Cultural Leap at Restaurant Eliminates Red Ink - From College Restaurant to Medical Center Catering

The food at the middle-eastern restaurant was delicious, fresh, and healthy. It was a popular eating spot for the students at the adjacent university campus due to its fast service and affordable prices. Many students were regulars, enjoying a varied menu for those with typically American tastes and they offered traditional Middle-Eastern cooking for the school's Arabic population.

The Symptoms.

Although business was good when school is in session, business dropped off dramatically between semesters. The restaurateur looked at the surrounding area which consisted of several popular tourist attractions and a large medical complex. Determining the medical complex would provide more consistent diner-base he decided to make a concerted effort to break into the healthcare establishment. With a menu overflowing in healthy options, it seemed a natural fit.

Despite repeated efforts on his own, he failed.

The Diagnosis.

The secret to success rested in understanding the healthcare culture. Important questions were:

• Who makes the decision where to eat?
• Who pays for the meals?
• Will come to you or do they want take-out?
• Where should advertising be placed?

These and many other questions needed to be asked in such a way as to get the right answer if the healthcare culture could be penetrated.

As can be expected, many options were available once the investigation was complete. After careful review it was decided to concentrate on catering. We had learned the doctors often eat in their conference rooms or offices listening to presentations from salespeople or learning how to build their practice. The doctors normally did not make the decision as to where meals would be purchased. Instead an administrative person would select a type of food and tell the salesperson what the doctors would want. The salespeople would provide the meals using promotional budgets they were given by the pharmaceutical companies they represented.

The Prescription.

A marketing campaign was recommended aimed specifically at pharmaceutical salespeople and others regularly calling on the doctors. Because the meal itself was an expense that could be written off, the coupon offered something of personal value to the salesperson instead of free meals or discounts to their company.

Future Prognosis.

The restaurant increased its plate count from an average of 435 meals per day to 812 in three months, which was the breakpoint between red ink and black ink. Although some of the increase was normal business growth, the portion of the business attributed will to the medical facility had reached approximately 35% of their total sales.