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You have had that guest that no matter what you do, they can't be satisfied. The guest hates a dish that many others would consider extraordinary. Do you change the recipe or remove the item because of one complaint?
It's just human nature to play it safe. Sometimes no matter how many people love what you do, it's the haters that influence our decisions.
As Seth Godin says in his book, This Is Marketing:
"The relentless pursuit of mass will make you boring because mass means average, it means the center of the curve, it requires you to offend no one and satisfy everyone."
Don't be boring; find your voice and be consistent with your restaurant and your marketing.
But don't just take our word for it; read the book.
Seth Godin, This is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn To See
When you start learning more about the people on your list, you can send them more relevant communications by adjusting your message to make it more personal.
If you had a group of people who prefer beef and another group that prefers chicken and you are promoting a new steak feature, what would you do?
Some might say you only send the new steak feature only to the people who prefer beef.
Why not send it to the people who prefer chicken and adjust the message?
"Hi Joe,
I know you love chicken, but if you were going to have one steak this year, this would be it.
Check out our new steak feature!
We are looking forward to your next visit.
Your Restaurant"
Even though everyone may have their independent roles, how you rely on each other to provide a guest experience will be the basis of your restaurant's success.
Creating a family within your staff will spill over to become genuine hospitality with your guests.
An incentive is that little thing that can help encourage a decision to make a purchase.
We see factory incentives for car purchases all the time. It's a kickback from the manufacturer to help the dealership sell more cars.
Are you worried about the cost of an incentive to try your restaurant? Work with your suppliers to help offset the cost of an item. Mentioning a brand name within the incentive may be worth the supplier giving you free products.
Just one thing, don't use an item as an incentive because you get the product for free. Make sure it fits within your brand.
Having a successful restaurant is always about creating relationships with your guests and your suppliers.
