“I like the show,” says Janine Popick at the Vertical Response blog, “because he gets down into the inner workings of a small business and peels away the onion to find any issues that might be hampering the business from growing.”

She finds six business lessons in the story arc of each episode. Here are some:

– Ramsay starts with an honest assessment of the situation. You cannot fix something until you know what’s wrong, and he always begins by observing a typical lunch or dinner service. Most are, predictably, disastrous. “He also takes to the streets,” notes Popick. “[I]n many shows he walks the streets of the town to observe other restaurants and he’ll stop people and ask what they think about the restaurant he’s trying to help.”

– He then identifies, and tries to rectify, fundamental problems. A strong business is built on a strong foundation. Disturbingly, almost all of the restaurants on Kitchen Nightmares share one failure in common: filthy kitchens that must be cleaned before anything else can happen. Beyond that, Ramsay addresses the unique mix of issues challenging each restaurant—everything from poor leadership to overambitious menus to subpar chefs.

Whatever you think of Gordon Ramsay, you just might benefit from his simple formula for jumpstarting a struggling business.

Source: Vertical Response. Click here for the full post.

Thanks also to Marketing Profs.

The post What Any Business Can Learn From Chef Gordon Ramsay appeared first on StoryFirst Media Website.

It’s simple, there are a few people that still use the phone book, but more and more people are turning to the Internet to look for you. If you think about traditional marketing, you might think of things like billboards, print ads, having a commercial on the TV, or radio. These are all traditional types of marketing, and they will often get you some new customers, but the problem is that you have no way of keeping track of who is viewing your ads, or commercials – and the cost involved in these options includes both production and the ongoing time or space costs. Also, there is no way of knowing if you are reaching your target audience. How can you find out what is working or what is not? Are you getting enough feedback to change and test your market?

Video marketing is different. It allows you to connect with your audience in a way that static advertising and traditional media does not. You can tell your story, authentically and in a way that is relevant to your viewers. When your audience is engaged in your story they will want to participate by coming to your establishment and sharing your story (video) with friends.

Video Marketing also allows you to see where your target audience is coming from, and what they are typing in to find you. This makes your job much easier. You now know where to place your business – in the middle of that. That’s it, get yourself in the middle of what people are already looking for, and you will attract new customers. You can also keep track of how many views your video is getting, and where they are coming from, where they are going on your website, and what referred them to you. This allows you to refine your marketing and advertising to perfection. Literally, you can see exactly what people are doing and how they are getting to you. This also means that you can use this information to improve your traditional and grass roots marketing, menu strategies, etc.

Videos are very shareable and thus can reach a lot of people, and when people share them it goes with in implied recommendation. Your target audience can watch your video any time of day 24/7 – 365 days a year. If you are thinking this sounds expensive, it’s not. For less then you would pay for an ad in the phone book, you can have a video made, edited, and marketed on the Internet. So, a video that your audience can watch any time of day — via the the devices your audience is now using to look for you — or an ad in the phone book?

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