On their menus and placemats PizzaVino in Palm Desert, CA describes true authentic Neapolitan Pizza as, “It’s all about balance, The Oven, San Marzano tomatoes, Fior di Latte Mozzarella, and Doppio Zero flour.”
At the end of their description of how the ingredients come together they write,
“If you are looking for lots of pasty cooked tomato with funny Italian seasoning and lot of melted processed mozzarella then you are in for a disappointing meal. We hope you’ll order something else from our menu.”
Talk about a good job of setting customer expectations! Before you order you know you’re not getting assembly-line chain-restaurant pizza. You’re getting an old-world, handcrafted meal.
All (small) businesses should be doing something similar, i.e. letting their customers know to expect high quality (and that’s why the prices are not rock bottom). Small business is niche business and that means quality, value, and service.
Whether you provide a product, a service, advice, or a combination of all three, don’t chase the customer looking for a deal. Do what PizzaVino does – discuss quality and describe what you’re not. It builds better long-term relationships, better customers, and more profits.
“Americans who overslept invented the word brunch.” Joan Crawford
