Roti Mediterranean Grill, a 21-unit fast-casual chain based in Chicago, is in growth mode. Peter Nolan, the chief brand officer of the concept, says every growth brand needs to stay connected to its most important asset: the customer.
Nolan spoke with Raising Cane’s chief marketing officer Clay Dover, a board member of the NRA Marketing Executives Group, about his overall marketing approach, the value of storytelling and customers as experts.
Can you give us an overview of your brand?
Roti Mediterranean Grill is fast-casual restaurant company based in Chicago. We were founded in 2007 by a group of friends who love Mediterranean food and wanted to bring these flavors to American neighborhoods. We currently have 19 restaurants in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City, with two more under construction.
You are very passionate about talking to guests. What are some of the ways you do that?
Oh, man, I love our customers! We have a multifaceted customer listening program at Roti. For each interaction, we are looking for different types of insights.
We get daily feedback through our mobile app. This feedback is mainly customer-service related. We share everything with our restaurant teams. Our general managers reply to every issue within 24 hours. Fast feedback is crucial in this fast-moving world.
We survey our guests regularly (but not too much) via email. Here we learn about customer experience at all levels — from general brand satisfaction to how often they visit us to what they think about specific menu items.
We garner deep insights through our regular meetings with core customers. We engage them in in-depth discussions of our brand, their experience at Roti and our competition.
How important is to understand what your guests want?
This is the ballgame. Marketers like to say, “customers own the brand,” and I agree with that. I would go one step further: Customers are experts on your brand. They know more than you do because they know their own experience. And it is the “brand experience” that we want to improve.
I am also passionate about “thinking like my customer.” This can be a simple as regularly walking through the restaurant on the customer’s path to experience the journey through their eyes. It also means speaking like a customer. My biggest pet peeve is our industry’s love of the word “concept.” Have you ever heard your customers say, “I feel like eating lunch at a really good concept? Of course not. We run restaurants. We serve food. We provide a place for people to connect with friends. Let’s ban the word “concept. If we speak like our customers, it is easier to think like them too.
Can you explain the brand’s tagline, “Food that loves you back”?
We feel strongly that a company needs to have a purpose, to stand for something bigger than just making money. Our purpose is to serve food that loves you back. This means we need to do two things really well: Make delicious food customers love and make this food healthful, so it “loves you back.” Customers tell us that love Roti because it not only tastes great, but they feel great after eating Roti.
Advice for emerging restaurants
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As the leader of the brand, what do you spend the most time working on?
Listening. To my team, our restaurant leaders, our customers. My dad always said: “Two ears, two eyes, one mouth. Use them in that proportion.” We have so many smart people working at Roti, from hourly team members to Carl Segal, our CEO. Everyone has some insight to offer. My job as a leader is to ask the right questions to unlock that wisdom.
Storytelling. When I am not listening, I’m talking. In a growth company like Roti, we are bringing new people on board all the time. Our entire senior team is very focused on sharing our story with our growing team. As a marketer, I see that the world is changing. Customers don’t want to be “sold.” They want to know about your company and the story behind your food. We use social media to tell our story in a way that customers will appreciate. [It is] quick, compelling, fun, informative. We want to build connections that are much more meaningful than a traditional discount or promotion.
What advice would you give to restaurants early in their development stage?
Know where you stand. Define your purpose, mission and values. Without alignment on these “true north” indicators, you will likely go astray at some point.
Go deep. There is a reason why companies like Whole Foods, Southwest Airlines, Zappos and Chipotle have been so successful. Their passion and commitment runs deep. You can feel it. Customers are smart. They know when a company cares deeply about providing something truly great, food or service.
Be unsatisfied. Growing a company requires us to constantly ask, “How do we get from here to there?” More complacent people might say, “But isn’t here good enough?” And in a growth company the answer is “no.” To be a leader, we need to check our ego at the door. We need to acknowledge that no matter how hard we try, how successful we are, we are never “great enough.” We are never where we need to be.
What are some of your best-selling menu items?
Our customers’ favorite is our Chicken Roti, which we cook on our vertical rotisserie (hence “roti”), or shawarma. This cooks at high heat to caramelize the meat and sear in the flavor. We use only antibiotic-free chicken. Customers also love our hummus, which we make with organic chickpeas and blend in-house every day.
We have three meal types — Rice Plate, Sandwich and Salad, and customers have a great deal of choice on how they want to create their meal. We offer nine sides and toppings, including hummus, couscous, fresh seasonal vegetables and feta cheese. And we offer six sauces, including S’hug, our signature spicy sauce.
What is your favorite quote and why?
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world,” by Mahatma Ghandi.
Some business people say, “We aren’t here to save the world!” True enough, but we can, and do, “make” the world. We “make the world” every day in every decision. So as food industry executives we can choose to make it a little healthier through menu choices. Or not. We can make the world a little more compassionate by treating our employees and customers with respect. Or not. The choice is ours. It is not easy. But as industry leaders we have great influence, and with this influence comes great responsibility.
