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Maintaining high standards of customer support while expanding might be a difficult task for local businesses. Tony Gemignani, Owner Tony’s Neapolitan Pizza in San Francisco, experienced many challenges while creating a restaurant he believed in despite opposition from third parties.
“Tony’s is unique,” Gemignani says. “It’s the first restaurant of its kind, and nobody really believed in it—multiple styles, multiple ovens, from gas, wood-fired, coal, electric, gas rotary. Whatever type of pizza you like, we have it on the menu. Fifteen years ago, you never saw a Roman and a Neapolitan get along. It was like, ‘I’m creating New York, I’m creating Chicago.’ You never put them all together.”
With so many kinds of pizza to decide on from, Gemignani knew his staff needed to give you the chance to tell apart the differences between pizza styles and, more importantly, find the perfect pizza for each customer.
“I like to have the servers come to the table, ask where they’re from, how they’re doing, and say, ‘What style do you like? Do you like it thick or thin? Do you like it pan-fried? Do you like it round or square?'”
This approach personalizes customer experience and helps them select the pizza they like, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.
Another key aspect of customer satisfaction is adaptability. During the pandemic, Gemignani notes that many established restaurants that relied on regular customers struggled to remain afloat because they didn’t want to vary their business model, resembling packaging food for delivery.
Gemignani, on the other hand, did what many resourceful business owners thought was their only option and quickly pivoted to latest service methods. That kept his high-quality food available to customers via delivery, despite the challenges that come with it. He also emphasized the importance of getting a digital presence so latest customers can find you irrespective of what.
Yelp Reviewer Dominic B. echoed this recommendation, noting that when a company engages with its audience, social media or platforms like Yelp help consumers get to know a business from a different perspective, hear its mission and get a higher idea of the quality they’ll expect.
“Seeing what happens in the kitchen, behind the bar, behind the scenes… I think it’s all incredibly fascinating and a great way to show people how authentic your ingredients are and where they are. [all] comes from,” Dominic says. “It’s a lot easier to hear about it on a social media platform than it is to have someone go to your website, go to the ‘about us’ section and then read a bunch of paragraphs about it.”
Discussing the benefits of building a digital presence, Gemignani stressed the importance of engaging with customer feedback, especially online reviewsUnderstands that not all feedback will be positive, but views critical reviews as opportunities to improve and connect with customers.
“I have people now who look at them every day and take care of them as quickly as possible,” he says. “Do I look at them every day? No. Every once in a while, my managers come to me and say, ‘That was amazing. We had 20 five-star reviews and then one bad one.’ Maybe something wasn’t clean or it was loud. I get that. It’s a little out of my control, but we take it to heart. I look at the ones that are serious and we wish to make sure [the experience] higher and we wish to coach customers and the team.”
Gemignani has used the following small business strategies to streamline its operations and maintain growth even in difficult times:
- Educate your staff. Make sure your team is knowledgeable about the products and services you offer so they’ll confidently advise and help your customers.
- Adapt and innovate. Be prepared to adapt your small business operations to changing circumstances, requirements and constraints.
- Hire individuals who have the right qualifications and a willingness to learn. Hire employees who are qualified and able to adopt your organization’s methods and culture.
- Check out our customer reviews. Review and review often reply to customer reviews. This shows that you simply value your customers’ opinions and are committed to improving their experience.
Listen to the episode below to listen to directly from twins and Dominic, and subscribe to Behind the Review to receive more insights from latest business owners and reviewers every Thursday. Available at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora AND Soundcloud.
This article is a part of our series on family businesses.
Editorial contribution by Kristi Lindahl