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How to open a new restaurant?What should you pay attention to?

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Update time : 2019-03-11 11:40:45
How to open a new restaurant?What should you pay attention to?
 
Here I quote a story as an inspiration.

In 2011, our company moved to Wangjing, and there is a medium-sized commercial center near the company. This commercial center is close to the Fifth Ring Road and there is no subway nearby, but there are several residential areas, apartment buildings, a middle school and some office buildings around the bus stop. In addition to the cafeteria, our company does not have any restaurants nearby, so the staffs will take the company's short-distance shuttle bus to the business center for lunch at noon, two round trips at regular intervals, or take three stops bus, but the waiting time is longer, or take a taxi. In spring and summer, we can also ride a bicycle which is rented by the company, about 10 minutes.

Fast food restaurants on the first floor of the business center are replaced more frequently. Around the end of 2011, when I went to dinner, I found a new store inside, named London Pie, which sold British Pie. The store is about 35 square meters, one third is the counter, and two thirds are stainless steel dining tables and chairs. 



I am very happy to see this store. Because I used to study in New Zealand, I bought a Pie as breakfast every morning near my apartment, especially like this food. After returning home, there has been no chance to eat. Although Beijing also has it, it is not deliberate to eat. I am naturally ecstatic now that I have found this thing near the company. I went to the store and ordered a pie, 15RMB. If you add a drink, you need to pay 2RMB more, and  total 17RMB. Not cheap, but not expensive. And the taste of the pie is very positive, and the crispness is great, that is the taste I eat in New Zealand. 

I watched the environment while eating, and there was almost no one in the store. Only two waiters and a refrigerator and a microwave behind the counter, also no kitchen equipment.

The next day I went again. There still was no one in the store. The waiters chatted bored and there was a man who was same old as me. I bought a pie and a drink as usual, sit down and eat slowly. The man came out and chatted with me. I only know that he is the owner of this shop. He used to study in the UK. Like me, he also missed the taste of Pie after returning home, so he specially invested in such a shop. There is no place to build the kitchen in the store, and the pie is shipped from elsewhere. I asked him if this is a chain store? He said no.

Two weeks later, I found a dangerous fact. Every time I go, it’s noon, but this store has almost no guests except me. I realize that if I continue to let the owner do this, I will lose it.

Next week, I took the owner in the store and had a conversation with him. The owner also looked very upset. He said frankly that there was almost no business in the week of opening, and he sold less than 30 Pies, and there were basically no repeat customers like me.

The original intention of his shop was very good. Pie is a different kind of food in the UK. It is delicious, it is quite in line with Chinese taste. After opening, everyone must feel fresh and delicious, and flocked. But reality is much more cruel than he imagined. "You are too wishful." I pointed out his mistakes directly. This mistake is most often committed by many people who open food and beverage shop or do marketing. Put your likes and dislikes as a target group analysis.

He didn't do any analysis of the target group, he didn't even know what his target group was, but he wished that everyone would be obsessed with Pie, just like me and him.

And from his introduction, I saw another mistake. This mistake is also that many people who engage in marketing and easy to make: the product characteristics as the target group analysis.

I listened to him about the idea of opening a store for more than ten minutes, most of which was analyzing his products. 
How good is this pie's crispy, how good this pie's stuffing is, this pie's baking is the famous teacher.

Yes, product characteristics are very important, this is the source of everything. But if the product features and the target group do not match at all, then perfect is meaningless. Out of respect for making delicious pies for him, I did a free marketing consultation analysis for him.

First of all, from the big environment, this commercial center is surrounded by CBD business district and small closed complex residential area. In other words, the meaning of closure is that, consumers in the region lack the willingness to leave, and the way to leave is either troublesome or uneconomical, and the willingness to eat out of the circle is not particularly strong.

“This is very good, indicating consumer loyalty.” The owner said. But I interrupted his dream and corrected his third common mistake: thought location is everything.

"My Pie is from the order to eat, just one minute. This is my advantage." The owner began to analyze himself. I nod and agree with him. 

"And my pie is delicious, and the standard of delicious is also available. ”

I quickly broke his sweet dreams: “How many Chinese do you think like to eat pie? No, how many Chinese have eaten Pie? No, how many Chinese people know that there is such a thing?”

He can't answer it.

This is his fourth mistake: just sell the product and ignore the market cultivation.

For the catering industry, cooked food is always better than raw food. A person's eating habits are difficult to change. Most people tend to choose the restaurants and foods they are familiar with. The pursuit of hunting food is just a game of a few brave people.

The most intolerable is the store owner did not take any action to explain and promote. Just sitting in the store waiting for someone to take the initiative. Promotion and marketing can never be related to products only.

I started to advise him:
So the first thing you have to adjust is the storefront. Your current store decoration is a low-end fast food restaurant. At this level, you can't compete with others. You have to make it a high-end fashion store. Then your most important job is to quickly develop a reputation that matches this position, so that everyone knows about pie. Make a tasting event outside each office building, or give some free vouchers. Then I suggested that he cancel the church and change it to take-away. It just keep only the counter. I talked with him for a long time, no tools, no charts or PPTs, but the central meaning is only one: not analyzing the behavior patterns of the target groups.

I am not sure if my plan will be hot, but at least it will be much better than the current situation. After I finished speaking, the owner nodded, but in the next month, I did not see any signs of change. Then I went out for a long time. When I came back, I saw that the store disappeared with the owner.

At this time, I found that I also made the mistake that: if you are not responsible for the implementation, don't talk too much with the product people, they will not listen.