The three most important things to a successful QSR are, in order: location, location and location. PSFK recently featured a really simple, innovative, brilliant design of a portable kitchen—complete with sink, cooking surface, utensils, table and chairs. And it got me thinking: QSR remote sampling needs to be re-thought.
Why do so many marketing-driven remote sampling ideas get killed by operations-driven approval committees? Typically for product quality concerns. No way around it—it is really, really hard to replicate a restaurant’s food-prep capability in a remote location.
I get it, perfectly understandable—because most remote sampling concepts are conventional ideas for building trial/awareness of specific menu items. But why is remote sampling always tasked with the same goal of trial and awareness?
That’s far too limiting in terms of what remote sampling can do. Here are a few questions to consider regarding remote sampling:
- What can remote sampling accomplish beyond trial and awareness of existing or future menu items?
- How can remote sampling improve a restaurant’s accessibility beyond its permanent locations?
- What can be “sampled” other than food?
- How can remote sampling demonstrate a brand essence?
- What, ultimately, does successful remote sampling look like?
Let the portable kitchen be a reminder that anything is possible with a little imagination, innovation and courage to push conventional thinking…starting with remote sampling!
Photo credit: Pop Culture Geek