The Not So Secret Secret to “Five Guys” Success

1. Be different

Be different, even if it makes you look a little nuts. Peanuts everywhere you look, a good sign you’re not in a regular restaurant. When you enter the building you’re greeted with a big box of peanuts and little dishes you can fill-up and munch some peanuts while you’re waiting for your order. Brilliant! The floor at Five Guys looks a mess, but you’re at a burger joint, you don’t want it too look good! 

The peanut appetizer is a smart move. Reminds me of restaurants in Mexico where they give you chips and salsa as you sit down. I like that, shows you’re generous without saying a word. What could your business give away as someone walks through your doors?

Lastly, a smart man once said that “you know you have a great brand when you understand who your customer isn’t.” Hat tip to Eric Dillon for that lil nugget of truth. People who have a peanut allergy can’t come in here, if they do they literally could die. Talk about know who your customer isn’t!

2. Humanize your business

Everytime you go they show where the potatoes are from on a little sign at the front. It makes you appreciate the food more if you know where it came from. There’s something about putting the name and location on a whiteboard, you say to yourself “that Rick Miles must be a good guy, they’re getting the Potatoes from him all the way from Idaho!” And most likely these potatoes were raised in a humane way, not like those grocery store potatoes!

3. Have an amazing product

They’ve mastered the burger. They know how to make you keep coming back for more. From the extra fries in the bag to the cheese oozing out of your burger, Five Guys is something special the whole family can enjoy. And they’re not afraid to boast about the awards they’ve won years ago in small towns. It’s amazing to see all the newspaper clippings from publications on their walls, show they’re proud of who they became.

Don’t attribute their success to luck, they figured out their “super power”, (their way of saying how they care for their customers). It’s no McDonald’s or Burger King but that why people love it.

Be different, be human, be awesome.