As early as 5 years ago, the pot said that it proposed "one-time use of oil" and also created an ice-breaking act of "pouring ink to self-destruct the bottom of the pot", and has since become famous.
From a small shop with 4 tables in Jinan, today, more than 40 stores have been opened in Beijing and surrounding cities. It is said that the unit price and the flow of customers in a single store are comparable to Haidilao, and you have to wait for three hours to eat during the peak period, and 80% or 90% are repeat customers.
Why can it gain a foothold in a capital where others are prohibitive? What are the unique competitiveness behind it?
Issue 695
Text | Xiao Qian
"Because I made an old hot pot in Chongqing, I wanted to use 'one time with oil' to re-tell the story of the old hot pot, so I had a pot to say." Ma Guoqing, deputy general manager of the brand, said.
The boss is a Chongqing native, going to school is cooking nutrition and restaurant management, because he loves hot pot in his bones, and he has a hand in stir-frying, so he decided to make a brand.
Before entering the market, they did a market survey and found:
Chongqing's local hot pot restaurant: the taste is pure and just right to eat, the disadvantage is that a family often only makes one store, it is difficult to go out. And the decoration environment is poor, and the sense of experience is not strong. And "old oil" has always been criticized.
But in fact, the Chongqing hot pot restaurants across the country are rarely opened by Chongqing locals, and the products are basically not the core advantages.
Based on this survey, they are positioned: real high-quality Chongqing old hot pot.
Quality positioning: high-end boutique hot pot, catering to the needs of quality enthusiasts who have long been upgraded.
Price positioning: Chongqing hot pot on the market at that time, the unit price of customers was 50-80 yuan, and more than 100 yuan was less. The pot said that since it is going to make a fine hot pot, the guest list is set at 120-150 yuan.
Decoration positioning: simple texture, petty bourgeois mood. Large area of black performance is high-grade; with The Chongqing city flower "a camellia" jumps off.
This is not a mass positioning, in fact, there is a risk, but the pot said that it can be camped in the Beijing market, and The meal is mainly in the details, the sense of quality is made, and the unique tone is made. Here are a few details that are more impressive.
After the meal, pour the ink to destroy the bottom of the pot and emphasize "one time with oil"
The bottom of the pot is the soul of the hot pot, in order to ensure the pure Chongqing old hot pot red soup, comprehensive consideration of the taste needs of foreigners, in the pot said, a time with oil old hot pot, divided into a pound of oil 40% spicy, 2 pounds of oil 70% spicy, 3 pounds of oil 100% spicy.
Write "oil once" into the brand name. In order to reflect this concept, it is specially ritualized: for example, before the guests eat, the waiter puts the bottom of the pot, puts his right fist on the heart, and solemnly promises the guests three times that "the pot is said to be an old hot pot in Chongqing with oil."
A bottle of ink is prepared at each table, and the ink is poured into the pot when the guest finishes cleaning the table, so that the customer can see it for belief, and it will never be recycled and reused.
The walls are plastered with freight lists, proving the six major air freight dishes
The biggest feature of elite consumption is the pursuit of quality, only buy what you want, unique, and can't buy anywhere else, which is a kind of consumer psychology that pursues beautiful things. Pot said to capture this consumer psychology, and strive to let professional diners to "consume".
"Our signature products, the six major air dishes, are all locally sourced from Chongqing and are hard to find in Beijing."
Hairy belly larger than the face, soybean sprouts from Chongqing well water, enoki mushrooms... This is the open weapon of the pot theory to seize the taste buds of consumers. In order to show their adherence to the quality of the ingredients, they also posted the freight list on the wall one by one, which was very visually impactful from a distance.
Professional, personalized customization, to create a petty bourgeois mood
Chongqing hot pot itself is a grounded thing, to reflect the texture, it is necessary to increase the exquisite luxury in the details.
The most obvious is the "camellia" embedded in the signboard, which contrasts sharply with the low profile of the surrounding black background, giving people a different feeling, which can be seen from a distance and is highly recognizable.
The overall decoration of the store is mainly black, black tables and chairs, partitions, and wood color embellishments; at the same time, grasp the brightness of the light, prevent too dark, and create a sense of nobility.
The utensils should be more exquisite, others are using stainless steel pots, the pot said that specially customized seven or eight hundred yuan a bite of copper pot, marked with brand name and appeal, simple atmosphere.
The service should be more personalized, such as purchasing more expensive professional audio, and the stereo experience is better. Large-screen LCD TVs have been installed in all parts of the store, and 5 units have been installed in the 300-square-meter store.
Although some stores only have one private room, they are specially prepared with microphones, individual speakers, projection lights and other equipment suitable for meetings, suitable for surrounding office workers.
Not only that, many of the bookshelfes in the store are professional books purchased from nearby universities, and customers who go to the store for consumption can take away for free if they like which books.
Reminds of "stored value" everywhere you look
On the large screen at the door, on the placemat paper, on the table card, including the menu, there is information about the stored value of the member. It can be said that everywhere the eye goes, it is a reminder.
Pot said that the store's member storage threshold is 1000 yuan starting, recharge 1000 get 100, add 50 bottles of beer; recharge 2000 get 300, add 120 bottles of beer....
Ma Guoqing said that the pot said that at the beginning of the soft opening period, it was possible to discount 6.8 and 7.8, and it turned out that the consumers who rushed to the discount were not target customers, so they simply did not discount and gave real customers preferential treatment through the membership system.
On the surface, the threshold for membership storage value is high, but in fact, there is another mystery.
> when the new store opens, in order to drain the flow, the amount of stored value given by members is more, such as the Beijing Wanfeng store is charged 5,000 yuan to get 2,500 yuan, and there is an additional beer gift.
> recharge amount is 5 times the consumption of the meal, and the meal is free of charge.
> the second recharge, the threshold will be lowered to about 500 or 700.
> In addition to these, members also enjoy: 62% off the membership price of all dishes (excluding drinks, before 4 o'clock), the original price and membership price are marked on the menu; more than a dozen desserts are eaten for free forever. These two can be enjoyed at the same time, in fact, the per capita calculation is less than 100 yuan.
It is precisely because of this that a high repurchase rate has been formed, which has brought about the continuous hot business of the store, and in the Wukesong store, it is common to queue for two or three hours during the peak period of dining.
The turnover rate of waiters is less than 5%, and the highest is 7,000 yuan / month
In the pot said, the churn rate of store waiters is less than 5%. In addition to the basic salary, there is also a performance dividend, and the grass-roots employees who do well can get a salary of 7,000 yuan a month.
The specific incentive is that waiters are divided into three stars, and the higher the star, the higher the base salary and dividends. For example, a one-star waiter is responsible for 4 tables, the monthly task on the back is 70,000, if you complete it, you can get 1% commission, complete 100,000 with a 3% dividend (2100 yuan), and complete 150,000 is a 5% dividend;
Assign a fixed management area to each waiter, if the management area is clean and tidy, customer satisfaction exceeds 85%, after three consecutive months, it can be upgraded to a two-star waiter, the basic salary is increased, responsible for 5 desks, and the commission is 1%-6%. By analogy, Samsung is responsible for 6 stations, and the commission is 1%-8%.
And the management of the store is not parachuted, all are internal promotions. As long as employees work actively and are willing to endure hardships, they have the opportunity to become store managers.
To do catering is to do details, although the Beijing hot pot market is full of masters, but the pot said with its unique positioning and a series of gripping details stand out.
Finally, I want to send you a sentence, it is the economist He Fan said: In the past, it was true that only fast and unbroken could occupy the land, but now the land that can be occupied is all occupied, then you must do better than others to survive.
As long as you think a little more and do a little more in places where others are not so serious, you can enjoy the dividends that others have brought to you. This will be China's biggest dividend in the next few years.