Restaurant Impossible is celebrating its 50th episode this week and to the show some recognition I thought a blog about small business branding would suffice.
To give a little background of the show it’s where a successful chef Robert Irvine goes into struggling restaurants and gives them a complete facelift. It’s not a happy go lucky show. Chef Irvine supplies the harsh reality to the owners and shows many faults (sometimes embarrassing) of the restaurant as a whole. Then his design team crew come in and re-do, train, brand the restaurant.
The restaurants usually have the problems poor service, no leadership, no experience, and frozen food. After watching many of these episodes over the years and studying and rebranding businesses in my professional life I have found a lot of similarities in the show and the marketing world.
Frozen food are the “do it yourself” websites
Same templates, design, layout….. breading, taste, freshness. These do it yourself websites fit a need for some people but definitely not a business that needs to showcase its self. Businesses often think they’re saving money by using build your own websites but in the long run they’re costing themselves. For just $300 to $600 more you can have a site that is original and showcases your brand image and character. Small businesses need to have a website that is engaging and ever changing. Your brand is too important to sacrifice like that as the same is food for a restaurant
Inconsistency kills a restaurant and a brand
I view many websites where I get confused what the companies brand is or what service their selling. Inconsistent images, verbiage, and calls to action can kill the usability and conversion rate of a website. Your website can’t be confusing, and the brand needs to be highlighted throughout the website. Along with that you need a consistent call to action on every single page. Consistent verbiage, images, brand, brand image, will lead to consistent leads.
You have to create traffic to your website (foot traffic to a restaurant)
Many small businesses will throw up a website and say “hey, my marketing is done!” Your website is a big part of your marketing strategy, but it’s more of less your company spokesmen. Many small businesses need to invest in ways to drive traffic to your site. Pay per click campaigns, radio advertising, billboards, and strong digital efforts with video. Something has to be driving people to your website, or you’re never going to have a successful marketing program. There are many free resources to tap into as well with blogging, social media engagement, and grassroots community building.
The best part of Restaurant Impossible is when an owner gets to see their restaurant for the first time after seeing it completely re-done. The owners feel like they have a new start and the world has been lifted off their shoulders. The same feeling can be had when you get your marketing efforts in line and working in unison. It’s a great feeling being able to go to bed at night when you know you’re going to have new leads waiting for you the next morning to help grow your business.
