Izzy’s First Impressions

So…as you know we here at Flourish have all been tasked with writing our very own blog posts, I’ve been wracking my brain on what subject to write about and finally thought about a recent restaurant experience that I could relate to a marketing theme.

I was recently lucky enough to have been taken to a fantastic Japanese restaurant in Soho, London. This place literally took my breath away.

From the moment we entered the restaurant we were very impressed with the décor and the outstanding service.  Friendly smiles, warm greetings and a great environment helped set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Arriving rather early gave us a chance to enjoy the rather swanky and romantically lit restaurant bar.  With a huge choice of very tempting and authentic cocktails it would have been rude not to sample them!  The service was quick and we were presented with two great looking drinks and a complimentary basket of Japanese snacks – everyone loves a freebie!

We heard about this restaurant from a couple of friends who had been previously.  They raved about the service and the food.  But most of all they talked about the interactive table ordering system. Now this is where our experience really took off!

Above every diner is a projector that beams images down onto the table that each person can control with laptop style touch pads embedded on the table.  Using the touch pad you can access and order from an illustrated food and drinks menu, set the mood image projected onto the table, discover the local neighbourhood, even order a taxi home. There’s even a live kitchen camera so you can see the chefs at work!

Needless to say the food was exceptional!  Delicate strips of sushi with tantalising dipping sauces where mouth wateringly delightful and together with some superb wine we couldn’t fault it.

So how does all this relate to my original plan on writing a marketing themed piece?  Well, this experience is a prime example of how a great product or service delivered in a friendly manner can inspire word of mouth marketing to really take shape.

It’s a fact that glowing reviews and advice from close friends, colleagues and family will encourage you to use a service or buy a product rather than from influencers of a detached third party such as an advertisement.

Today social media can play a big part in your word of mouth campaigns.  The ability for people to share information with their friends on a vast scale at the press of a button is something modern business should really take advantage of.  Your customers will actually choose to market your business for you directly to their close friends and family, and best of all – they’ll do it for free!

As with the restaurant I visited it’s usually something quirky or exciting that social media users latch onto and share with their friends.  You can’t force something to ‘go viral’ you can only help it by creating a great product or service to begin with.  So this new age social media and viral marketing run on the same principles as the traditional word of mouth.

So, does your business make people want to shout about it?

Tagged as in Marketing, Uncategorized