Our point of differentiation

The Next Idea – Point of  Differentiation

To maximize profit, operators have pursued the Holy Grail of becoming number one or two in their industries or markets. Recently, however, new measures of service in  restaurants and hotels  suggest that customer loyalty is a more important determinant of profit. All restaurant or hotel  companies seek to become leaders in their market place. To do this, they provide a menu of “differentiated’” products and services that have specific features most appealing to a specific target audience for a reasonable (but as high as possible) price. Remarkably, many companies or managers do this instinctively, yet are not necessarily sure what they are doing. For example one hotel group began placing flowers in guest rooms. When asked why they do this, the reply was simply –‘we think guests like it’’. In reality the guests loved it, and when The Next Idea surveyed over 2,000 guests guess what - the highest item on the reasons for staying at that hotel was – yes Fresh flowers. This was a classic case of differentiation, as no other low – mid priced hotel group offered this simple yet engaging guest service – the guests noticed, and it became a primary reason to return. However the concern was that while commendably intuitive, and customer focused, the group had not understood the true value of their offer, resulting in under potentialized room & F & B sales.

Simply put – if executed well there is nothing as powerful as differentiation – Think Southwest Airlines, Coca Cola, Hersheys – all operate in highly competitive sectors, yet lead through clearly differentiated product or service offers, and contrary to popular belief, while price will always represent a factor in every consumer choice – it will not necessarily be the driving force behind decision making. So when considering differentiation the  jackpot situation for a Restaurant, Hotel or Foodservice operator is to:

The Next Idea specializes in Differentiation. We are that catalyst that provides ideas and solutions for clients in the areas of concept development, creative branding, menu development, restaurant profit solutions, restaurant and hotel operations, and Restaurant & Leisure marketing. Differentiation is the starting point when reviewing any business or concept, and is the core component that will deliver success or failure.That said – The only question to no ask is simply – where will you be without The Next Idea!Brainstorming, and any idea generation is viewed by The Next Idea as a critical process in branding or new product development that needs to be planned and creatively managed. Successful idea generation is part of the hunt for the vastly superior undiscovered idea, and it is a secret ingredient in the opportunity scanning process. The Next Idea systematically reviews dozens of innovative ideas that lie within our experience, intelligence and natural creative abilities. In working with clients, we follow a set of fundamental principles that are key to generating a number of ideas in the opportunity scanning process.

At The Next Idea we use specific idea generation tools and techniques that help uncover opportunities, capturing a vision of the entire leisure marketplace from different angles. Our service includes:

Restaurant Strategy Consultants

As restaurant and hotel strategy consultants, our consulting firm will work with you and your management team in a professional engagement one of several ways according to the nature of the consulting project: monthly retainer, fixed project fee, or daily rate. Since each client company or firm is unique with its own set of issues and opportunities, we often begin our relationship with a Decision Mapping engagement. This identifies the problems, opportunities, and issues most relevant, and serves to clarify the decision agenda. We believe this is a crucial step to ensure as consultants to your company, that an expert, professional engagement meets your specific management requirements. Further, Decision Mapping saves both time and money as it sharpens focus as to the exact work which needs to be accomplished in our remaining consulting or market research work for your company. Experts in Strategy As experts and specialists in restaurants, hotels and foodservice, we are well qualified in these sectors to develop far reaching strategies: positioning, segmentation, , corporate and product naming, company branding, brand name development, restaurant pricing, restaurant sales systems and research, product development, brand development, brand strategy, product concept testing, identifying opportunities, positioning, customer satisfaction research,  customer loyalty building and above all: Differentiation.