An Australian Spin on Mashables’ Article: “13 Best Practices for Restaurants on Facebook”

A few weeks ago Mashable released an interesting article, “13 Best Practices for Restaurants on Facebook”. While giving a pat on the back to some American food institutions, I thought it would be interesting to give a shoutout to businesses operating in Australia who also demonstrate some of the attributes listed. Here are some winners and their best practices:

BEST PRACTICE #2 - YOU MUST RESPOND

Fifteen Melbourne/ The Kitchen Cat

Businesses that engage in social media should encourage two-way conversations to help maintain their online prescence and relationships with customers. Recently Melbourne restaurant Fifteen relaunched itself as The Kitchen Kat. When customers found the Fifteen website closed, they were promptly informed of the business change instead of left hanging for a response.

CIBO Espresso



Feedback of bad customer service should always warrant a reply (providing the reply offers something of value). When Adelaide-born coffee chain, Cibo Espresso, was informed about a customer’s experience, they let the customer know that their feedback was valued and  provided instructions of how to lodge their feedback.
 

(Side note – Cibo coffee is great… The Rundle Street Cibo in Adelaide's CBD used to be my watering hole before moving to Melbourne!)

BEST PRACTICE #3 - EDUCATE YOUR FANS

Taste.com.au

Taste.com.au

Taste.com.au has been a long-time favourite of mine. I love how their Facebook page links to recipes and encourages interaction with their audience... I suppose cooking is one of those hobbies where you can never stop learning.

Coles Supermarkets

Coles has also used Facebook to educate their audience by providing a recipes and a “Video Cookbook”, which you can also check out on their Youtube channel. This seems to be  very useful means of observational learning.

 

BEST PRACTICE #4 - SHOW YOUR GOODS


Earl Canteen, Melbourne

Melbourne eatery Earl Canteen cleverly enticed customers with their food offerings. It’s great how Facebook can be used to communicate “we make YUMMY food!" and show what  they're made of. I’ll bet this brings forward some purchase intentions? While an image wouldn't go astray, imagining a salted caramel macaron is making me hungry...

Domino's Pizza

The image of this delicious, topping-heavy pizza makes me feel like... pizza.

BEST PRACTICE #5 - DON'T JUST SELL, BE INTERESTING

Jim Beam

Jim Beam ran a promo where Facebook fans could download selected music tracks for free. Offering more than just a sell (as well as something of value) could possibly result in more page views… which may have an affect on sales.

BEST PRACTICE #10 - BE CHARMING

Midori Australia

Midori Australia

Midori Australia is constantly asking cute questions and posting little quips to interact with customers and display their brand values of enjoyment and ‘celebrating the fun’.

CIBO Espresso

Good manners can’t be a bad thing at the best of times. For Cibo Espresso, it shows their friendly and courteous nature when interacting with customers online, and probably attracts more customers to interact with them.

BEST PRACTICE #13 - TARGET CONSUMERS WITH FACEBOOK ADS

KFC Australia

KFC used Facebook to attract fans to “like” their page in exchange for exclusive deals. Not a bad offer! Considering as some company pages won’t even let you view their page without “liking” it beforehand…

Be sure to check out the original Mashable article... and let me know any other places that also fit the bill and deserve some love!

Carlton Draught's 'Slow Mo' Advert... Trying to go viral?

I’ve been chuckling to myself quite a bit lately about Cartlon Draught’s current “Slow Mo(tion)” TVC instalments. HILARIOUS!

Carlton Draught seem to be one of those beer brands at the forefront of consumer advertising. Their adverts reflect what Dawes (2008) refers as the ‘Australian beer advertising trifecta’ of manliness, national pride and beer. Not to mention humour, a common ingredient in alcohol advertising. And of course, who can forget their “Big Ad”, which went viral – 800,000 people viewed the advert online in just ten days (B&T, 2005).



Image Source: B&T (2005)



According to Smith (2009), online engagement is paramount to building long-term supporters, who will purchase the brand but also recommend them to others. However, the Full Version Slow Mo Carlton Draught Ad hasn’t had the same reach of the Big Ad, with just over 390,000 views versus 1,200,000 views respectively.  I wonder if the difference in hits has resulted in fewer sales this year, and whether the guys at Foster’s were aiming for their current campaigns to once again, achieve incredible viral status. That being said, we marketers sometimes say that you cannot make an advert with the sole intention of becoming a viral. After all, it’s customers that make adverts go viral and continue to spread the message.... we just need to make it damn good so it gets that far.

A study by Dawes (2008) found general concepts of buyer behaviour and brand performance, such as repertoire buying and double jeopardy also were prevalent in the Australian beer market. Dawes (2008) goes on to suggest that beer advertising should then a) remind customers about the brand (which I’m sure is why beer adverts are quite common), and b) make the brand simpler to purchase. So perhaps online engagement is the right way to go to boost awareness and keep brands at 'top of mind' status, which hopefully leads to more sales.

Something else… I wonder if the guys at Foster’s are worried about cannibalisation for the other beer brands in their portfolio, and the product category overall…?

References:

Dawes, J. (2008). Regularities in Buyer Behaviour and Brand Performance: The Case of Australian Beer. Journal of Brand Management, 15(3), 198-208. doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2550099

Smith, T. (2009) The Social Media Revolution. International Journal of Market Research, 51(4), 559-561.

See Also:

Lee. L., Frederick, S., and Ariely, D. (2006) Try It, You'll Like It: The Influence of Expectation, Consumption and Revelation on Preferences for Beer. Psychological Sciences, 17(12), 1054-1058. 

Watch Out! Bad Customer Service Can Go Viral

Image Source: gourmet.com

Last night’s A Current Affair aired an interesting segment about customer service. Someone on the Gold Cost had recently established a blog, Undercover Customer, to rate customer experiences in retail and hospitality. To make sure that reviews were consistent, three visits would be required prior to posting an evaluation online. While heaps of review sites are available on the web, I still think it’s a great concept.

For businesses, the reach of online reviews can push (or even frighten) them to step up their product and service offerings. Now more than ever, bloggers are not shy to ‘name and shame’ offending companies (Ramsay, 2010). However, this also presents businesses with the opportunity to listen to customers and take their feedback on board. For example, Undercover Customer has a “Room for Improvement” section on their blog for this purpose. Still, it is important that businesses know how to tailor their responses, such as using appropriate tone, content and language (Ramsay, 2010). In 2008, Lorraine Pacey had an average experience at Casa Flamenco, a Brisbane restaurant. When sending them an email detailing her experience, she was sent the below reply:

"Dear Lorraine, Your (sic) are an idiot we don't want your feedback."

After forwarding the email to friends, the email went viral and even was picked up by American site The Consumerist, which received 20,000 hits (Courier Mail, 2008). 

To read more about Lorraines’ experience at Casa Flamenco, click here.

A co-owner of a café I once worked at was unbelievably rude to customers. After their exposure with customers, I’d feel bad (even embarrassed) and be extra nice them. It was often a sombre moment when the customer would say, “I feel so sorry for you, having to work with that lady behind the bar.”

On the other hand, the shoe can fit on the other foot.  I certainly agree that horrendous customers are out there. I worked in the hospitality industry for almost eight years, and have seen the worst of the rude, ignorant and downright snooty. It can be hard, but often the best thing to do is smile and continue doing your job well. Try to overlook their poor manners and discourtesy, see past their indoor-sunglass-wearing (a pet hate of mine) or talking on the phone while ordering and try to falsify eye contact with a smile. At the end of the day, their money is as green as anyone else’s, and they can sometimes be your most loyal customers. You never know, those customers could very well be “undercover”…

If you’ve ever had a terrible customer service experience eating out, please let me know!

And if Undercover Customer wants someone to eat and review their way around Melbourne, give me a call if you’re willing to pick up the tab J

References:

A Current Affair. (2011). Bad Service Gripe Site. Retrieved from http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article/8362576/bad-service-gripe-site

Courier Mail, The. (2008) Casa Flamenco Gives Feedback Patron a Serve. Retrieved from http://www.couriermail.com.au/restaurant-earns-global-scorn/story-fna7dq6e-1111115622897

Ramsay, M. (2010) Social Media Etiquette: A Guide and Checklist to the Benefits and Perils of Social Marketing. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 17, 257-261.

Look What I Made... Ricotta Cheese!

My sister and I loooove ricotta. My partner, who’s a chef, suggested that I have a crack at making it at home. He said it would be a piece of cake, but he would also say that the most complex recipe out of Larousse Gastronomique is easy. Before following my gut (literally), I decided to conduct a little information search to know what was really involved.

I looked at a few food blogs on the topic, such as Made by Lex, The Italian Dish and The Food Lab, as well as some cookbooks at home (which I love to collect) to get a bigger idea. I found that all the recipes were pretty similar; the ingredients and methods differed slightly but weren’t poles apart. In particular, I relied more on the blogs, which in this instance, were more interesting to read. As someone who loves to cook at home, blogs can be beneficial for both blogger and reader. For bloggers, informing and exchanging useful information with others about special interests has been identified by Hollenbaugh (2011) as some of the motivations behind maintaining personal blogs, which I felt was present in this situation (and I'm sure provide the blogger with a sense of fulfillment).

As the reader, my first attempt at making ricotta, thanks to the information gleaned beforehand, was a success! And as my partner predicted, unbelievably easy!



My first attempt at making ricotta at home! (1.) Using a thermometer to accurately (and slowly) heat the milk, whilst watching the curds come to the surface. (2.) Carefully lifting the almost raft-like curds out, where they went into (3.) a colander lined with muslin/cheesecloth. (4.) Suspending the wrapped ricotta to drain any leftover whey and to form its shape. 


References:

Hollenbaugh, E. E. (2011) Motives for Maintaining Personal Journal Blogs. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(1-2), 13- 20.

Get Together and Share a Coke...

Everyone seems to be talking about the latest "Share a Coke" campaign, where Australians are able to:

a) Purchase bottles of Coke with 150 different names (or their own) on them, or create a custom can

b) Share a virtual Coke with friend via social media platforms such as Facebook and their website, shareacoke.com.au

c) View various adverts and songs themed around the names printed

d) Enter a competition to win one of four $50,000 cash giveaways

e) Develop their own Coke adverts, starring their own friends (soon)

I read a 2010 article where Coca-Cola’s CEO, Muhtar Kent, mentioned that the company would be investing billions of dollars into the US market, as the only Western nation with a growing younger demographic. I’m curious why Australians, with an aging population, are the blessed recipients of this campaign and not the American youth. By putting my name on the bottle (pictured below), I feel enticed to build an emotional attachment with the product. This campaign inspires actions that can be hard for marketers to achieve: increasing the rate of trial (in non-users), purchase and an increased rate of re-purchase.

Perhaps the objective is to develop and strengthen a lifelong brand preference that will continually offer ROI as Aussies get older?

Executing the purchase can be fun as I rummage through the other Coke bottles labelled Kate, George, Luke and Jess to find the one manufactured just for me. I’m sure this can only strengthen the relationship that heavy consumers of Coke, who are sure to have a pre-existing emotional attachment to the brand.

Some may be concerned about the increased calorie intake this campaign might encourage, but at least Coca-Cola offers lower-calorie options such as Diet Coke. This leads me to think, should they start printing names on this product too? And, as a product with a strong female customer base, should the majority of names printed be feminine?

What do you think about the latest Coca-Cola campaign?

References:

Ignatius, A. (2010) Shaking Things Up At Coca-Cola. Harvard Business Review, 89(10), 94-99.

Look What I Made!

That's right... the buttermilk cake from the front of this months' Masterchef Magazine!
You can find the recipe within the issue...
(Not exactly within the scope of this blog, but I wanted to share this with you!)

Digital Magazines - Is the Price Right?

I've been noticing the increased availability of digital magazines, which are available via outlets such as the iTunes store (Magshop) and Zinio ("the world's largest digital newsstand").

I like that digital magazines are a modern way to indulge your interests and offer features that traditional print media cannot. For example, the Masterchef Magazine iPad app also offers the reader interactive features such as video, behind-the-scenes footage and "Cook Mode", which enables recipes to be displayed in a larger font for use in the kitchen (ballsy move against the underwhelming Telstra T-Hub?).

 

However, I find myself questioning the pricing behind digital magazines, and considered the following points:

• I feel as though a part of the price consumers pay for printed magazines is partially to have a tangible product in hand (likewise with newspapers). Digital magazines are often hefty downloads and can be can be priced very similarly to its printed counterpart.  Sure, where the digital version doesn't deliver on the 'tangibility USP', it delivers value via other features such as the interactive options mentioned above. Still, does this merit the price of the digital product? Isn't it possible that there are other ways to entertain one's interest? One way could be through other apps, which arguably don't interrupt the consumer with as many advertisements as a magazine has the potential to do.
• I feel the digital costs aren't as justified as it is often a case of uploading and leveraging off the outputs of the printed version.
• I suspect that digital magazines are an approach to boost slipping readership and circulation rates of traditional print media (including newspapers), but this trend may face its own problems if  the digital version is perceived as too expensive to download.
• On the other hand, I understand that the connotations of lowering a product's price and how it can affect its brand positioning. (Significant discounts of Gourmet Traveller may not reflect its brand values.) Also, magazine publishers would also need to recoup their costs and maintain margins despite shifts in consumption habits.
• A printed issue of Masterchef Magazine costs $4.95. According to the iTunes store, the current and two latest back issues are priced at $2.99. With the digital version costing 40% less than the printed version, the deliverance of value may be achieved. As someone who has a subscription to Masterchef magazine, I would certainly be pleased if this was offered to me as a type of "gift with purchase". Think of what this can do to increase long-term usage and loyalty!

The digital front cover of the current issue of Masterchef Magazine is nearly identical to the print version (shown), except the digital version obviously does not show the barcode and the price.

Overall I'm still sceptical about the cost of digital magazines. I don't feel they should be free, but would prefer to see them offered as such when the consumer has purchased the printed version.


What do you think?