A Great Pizza from Brick Pizzeria Napoletana in New Bedford, MA

And there is great marketing and mediocre marketing. It’s that red and white too. We like great marketing as much as we like great pizza. It’s a shame that there’s not more of the great stuff, but you’ll easily find an endless buffet of the mediocrity that looks the same, smells the same, and tastes the same. I’m talking about both pizza and marketing.

What’s the problem? It’s simple. In pizza making, anyone can make dough, add tomato sauce, throw on some cheese, and bake a 16 inch pie. In marketing, anyone can create collateral, add it to a website, throw on some email, and bake a campaign.

If we all have access to the same resources for marketing or pizza, then why do we have this dichotomy of great and mediocre? There are two things that make the difference: the ingredients and the baker. Let’s look at each from a marketing perspective.

Marketing ingredients. Great, compelling, differentiated content is mandatory. Why? Because bad cheese tastes like plastic. And bad content smells like bad cheese. So, why do so many marketing organizations produce such bad content? I’ll argue that many marketers really don’t know their products, their customers, or their markets. I’ve made this case before. This is our farm, our dairy, our mill; this is where we get our ingredients.

Marketing Baker. The true pizza artisan is known as a pizzaiolo. Great ingredients don’t guarantee great results. That’s where the pizzaiolo comes in. He or she picks the ingredients, blends them in creative ways, and delivers an extraordinary customer experience.

So, does your marketing organization seem like a second-rate pizza joint? Is the “marketing pizza” undifferentiated and uninspired? Want to be great? You better take a hard look at the ingredients and the people in the kitchen. Before you pull out the pizza cutter, remember that producing unforgettable results starts at the top. Yes, dear CEO, that means you. If you can’t differentiate between great and mediocre, don’t be surprised when your prospects and customers can. Go get some great ingredients and find a sensational pizzaiolo.

Rob Ciampa

P.S. Check out The Two Palaverer post on a great pizza establishment in New Bedford, MA.

Jackson Cannon - Eastern Standard

Many years ago, like many young boys from my neighborhood, I went to work at a famed Italian restaurant in Boston’s ethnic North End called “The European.” Even as a street savvy fifteen-year-old kid from nearby Medford, MA, I was somewhat unprepared for the world of the restaurant business, both on the floor and in the kitchen. Anthony Bourdain dutifully captures some of this restaurant lifestyle in his bestseller Kitchen Confidential. Little did I realize, though, what a positive, lifelong effect my time there would have on me, especially when it came to understanding and embracing the concept of great service.

Over time, I worked my way up from bussing tables, to managing the wine cellar, to working the kitchen and ultimately to waiting on tables. In the last position, I was fortunate to have had some great mentors who introduced me to the concept of great service. Chuck, our eccentric, tuxedoed maître d’ made it simple. “Bobby,” he said, “always think like a customer, intimately know what’s on the menu, and be passionate about what you do.” Simple advice, profound results. Chuck had me study the menu, the wine list, and trained me on the finer elements of French and Russian service. I loved it. The European wasn’t high-brow, but for some parties we could really pour it on and deliver an incredible experience. In time, great service came naturally, as did the rewards, both psychologically and financially. My job was enjoyable and rewarding, complemented by a stream of “regulars,” customers I knew by name and who knew me, always requesting a seat at one of my tables.

I continually find myself in search of great service and looking for those with an evangelical zeal about it. Recently, I decided to take a course in early American mixology at Boston University’s Culinary Arts School. (I’m enamored by culinary history.) The course was taught by Jackson Cannon and Bobby McCoy, famed bartenders at Boston’s Eastern Standard restaurant. For those of you who don’t know Eastern Standard, it has one of best bars in Boston, if not the U.S. Why the fame? It’s simple. The bar team at Eastern Standard gives great service: they are customer-focused; know their product; and are passionate about what they do. It doesn’t matter whether you’re serving food, mixing drinks or – in my case -delivering technology products around the world, the recipe for great service remains the same.

Rob Ciampa