Put Yourself In Their Shoes: Why You Should Become A Customer In Your Own Restaurant

For some reason, the title of a short story I read a long time ago called “Put Yourself In My Shoes” came to me as I sat down to write this article.

Last month I came across an article by Rohit Bhargava on the internet. The article had an interesting title, “Forget Eating Your Own Dog Food - Just Try Buying it…” Rohit believes the best way to understand the customer is to experience your own product and services yourself – from the initial awareness up to the purchase period. That means every single step of the way.

It makes sense. If you put yourself in your customer’s shoes, you’d see things from their perspective. It might explain why your restaurant business is booming, or being unprofitable.

So how do you put this into practice?

The first step is to create a portrait of your ideal diner. What is her social status? Has she eaten at your restaurant or is this her first time? Is she a local or an out-of-town visitor? Is she here to conduct a business meeting or is the meal purely for leisure?

Answering these questions will help you put together an image of your prospective client.

Next stop is establishing a visible online presence. A successful restaurant internet marketing plan is when your restaurant is visible no matter what the ideal client is looking for. If your restaurant is only visible to those looking for it, then you need to reconsider your online marketing mix.

Search for restaurants in your city using Yahoo!, Google, Ask—any other popular search engines. Are you in the Top 20 list of local restaurants? Too bad if you’re not – your online visibility is minimal. If you’re in it, are the descriptions about your restaurant accurate and appealing to first-time diners?

Also look for your restaurant on Facebook and Twitter to check the social media community for fans and detractors.

Last but not the least, it’s time to check your website’s usability first-hand. Pretend you’re a potential diner looking for a place to eat and came across your restaurant’s website.

• Is the address, phone number and email address clearly visible on every page of the website?
• Do you have a dedicated page showing directions to your restaurant’s location?
• Is the menu available online? Is it in an easy-to-read format?
• Can you order online?

It’s probably going to take a while to get all of this done, but believe me, and Rohit Bhargava, it’s worth every ounce of effort and penny you put into it. The idea is to thrust your restaurant’s name out there on the World Wide Web, and eliminate every obstacle that stands between the ideal diner and your front door.

Put yourself in the shoes of your customers. You might just find something useful – a new marketing idea or opportunity – you didn’t know was there from the beginning.