51 - The Masterchef Effect - What is it, how do you get it and how can your Restaurant profit from it when it happens to you. Part I

We talk about the Masterchef Effect.  The Masterchef Effect occurs when your Restaurant gets a huge amount of publicity.  It could be from getting a great review on a popular website, winning an award, have a meal or event go viral or being featured on national TV, like Masterchef.  Too many restaurants aren't prepared for the Masterchef Effect and as such they miss out on the ongoing benefits of their huge Public Relations win.  In this two part podcast, we examine the preparations 20 restaurants have taken after being featured in The Age Top 20 Cheap Eats for 2017 list and what happened to Restaurant Lume when Chef Shaun Quade was featured on Masterchef.

The Age has released the Melbourne's Top 20 Cheap Eats for 2017 list in Melbourne.  Here are 20 restaurants that have done a great job of bringing together a team, the ingredients, the menu, the FOH experience and the marketing.  (No point in having the best restaurant that no one has ever heard of!)  

The Cheap Eats guide has just 3 lines of text about each Restaurant, so people are looking for more information about your Restaurant to make a buying decision.  Without a website, you aren't able to tell the story of your Restaurant that you have put so much work into in any way that does it justice.

 You goal doesn't need to be on Masterchef, but you need to have an attitude that sets you apart. Chan Hon Meng from Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle won a Michelin star and he said that everyone should cook like a Michelin judge is eating in their restaurant everyday.  If you thought like that, how much better would you run your Restaurant?

How can you capitalise on the public relations when you get the Masterchef Effect?

In the Good Food Cheap Eats guide

• 8 / 20 restaurants did not have a website.
• 1 restaurant had their website taken down because of too much traffic (!)
• 1 only had a Menulog website (no phone number, no bookings, no emails :(
• 6 had Google Analytic on their website
• 2 had the Facebook Pixel installed (THIS IS A MASSIVE ISSUE!)
• 1 website was Weebly.  It is cute that Weebly is still around.
• 1 website had Wix.  Friends don't let friends use Wix.
• Most common was Wordpress (which is good.) Only 2 had Yoast installed. 
• Some were using OpenTable (no email addresses)
• No one was using Dimmi - is Dimmi losing traction in Australia.
• 1 Restaurant using Menulog.  No emails, just bills.
• 2 websites weren't mobile optimized.
• 8 Restaurants had not claimed their Google knowledge panel.  (Your competitors could claim it and tell Google the restaurant is permanently closed)
• The Zomato reviews were 23% lower than Facebook reviews.  Are Zomato reviews a lot less reliable than Facebook and Google Reviews?

These are some of the critical things that you need to prepare for your next great Public Relations success.

The next episode will cover off the technical procedures to prepare for the Restaurant Lume being featured on Masterchef, including how much traffic was served up over the length of the episode (a lot!!!)