上星期收到一家餐具公司的广告册，刚准备扔，眼角瞟到封面的标题：

“The Anatomy of a Successful Restaurant ------ 7 Organs of Success”，挺新鲜，立马拜读。想不到一个餐具公司的CEO 对餐饮业有这么精辟的理解。实在是佩服。

  全文如下：

Birth of a Trend: Why Your Restaurant Needs to be Value-Able?

Considerable worry has been circulating the food service industry about the issue of price reductions and customer expectations. There is no doubt that most of the industry has embraced aggressive pricing as a way to keep traffic and sales ups, and for the most part of this strategy has accomplished those two goals.

BUT AT WHAT PRICE?

The argument that a permanent “ value pricing” approach dilutes a restaurant’s brand / or reputation is a compelling one, but not without its problems.

For starters, study after study has shown that the new economic reality means consumers are putting a premium on value. The point is debatable, but in general this seems to be a function of consumers pinching their pennies even as t he economy begins to improve. Some have even suggested that the free wheeling heavy spending days of the past are permanently gone as consumer psyche shifts.

That means restaurants, along with most other business, are going to adjust their products and marketing to reflect new customer expectations. Prix fixe dinners, half- portion specials, and all the other strategies restaurants are adopting to get customers in the door are a symptom of the times, rather than an ill-advised effect.

The jury is still very much out on whether restaurants can survive their own race to the bottom of the price (and consequently profit margin) barrel. Those who figure out how to walk that tightrope between value and profit will become the new power players in the food service industry.

SUBWAY’S FIVE DOLLAR SUCCERSS   $ 5 = VALUE

A good example is Subway’s $5 foot long promotion. The price is through the floor. The competition scrambled to catch up and then quickly undercut the $5 price. The dark prophecies of brand devaluation and vanished profitability spread quickly through the crowd of panicked onlookers. Six months after Subway launched the promotion, they reported record profits. They have since brought back the $5 foot long promotion several times.

It doesn’t matter the Quiznos undercut their $5 price customers still see a value there and Subway is doing much more business at a lower margin, which still translates into more net profit.

There is a trade-off between volume and margin. Those two lines intersect at some point for any business. For the past two decades, the prevailing model was to pursue higher margins in smaller and smaller niches. Consumers, lulled into a false sense of security by easy credit, happily paid more for products that seemed suited just for them.

Now the trend has been reversed, and value is the watchword of the day. That means price reductions are probably here to stay, and because consumer expectations have changed, will improve brand perception rather than dilute it.

WHAT DOES “VALUE” REALLY MEAN?

The obvious answer us great food and service for a great price. Well, duh. Everybody has slashed their prices or discounted in some way; not everybody has survived. So what’s the difference between the guy who makes it and the guy who’s left behind?

The truth is, the value customers find in the restaurants they choose to patronize has to do much more than great prices. Prices just happen to be the most obvious factor.

Restaurants that have a complete package are the ones who win the value competition. Those that focus on price are bound to fail. In this article we will be dissecting the seven key factors that make successful restaurants different form the competition. Ready your scalpel: we’re going in.

（Restaurant。com常有$2 for $25的Deal,Groupon也铺天盖地地卖半价Deal; 而原材料却在使劲涨，让餐馆老板们在Value和Profit的夹缝中to be or not to be. 是该想想价格仗以外的八仙过海各显神通的招术。）

1. THE TONGUE: COMBO MEALS TASTE LIKE VALUE

No matter what kind of restaurant you run, from fast casual to find dining, combo meal can help your customer make a choice that make them feel like they’re getting a deal, even if the combo costs exactly the same as the a la carte menu.

This is backed up by a study conducted last year by a professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. The study concluded that customers prefer combo meals regardless of portion size or actual savings versus ordering each item separately.

Part of the combo meal’s popularity is that it’s easier to order than choosing a bunch of a la carte items separately. Even so, customers who participated in the study said definitively they thought they were getting a deal when they ordered a combo, even when this turned out to not be the case.

For restaurateurs, this information probably confirms something that most knew already. But that doesn’t mean menus can’t be re-engineered using the combo concept to boost margins, sales, and customer satisfaction.

That’s because large national chains like Applebee’s have taken the combo concept beyond the days of “ I’ll have a number 3 please.” These chains present a series of menu items in a la carte format and let customers build their own combos. Then menu items are undoubtedly high margin winners, and customers love the ability to customize their combo selection.

（最大的Combo Deal就是Buffet店，上百种东西随你组合；但这样成本较高。其次就像Panda Express这样十几种东西自由组合，而且店铺小，食物人工也易掌控，店型易复制，难怪人家可以一年一百家的成长。）

2. THE BRAIN: CRUNCHING NUMBERS

Some restaurants have taken the trend towards nutrition labeling and used it as a way to add value for their customers. Moon Under Water, a restaurant in St. Petersburg, FL developed a computer program that allows you to punch in your meal and get back a full report of nutritional data about your choice.

Mod Market, an eatery located in Boulder, CO, add nutritional information to the items customers ordered on their receipt. The restaurant is focus on fresh, healthy offerings, and adding calorie counts to the receipt gives them an opportunity to remind customers what they’re getting (or not getting, in the case of calories) out of a Mod Market meal.

Restaurants get two things from making nutritional information an after-meal interactive experience for customers. First, it’s a way to showcase the menu and reinforce your brand in the mind of the customer. Second, it gives restaurants as fresh look on their menu.

（这对我来说是个新鲜事物，该多关注，尽早实施。在高级白人区一定特管用。)

3. THE LIVER: CLEANING UP YOUR OPERATION

Here are three steps to get you started towards a greener ,more profitable future:

IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENY

In most restaurants, this is the easiest place to cut costs with minimal investment. The added bonus is that you get to tell your customers how committed to sustainability you are after you’ve cut energy bills. Simple improvements like training your staff to manage equipment efficiently, cutting healing and cooling bills, and investing in energy efficient water heating can make a huge difference.

CHANGE YOUR BUYING HABITS

You’re a consumer just like anybody else. The purchasing decisions you make for your restaurant say a lot about how you run your business. Making sustainable decisions will also make your operation a lot greater.

Some places to start:

. Source ingredients locally or grow your own.

. Use compostable disposable items like corn cups and sugarcane disposable containers.

. Buy seafood only from certified sustainable stock.

DON’T BE BASHFUL

Talk about yourself. This isn’t just a one-time announcement. Your sustainability plan will likely take some time to implement, and you should turn that effort into an ongoing conversation with anyone who will listen, especially customers. Use multiple channels ranging from banners in front of the house to social media to announce your new, substainable self to the world. You’ll be amazed how interested people will be in what you’re doing.

（很喜欢Pei Wei的高级纸餐巾，既高雅又省事）

4. THE THROAT: CONNECTING WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS

Developing an X Factor, a thing that makes your restaurant unique, is what sets you apart from your competition. Some ideas:

THE CULT OF PERSONALITY

This one has worked well for some celebrities, especially washed-up athletes. But it can also work for people who are not celebrities. It goes like this: the owner gets to know just about everyone who comes in the place. He is the face and personality of the restaurant, and the perk for regulars is the familiarity they feel when they dine there.

（记住客人的名字和他们爱吃的菜很重要）

THE TABLESIDE SHOW

Magicians, belly dancers, comedian, mariachi bands--- whatever that act is, the perk gives the customer an intimate show that adds an element of entertainment they can’t get anywhere else.

THE V.I.P. CLUB

The funning thing about a club is that once others find out about it, they’ll want to be a part of it too --- and the more people want to be in the club, the more valued the people already in feel. The key is to give your VIP club perks that carry a lot of value.

5. THE EYES: MAKE FOOD PREP A VISUAL EXPERINCE

The fastest growing trend is tableside prep --- serving up appetizers, sauces, and even entrees right in front of the customer. Some tips for bringing the back of your house to the front:

START WITH GOOD INGREDIENTS

The fastest way to turn patrons off is to have a bunch of wilted greens or mushy looking fruit before your even start. Ultra fresh, vibrantly colored ingredients are key to the success of any tableside performance.

APPEARANCES ARE EVERYTHING

Just like with ingredients, the entire process, whether in an open kitchen or tableside, in under the intense scrutiny of your customer. Make sure any tool you use to prep food in public is either brand new or looks like it is. The bar goes up when people can actually see who is preparing their food.

If it’s not a show, don’t bother. If you’re going to make this entertaining, there’s no point in going through all the trouble. The good news is that some very simple tricks can make the whole thing seem pretty spectacular to your customers. Fancy turner tosses, elaborate pouring, add quick chopping jazzes up the process and really adds to the entertainment value. Get creative with the process and delight your customers with a show.

（能让客人看见的每个工作人员的制服一定要干净整洁。铁板师傅们的车和工具该闪闪发光。厨房里的人如果要出来也必须是干干净净的。铁板师傅一定要既会搞笑又能把菜炒好。）

6. THE SOUL: WHAT MAKES YOUR RESTAURANT DIFFERENT?

Want to know what makes a restaurant succeed where others fail? It is because your food is the best around? Do you offer customers an incredible value for their buck that they just can’t get anywhere else? Or is your staff so professional, so incredibly well trained, that customers just can’t get enough of your efficient, friendly service?

Well, all of these things are factors in your success, to be sure. But there have been hundreds of restaurants, if not thousands, that have done all of these things relatively well and still failed. So how do you identify the key factor that makes one restaurant succeed where another fails?

To answer that question, think back to some of the most memorable restaurant you have ever been to. If you’re like most people, you’re having trouble right now. There just aren’t that many truly memorable restaurants.

The point is that you have to make your restaurant unique. No matter what kind of food, what segment of the population you’re targeting or, where you are located, your restaurant must stand out for some reason.

（生日是每个人每年必须过的，对于生日Party，本店做到了：1。店的音响里放生日歌；2。整桌送生日蛋糕；3。送寿星礼物；4。寿星在生日那天来吃饭，铁板餐免费（至少点四个晚餐铁板）。久而久之，过生日的人就把本店作为首选。）

7. THE HEART: MAKING A HOME

The concept of the “third place” was first developed by Starbucks, and anyone who has been in a Starbucks immediately understands the principle:

Make your business feel like a home-away-from-home.

（一直搞不懂星巴克好在哪里，今天顿开茅塞。原来如“彼”啊）

Now other fast casual chains are cashing in on the third place concept, most notably Panera Bread, which has wheathered the recession with strong prfits and steady growth. So how can your restaurant cash in on the third place concept? Here are the key things Panera Bread and Starbucks get exactly right when making a home for their customers:

SET THE MOOD

Booths and tables with four chairs around them is standard restaurant furniture --- and that’s exactly why your customer doesn’t quite feel at home in your establishment. Comfortable, spacious seating is the first thing that jumps out at customers who walk into a Starbucks or Panera Bread.

PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT

Interactive digital signage, HDTVS, and super fast WiFi are all great ways to make your customers feel right at home. With all the technological amenities, they need at their fingertips you guests will settle in and stay a while.

（电视和无限上网是现在餐馆里必须的）

TAKE THE LONG VIEW ON TABLE TURNOVER

When you let customers lounge around for hours on end, you may not be turn over a lot of customers. However, the ones who do stay tend to invite friends, and when those friends discover your comfortable, homey atmosphere, they’ll come back with their friends… and so on.

DON’T DROP EVERYTHING TO BECOME A THIRD PLACE

For most restaurants the most effective way to leverage the third place concept is going to be a hybrid approach. Take a cozy corner in your restaurant, convert it into a comfortable lounge, and watch your lunch/afternoon shift grow in business. During the dinner rush, go back to doing what you do best and let customers waiting for a seat or happy hour spillovers fill up your little third place --- to the envy of your customers in regular seating.

（可以考虑把Tatami旁的两张Booth换成沙发和圆桌）