The key to business success

Now if you know me, I am a through and through South African. Yes, I live in London and yes I DO love it… But anytime that I hear Nkosie sikelele, Die Stem, Shoshaloza, Waka Waka (this time for African!), Johnny Clegg etc, I can get a bit teary eyed and nostalgic. Saffa’s all around the world will relate to this

Also, it will probably not come as any surprise that I do enjoy fine dining and going out and having a good old “social evening!” 

So natural sense will tell you that you put the two of those things together and we’re going to have one heck of a party!! It will probably be of no great surprise then that I have a favorite haunt. A place that combines some of the greatest food and a real taste of South Africa!! Yup, you guessed it, my favourite restaurant is Chakalaka’s …. closely followed by Shaka Zulu – and their £12 cocktails!

 I was dining out there a few months back and we were joined by the owner, Danie Streicher. Now to know Danie is  to know TRUE PASSION for work. Danie is a guy who lives, breathes and believes in Chakalaka’s. He believes in  quality service and all that good stuff.

 Now Danie and I were sitting down and having a chat about business. We were talking about the challenges and  opportunities that SME type businesses face and, as tends to happen when talking to passionate people, I went off  on a rant – at a tangent!

We discussed WHY people come to his restaurant to enjoy a T-bone that costs 4 times the price that it does in Sainsbury’s. Because logically, it really doesn’t make sense.

(I can see the cynic telling the first aspiring restaurant owner back in the day “Why the Hell would anyone pay more for food that you have cooked than what they can cook at home…?” Now the restaurant industry in a multi-billion dollar industry. **Note** Don’t listen to cynics!)

I relayed this back to Danie and ask him “Do you know why I come here?”

Danie sat back in his chair and said thoughtfully, “Is it because I give you free drinks, Paulie?” 

“Ha!! Close but, Nope!” Came the response…

He looked a bit flustered and said “Is it because we serve Biltong as a starter?”

To this I let out a rip-snorter of a “HAAAA!”

“Nope…. Not even close, boet” (Afrikaans for “Brother”)

“So why DO you come here then, Paulie?”

I looked at him and took a sip of my glass of fine Stellenbosch wine and said to him : “Because every time I come here, it’s ALWAYS an experience. Myself and my guests are always made to feel very welcome. You have incredible staff who are so welcoming and have a genuine interest in how we are doing and always keen to meet my guests, remember their name and  ensure that there is always some good banter. There was one time that I came in with a good friend of mine who was on his second visit to the restaurant with me and Pete, the waiter remembered his name from the first visit and welcomed him like an old friend…! Do you know how POWERFUL that is?”

A large grin rolled across Danie’s face. “That’s great to hear, Paulie!”

I retorted “Great to hear?”

“Come on man, that is the secret to business success in this or any other industry”

I went a little further, “The reason people come here for dinner is not just because of the good food. Good food you can get from anywhere.” 

“People come here because it’s an EXPERIENCE – not just a transaction. People leave this place feeling better than when they came here. They have had some great food, great wine but most importantly, they have had some brilliant interaction with other smiley happy people…” 

Danie looked at me, smiled looked down and said “Thank’s Paulie! That’s very nice of you to say so…!”

I thought I saw a look of pride on his face but being as humble as he is, he hide it well, looked at me and said “Nother glass of wine then, boet?”  

I had to agree and then the rest of the evening was spent debating how we could coach the Springbok team better than the Pieter de Villiers and who should make the starting line up….

The point I am trying to make here folks is that nowadays, there is too much competition in the world to make any product or service that you have, purely transactional. Back in the day, Henry Ford was able to say “You can have any colour, as long as it’s black” when he was talking about the first batch of his model-T car. He could say that because he had no competition. 

Nowadays, competition is allowing consumer demand to expect truly bespoke products and services – that fits the consumer and their demands like a glove. If they feel it’s perfect for them, then they love it – but nobody nowadays wants a “off the shelf, one size fits all” type product and this demand will continue to grow as market place competition does.

This is something that I am VERY passionate about with my products and services. Every client of mine is an individual with individual needs, wants and desires. This is why it’s takes 4 years and the work with NLP practisioners, Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists to perfect the formula for MOBIvation Text Messages that bring the message perfectly into your context and hence has huge impact on you.

The same ol’ same ol’ product or service is becoming a dying breed and in my opinion, as technology and production becomes more and more inexpensive, I am convinced that there is more of a shift toward a strong interpersonal element of any product or service. In my opinion, THAT’s what is going to become more of the unique selling point of your product or service in the future.

This is where I believe true business success is born.

Here’s to your Health, Wealth and Happiness.

PH

MOBIvation <<<—– We know your an individual

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