In watching the Saints win the Super Bowl last night it reminded me so much of the passion of a city that so desperately needed to regain its swagger a place that needed and wanted to start anew.  It also reminded me of the other great and passionate people in my life, restaurant owners and operators.

We continue to fight through what could arguably be the worst recession we have seen in our adult lives.  We continue to face the challenge of labor, supply chain and insurmountable competition.  The fact is we do face a big challenge just like the Saints did last night; changing the course of the restaurant business.  Peyton Manning is no slouch and he had a look on his face that seemed as though he would single handedly beat the Saints before the game.

It took some creative thinking to put the Saints in a position to win and it all started in the second half a simple but effective on-side kick that changed the outcome of this game. It put Peyton Manning the unshakeable quarterback of the year on the defensive and as we all know, the rest really is history as the Saints won the Super Bowl for the first time in their 43-year history and brought a city back to life.

I ask each of you operators to look at your business just like the Saints looked at the second half.  We have to try an on-side kick.  How does that work in business you ask especially the restaurant industry?  It really is pretty simple just do something that no one is expecting.  Change your marketing strategy, change up the way you serve your guests, make an impression on people they wont expect and get your head around something that will change the game for you.

My recommendation has been and is still is that Social Media is the game changer we need to kick start our second half.   It’s more than just selling more tacos!  It is the game changer that will make use better at everything we do.   The creative nature of what it has to offer can change all the we do in marketing, guest communications, idea creation, operations, the way we work with suppliers, getting the best talent and most of all putting us back in the direction we so badly need to go as an industry.

Many people that ask me how can I do this?  Well I don’t think the Saints new how to win a Super Bowl at the beginning of the season.  But they put out the effort, got some luck, got the right people and then put the hammer down to finish!  You can do the same, you built your business with your sweat and blood and it’s time you fight back a little and change the game.  It’s time for an on-side kick!

Posted via email from Paul Barron's Social Coco