What to Serve? My Hot Dog Expert Can Tell You.

I got an email from Don asking if I had access to any information on which is most popular, Coke or Pepsi?  Having lived all over the country, I can tell you that soft drink preference is a regional thing.  In Chicago it was Coke.  Here in St. Louis it’s Pepsi.

I have no idea why, but then again I don’t really need to know why.  All I care about is having accurate information, but until I found an expert to tell me, I had no better than a 50-50 chance of getting it right.  I’ll tell you who my source is in a minute.

But first let me tell you about my expert in hot dog cart customer tastes and preferences.  This person can tell you exactly what your customer wants with an astonishing degree of accuracy, and their knowledge isn’t limited to soft drinks.

My expert can tell you what kind of chips will sell the best on your hot dog cart.  What brand and what size hot dogs the customer wants.  Skinless or natural casing?  Grilled or steamed?  The best condiments?  This person knows for sure and can tell you in an instant.

I’ve never known my expert to be wrong.  Ever.  Not once.  And the best part?  You can get my expert’s opinion for no charge.  Who is this person?

Your customer.

I’m constantly amazed that 99% of beginner hot dog vendors spend weeks researching which cart they want.  They rigorously check out all the manufacturers, all the optional equipment, prices, delivery, etc.

Then they agonize over the perfect location, driving all over town scoping out traffic patterns, pedestrian flow, and all that stuff.

Then they just GUESS which products to sell from the cart!  Or even worse, they assume that because they like something, their customers will too.  It doesn’t make sense.

Here’s what you can do right now.  Today.  You don’t need a cart or anything.

Start asking everyone you see a simple question. “Coke or Pepsi?”  Then ask what their favorite chips are.  Don’t think you will remember their answers because you won’t.  Keep a small notebook with you and track the results.  In a few days you will see trends appearing and the most popular choices will emerge.

This survey method will give you the answer to every customer preference but one.  You won’t be able to find out what hot dog brand to serve until your cart is operational, because you’ll need to do a taste test.

On day one, stock two different brands of hot dogs and have them heated and ready to serve. Now cut some dogs into bite size pieces and serve on a toothpick as samples.  Then let the customer purchase the one they like best.  If you stock equal quantities of each, you’ll be able to tell which sold the most at the the end of the day.

On day two test your winner against a third brand.  Then pit that winner against a fourth brand on day four.  The winner of day four is the dog you should serve.  Of course you could serve two kinds if the results were very close.

My expert will give you perfect knowledge of your market.  It’s not guess work.  It’s math.  And it’s super easy so you have no excuse not to do this, especially when it can give you such an edge on opening day.

-Steve

Tagged as: Coke Pepsi, customer preferences, hot dog carts