What Have You Heard?

If you tried to keep up with all the reported industry trends, your pandemic “pivot” would become a pirouette. Keep abreast of industry intelligence, but keep your ear to your market.

He had a reputation as a brilliant pathfinder, someone who could silently stalk a deer or a group of men for miles. He could predict the arrival of a herd of buffalo or an advancing enemy with precise timing.

 They came upon this wise man. He was lying in the middle of the road, with his ear to the ground.

 “It is a pickup truck, red, and traveling north,” he said.

 They were astonished. “You can tell all that about an approaching vehicle simply by listening to the ground?”

 “No,” said the pathfinder. “It ran over me 15 minutes ago.”

 In the past few weeks, National Restaurant Association (NRA) painted a cautiously rosy picture of the future of on-premises dining post pandemic. Among the statistics published in the NRA’s “2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report”:

• 88% of adults enjoy going to restaurants and 85% of them say going out to a restaurant with family or friends is a better way to spend their leisure time than cooking (and cleaning) at home.
• A majority of adults across all generations say they are not eating at restaurants as often as they would like.

Meanwhile, at the end of January, industry trade magazine Restaurant Business (RB) reported on the explosion of virtual concepts[1], which are geared exclusively for off-premises dining via delivery.

Will virtual concepts permanently eclipse on-premises dining or will pent-up demand for full-service experience have diners lined up around the block to sit at their favorite restaurant? The answer is likely somewhere in the middle.

The NRA and RB are reputable industry intelligence sources. But I’m naturally skeptical. I’ve learned as a career journalist and business school professor, published research even by the most respected Ph.Ds. always has limitations -- let alone reports by journalists and marketers. Nevertheless, I read with interest all credible intelligence. I just don’t take stock in any one source. “The truth is out there,” as suggested by 90s television show The X-Files.

I enjoy it. I’m like the kid happily shoveling manure who gleefully exclaimed, “With all this horses**t, there must be a pony around here somewhere!”

And we have to ask: “Does this make sense?” Fortunately, as an independent restaurateur, you have an advantage. No one is closer to his or her market. With a little effort you can have your ear to the ground ahead of the market trends, rather than after they’ve run over your business.

There are a lot of reasons some independents not only survived but thrived in the past 11 months. In our magazine and on our website RestaurantOwner.com, we share many of them. Based on what we’ve learned from our members and readers, the best and brightest listened carefully to what their guests wanted and communicated with them frequently. Particularly in this age and environment, the dialogue took place via social media.

In the February issue of Restaurant Startup & Growth, we look how social media is not only an outbound marketing channel, but a “digital hospitality” platform. An important function of this technology is to help you stay abreast of your market so you can cater to its desires.

Follow industry intelligence sources. If you are a Restaurant Startup & Growth reader, you are likely a student of the business. I also encourage to examine all information in light of what your current and prospective customers and guests are saying.

 They will rarely mislead you.

 [1] Guszkowski, Joe. “0 To 300: How Virtual Concepts Are Blowing up Overnight.” Restaurant Business. Restaurant Business, January 29, 2021. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/0-300-how-virtual-concepts-are-blowing-overnight.)