Missed Tortilla Marketing Opportunity

The Tortilla Principle: A story about missed marketing opportunities.

"Ben's brother bought into a restaurant in Phoenix, so we went there for lunch. I asked him why he did this, and he said, 'Well, the chef is amazing, recognized as one of the best chefs. I really believe in this guy's product and thought we could turn it into a business.'

He explained, 'The problem is when you partner with these artists, sometimes they don't know anything about how to convey their value, and they won't compromise on price or quality. We're so expensive compared to everybody else, and that's hurting our business.'

He holds up these tortillas and says, 'These tortillas cost $2 each. Most people get their tortillas for like 20¢.' I asked why, and he said, 'Because he demands that every morning we get fresh tortillas that are trucked in from Mexico.'

I was shocked and asked, 'Why don't you tell anybody that?' He was confused, so I said, 'You should tell people that you truck your tortillas in fresh from Mexico every morning! I'd gladly pay $2 if I knew that. Your problem isn't that the chef won't compromise and cut costs - your problem is that you're not marketing this in a way that tells the story of why your food tastes better than anyone else's.'

This became one of our core principles with my team. We call it 'the tortilla principle.' When we look at businesses, we ask: Where are we trucking in tortillas fresh from Mexico, and are we doing a good job of telling that story? Almost always, the answer is no. The things you do in your business that require blood, sweat, and tears to do something great - you take for granted because they seem like table stakes to you, and you're not telling the world why you're different or why you've gone the extra mile."