Lose The Gimmicks

I saw a piece in the local paper about a new neighbourhood restaurant opening. Apparently it had a talented chef, great food and the owner boasted that a magician would entertain diners at their tables.

Magicians-at-tables sounds a bit passé to me.

But I think the restaurant is making a mistake for a different reason. Sure - compete on great food, good value, and a bloody good atmosphere. But compete by having a magician entertain you? Like a lot of small businesses, too many fail to keep the proposition simple and over-engineer their offering, ending up with gimmicks or worse – diluting their core competence, by trying to do too much and forgetting the basics.

So if you are a small business, focus on the business equivalent of being a bloody good restaurant. Make sure you offer: Great Product. Excellent Service. Value For Money. And make sure them come back for more.

And that means keep it simple (so you’ve got to ditch the magician).