Gordon Ramsay is the celebrity chef, host of hit TV shows like The F Word, Hell's Kitchen and my favourite Kitchen Nightmares. For those of you who are not familiar with him, he is the chef who screams vulgarities at pretty much anyone who comes in contact with him on his show and brings them to the verge of breaking down. I do not recommend or condone his actions but I have to admit the very same people are the one thanking him in the end.
So why am I talking about him? Well I just finished a complete season of Kitchen Nightmares and I feel he offers some lessons that are valuable to marketers.
Focus
Al Reis talked about the concept of finding your niche - cherchez le creneau; Ramsay reiterates the same thing. Are you the best Indian restaurant in town? Do you have the best roast beef sandwiches? Whatever the case, you have to find something you are good at and that sets you apart. I guess this is marketing 101 but too often ignored.
Listen to your customers
One of the first things Ramsay does once he takes on a new project is observes the customers. He asks them questions. Why they eat there? What do the like about it? Have they had any bad experiences? He goes and talks to people in the neighbourhood, the competition and this is what serves as the basis of his overall strategy. Something planners call the ‘key consumer isight’. The lesson is to be in touch with what is being said about you, whether it is in a forum or in a published article or the e-mails you get from unhappy customers.
KISS
Keep it Simple Stupid – Ramsay rips and tears the restaurants, whether it’s decluttering the menus or the space people wine and dine in. He brings everything back to basics; you don’t have to have a long menu or complicated recipes with secret sauces to be good. I think this is one of the most valuable lessons, having an offering that is easy for you and your customers to understand instead of having complicated operations.
Don’t be afraid
There are some moments in this show that just excite me. On numerous occasions Ramsay has taken the entire staff of the restaurant to promote the restaurant. My favourite being when he promoted an Indian restaurant in UK and doing a bollywood-ish dance routines in the city square and sampling food items. This sort of direct marketing is an excellent source of word of mouth but also builds good will for the brand. It never hurts to take initiative and do things that are out of the ordinary.
Communication is the key
Whether you are running a kitchen or a business, you need to fully be in touch with your employees, customers and partners. Open channels of communication and not being blindly dependant on others can guarantee success of any project. Not everybody has Ramsay following up on them so make sure that things are well communicated and understand who are involved this removes ambiguities and blame games.
I guess the number one lesson for me from Gordon Ramsay is that he is so passionate about what he does; he is never shy of rolling up his sleeves and getting things done. Being involved every step of the way, pushing people to their best and being committed all the way.
Another viral marketing lesson could be the stunt he pulled of a few days ago, more here.
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