Have you ever seen mouth-watering dishes posted on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks, making you want to follow your friends to wherever that irresistible dish is being served? This is a kind of marketing power which restaurant owners might not even realise _ that nowadays photo-sharing on social media can benefit their business. Those posting images on social networks may not be aware that they are helping drive the marketing of their most (or least) favourite restaurants.
If you dine out at a restaurant nowadays, you will see a change in the behaviour of teenagers and many white-collar workers. When the dishes arrive, many teenagers are bound to whip out their smartphones to snap pictures of the food before eating it. By the time they have finished the meal, the photos of those dishes will have already been seen and shared by numerous people in cyberspace. Believe it or not, the speed with which these images are spread from one person to the next to thousands, is quite incredible.
Many people find it fun to share events in their lives with friends and family, without realising that their behaviour has effectively turned into a marketing stimulus.
Therefore, the appearance of food has become an essential issue and many restaurants are paying extra attention to make sure that their dishes look even more appetising. Some high-end restaurants have even hired food stylists to help decorate their dishes.
While superb culinary skills still matter greatly if a chef would have customers go into paroxysms of epicurean ecstasy, more and more customers are demanding that good food should not only taste good but look even better. Thus, the sharper focus on the art of presentation and service by restaurateurs.
The power of sharing on the social network has thus quietly been affecting a restaurant's reputation, either for good or bad.
If you check the many food websites, you will see pictures of mouth-watering menus, with user comments, to help you make a decision on which restaurant to visit. Indeed, these websites help many people to plan their day of enjoyment with good food and hospitable service.
They are many people _ unknown to each other outside of the virtual world _ who contribute greatly in helping establish a network by introducing interesting food to others. They don't have to wait for producers of TV programmes with famous hosts to show the food to viewers. Normally, such TV programmes will present only a few dishes, accompanied by effusive compliments to the restaurant's owner and chef. You will be hard pressed to find a single show where the host is critical of a chef's talent after sampling food prepared by him. So you see, I am not completely sold by what I see on TV.
But on the internet you will find both compliment and complaint, as each contributor has his/her own favourite as well as least-liked dishes. Surfing the food blogs may help people arrive at a decision that is better for their health.
This is the power of the social media. It has gradually changed the consumer behaviour of people. Though they might not lead to a sea-change in today's marketing attitudes, these changes in consumption behaviour will constantly and steadily seep into society. It may eventually become the marketing force, like in some countries where the most popular websites are those related to food.
What I am trying to say is that many restaurants have not yet developed themselves to embrace the changing culture. Some places still prohibit photo-taking, some others may not be interested in improving the appearance of the food served because they are confident that their food tastes excellent. Such ignorance may lead to a decline in business. Restaurant owners need to pay heed.
The same rule applies to other businesses too, as customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and a large number of them spend based on their likes and dislikes. Shops and hospitality businesses that refuse to adjust to the new priorities of doing business should re-think their policy.
Somporn Thapanachai is Deputy Business Editor, Bangkok Post.