Most restaurants don’t fail because of marketing. They fail because they don’t know which problem they actually have.
Here’s a simple way to tell whether you need better marketing, better operations, or both, and how to get them working together. And the first step? STOP BLAMING MARKETING!!!
As an industry, we have it wrong. We think it’s Marketing’s fault.
The average lifespan of a CMO at a multi-unit brand is about 18 months. EIGHTEEN MONTHS!!!
Are you kidding me?!?! (I wish)
Who wants to aspire to be great at their job when you’re likely hunting for a new one every year and a half? Is it even remotely possible that every person in a marketing role across an entire industry just sucks at their job?!?!?!
NO!!!
This is a systemic problem in the restaurant business that started on day one: we let Operations hold the wheel.
And honestly, that makes sense. This is an operations-driven business. The day-to-day dogfight happens in the dining room and the kitchen. That’s Ops. Those are the people in the fire, seeing what’s happening in real time.
They feel a lot of the pain.
For a long time, good food and good service were all you needed (thank you Operations!!) But it doesn’t work like that anymore.
And if we keep demonizing the person whose job it is to fill the dining room or light up that online ordering, instead of supporting them, we’ll keep failing as an industry.
Now, you might be thinking, “Rev, that’s just your opinion.”
Fair.
I’m working with a lot of multi-unit brands right now, and we’ve been doing deep dives into performance data. (Like Mariana Trench deep!!)
Here’s the cold, hard truth.
In every restaurant and every brand I support, when there is a foundational, always-on, multi-channel marketing system in place, including search optimization, social media, rewards, digital advertising, email, and more… when things go wrong, the pain point more often than not leads to either a service issue or a food issue.
… Not whether an email was sent or a post to Instagram went viral.
And here’s the kicker ==> often, it’s the Marketing team that saves the day with a digital win-back.
If your food sucks and your service sucks, Marketing will not save you. You do not want to sell tickets to the $h!t show!!!
This also highlights how critical guest feedback is.
How do you know, in as close to real time as possible, whether your guests are happy?
If you don’t have a way to ask guests “how was it” on every visit, then you do not have an accurate or current picture of how they feel.
Which brings us back to the vicious cycle.
If the only data you’re looking at is sales, and sales are going down, you’re missing the part of the story that actually makes the difference: food and service.
Now, if you’re getting overwhelmingly positive guest feedback and sales are still declining, then yes, it’s fair to say your marketing probably needs improvement!!
But if sales are declining and you don’t know why, here’s how to figure it out. Ask yourself three questions:
1. Are my guests happy with the food and service?
If you don’t have a tool to answer that, jump into Gemini and ask what customers have been saying about your business over the last 90 days.
(I use Ovation for this)
2. Do I have a foundational, always-on marketing system running across the channels where my guests actually are?
If you need a guide, check out my e-book that serves as the exact checklist you need.
3. Are our guests returning?
If only 20–25 percent (one out of four guests) ever comes back, congratulations, you’re average. That’s the industry benchmark.
If you’re even one percent higher, you’re beating the competition.
Yes, there are exceptions. Tourist markets will naturally have lower retention.
But look at the top end of your database. How much revenue is coming from your top 10 percent of customers? If it’s meaningful, that tells you something important: you don’t just need more guests. You need more evangelists.
Once you can answer these three questions, you’ll know exactly what needs improvement.
And stop scapegoating your marketer. They have just as many moving parts in their day as Operations and Culinary!!!
THE REAL SOLUTION
Marketing + Operations
Successful restaurants and brands create a direct line between Marketing and Operations, so there’s a continuous cycle of teamwork and improvement.
Be a team. That’s how you go further.
RIGHT?!?!
When was the last time you had to assess ops or marketing?
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Do you need help with your marketing? Send me an email [email protected]
- Rev Ciancio
WHAT DOES REV DO?
*I help restaurants to build guest marketing programs.
*I help hospitality tech companies with lead generation and content marketing.
