Dining experience can turn customers into salespeople

Dining experience can turn customers into salespeople

Agus W. Soehadi, Contributor, Jakarta

When you find a restaurant that serves good food, gives
excellent service in its out-of-the-world ambience, will you then
keep it secret? Or will you spread the news to your friends and
colleagues? Most likely the latter. It is one of human's natural
traits to do so, as it impresses people because you are the first
of your friends to discover a cool, new place.

It almost always makes one feel respected like some kind of
leader who has the latest information on the best newly opened
restaurants, cafes or even warung (foodstalls) that have
something unique and original to offer. Among the various topics,
places to eat -- the worthy ones, of course -- are the favorite
of many. Not too surprisingly, the free recommendations given by
the first customers are, more often than not, followed by his or
her listeners.

Among the numerous unique restaurants in Bandung and its
vicinity, Kampung Daun (Leaf Village), Atmosfir (the Indonesian
spelling for atmosphere) and The Peak are some of the best eating
places the city can be proud of. The plus points are not only the
food or the friendly professional staff, but the ambience inside
as well as surrounding the restaurants.

The breathtaking panorama enhances the entire experience of
new and loyal customers of all three. What makes the clientele
increase in number and loyalty reminds us of what Bernd H.
Schmith -- a noted marketing expert -- wrote in his bestseller
Experiential Marketing: "While quality of products or services
can be imitated, it is hard to beat a unique experience that is
"wrapped around" them.

A positive experience is in fact an intangible interaction
that is felt by a customer and vividly recorded in his mind. It
is a totality of the product's or service's features, sales staff
attitude, ambience and every tidbit or paraphernalia that go with
it."

One of the most important elements in providing good
experiential marketing is maximizing the impact on customers'
senses. The entire "package" of product and services must be able
to please their eyes, ears and so forth. Kampung Daun, for
example, takes its customers for a short trip around the scenic
West Java mountains before actually arriving at the restaurant.
The smell of food even from a distance creates a more inviting
atmosphere. Local or ethnic music blends harmoniously. When the
sun sets, bamboo torches render the whole place serenely
romantic. Perhaps, all this and the rest of details meticulously
taken care of heighten the dining enjoyment here.

Bakeries are also offering "experience" to their customers.
They let their customers watch the entire process of
manufacturing bread and cakes, as it gives them the real feeling
of "brand new" or " fresh from the oven". For most customers,
watching the preparation of bread and cakes seems to be an
enthralling experience. Breadtalk, one of the newly established
"bestsellers" in the bakery business, is famous for its long
lines of customers all day long. At its flagship store in the
Kelapa Gading Mall, the queuing, which may appear to be a kind of
inconvenience today, is in fact one of its drawing points as it
grabs the attention of other buyers and becomes one of the
store's selling points.

Another important element in experiential marketing is the
creation of some kind of "ritual" in the process of selling and
enjoying the product so that the customer develops an emotional
attachment. Take for example the success story of Nabisco's Oreo
cookies. Even its advertisement is based on how to enjoy the
product in the best way: Twist and separate the cookie
"sandwich", lick it first and then dip it in a glass of milk. The
whole act executed by an adorable chubby boy is now imitated by
many of the product's young and even, to a certain extent, adult
consumers.

Bakmi Gajah Mada, a famous restaurant with numerous branches
all over the city, is another example. The place is crowded with
customers most of the time. Surprisingly, customers find the
"waiting-to-get-the-table" period quite an enjoyable experience
in itself. It involves the restaurant's staff using the bell to
arrange the table and then deftly taking their orders.

The restaurant, apart from the good food it is already well
known for, and also highly praised, is renowned for its fast and
professional service. The busy staff, however, never lose their
friendliness.

As in any marketing strategy, especially so in experiential
marketing, a successful implementation means the marketer has to
know his customers well. He has to have a grasp, a deep
understanding -- a sort of intimacy, so to say -- of his target
market. Only by comprehending their inner motivations can he
create and provide them with the heavenly experience that exceeds
their expectations. Also, he has to make certain, that not only
the management, but the entire marketing and sales staff,
including every employee that comes into contact with customers,
develop a new mindset.

The kind of mindset that places customers and their
satisfaction beyond everything else. Based on this customer-
oriented philosophy, it is been proven by major companies that
business thrives and eventually profits are better guaranteed.

While conventional advertising is necessary to some extent, at
the end of the day what better way of promotion than to convert
your satisfied customers into unpaid salespeople. They are
recognized as the best "advocates" and most trusted endorsers for
your business.