OpenTable is a tool that only gives you an advantage in a market that has a high demand for tables like large metropolitan areas (too many butts wanting to sit in too few seats) and only among competitors that offer a much better experience for the guest.
That advantage is ease of access. If my restaurant and yours offers an “A” level experience, I win if I can find a way for those guests who may be trying to decide which of us to patronize, to get a table in my restaurant with much less effort than yours. But then you become an OpenTable member also and that advantage is lost. We are now equal again in the minds of our guests. One of us must create an advantage over the other to gain more guests.
In smaller demographics, midsize and below, as well as small rural markets, it does no good to be a part of a crowd in which you get lost. You lose the ability to differentiate and therefore those resources would be best allocated to a more meaningful way of communicating to your guests. Too many seats and not enough butts.
The best advantage for having success is simple, offer a better experience and communicate the value of that experience more effectively to your target market than your competitors. It’s just not easy.
Filed under: Brand/Branding, Questions From Readers, Restaurant Coaching & Consulting, Restaurant Marketing & Promotion, Restaurant Resources Online, Restaurant Sales Programs/Revenue Management
Very good post. Cheers!