How to create a Tipsy experience for your customers

I recently interviewed Derek Ong, an entrepreneur who has been making waves in the food and beverage scene here in Singapore. He’s the Founder of Tipsy Collective Singapore, a multi-concept F&B company with multiple outlets such as Tipsy Penguin and Lady Wu.

During COVID-19 in 2020, many restaurants were struggling, some were even forced to shut down, but Derek was busy setting up new restaurants and his existing five were fully booked every day.

What I enjoyed most about my conversation with Derek is the level of detail he goes into ensuring that every single customer who steps into his restaurants has a “Tipsy” experience that makes them come back again and again. And the key to creating that experience is understanding the subtle difference between service and hospitality.

In unpacking this concept, service is a one size fits all model, whereas hospitality is about giving your customers a personalised experience. It’s about delivering from the heart. In creating a tipsy experience for your customers, focus on creating a personalised experience through the different touch points that your customers interact with. Each one is a unique opportunity to increase and deepen the relationship with your customers.

For Derek, he achieves this through creating a heartfelt environment through the food, music, ambiance and staff, in addition to creating a comfortable and enjoyable environment where his customers are happy to enjoy themselves with their friends. This makes a massive difference, as your customers may not necessarily remember every element of your offering, but they will remember how they felt in the presence of your environment.

The second takeaway that Derek shared was being clear on your mission and value proposition. This echoes what my previous guest, Bryan Pham from Asian Hustle Network, shared. The reason this is of paramount importance is that everything else hinges on your primary mission and what value you will bring to your audience. Keep your customers front and centre of everything you do your business will start blossoming.

This is also important as it sets the direction and company culture, which will perpetuate and flow down to your staff, and subsequently how they interact with your customers. Derek shared that he sees food & beverage not as a passion, but a calling. From this, when he hires staff for his brands, the one question on his mind is whether this particular staff member has a calling in this industry. By hiring for calling, instead of passion, this has allowed Tipsy Collective’s customers to receive exemplary and genuine hospitality.

The last major takeaway that I picked up from Derek was the importance of speed and adaptability. It’s no longer the big fish that eats the small fish, it’s the fast fish that eats the slow fish. Keeping an eye on the macro and micro trends in your business, coupled with being able to pivot fast will allow you to adapt in the face of changing circumstances, such as it allowed Derek and his brands to thrive during the recent global pandemic.

If you enjoyed these takeaways, I encourage you to check out my latest podcast episode with Derek Ong, the Founder of Tipsy Collective. It will help you to create a fantastic, memorable experience for your customers in 2021!

To listen to the full podcast, click this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1550632/8495713