Take the Northeast Ohio Dining Survey

To help in her mission to support locally owned businesses, Mimi is launching what will become one of the largest market research projects ever undertaken in Northeast Ohio.

By: Mimi Vanderhaven
Date: 03/11/2010
If you are a good cook, it’s likely that someone has tempted you with an enthusiastic, “Hey, you should open a restaurant!” And that’s precisely how many restaurateurs get their initial motivation.

But operating a successful restaurant is about much more than being a good cook. It also requires strong skills in management, marketing, operations, accounting and more—including what Mimi calls “The Magic Touch.”
The Magic Touch refers to certain nuances that involve offering people what they want, not what you want, yet it is extremely difficult to find out what people really want. As a result, restaurant owners often develop their themes, menus, prices and operational practices by choosing one or more of these four popular strategies:
1. Make A Wild Guess
2. Go With Your Gut
3. Ask Friends and Family
4. Copy the Model of a Successful Chain

Not understanding what the market really wants is one reason why most new restaurants don’t survive their first year. And that’s why Mimi says:

Selling is trying to get people to want what the company makes.Marketing is trying to get the company to make what people want.So how do you find out what people really want? It’s simple.You ask them.

To help in her mission to support locally owned businesses, Mimi is launching what will become one of the largest market research projects ever undertaken in Northeast Ohio. She’s starting with The Great Northeast Ohio Dining Survey.

And she needs your help.

The powerful survey is being managed by Research Cleveland, a new partnership between Mimi Vanderhaven and Decision Point, a market research firm based here in Northeast Ohio. The comprehensive survey, which takes about XX minutes to complete, gives you the opportunity to share your opinions about food, restaurants, dining out, dietary needs, menu prices, service, nutrition and much more.

Your voice will be heard because Research Cleveland will share the top-line results with area restaurant owners who will use the information to better align their strategies with the true desires of Northeast Ohio diners.
“Restaurant owners and managers will be able to use the results of the survey to reevaluate their business practices,” explains Amy Merrill, the founder and president of DecisionPoint. “Mimi readers who participate in the survey will affect menus, prices and customer service for years to come.”

Mimi readers with Internet access are encourage to complete the survey online by visiting ResearchCleveland.com.

The questionnaire asks you to consider the three restaurants where you are most likely to dine (not your top three favorites, but where you actually dine) and prompts you to answer questions about those dining experiences.

According to Amy Merrill, about 700 random surveys are required to draw statistically significant conclusions about the food and dining opinions of Northeast Ohio residents. However, because most local restaurants do not serve a region-wide clientele, Mimi needs additional surveys to accurately capture opinions of residents in much tighter geographic areas.

“Our goal is to be able to sort the information by zip code,” Amy adds. “That way local restaurant owners will learn about the opinions of their specific target market. To do that, we need many more completed surveys. The more we receive, the lower the margin of error.”

Only demographic data, opinions and optional comments will be shared with restaurant owners. The names of survey participants will be kept strictly confidential.

To encourage your participation in the survey, Mimi is offering a number of prizes that will be awarded to random participants, including $10, $20 and $50 gift certificates. Among the first 1,000 participants, approximately every 20th person will win a gift certificate. And one lucky survey participant will receive the grand prize of $500 in certificates to the local restaurant(s) of her or his choice. For complete rules, visit www.ResearchCleveland.com.

So go ahead, let your voice be heard. The survey is underway right now and will continue for the next few weeks or until enough completed surveys are received. Here’s your chance to change the way we eat and live in Northeast Ohio and help local restaurant owners at the same time.

For more information or to complete The Great Northeast Ohio Food and Dining Survey, please visit www.ResearchCleveland.com. Look for a summary of reader opinions in upcoming issues of Mimi.

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