{"id":4236,"date":"2013-01-30T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T07:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/responsiblemarketing.com\/blog\/?p=4236"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:48:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:48:27","slug":"add-positioning-to-your-menu-and-hold-the-carbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outsourcemarketing.com\/blog\/add-positioning-to-your-menu-and-hold-the-carbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Add positioning to your menu\u2014and hold the carbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

– – –<\/p>\n

I miss lunch most days. When I do, I usually end up gnawing on a low-carb Atkins bar\u2014much to the amusement of my colleagues (yes, I\u2019m one of those <\/i>people).<\/p>\n

So, when I actually do get to sit down at a restaurant to eat, I take it all in\u2014the sights, the sounds, the smells. And since I\u2019m a marketing freak, of course I\u2019m constantly critiquing the experience. What\u2019s their brand like?\u00a0How do they stack up? What are they doing that seems smart? Dumb? What\u00a0can they do better?<\/p>\n

A few months ago, I started frequenting my local Taco Time<\/a>. The draw: they had recently launched a \u201clow-carb\u201d tortilla option. Finally, a fast-food restaurant responded to my eating habits\u2014and those of my carnivorous brethren. I quickly became a Taco Time\u00a0convert.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, I was happy to see shorter lines than usual when I arrived. I zoomed right up to the register and ordered my regular: a chicken soft taco on a low-carb tortilla. \u201cHot sauce on the side, please.\u201d\u00a0\u201cThe low-carb tortilla has been discontinued,\u201d said the young woman at the counter flatly, not realizing the impact of her words. \u201cUh . . . huh . . . what?\u201d I responded ever-so eloquently. \u201cAre you sure? You just introduced it a few months ago.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m sure,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

After furrowing my brow and scanning the entire restaurant for evidence to the contrary, I begrudgingly ordered my taco salad, hold the taco. Hell, hold the fun.<\/p>\n

I sat there and nearly worked myself into a dither. Why had they abandoned the good ship Atkins so quickly? Was my low-carb lifestyle just a passing fad with its best days behind it? Why were their marketing materials so . . . well,\u201cTaco Time?\u201d And was their music always this bad?<\/p>\n

Now, their chairs . . . their tables . . . the entire experience suddenly seemed flat-footed and uninspired. The rose-colored glasses were knocked off my face.<\/p>\n

\"\"Back at the office I shared my\u00a0experience with my colleagues. After poking a little fun, one of our Marketing Integrators asked, \u201cWhy do you go there\u00a0anyway? The lines are short at Taco Time because\u00a0Chipotle<\/a> is kicking their butt. You should check \u2019em out.\u201d<\/p>\n

After mispronouncing the name a few times, I decided I liked it. It was short, unique\u00a0and engaging\u2014and I was anxious for a new experience.<\/p>\n

Two days later, one of my partners accompanied me to Chipotle. As I approached the building, I realized I was in for something very different. With funky, rusted metal exterior and signage, Chipotle was poles apart from Taco Time\u2019s plastic, almost generic fast-food feel or even the fun, surf-shack motif at Taco Del Mar.<\/p>\n

As I walked in the door, I stepped into a long line. I didn\u2019t mind: the music was pumping with a good mix of\u00a0world, techno and pop. The energy in the room felt more like a hopping bar than lunchtime in Bellevue. The food smelled great and I asked myself, \u201cWhat does Taco Time smell like? Does it have a smell?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chipotle branding effort is evident everywhere. The d\u00e9cor is simple, but \u00a0deliberate. The tables are metal and corrugated aluminum lines some of the\u00a0walls. The staff wears black T-shirts with clever quotes on the back: \u201cI made the salsa\u00a0today\u201d and \u201cSpice is the variety of\u00a0 life\u201d are two that immediately come to mind. Clearly, every contact point has been considered. I was impressed even before I ordered. I ordered a \u201cBurrito Bol\u201d with lettuce instead of tortilla and fajitas instead of beans. Not only was it flavorful, I didn\u2019t have to face the ribbing I usually get for ordering something low-carb.<\/p>\n

The differences between Chipotle and Taco Time highlight the stark contrast between a thoughtful, relevant brand and something a designer I recently met calls an \u201canti-brand.\u201d Taco Time doesn\u2019t seem to connect with\u00a0anyone. It\u2019s a place to buy tacos and burritos. Nothing more. Nothing less.<\/p>\n

But just as Starbucks long ago recognized coffee isn\u2019t the only thing its customers\u00a0buy, Chipotle recognizes people aren\u2019t coming just for the grub.<\/p>\n

These differences help illustrate a number of important principles:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Marketing is no longer just the 4 P\u2019s. Taco Time has the products, the place, the pricing and the promotion. What they don\u2019t have is \u201cthe position.\u201d Just because you are marketing doesn\u2019t mean you are marketing well.<\/li>\n
  2. Without a promise, you have no brand. Taco Time\u2019s brand meant nothing to me, but one of their product options did. My affinity was to it, not their restaurant. Once it was gone, so was I. It works that way everywhere, and in most categories.<\/li>\n
  3. A well thought-out brand can crush an old, established one that has lost (or never gained) relevance. If your\u00a0brand is flat, you\u2019ll be flattened by the next company that comes along that knows your customers better than you do.<\/li>\n
  4. A good position can fuel buzz\u2014and buzz drives biz. While I see Taco Time\u2019s TV ads regularly, I have yet to\u00a0see a single promotional piece from Chipotle. Word-of-mouth drove me to their restaurant. The experience and food are bringing me back. And when I come back, I\u2019m often bringing others.<\/li>\n
  5. To break through, focus on the \u201cwhole product.\u201d Chipotle wouldn\u2019t have had the same impact if their environmental design was bland.Or if their food was bad. Or if their communications were blas\u00e9.\u00a0Consider all your contact points, and be more ambitious with your overall communications.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    God is in the details. Give them the attention they are due.<\/p>\n

    David Ogilvy was spot on when he said, \u201cYou cannot bore someone into buying your product.\u201d That\u2019s never been truer than it is today.<\/p>\n

    Effective marketing requires you to be brave and bold with your positioning, message strategy, branding and communications.<\/p>\n

    If your marketing counsel isn\u2019t pushing you\u2014hard\u2014you should talk with someone who will.<\/p>\n

    Before your competition eats\u00a0your lunch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    – – – I miss lunch most days. When I do, I usually end up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,65],"tags":[2609,476,897,2643],"class_list":{"0":"post-4236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-branding","8":"category-positioning","9":"tag-branding","10":"tag-customer-service","11":"tag-marketing","12":"tag-positioning"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdd positioning to your menu\u2014and hold the carbs | Outsource Marketing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.outsourcemarketing.com\/blog\/add-positioning-to-your-menu-and-hold-the-carbs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Add positioning to your menu\u2014and hold the carbs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"- - - I miss lunch most days. 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