One of our favorite writers at Nation's Restaurant News, Jonathan Maze has published a thought provoking article on the five reasons he believes independent restaurants are winning. His position highlights some recent industry research that shows that independent restaurants, not franchises are expected to gain market share in the coming years, and will grow at a higher rate. What's driving the growth? How are the David's of the business (independents) beating the Goliath's (franchises and chains)?
Research from Pentallect Inc., foodservice consulting firm, in conjunction with research partner Critical Mix, weighed the factors in the drive toward independents and their data is shown below. Independent restaurants are shown in blue on the chart against the grey for chains and independents. When asked to rate the following aspects as excellent or good, independents win on almost every metric including: Community Oriented, Is Special, Personalized Service, Shares my Value, Food Quality, Good Service, Innovative Menu, Decor/Atmosphere, Consistent Quality, Value for Money, Menu Variety. The two are tied on delivery. Where do the chains win? It's on use of technology, social media use and convenient location. Wow, no wonder David is stomping Goliath. They won on 11 out of 15 High Touch attributes, tied on one and were beaten on just three. Franchises/chains won only on High Tech - they get the win for social media, locations and the use of technology.
In Jonathan’s article, he posits five reasons this trend will continue including:
We agree on most of these points but believe the dial can be shifted with five ideas:
It seems daunting but it can be done. High touch isn’t just for independents. The human touch can be integrated into any restaurant. Years ago in our book, Appetite for Acquisition, we wrote about the reason people enter the restaurant industry saying, “From biblical times until today, nothing on earth has connected people to one another like the act of breaking bread. Your restaurant becomes the catalyst for this human contact, and you share in the experience.” These survey scores show we were right. Build your restaurant into a local and high touch community gathering point and the sales will follow.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Gagnon is co-founder of We Sell Restaurants and a frequent writer about trends in the industry. She can be found online at her restaurant for sale website or via LinkedIn.