Don’t build windbreaks, but windmills

Last week there was still a mountain of snow, this week the sun is shining again and spring is approaching. A lot of change in a short time, but there’s one thing that doesn’t change: people need to eat. This will always be the case. Whether it’s war, a natural disaster, or something like a pandemic. People will always need to eat. It’s a basic need. And therefore, by definition, something that has ‘business’ in it. You just need to know how you can contribute to fulfilling that basic need.

„When the wind blows, some people build windbreaks, others build windmills,” someone once told me. Smart man, that was. It wasn’t the only thing he inspired me with back then. But it’s true, of course. Some people seek protection and are ‘bothered’ by the wind, while others look for a solution to make use of that same wind.

And who are you? Are you someone who builds windbreaks or windmills? Are you looking for ways to ‘arm’ yourself against all the violence, or are you looking for ways to benefit from it? Because one thing is certain: the revenue that’s increasingly leaking from the hospitality sector isn’t ‘gone-gone’. It’s just in a different place. Just look at the large retail companies and web shops. They’ve never had so much revenue.

And that’s how solutions naturally emerge. They’re devised by those people who build windmills. Hospitality concepts are cleverly incorporated into retail settings, companies that let employees FaceTime with their (potential) customers in stores, chefs who enter into smart collaborations with hotels, and virtual entertainment is organized with the help of pub quizzes and other social games from cafes, just to name a few examples.

But how do you join that club of windmill builders? Because that’s what we want: to find the ultimate solution for that declining revenue trend and get started with something that works and ensures money in the drawer. Revenue is oxygen for your business, and without oxygen nothing is viable (anaerobic bacteria aside).

It starts with putting on different glasses. And that all sounds simple and easy, and I certainly realize that you have a load of misery to deal with. But that load of misery is there anyway, whether you look through glasses A or glasses B. So put on different glasses, and think carefully about what advantages or opportunities you can identify from this whole pandemic. I’ll name a few to help you get started, they might not be entirely accurate for you, but use them as inspiration:

WE EAT MORE

I haven’t completely scientifically substantiated this, but looking around me, I have a feeling that a lot of people are ‘letting themselves go’ more when it comes to eating. Exercise is already being neglected and since you have to stay 1.5 meters away from everyone anyway, that extra roll of fat isn’t that noticeable. We’re pitiful, so we’re allowed to enjoy what we do have, is kind of the atmosphere I feel hanging around. It certainly doesn’t stop me from sliding in an extra piece of cake. Yes, I admit it: over 6 kilos gained since the lockdown…

WE SPEND MORE

Following point 1, I also see that generally more is being spent on specific things that are still possible. Because that vacation didn’t happen anyway, so when we order food, it can be a bit more expensive. People want to spend money to ease the pain and especially if you tap into that need, where you bring back the feeling of ’the old days’, people are willing to pay for that.

WE VALUE TOGETHERNESS MORE

Especially when things aren’t possible or allowed, the desire for them grows stronger. That’s how it works with my 5-year-old daughter, but that’s how it works with everyone. Before the lockdown, we could visit anyone without problems, now there’s a quota and since it’s all punishable, it feels ‘sneaky’ and forbidden when you have two guests in your house.

WE APPRECIATE SIMPLE THINGS MORE

Never before have so many people gone out to discover nature. The number of people who participated in the annual bird count was never so high and traffic jams are forming at the parking lots of local parks and forests. Enjoying what is still possible. That’s what people are looking for. So make sure you’re part of what is possible.

OUR RITUALS & HABITS ARE CHANGING

Due to the pandemic, people have been forced to break their rituals and habits. This creates opportunities to respond to the new rituals and habits that people are developing (because they do).

I could go on, but it’s about the reverse thinking: consider what problem the pandemic poses for you and then think exactly the opposite way. Take a good look at the opportunities and possibilities that might exist. People have needs. They want to be together, eat well, enjoy dishes they would never make at home, without hassle. And because of the pandemic, people are being forced in a certain direction. Stand where people are moving towards. And you do that by asking yourself the following questions:

• Who is my customer/guest? What moves them?
• Where is that customer/guest? Both online and offline?
• What is their need? Their basic need, but also their deeper need?
• What is their pain or desire? Where is their frustration, what’s bothering them?
• What can you offer from the tools and possibilities you have?
• What if you didn’t see your restaurant as a restaurant, but as a basic space with stuff?
• How can you become allies with parties that have what you lack?
• Who serves the same target group but has different interests or a different product than you?
• Why are certain entrepreneurs successful? What do they do differently?

These are questions with which I want to get your thought train moving to inspire you to think differently about that wind. Don’t build a windbreak, but a windmill and think about what it can bring you if you put that load of misery aside.

Take care,

Groetjes Suus

PS: need a free training to get some inspiration? In the coming period, I have several free training sessions available in which I show how Yvette from Sandwichbar Du Nord in Groningen received so many orders that she had to stop accepting them! Via THIS LINK you can sign up and I’ll show you how to work with Facebook Advertising and thus reach and bind your ideal target group.

„Hoi! Ik ben Suus en ik begeleid horecaondernemers – ook nu tijdens de lockdown – om meer omzet te creëren, door te focussen op een betere (online) zichtbaarheid en het verbeteren van het bestelaanbod.„