Yesterday in Los Cabos a friend and I visited two cantinas serving the Los Cabos and tourist populations.
One, in Cabo San Lucas, attracted passersby with a friendly, colorful, large painted sign, and welcomed patrons with boisterous pop music and greeters on the street. It offered a variety of seating options from beachside to up in a bar with a more panoramic view of the bay, and a large menu and drink menu. It entertained with a booty-shaking contest (women only) and a push-up contest (male only). Its ideal customer was a beachwear-clad, twenty something tourist.
The second in San Jose del Cabo offered minimal signage and a quieter greeter/doorman answered questions by the small wood open door of an old city building in the art gallery district. It was directly above a gourmet restaurant, but not part of the restaurant, and did not serve food. Live jazz music drifted down from its open half-walls. To enter required a climb up two steep flights of stairs. Guests selected high end drinks from a more limited menu. The decor was elegant, with a long, lighted bar, spare design elements, and a focus on the views. The warm ambiance beckoned mature, mostly local guests to return.
Both served alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks and music to their clientele, but they couldn’t have been more dfferent experiences.
Think about your business, who you serve, and how you uniquely serve them. What sets you apart? What makes you uniquely able to serve well?
Stand out. Uniquely serve.