Muddying Your Focus

Last weekend the Taste of Minnesota stirred up quite a controversy. For twenty-seven years, the Taste had offered those attending an opportunity to savor delicious dishes from Minnesota restaurants. Under new management and ownership, this year the event was changed to include “over 100 hours of top-notch musical acts on five stages.” With this came an admission charge for the first time. The admission was twenty dollars for the afternoon and thirty dollars for the evening.

When I first heard of the change, I thought, “They are muddying their focus.”

The event’s focus and name had revolved around food, hence the Taste of Minnesota. These changes shifted the focus to music. I assume that the new ownership and management made this change in the hopes of making more money. Events with big name music acts offer more opportunity for revenue than food events. In the interview that I watched and on the event’s Web site, I found the focus to be first on music and then on food.

What’s wrong with that?

An event that had had a food focus in the minds of customers and vendors now had a music focus. That means those customers who came for the food had to pay an admission for the music. After paying that admission, they had less money to spend on what they wanted, which, of course, was the food. Their spending less on food meant the vendors took in less revenue because they sold less food. One vendor said that his business was down 80% from the prior year. Most vendors complained of business being down 50% or more. Not only did these vendors lose on sales, but they also lost on excess perishable inventory which they could not use.

Long-time customers also complained. They were not planning on an admission fee. I wonder how many left rather than paying one? Or, how many did not attend at all rather than pay admission? Those who did attend said that the crowds were substantially smaller than last year. Although that may have been nice for those who attended, smaller crowds did not help either the vendors or the new management.

At the end of the event, the new management maintained that, similar to this year, next year’s event would feature more “top notch musical acts.” Perhaps that will work for them. However, with their muddied focus in the minds’ of both customers and vendors as to if this is a music or a food event, I predict lower turnout by the customers for the food and lower vendor participation. By the time labor and inventory is covered, restaurants usually do not make much money on events such as this. Now that they are competing with the event for the customers’ money due to admissions, restaurant owners will not come back.

For the Taste of Minnesota to survive, the new management will have to clarify its focus in the minds of its customers and its vendors. Is it a music event or a food event? It had been a food event with music. This year it was a music event with food. If management is continuing the music event with food, it will need to target new customers who want to attend music events.

How is your company’s focus? Does your customer clearly understand what you offer?