Finally! Mesob receves Zagat Rating…of Excellence!

So excited that after almost 8 years in business in Montclair, NJ, to not only be included in the latest Zagat Guide, but being recognized for excellence.

Having worked with this local one-unit ethnic restaurant in New Jersey on marketing and PR over the last year and a half, one of the most elusive achievements was a Zagat Rating.

Build an online press kit into your website.  Apply for restaurant awards.   Mesob won the National Restaurant Association American Dream award last month which I applied for – you can find opportunities and seize them, too/   That’s why I also involve Mesob heavily in social media and give them a voice in the community, listening to customers, and involved with the media.  Last year’s appearance on ABC News Channel 7 Eyewitness News was a huge accomplishment, which also paved the way for this really big achievement.

Berekti, co-owner of Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant, called me right away when she received a letter in the mail yesterday, signed by Nina and Tim Zagat.  The letter reads:

“Dear Restaurant Owner,

Congratulations!  We are pleased to tell you that Mesob has been highly rated in our recently published Zagat Survey 2011/12 Restaurants guide.  The enclosed complimentary Certificate and Zagat Rated window decal reflect this honor.  Since the guide is based entirely on the collective opinions of thousands of avid consumers, this recognition really comes from your customers.”

The survey was released yesterday, which gathers 6,909 New Jersey diners’ opinions about 1,050 restaurants around the state.

Our Mesob Zagat Survey listing says, "Finger food never felt so refined” as at this Montclair Ethiopian BYO where the “exotic,” “made-with-care” specialties can be scooped up with spongy injera bread; “informative” service and a “cool,” “calm,” “high-ceilinged” setting enhanced the “classy: mood at this “nice break from the standard.”

The review highlighted our home-made injera, a sponge-like bread made daily at the Montclair restaurant.

We also received high ratings for “informative” service.  Education is a strong value to us, and we train our Ethiopian and Eritrean staff members to educate diners and answer any questions they may have about Ethiopian food and culture.  Have you checked our QR Codes, that show you videos of Ethiopian food being prepared, and our traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony?

Being included in the Zagat Survey was a huge achievement for Mesob, as well as for myself.  As a marketer, it’s important for me to understand how the tools and technologies work together to create a powerful opportunity, if you just use it in the right way.  Share lots of rich content, and always be in touch with the local media, to keep them informed about what’s going on at the restaurant.  Also be involved and give back to your local community – they WILL support you!

It is a privilege and an honor to work with Mesob, and such respectable, giving  restaurant owners.  They really helped to share an ethnic culture in such an enjoyable way, along the journey to the elusive Zagat Rating.

We did it!! 

The 2nd Wave of Location-Based Services | ClickZ

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Though still in its infancy, location-based service (LBS) applications have experienced tremendous growth. Now that we’re seeing more rapid adoption, we expect the environment to change and start to show new innovations as services begin to mature. Let’s look at where the next wave of LBS applications is going this year.

Beyond the Check-In

As the market evolves, companies that offer location services will need to look for new ways to beef up their offerings beyond the check-in and fulfill more mainstream roles. While we all love checking in and sharing info, users will tire of the many steps that now exist (think about the many questions on if you want to share, where you want to share, associated confirmations, and on and on). The “check-in” as a popular concept in LBS will be in for some serious changes in 2011 as consumers look for more convenient, private, and rewarding ways to declare where they are.

Better Deals integration: Facebook has intimately linked its Places offering with Deals. The service is a natural extension of its local marketing initiatives – small, medium, and large businesses can all benefit from linking their company’s Facebook page to a physical location on Facebook Places. Business owners can then use the combination of Places and Deals to increase foot traffic. Facebook Places check-ins have also become a focus of the Sponsored Stories ad units. Brands can have friends’ likes and Places check-ins turned into small ads that show up next to a user’s newsfeed. For example, if someone’s friend check in at Starbucks on Facebook Places, he would see that check-in called out alongside the other Facebook ad units.

Social recommendation engine: Expect growth in conversations around places. People do not just want to share that they’ve been somewhere, they also want to share what they think about it. Foursquare’s Tips feature makes it easy for people to leave behind tips about a location like what to eat, what not to eat, and what to do. Other apps will follow and extend this content from a supporting role to a key component of the experience.

Users will also start extending recommendations to other places outside of the current location. For Google, this means making robust updates to its suite of location apps. Google has already rolled out updates to make its Latitude and Places products more appealing to everyday consumers, such as Google Places’ HotPot, a location recommendation tool that is fueled by Netflix-like ratings of locations and a social recommendation system based on places friends have liked. Yelp has started using Facebook’s Open Graph API to make social recommendations based on reviews Facebook friends have posted.

Specialty Services

Another big evolution will be LBS apps focusing on utility or specialty services with location at their core.

Droplat creates location-based virtual storage: users have a virtual drive that follows them around from location to location, and each location has its own drive filled with files others have left behind. The service is small but shows how location can add a new twist to file sharing.

Tasker, a robust location app for Android, can automate a phone’s entire behavior based on the location it is in. Users can set the phone to automatically switch to silent when entering the office, turn the volume up when entering a loud workspace, turn off 3G, and switch to Wi-Fi when entering one’s home.

Broadcastr, a startup, links locations to audio stories. One of the first projects on the service is a series of audio stories about the World Trade Center that people can access when they’re close to where towers stood. Broadcastr’s service shows how location-based media can add context for people who want to learn more about a location.

Privacy Concerns

Privacy will remain a major issue for many consumers, regardless of all the whizz-bang awesomeness that these location-based services offer. Microsoft’s LBS research found that just over 50 percent of consumers are “very concerned” about their identities being stolen via LBS. Just as job hunters have grown to protect their Facebook activity from the eyes of human resources and recruiters, the pitfalls of over-sharing one’s locations with friends and colleagues is also a concern. Smart startups and marketers must take data security and privacy seriously and will not abuse consumer trust.

via clickz.com

I think that mobile, deals and discounts will continue to evolve and level the playing field.

Right now, discounting is conducted in silos, with deal sites popping up overnight, and even Facebook getting involved.

It will be better for consumers to have a one stop shop, and for businesses who really want to get involved in the game.

Gobble Gobble – New Restaurant Deal Discount Strategy

<p>How Does DailyGobble Work? from DailyGobble on Vimeo.</p>

The debate goes on about restaurants and deep discounting – is it good to create new traffic?  What if your service suffers because you can’t accommodate all the new patrons that jump on board to gain the benefit of some ridiculous deal.  Does it devalue the product?

I just got wind of a new deal discount website that is launching –The Daily Gobble.  It seems like a really smart long tail approach to discounting.

I love the fact that the discount is virtually hidden from the server.  There is no reason to know that you would be receiving the deal at a discount, getting money back later after scanning the receipt on your mobile.  AND you would be more likely to tip on the FULL value of your meal, rather than the deeply discounted price.

I love that the new mobile app focuses on restaurants – it seems very confusing that one day the deal could be a spa, then one day a restaurant – I think FOCUS and a long tail approach to discounting will work best.

I also love that this uses smart phone technology – and saves paper and printing.

There is also no pay up front – and then the deal expires (like one of my deals did yesterday!), and you kick yourself for shelling out the money but couldn’t take advantage of the offer.

I think deal discounting is really beneficial if done right, and it seems like this new company is on target!  Way to go.

Email remarketing

via groupon.com

When you unsubscribe from Groupon email, you see this page. It asks you to punish “Derrick”, the person responsible for keeping Groupon subscribers active. You simply click the video and Derrick gets punished, ending with a splash of hot coffee in the face, followed by a button to re-subscribe. Groupon is known for its edgy, witty atmosphere so this approach is not for every business. But it does highlight a unique approach to remarketing.

Email remarketing could be used to gather feedback. If a user unsubscribes, why don’t you take the opportunity to ask a couple of questions? Like –

Why did they unsubscribe? Were you sending too many emails? Are the products or content no longer relevant to their interests?

Understanding consumer behavior at different parts of the “marketing funnel” is crucial to marketing success. No doesn’t necessarily have to mean no! Take the opportunity to learn even more from a customer. Especially when you lose an e-mail address, which is gold to online marketers.

A New Restaurant Pricing Strategy – Going Prix Fixe?

via boss.blogs.nytimes.com

I read this NY Times blog post with great interest, as I’m fascinated by the concept of “why we buy.” Why would a diner choose one dining experience over another – and pricing definitely comes into the mix without question, in most cases.

When a restaurant has a special event, and they’re expecting alot of turnover, and need a quick way to handle orders in the kitchen, of course it makes it easier to have the same thing for everyone on the menu. Does it make it better value for the consumer? Not necessarily.

So, if the restaurant is looking for a way to make a more efficient dining experience, I think this is a great idea, especially if there is alot of movement and turning tables. But, if it’s just a way to get more money out of customers, raising prices, I think consumers will be onto it.

And if you have diners who come in expecting their favorite dish and it’s not offered on the menu any more. Oh boy. I think a great way to introduce new menu items, is to phase out old ones slowly, and even offer it if a customer asks, by waying you will ask the chef to make it special (learned that from Danny Meyer recently at an NJ National Restaurant Association event!).

What do YOU think?

Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant wins National Restaurant Association American Dream Award

This week, we went the National Restaurant Association Gala Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C.  Now I can officially announce the award and share this video with you.

See why I am so honored to work with the owners of this restaurant in my brief appearance in this video.

Hard work, dedication, marketing and social media helped to gain notice for this local one unit ethnic restaurant that has a lot to add to the community.

Are you inspired by the work that you do and who you work with?

Consumer Insights – How to Respond Using Social Media

So, you have a consumer base that you want to introduce a new product or menu item to…maybe you have something they’ve already learned on their own how to use – I market an ethnic restaurant that uses a crepe for a utensil. Let’s face it – people are going to adapt. Sometimes Burrito-style.

So, if you want to solve daily issues for consumers, I highly recommend using engaging content – in this case, creating a video to show them how to use something that they might not know how. At Mesob, we’ve created videos successfully to show consumers HOW to eat the food.

In this video that I created for a past CPG employer in the beverage industry, I listened to the conversation in social media, and I often asked questions. I would analyze the data to uncover a recurring problem. In the single serve coffee market, people just did not know how to brew a cup of loose leaf tea. Having health benefits did just not fit in with their lifestyle.

They needed an easy solution.

So, with the machine that they were used to brewing their Kcups, I showed them how easily they coul brew a cup of hot loose leaf tea.

Yes, sales went up.

But, satisfaction in knowing that a deeper conversation could uncover an answer to how we could make lives not only easier, but also healthier and more delicious!

Have YOU made a video based on a gained consumer insight?