Editorial: Something to Talk About

You can’t measure the word of mouth generated by simply executing well.

By Mary Boltz Chapman, Editor-in-Chief -- Chain Leader, 10/1/2007

At a recent family party, my cousin told us about an experience she had at Wildfire. The server noticed that she wasn’t eating her bread and asked my cousin if she wanted it taken away. My cousin told her she’s allergic. "Celiac?" the waitress asked. She then brought my cousin a gluten-free roll, freshly toasted. Who knows if that server is a celiac herself or if she remembered the terminology and actions she learned in training. It doesn’t matter. My cousin was delighted and will go back to that restaurant and bring her friends.

My sister then told the story of her Muslim friend’s efforts to order a pizza from a local chain. He asked that a clean pan be used to prevent the meat products that he avoids from coming into contact with his food. The order-taker was dumb-founded, and even the manager couldn’t quite get what he wanted. He didn’t get his pizza.

Driving Traffic the Organic Way

Our Driving Traffic study talks about the many methods that chain operators use to bring more customers into their restaurants and keep them coming. What it doesn’t do is discuss the quiet and, well, ordinary methods that operators use to great success, like good word of mouth. My cousin will tell everyone about her great experience at Wildfire. My sister’s friend will tell his fellow Muslims not to even try to order pizza from that chain. Difficult to quantify, but it’s powerful.

A few chain operators we surveyed mentioned word of mouth when we asked what they do to drive traffic. Others said things like serve a consistent product, offer value, ensure a positive experience and train servers on knowledge of the menu.

It’s easier to quantify the success of a new menu item or a newspaper insert. We know that—it’s that type of measure you’ll find in our Driving Traffic report. But we can’t deny the influence that simple execution, done consistently and in a caring way, has on sales and traffic.

Beyond the Research Report

But the study has value beyond revealing which methods of driving customer visits are successful and for whom. It asks about what chains want from their suppliers to assist in driving traffic; those who pay attention will be better partners and make more sales themselves, leading to more services for their chain customers, driving even more traffic, and so on in a happy spiral of growth.

And input like those open responses gives us editors at Chain Leader food for thought and fodder for a year’s worth of future magazine articles, online content and topics for Chain Leader LIVE.

Gratuitous plug: There’s still time to sign up for our Chain Leader LIVE conference Oct. 24 to 26 in Newport Beach, Calif. The agenda, registration information, comments from past attendees and more are on our Web site, www.chainleader.com. If you’ve been there before, tell a friend—we wouldn’t mind a little word-of-mouth advertising of our own.