When eating barbecue, I saw the doubts of old brands

In the new era, users have changed, and their needs will change accordingly. However, if the brand and the user's understanding are not in the same dimension, the brand is immersed in the past and cannot see the essence of current changes, it is easy to be abandoned by the times. This article analyzes the 19-year-old brand Muwu BBQ in detail. Those who are interested can take a look.

Last week, Yao Xiaoyan and I were hanging out after get off work and wanted to have a relaxing dinner, but didn’t want to go too far, so we ended up choosing Muwu BBQ, which is very close to the office and has a large number of directly-operated stores.

This article is not a negative article, but more of a review of the discomfort I experienced from a user's perspective, and some small suggestions.

01 See

In fact, I have passed by this store many times, but I am never sure what the core selling point it wants to convey to passers-by is?

The only valid information is “the 164th directly-operated store in the country”.

However, you may not be able to see it clearly if you don't look carefully.

As for the words “Every day is worth celebrating” on the lower right corner, combined with the words “Cheers” below, I can understand that the brand means that it hopes users will come here and consume more alcohol.

There is nothing wrong with using alcohol to increase sales.

But here it is more of an internal perspective of "hoping" users to come here to celebrate, but it does not explain why users should come to the wooden house barbecue to "celebrate and toast"?

For example, whether our wine has certain characteristics: appearance, taste, freshness, etc., or it can be cheaper. In other words, create a space atmosphere that is more suitable for social drinking.

02 Walk In

The overall space decoration is in the style of a common chain barbecue restaurant, which is old-fashioned and looks like it has been used for many years. It is not wrong, unique, or surprising. But it is better than Dacheng barbecue and street barbecue stalls. At least it looks old, clean, and has a certain quality.

The barbecue atmosphere and brand recognition are very weak. From what I saw, there were basically no customers taking photos.

As soon as you enter the door, there is a small wooden house for fresh brewing, similar to an open counter, with many wine jars placed on it.

The accompanying text is: active wine body, magical taste.

Maybe I haven't studied beer deeply enough, but using magic to describe the taste of beer may not be the characteristic of "fresh brew". We can try to further shape the freshness of beer, and time, craftsmanship, and raw materials can all be expressed.

Generally speaking, a restaurant with a good drinking atmosphere will have music and lights to enhance the atmosphere when you walk in. Some restaurants will even have singers, small shows, and some specific games. In this regard, you can refer to the Shanghai Japanese barbecue brand "Kanpai".

There are many words on the wall, such as: Happy Gathering Time, Wooden House BBQ + Beer = Life is Beautiful, Cheers Shanghai, etc., as well as some soft furnishings of wine bottles.

But nowadays, most young people are probably insensitive to these "atmosphere creations". Because the habit of eating skewers and drinking alcohol does not need to be educated.

What you need to tell users most is what is different about eating skewers and drinking wine here, and just emphasize this difference.

In fact, the aspects related to wine are not too bad, the main problems are concentrated on ordering and eating.

03 Ordering

When I decided on the dishes I wanted to order, I was a little surprised when I learned that I didn't have to scan a QR code to order, but needed to write down the number next to the dish name on the order sheet.

It can be said to be a very oldschool method.

Since we have decided not to scan the code but let customers write, then we can make a paper menu with a checkbox. Or we can waste some manpower and have the waiter come to take the order on site.

Looking back on this incident, it may be a typical problem of "internal perspective" of the company, but it has been improved a little, but the final result is still embarrassing.

My guess is that, initially, customers were asked to write down the names of dishes, but they found it too laborious, time-consuming, and difficult to edit. The handwriting was difficult to read and prone to errors. So, the names of dishes were numbered to make it easier for the front office and back kitchen to remember them, less prone to errors, and easier for customers to write.

But this is actually just to facilitate the brand's own operations, and it doesn't consider the issue from the user's perspective. The change from writing the full name to writing numbers is still more expensive than just ticking a box.

When it comes to ordering food, brands cannot be lazy and should not trouble users.

The purpose of ordering dishes and menus is first and foremost to make it easier for users to order their favorite dishes. Only then do brands want users to choose their signature dishes.

04 Dining

The fastest dish served was the roasted pork knuckle, which was quite spicy and delicious.

After a while, the spiciness was indeed a bit too much, so I ordered a drink. However, by the time the drink arrived, almost all the dishes had been finished.

Perhaps every barbecue restaurant has a dish that is spicier, which not only enhances the taste, but also encourages customers to order more drinks and increase the customer order.

But if this point is designed, the speed at which the beverage is dispensed must keep up, otherwise it will become a negative experience and there may even be customer complaints.

In order to fill myself up, I ordered a plate of fried rice. The portion looked normal in the photo, but when it was served, it was only a few bites' worth.

Combined with the spicy pork knuckles mentioned earlier, the impression at this point is very negative. The portion is small, and they are afraid that customers will get full after eating the fried rice, which will affect the order amount.

I specifically looked at the price of fried rice, 18 yuan, not too high or too low. With this price and the picture, it is difficult to control customers' expectations. If you give too little, the brand will seem low-key, and if you give too much, it will affect the barbecue order.

Here I would like to recommend the Thai pepper fried rice that I made a long time ago. The taste is different from ordinary egg fried rice. It has a bit of exotic flavor and the portion is moderate. The price is 20, and I order it almost every time I go there.

By the way, a long time ago, fried rice cost 16 yuan. Comparing 20 yuan and 16 yuan, customers will have a clear difference in expectations.

There weren't many customers in the restaurant, so I tended to think that the dishes I ordered would be served quickly. However, 2 of the dishes were served last when the customers were almost done eating. Because there happened to be an hourglass on the table, which was originally intended to reassure customers, when I glanced at it when the last two dishes were served, the hourglass had already rung out.

05 Check-out

Actually, there was nothing uncomfortable about checking out, it was just that the waiter ignored the promise of the hourglass and the customer had to remind him.

When it was time to pay the bill, the waiter didn't notice the problem with the hourglass at first. It might be because the food was served slowly during the meal, so I urged him several times. He had some impression of me, and maybe because he saw that I looked kind, he asked me about my dining experience. I said it was okay, but the food was served too slowly.

Only then did he remember the promise of the hourglass and skipped the two dishes that were served slowly.

This is the end of this log cabin barbecue experience.

When I walked out the door, I saw that the space and seats in the waiting area were very comfortable and spacious, and the seats were all soft-padded sofas. I was impressed by the user experience of this area.

But unfortunately, I've passed by this Log Cabin BBQ many times and there has never been a line.

06 Occupational Diseases

The next day after the meal, I talked about this brand with a friend in Beijing. Like me, she had only experienced it once, but felt that she was not a user of Muwu.

I felt the same way. But when I left the store, I took a look at the user profiles and found that they were mostly young people born in the 1990s.

So, if the users of the wooden houses are not the young white-collar workers and residents nearby, who should they be?

I don’t have an answer to this question yet. Maybe it is this group of users, but the wooden house did not grasp their core needs.

Overall, as a brand that has been around for 19 years, many of Muwu BBQ’s problems are actually due to the fact that some of the company’s decisions are made from an “internal perspective” rather than a “user perspective”, which is something that many old brands are prone to encounter.

I wrote an article last year that also mentioned this.

Classic brands are now popular and are also "trendy" brands that meet current consumer demand.

But users have changed, and their demands have changed accordingly. The new brands’ understanding of users is not in the same dimension as yours, but you are immersed in the past, self-centered, and unable to see the essence of current changes, you will easily be abandoned by the times.

"Old" is not the problem, "outdated" is the problem.

Old brands only have history, but old tastes are aesthetics, viewpoints, and sales methods.

Finally, I can't help but commit an occupational disease, which may be of some help to the log cabin barbecue:

1. The brand name "Muwu BBQ" is a symbol with a sense of image and space, and it is a space and scene association. You can consider trying it. The wooden house and the stove are a good match for barbecue, which is warm and primitive. At least Muwu does not have a brand identification feature that users can remember.
2. It is recommended to upgrade and iterate the brand's overall experience, language, vision, and space system. Even in the community, users need a more up-to-date and high-quality happy skewers experience.
3. If a brand wants to attract people with alcohol, then the overall experience, expression, atmosphere and space need to be implemented to the extreme, otherwise it will be meaningless.
4. The quality of tableware can be improved, because the food value of the skewers themselves is difficult to significantly improve, but the value of tableware and baking trays is easy to improve, and customers can easily perceive it.
5. Lamb skewers are currently the main product, but the actual experience from ordering, serving, producing, to eating is very average. It is recommended that more efforts be made in product development and presentation. Of course, this is just my personal experience.
6. For barbecue brands in or near community shopping centers, my feeling is that alcohol may not be a rigid demand, or in other words, after experiencing wooden house barbecue, my feeling is that the brand's strengths should not be in creating "social attributes". Perhaps returning to the products and services themselves, how to let users near the community experience more cost-effective barbecue products and services is the core value of this type of barbecue brand.
7. A long time ago, there was a barbecue chain brand with an average price of 120 yuan per person, but now it is the top number one. So, if we compete with it in a different way and choose a location in a community shopping center with an average price of around 100 yuan per person, can we further differentiate ourselves from it in terms of the main products we promote and the atmosphere we create?

A brand that has been around for 19 years must have its own unique skills and core values. I hope Muwu BBQ can become even better.

I don't know much about wooden houses, and my judgment is based on only one or two experiences. Please forgive me if I'm wrong. Friends who are familiar with wooden houses are also welcome to correct me.

above.

Author: Shaokang loves brain burning

Source: Shaokang Blake (ID: shaokang92)