Confusing Brand Awareness

It has been days that my gym buddy is craving for noodles. Finally, we were able to drop by the Japanese restaurant, owned by a classmate in the gym too. So, in support of a friend, we ate there.

The restaurant is located at the corners of Claveria and San Pedro streets of Davao City. Apart from the traffic light fronting it, the restaurant is easily identifiable because of its Japanese theme in a Philippine commercial area.

It is a small restaurant with a 30 square meter space, more or less. The kitchen is right in front of the customers. If the customers want, they may witness how their orders are being prepared. There are no typical tables in the middle of the space of the restaurant. Long tables are attached on the glass panels and the kitchen counter. Indeed, a space-saving interior technique!

Their menus are everywhere! You can see it before you enter the restaurant, as they placed a lighted panel on the sides of their main door. When you enter, you can also see it above the kitchen counter. If you are the type who wants to sit right away, they also have the typical menu which you can browse over.

Just like how it is usually done in Japan, the restaurant is self-service. You order, pay and get the food when it is ready. Food preparation is also fast!

Generally, in terms of service and cleanliness, they are good!

Now I want to talk about its branding and marketing.

BRANDING

Davao City has too many Japanese restaurants already. By the names and themes of the restaurants, it is easy to say they are Japanese restaurants. As a strategy, most if not all, also claim that they offer “Authentic” Japanese food.

With this restaurant, I appreciate that they included their Mission and Vision in their Menu. However, I do not think it is right to claim that their food tastes Authentic and their prices are affordable if they have not really made a study about it.

I have been exposed to Japanese food since the 90s and I have been to Japan twice already. I have also introduced Japanese food to my children since they were toddlers, so my palate can pretty much say something. In my personal opinion, the taste of their food is okay but it does not taste authentic to me. So far, here in Davao, I can say that only 1 Japanese restaurant offers authentic Japanese food. I guess because it is manned and operated by the owner who is a Japanese himself. The rest are just franchised restaurants from Filipino owners. Maybe a Japanese food consultant can help to improve their taste. What do you think?

Their prices are not affordable either. Why do I say so? That medium-sized bowl of noodles already cost Php 499 and the tempura cost Php 280. I know Japanese food is expensive but there are factors to this such as the source of their raw materials. If compared to other local restaurants their prices are too high. Compared to other Japanese restaurants that have been in Davao for several years already and have better food taste and amenities, their price is still unreasonable.

MARKETING

While we were still approaching the restaurant and even when we parked outside the restaurant, I thought the name of the restaurant was SHICHIRAN. The logo outside indicates “SHICHIRAN”. When we were already inside, the logo of SHICHIRAN was very noticeable because it is huge and lighted.

However, when I asked for the menu, it showed SHICHIRYU. I just continued to browse the Menu so we could order. When I went to the cashier to pay, I asked what is the difference between Shichiran and Shichiryu, and the staff were looking at each other. Then someone simply answered that Shichiran was the old name of the restaurant, but they have already registered its new name, Shichiryu.

As a former MBA student, my brain cells got reactivated! Hahaha!

How you build your brand awareness is critical in every business. Does this really matter? For the ordinary people who are first timers and whose goal is just to try how Japanese food tastes like, maybe not. For the middle or average person who has tried other Japanese restaurants and knows how to run a business, maybe yes. For the Japanese people, yes, because this is not how they do business, whether it’s food, hardware, convenience stores or whatever.

CONCLUSION

I am honestly happy that Davao people have welcomed so many Asian restaurants, despite its image still being provincial to some. However, when we are trying to copy a particular business from another country, I think it is always best to study how they do business there.

In this case of Shichiran/Shichiryu, since this is from Japan, I think the business owner should not forget about the culture and norms of the Japanese people when doing business. They are very particular about the quality of their product and their reputation. In fact, they have a reputation that they are producers of quality products.

Shichiran/Shichiryu’s business principles should be aligned with this so as not to ruin the Japanese people’s reputation.

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