Second Chance Marketing from Five Guys
The other day, my husband and I were out to find a good, fast burger that tasted good, yet was affordable. After we ruled out all of the fast food places and nicer establishments where a tip would be required, we realized that we could go to Five Guys.
Our History with Five Guys
We initially hesitated to choose Five Guys based on our first experience. Several years ago right after Five Guys opened in our area, we decided to give it a try. After all sorts of rave reviews and national awards Five Guys had received, we figured it would be good and couldn’t wait to try it. Boy were we disappointed though. They had just opened, and their food and service definitely didn’t match up to their reputation. Burgers were swimming in grease, fries were unsalted and soaking wet brown paper bags. Staff wasn’t very friendly nor helpful. It wasn’t good. We vowed to not return, as it was a digestive nightmare and total letdown.
Word of Mouth Made Us Wonder
While we stood on our “no more Five Guys position” for several years, as friends continued to try Five Guys, they’d rave about how awesome it was. They’d come over to our house with their “Five Guys cups” and talk about how yummy the food tasted. At first we tried to convince our friends that they were wrong, but as they years went on, they’d continued to rave about their food.
So, We Gave Five Guys a Second Chance
Back to that day we were in the car, deciding where to get a burger…
We thought of Five Guys and remembered all of the good feedback from our friends. So, we decided to give it a second chance. And after we scarfed down our delicious burgers and great fries, we realized why our friends were raving about their food. It was awesome. They had really made some changes since we were last there, and we would totally go back!
Marketing Lesson from Our Five Guys Experience
So, what all of this has to do with marketing. Our experience with Five Guys has taught me so much about marketing. It’s a typically story of hope in the second chance. While I initially wrote off the restaurant, they stayed strong, focused on what they did best, and have really turned things around. I would totally go back now.
As I’ve looked back at my second chance with Five Guys, I’ve realized a few marketing tips along the way:
- When you launch your business, make sure it’s the best that it can be upon Grand Opening.
(We tried Five Guys initially right when it opened, when it received some buzz. They had some tweaks to work out, thus we didn’t return for several years. When you launch a business, make it the best it can be when you’re going to get the most attention and visitors.)
- Keep it Simple, do what you do best when it comes to business.
(Five Guys has a simple, clear menu that offers a limited amount of good choices. They stick to it. Make sure your business offers aren’t over-complicated. Focus on a few things you do best, and perfect them.)
- Encourage Word of Mouth from loyal customers/clients
(Between our friend’s rave reviews and branded cups they brought to our house, it put Five Guys in front of us, and made us want to try it again. This could be done via your Facebook page, website testimonials, etc. If people LOVE you, find ways to make sure they’re telling others about how much they LOVE you so others will LOVE you too.)
- Believe in the Second Chance.
(Don’t give up, stick to what you do best, and trust that people will continually give you a second chance if your consistent, honest and loyal to your brand.)
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