Damian Holmes

Recently, I went to my local Xinjiang Noodle shop for lunch. I ordered my usual and sat down inside on a stool. As I sat there looking around at the full tables, I wondered why is it so many people come here. Now to explain the scene, Xinjiang Noodle shops often have three or four large pots of water boiling away and someone inside the door making noodles and passing them to outside to be cooked.

So why do people come here? This shop is not elaborate and some would say not that hygienic – so why is it that its full at lunch and dinner? Is the location? Is it the price? Is the food?

Honestly, I think it is a combination of factors – price, food, authenticity and drama.

The Price
The shop is a ‘cheap eat’, however there are several restaurants in the area that are just as cheap. That being said if they charged more than 15RMB(about $2.00USD) they would loose customers quickly.

The Food
Xinjiang food is different from most Chinese food and noodles are speciality so people come for the noodles.

The Authenticity
The shop is authentic with pictures of animals and fields in Xinjiang on the wall, but the people is what makes it truly authentic.

The Drama
People watch the guy make the noodles for each order from the dough they made in the morning. You see and hear long thin noodles being banged and twisted on a table or watch him carve wide noodles from dough with a blade flying into a pot of water as he yells at the waiters inside who are joking with each other.

The noodle shop has no pretences, no veneer, nothing hiding the process from the customer, we can see, smell, and hear our noodles being made.

So what can we learn from the Xinjiang Noodle Maker? Authenticity and drama are key to attracting customers time and time again. Too often in business we hide the process or core ideals from the customer because we are fearful that they might not like what they see. However, we could generate more business if the customer could smell, hear, and see how authenticity of your brand.

How does this apply to you business? Think of all the examples of businesses that create authenticity and drama. I can think of a few other examples:

• chocolate/icecream/waffle shops who show people making the process of  creating their product
• whisky distilleries and vineyards  who give guided tours from above the working floor on gangways
• museums and art galleries showing experts restoring pieces
• nurseries showing plants in hot houses or trees at different stages of production
• film studios opening lots with people on set
• milk tea shops in Malaysia
• Richard Branson’s many PR stunts – although showy they are authentically Virgin
• car companies giving guided tours of  factory floor

there are many more examples. So the question is how can you create drama and authenticity for your customers? Does your production process enable you to showcase your product? Can you create drama that represents your companies brand in an authentic way? Can you create a unique experience for customers? Can you get someone passionate from manufacturing or engineering to attend a trade show rather than just sales people?

Of course, you have to careful when applying this idea across a whole brand as it can loose its authenticity. There are some examples where this has occurred with a brand making an authentic and dramatic experience into a formula which is then scaled across a brand that has then lost its appeal with the customers as it became too ubiquitous.

Got any comments or ideas? Email me – damian@damainholmes.com