This is Busi, the owner of a mobile Street Kitchen, Busi's Kitchen, down the road from me. There is an entire story behind Busi’s stunning new kiosk but for now I want to share a few of her insights for success. While her new look “store” was my motivation to stop and chat to her, the reward was the insight I gained to what she attributes her success.
What struck me most was how similar her philosophies are to another of my most favourite food brands, Woolworths (South Africa – not “the other guys”). For the record, my commentary on Woolies is based on my experience as a die hard consumer. One that hands a fair portion of my monthly income across, and not because I have first hand knowledge of their strategy. Secondly while Busi did not use “marketing speak”, her explanations and insights are as clear and direct as text book teaching.
The three parallels of Customer Experience:
Foremost is Busi’s approach to quality. As opposed to having beautifully branded long haul trucks on the road, Busi wakes up at 4, loads up all the produce for the day, and treks it through single handed, by taxi! But fresh it is! Tick (Busi), tick (Woolies). #FreshFoodMarketing
Busi offers an impressive range of dishes. You can’t imagine what is produced out of this little kiosk. The menu varies dependant on the seasons and also accommodates her customers’ fluctuating budgets - offering cheaper options such as the vegetarian Bunny Chow towards month end. Tick (Busi), tick (Woolies). #CustomerFocusPricing
Perhaps the feature that resonated with me most was her guidance on presentation and attitude. She promotes that you must keep your place looking spotlessly clean, inside and out, that her staff have to be equally presentable and that under all circumstances you must always smile and be pleasant to the customers, regardless of how you are feeling. She is particularly vehement about this, in particular since she acquired her new look store and can now truly identify with her brand. This is a fundamental that so many businesses neglect and we forget that while our customer may not verbalise it, first impressions count and have to be recreated every day. Tick (Busi), tick (Woolies). #SmileSmileSmile=CX
After all – the numbers show the love.
The final observation that I will share is this. Both brands love the numbers. Undoubtedly Woolworths consistently showcase a healthy, growing balance sheet, of global proportions. But make no mistake, Busi makes it a daily ritual to analyse what has sold, what the costs were, how much profit she is making and how she can keep a cap on operating costs. In her world this often means negotiating with locals for storage space and even extending credit lines to customers. Tick (Busi), tick (Woolies).
This was a worthwhile roadside pause and supported my belief that some of the greatest lessons we can learn in relation to both business and brand management are right in front of our noses. We simply don't take the time to stop and look! #BusinessLessonsFromTheStreet
The story behind Busi’s new Street Kitchen.
Let me share a very brief version of how Busi acquired her new Street Kitchen. There are two dynamic young designers, Jo and Shannon from Beingfrank, who have come together to use design for change, as Jo explains. One of their initiatives is a project called “Pimp My Street Kitchen” and Busi was one of the three first beneficiaries. These two young women have a wonderful vision and I was so touched by their readiness to pay forward when they are still batting hard to make a living themselves. Please make contact directly if you can help them with corporate funding jo@beingfrank.co #PimpMyStreetKitchen #EntrepreneurialEmpowerment #PayingForward #DesignForChange #Beingfrank
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