Greg Doyle, chef at
Ordinarily, I'd go, "Who cares" and "So what", but there are a couple of valuable marketing lessons here.
But first, some background…
Pier is a very, very expensive restaurant. With main course prices in the $50+ range, it certainly doesn't classify as your normal neighbourhood eatery.
It consciously made itself into a special occasion restaurant with some rather
interesting dishes - you know the type - you still end up wondering if you've had enough!
And it certainly isn't a place where you would drop in for ‘a nice little bit of fish’.
But Greg made a mistake. He got seduced by the "hats" and forgot who his clients really were.
In Greg's own words…
''We used to have a huge local clientele and that gradually dissipated as a three-hat restaurant because people felt they could not pop in for a quick meal,'' he said. ''People felt they needed to be going for an experience.''
By focusing on winning and maintaining awards, you run the risk of adding lots of sizzle while completely forgetting the steak. You end up pleasing the critics, but not the people who patronise your establishment and pay your bills. Not smart!
No matter what business you're in, you need to match your wares to your market.
Before you set yourself up as an elitist establishment, understand where your bread and butter comes from.
It's the locals who keep coming that bring you regular business. Once you lose them, you're relying on people coming on "special occasions" or "tourists" - which may fluctuate wildly.
Sometimes, like Greg, you need to take stock and simplify. Go back to your core business and provide real value to real people. This is where our business coaching is valuable - it forces you to take a helicopter view and recognise reality before it's too late.
Ask yourself if you're falling into the same trap.
And here's the second lesson.
Free Publicity!
Before this, I'd never heard of Greg Doyle or Pier.
But by boldly announcing that he was "renouncing his hats", something you can't do by the way - it's up to the Good Food Guide to decide, he got stacks of free publicity.
He made it onto local radio, national and local newspapers. People are talking about him!
Heck, he may find lots of people flocking to the restaurant before it "downgrades" just for the experience.
Maybe I'll see you there… *smile*.
Rashid.
FE5PUH2GWADX
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