Gen Z consumers are much like Millennials, they are digital natives,
they grew up in a mostly digital world where one on one marketing, messaging,
and instant gratification became not a dream, but a reality. According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at
Tacoma, WA based Foodservice
Solutions®, who stated, “Many legacy
food retailers firmly rooted in past performance, and brand metrics risk, years
of stagnation and customer migration from their brand to a food retailer with
more relevance.”
In case you have not notice mobile phone camara’s have replaced the stand-alone
camera more readers of this blog remember that their parents and grand parents
used on holidays and special family events.
Have you noticed that Kodak nearly went out of business selling cameras?
Growing up in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, every family had a Kodak Camera and I still have one of mine.
Those yellow boxes were everywhere and getting your very own Kodachrome camera
was seemingly a rite of passage, heck, Paul Simon even wrote a song about it.
Today, cell phone cameras take most of the pictures and they are rarely
printed. Kodak nearly shut the all of the doors, correct in their assertion
that professionally developed pictures look better than low-resolution versions
uploaded to Facebook. Those photo’s can now be found on digital phones.
Being dead
and correct is not a great strategy.
Today chain restaurants are either growing or dying much the same as Kodak. Simply look at restaurants that
filed some form of bankruptcy of late: Friendly’s Restaurants, Sizzler, California
Pizza Kitchen, Sbarro,
Perkins. They are
not all dead but they have been far from right.
So, the following list are statements frequently heard from legacy
restaurant operators. Like Kodak, crystal clear that what has
always worked will continue to work.
• Our executives have 30 years of experience and know how to run the business.
• We never use coupons, nor do we deliver.
• We don’t allow our brand to wander, we protect our brand.
• We don’t use online ordering, I-pad ordering or voice screen ordering.
• We don’t advertise on Google, Twitter or Facebook.
• We don’t open for breakfast.
• We like the umbrella approach each store different personality but under one
umbrella.
• Video menus and video signage is visceral gimmickry.
• We don’t measure ingredient’s; we create daily specials and simply show
employees how to make it
• We can’t raise our menu prices.
How did a dominant brand and sector leader like Kodak, in a rock-solid
consumer staple lose everything? Simple, they determined the market, the
direction of that market and took the steps to conquer it. If that sounds like your restaurant, retail
food sector or niche leader, you better keep reading.
There is little about today’s market, the consumer or food marketing / promotions
that was predictable 3 years ago. In the next three years the rate of change
will continue to increase. So, let’s look at the above list again:
We always/never use coupons – coupons and promotions are very
complicated today. Add the online aggregators the ilk of LivingSocial and
Groupon and how can you know what works. Here is the point, what you measure
you manage. All advertising must have an objective that is clear and measurable
to insure a proper marketing ROI.
We don’t deliver – face it, convenience is a driving reason why foodservice is
popular. If you do not want to deliver, consider outsourcing. Delivery is not about you. That’s right it is
about the consumer.
We protect the value of our brand and its integrity for the consumer,
our shareholders and stakeholders. We
know the consumer is dynamic not static, but our customer’s comeback because we
have a brand promise and they trust in us to keep that promise. Sounds a lot
like Kodak, don’t you think?
We don’t use online ordering our food does not “carry” well. Think about this if you don’t have a way to
connect your menu to computers and mobile devices, your competition will woo
your customers. Consumers are time starved, and hooked on technology, make it
easy.
Google or Facebook – as above, set up a Facebook page, it costs nothing. Have
someone help if you need it and then monitor your page 5 minutes a day. Don’t think about it get started today.
Different store brands / personalities under one large corporation and
all expected to operate utilizing a uniform set of metrics. Worked well in the 70’s, 80’s but you have
the answer. Let me know just how well
that works out.
Visceral gimmickry does not replace high quality food and great service
ever. Who defines quality service? You
via your brand promise or the consumer?
We don’t measure ingredients; my employees know how much to use – why
have menu prices, let customer pay whatever they want. If you don’t care what
your product costs, you CAN’T make money.
We can’t raise our menu prices – tell that to the gas station owner on the
corner, or the farmer growing your food. Costs are up, you must raise your menu
prices or you will not exist.
Kodak management, smart and hard working as they were, did not see the world
changing, fortunately you do. Realize that change is good and necessary. Act
now to challenge your assumption, create new revenue streams and increase
profits. Success does leave clues,
Disney movies leave you with a smile, being dead and correct is not a great
strategy. How are you edifying your brand with relevance for Gen Z and
Millennials?
Foodservice Solutions®
specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify,
quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand
leveraging integration strategy. Foodservice
Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in
the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson,
Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.
