If It Ain’t Broke...

I went to my favourite Indian restaurant the other night for a cheeky takeaway and was delighted to be served by someone I hadn't seen since July 2020. I passed on my condolences to him because I had heard that the owner had died. He then informed me the previous owner was actually his brother! I never knew that because their relationship in the restaurant was always so professional, so I had no clue they were related.

Well, to cut a long story short, Naz has now taken over the restaurant and is a first-time business owner. It shut down for a while so his task is now to get it back up and running, putting his stamp on it, getting all the old customers back and, of course, attracting new customers, as well as training new staff. All in all a huge task ahead for him and his team.

The food, as always, was lovely and because he knew my tastes so well, a few little extras which he knew would make my meal complete.

However, whilst I was sat waiting for my food, and in between a real catch-up with him, I allowed my eyes to wander and take in some immediate changes; for instance, the chair I was sitting in was much more comfortable and functional than the old, huge leather sofa, so it allowed more room in the restaurant and more comfort for me.

There was a new menu; not only some of the dishes they were now serving but the actual menu itself... and here was the rub. The old menu reflected the name and flavour of the restaurant and was easily identifiable with this establishment. The new one, however, looked like a bit cheap and nasty, and the front cover was a complete mystery to me. The old menu cover had a beautiful and clearly Asian-looking palace on the front. The new one was bright white with a picture of a random bridge and two black lines underneath which looked like something had been crossed out with a felt tip pen!

Then, when my food came and was handed to me, instead of the old paper bags there was a reusable, hessian-type bag with a lovely "Thank You" message on the front. However, as I looked closer and on both sides of the bag, there was absolutely nothing to tell me where the bag had come from. Now, as you know, at The Lead Generation Group, we never have a day off when it comes to sales and marketing, even if it's not one of our customers.

I immediately wanted to sit down with the owner and go through some details which I know would help grow and get his business back where it was, and take it to new heights, but of course my food would be getting cold and he had a load of customers to serve.

I took a business card and the menu away with me, in the lovely but unbranded bag, and couldn't help but think about all the small, inexpensive ways, this business could market itself to make a huge impact and win back customers and gain new followers.

I could feel my heart sink when I realised how much money had been spent on the new menus, the bags and the changes within the restaurant interior. I also went on to social media and again, felt that small, subtle changes needed to be made to ensure this food emporium was getting maximum benefit from its social media presence and the best bang for its bucks.

Luckily, local people are rallying behind the restaurant and using the "use it or lose it" slogan, getting many "likes" on Facebook and making sure they keep it in focus. But, it still needs to get its paid marketing correct; it needs to get the branding right and make it something people instantly recognise and feel compelled to visit.

The old branding, if a little old-fashioned, was distinctive and everybody knew which restaurant it identified. At the moment there is no cohesion, none of the that warmth from the brand. I understand the owner wanted to put his stamp on things, but sometimes, when you inherit a tried and tested brand, perhaps you should run with it to begin with before making wholesale changes, spending money that perhaps you should be using to pay the energy bills, your staff and the day-to-day running costs, and use your limited marketing budget on enhancing what you already have, increasing your social media presence and making sure that your biggest marketing asset at the moment – your customers – go away and spread the word.

At The LG Group we understand the desire of business owners to get established quickly and have their brand out there, but we also recognise that, more often than not, they are also too close to the business and are unable to step back and see the bigger picture: This situation is where marketing and branding experts come into the picture – people like us.

Naz freely admits this is all new territory for him; he has taken this massive decision to take over an established business at a difficult time financially, and that he also has to step out of his comfort zone and make the leap from being a member of staff to being the boss. The last thing he needs is to get the initial marketing changes wrong.

The Lead Generation Group may be the experts when it comes to logistics, but we understand the struggles all businesses face when it comes to getting themselves in the public's mind.

It's not all about huge budgets and lots of bells and whistles; in many cases baby steps, using your existing brand and a bit of tweeking here and there, and of course, a conversation with The Lead Generation Group, and your business will blooming and, in Naz's case, as tasty and fulfilling as his food!