The Ten-Minute Manager’s Guide to ... Turning Customers Into PR Agents

The Ten-Minute Manager’s Guide to ... Turning Customers Into PR Agents

By Kate Leahy, Associate Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 1/1/2008

Making a good impression on guests yields benefits beyond a good tip on a single bill. The unexpected extra touches an operation offers can spark word-of-mouth recommendations.

And don’t underestimate the power of such reviews. According to The Nielsen Co.’s Online Global Consumer Study conducted in April, 78% of consumers say they trust recommendations from family and friends more than any other form of endorsement. Blogs, too, can sway dining decisions: 66% of North American respondents to the Nielsen survey said they trust comments posted online.

So although they can be difficult to prompt or track, customer referrals are essential to sustaining business. As Ken Reimer, founder and CEO of Dallas-based Baker Bros American Deli, puts it: "A word-of-mouth endorsement is a confirmation that this is good stuff."

Open-Door Policy

At Taylors, S.C.-based Fatz Cafe, it’s understood that if you want people to tell others about your concept, you have to make them feel special. "Fortunately, it translates into good business," says Richie Cannon, vice president of operations.

Fatz Cafe took the belief a step further when it hired Henry Corra, a documentary filmmaker and the founder of New York City-based Corra Films, to produce television commercials featuring Fatz Cafe customers. The customers, who volunteered for the commercial, were asked to describe what makes Fatz Cafe special. "A guest marketing for you—it adds a personal aspect," Cannon says.

This kind of invitation fosters camaraderie between a company and its customers, explains Ben McConnell, a marketing expert and the co-author, with Jackie Huba, of "Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message" (Kaplan Business, 2006). He notes that for some restaurants, it can be appropriate to set up an advisory board of loyal customers. This board would be invited to special events and asked to serve as a focus group to offer opinions on menu changes or operational practices. "It’s not a casual gesture, like an extra dessert," McConnell says. "You’ve bridged something very emotional."

As with the Fatz Cafe volunteers, an exchange of money for an advisory board isn’t necessary or advisable. "The value exchange comes from the guests feeling like they are contributing to something that is important to them," explains McConnell. And that, in the end, makes them all the more likely to tell their friends about it.

Creative Memories

To foster buzz, some operators have called upon their staff to surprise guests with unannounced perks.

At Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail, Colo., the valet once filled up a guest’s gas tank when he noticed the car’s gas light was on. The guest turned out to be a restaurant reviewer, who then mentioned the unexpected gesture in a review. Additionally, servers at the restaurant present guests with breakfast pastries at the end of the meal—this comes in handy for visitors who have early-morning travel plans. Luxury pens that arrive with the bill are given away as tokens of appreciation.

Co-owner and General Manager Rick Colomitz considers the actions part of his marketing budget. "It gets them talking," he says. "It spreads the word."

Likewise, Arich Berghammer, COO of Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment Group, encourages his staff to catch diners off-guard with appreciative gestures. For example, at the two Los Angeles-area Katsuya locations, he will approach a table to offer guests a new drink on the house as a way to build a connection. "It’s not just a free drink," he says. "It’s engaging with them."

Extras aren’t always necessary. Sometimes flawless and consistent execution of food and service is enough to create a customer referral. Says market expert Ben McConnell, "What is driving recommendations in the first place is the meeting of expectations or the slight exceeding of them." So the simple practice of showing interest in a table can be enough to generate word-of-mouth referrals. "It’s servers who say more than the basic, ‘How was everything?’" McConnell explains. Instead, he says, they ask, "How was your chicken masala?"

Fans From Day One

Establishing regulars early on has a valuable effect on spreading positive word-of-mouth. "We start building friends the first day," says Baker Bros American Deli CEO Ken Reimer.

To ensure that guests not only come back but also bring others with them, the company opens new stores slowly and carefully—this lets Baker Bros fine-tune systems without disappointing first-time customers. Baker Bros also endears itself to customers through such small acts such as handing out heart-shaped cookies on Valentine’s Day.

"Our job is that when they walk into our front door, they see the high-quality environment and they get an extremely high-quality food product," Reimer says. "Food is king, but if you get bad service, you give away what you gained by your food."

Through good food and consistent quality, the company has turned some customers into brand advocates. For example, as a pharmaceutical sales representative working in Dallas/Fort Worth, Sheree Azevedo uses Baker Bros to cater lunch for clients. Product satisfaction has led her to be a brand advocate for nearly eight years. Says Azevedo, "Many of my clients request Bakers Bros after trying it once."

What Reimer purposefully avoids in building a buzz-worthy atmosphere, however, is giving out coupons and discounts. "By giving them a coupon, they’re not coming back because of the product or sense of value; they come back for the deal," he says.

Tech Savvy

Arich Berghammer takes a two-pronged approach to encouraging customer referrals. First, the COO of Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment Group encourages staff to make personal connections with guests. Second, he keeps tabs on guests through a customer database and encourages managers to add to the database each night. If a guest enjoyed the Burning Mango cocktail the last time he or she dined, a server can suggest the same cocktail or a similar one.

"You can dine anywhere at any time—I go to places where people remember me," Berghammer says.

At Restaurant Kelly Liken, a customer database helps the restaurant stay connected with its guests, many of whom visit while on vacation. General Manager Rick Colomitz does targeted e-mail blasts of the restaurant’s schedule of special dinners so that customers can keep the restaurant in mind when planning vacations.

Beyond customer databases, operators turn to blogs and collective review sites such as Yelp.com as tools for reaching out to customers and generating buzz.

Although some posts on collective review sites are likely to be negative, it’s better to be involved in the online conversation than to ignore it. Marketing expert Ben McConnell says that a customer who writes a negative review can be turned into an advocate for the restaurant if his or her grievance is addressed. Answering a negative post kindly and intelligently and signing your name "speaks volumes about your humanity and your focus on being a good restaurant operator," McConnell says.

Grass Roots

It’s not only consumers who can spread the word about an establishment—vendors and employees can be effective messengers, too.

At Fatz Cafe, employees live in the community in which they work; this fosters strong ties that run beyond the restaurant’s walls. "It’s a source of pride that they live in that community," says Vice President of Operations Richie Cannon.

As a restaurant in a destination location, Restaurant Kelly Liken is just as interested in promoting the well-being of other local businesses as it is in boosting its own business.

For that reason, employees offer to make for diners a reservation at a different restaurant for the night after their Restaurant Kelly Liken visit. The restaurant also outfits its servers in uniforms created by a local designer. If guests like the uniforms, General Manager Rick Colomitz points them to the designer, who has a shop down the street. "That’s been a great way to spread the word at a grass-roots level," he says.