Maybe more marketers should open that restaurant they are dreaming of.

In a world that's increasingly obsessed with buzzwords and marketing jargon, it's no wonder that many feel like we're drowning in a sea of complexity. Every day, new trends, tools, and tactics emerge, promising to revolutionize the way we market our products and services. It's as if the marketing landscape is in a perpetual state of chaos, and staying afloat requires a degree in rocket science.

But here's the deal: Marketing doesn't have to be that complicated – even if it may be complex. In fact, it's not complicated at all when you strip away the fluff and focus on the fundamentals. Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating that you should skip learning marketing properly. In fact, I'd recommend diving into it with the Marketing Week Mini MBA from and with Mark Ritson .

That said, I recently stumbled upon a throwaway sentence from Rory Sutherland that got me thinking (sorry, for stealing the theme of this content piece from you so shamelessly). What if you could learn everything about marketing from restaurants?

Before you scoff at the idea, bear with me for a moment, and let's embark on a thought experiment: Imagine you're about to open a new restaurant. You might not know how to cook a gourmet meal, but you're determined to be a top-notch restaurant manager. So, let's break it down, step by step.

Step 1: Going After a Group

Picture this: You're about to embark on the journey of opening a new restaurant. Your culinary skills might be lacking, but you're aiming to be a restaurant manager extraordinaire. So, where do you begin? You ask yourself a few questions. Are there many tourists who just want to get a fast meal whilst looking at something pretty? Or do you have an avid culinary scene with posh people who rather want to impress than to eat? Or are there loads of businesspeople who just want to have a quick but healthy lunch between two meetings? Etc. pp. You also want to ask yourself: How much of all these people are there, how much do they spend and how many other places are there already to fill their stomachs? As the good, and probably greedy, restaurant owner you are you go after those kinds of people where there are many of them, spend loads, and are underserved. And before you decide too fast here you want also to ask yourself: Can I not just fill their bellies, but can I afford it? If you go after the high-end connoisseurs you probably need to hire a Michelin-star chef, buy stock of overpriced wine for years, and install a marble bar top. So, just because those people are attractive, it doesn’t mean you can go after them.

In marketing lingo, you just did segmentation and targeting.

Step 2: Why the fuck should they come to you?

You've got your target in sight, but they won't just flock to your door because you're open for business. No one's waiting for just any other restaurant to pop up. So, what makes you different?

What certainly doesn’t make you different is your food, unless you offer something really new, weird, or unseen. Because there are probably half a dozen other places where you can buy more or less the same food, anyway. What you also don’t want to do is be cheaper than anyone else (because it gets harder to make money, and there is always somebody else who may say “screw it, I don’t need so much money at the end of the month - I cut your price”).

So, you want to have something like a theme. Maybe you are the first Parisian bistro-style restaurant in this area, so all your staff speaks with a French accent, and you have a Moulin Rouge show every evening, so guests feel more on holiday than just like an evening out. If you are able, put a name on the front door in line with this theme. So, no one needs to look at your menu to figure out what kind of restaurant this is. Welcome to the world of positioning.

Crucially (and maybe even more important than your theme or positioning): How do you stand out from other restaurants? Sure, you can open an Italian restaurant and put red and white checked tablecloths on your tables. But how would that make you stand out? On the other hand, it will feel really weird if you open an Italian restaurant and your interior looks like a Thai temple. So you want to strike a balance of clues that tell by-goers “This is an Italian restaurant” and other clues telling them “I don’t know any other Italian restaurant like this”. And sure enough, if you advertise your opening date, you will include the name, the theme, and these clues. So, everyone knows in which Italian restaurant they want to go to and not confuse the name and end up in any other Italian place.

In marketing terms, you just thought about category codes and your own brand codes / distinctive assets.

Step 3: The food and the drinks

Of course, you're in the restaurant business, so you'll be serving food and drinks. As an avid viewer of shows like Hell’s Kitchen and the like, you know that you want to serve freshly prepared food in quality at least as good as the standard for your kind of restaurant (no one expects Michelin-star quality in a burger stand). And – even more important – you want to have a menu that reflects what your guests expect from your restaurant (no one ever succeeded with a restaurant called Chez Michel and then offering from Fois Gras to Pizza Margarita and Burgers just about everything). So, remember, your menu should align with your theme and your customers' expectations. Your product, which happens to be one of the four P's in marketing, should be on point. And let's not forget the service, staff attitude, and interior – all part of this magical P.

Talking about service, it may be a good idea, if your staff welcomes your regular guests by name, remember their favorite food or table, and occasionally give them a free drink on the house. They don’t need a discount upfront, as they are coming regularly, anyway. Gosh, you just outlined how to set up your CRM program.

Step 4: Can You Show Me the Way to...?

Location, location, location. You can have the best food and the coolest theme, but if you open your restaurant in the middle of nowhere, you're toast. Place matters, and it's another one of those P's. Think about where your potential guests hang out and where they don't want to be. You don't want to open your fancy restaurant next to a fast-food joint or directly in the red-light district, do you? Remember, just because your potential guests are there, it doesn’t mean you need to be there as well. And, as a side note, if you are thinking about opening more restaurants of the same kind in different locations, expanding your opening hours, or going into delivery, you just covered physical availability.

Step 5: Check, please!

It’s not just about filling those tables; it's about filling your bank account. You need to price your food and drinks right. And remember, your guests aren't just paying for the food; they're paying for the entire experience. Have you ever had a Heineken in a rooftop bar with a splendid, unseen view over the city and paid happily 10 Euros? Bet you have. And the next week you were mourning about the 1,99 Euros the local supermarket charges for exactly the same amount of Heineken. So, the right price doesn’t really depend on the costs you have or what are the typical prices of your competition. It’s all about context and what your guests are willing to pay. Pricing? Check!

Step 6: Have you heard about this new restaurant?

Finally, let's talk promotion. If people don't know you exist, they won't come. Simple as that. Spread the word far and wide but do it in a way that's more exciting than “Best steak in town”. Even if it’s true. Tap into what makes your potential guests really want to reserve the table. And please, spare us the dreaded vouchers – or at least don’t do it all the time. You just thought about the last P in the mix: communication. And sophisticated mass marketing, creative excellence, and the Long and The Short of It.

One last thought: As time goes on, there will certainly pop up new restaurants. So, you want to make sure that your existing guests and potential new guests always keep you in mind. Ideally, every day, all year round. Some would call it mental availability.

So, there you have it: Sure, marketing can get complicated if you let it, but it doesn't have to be. So, next time you're in a marketing meeting and things start spiraling into jargon-filled chaos, just pause and think, "What would I do if I owned a restaurant?" Or if everything else fails simply dream about this three Martini lunch. Cheers to uncomplicated marketing! ???????

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