality, it requires a deep-rooted desire to move at pace, to be brave, and to not sit staring at marketing documents that force activities into a linear progression. Of course, you need a marketing strategy document, but just like a business plan, be prepared to rip it up and pivot if it's not working.

Stop doing boring, normal, and expected stuff, stop following the rules so closely, start experimenting, be unique, and really, really try to understand what would make your customers smile. Let everyone else do boring marketing, they can be the green apples while you sit there proud as the only red apple in the box.