I love Chinese food, but most Chinese restaurants drive me crazy. Sitting down at a Chinese restaurant as a white American male, I am immediately handed a menu where the chef’s specialty is General Tso’s Chicken. Now I am a degenerate foodie, so I know that General Tso’s Chicken is not really a Hunan specialty. I want the good stuff and I know you have it somewhere back in that kitchen.

Scouring the menu, I attempt to find dumplings, exotic noodle soups, or even just a simple fish fillet with black bean sauce. Looking around, if I spot Chinese patrons, I will ask if I can have “the other menu” so that I can partake in one of the interesting dishes that the Chinese people around me are so happily spooning onto their plates. No “other menu?” Then I will not be returning.

Are you running your business like most Chinese restaurants?

Most Chinese restaurants keep the traditional Chinese dishes off the menu or on another menu that in many cases is not translated into English. The assumption is that Americans would not enjoy traditional Chinese fare and would be better served by another heaping plate of deep fried chicken chunks. The truth is that as more Americans travel to China for business or watch Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations marathon on the Travel Channel, we are becoming exposed to real Chinese food and want to try some of the dishes we have seen. We assume that they have the good stuff, but it is not accessible to us because we don’t know what to ask for.

When I ask if you are running your business like a Chinese restaurant, I am asking if you are hiding products and services from your customers because you assume that those products are not designed for them. Most of your customers are not going to ask if you have something else available, so they will spend their money at your competitors. Do you sell a marketing product on your website, but don’t tell people you offer coaching because you have not met them in person? Do you conduct workshops, but don’t tell people that bought e-books about your workshop because they are not on the workshop list? Are you only offering your handmade goods in local craft stores and not on your website where you are blogging about making the cozies?

If you are not making ALL of your products and services available to EVERYONE that visits your site, then you are running your business like most Chinese restaurants, which means you are potentially leaving a lot of money on the table. If you consult, then provide your customers with a tool that lets them contact you for a consultation. If you have an e-book, then give them the ability to buy the e-book from your blog. If you make tea cozies, then set up and link to your Etsy shop. Whatever your product or service offerings are, let people know what they are in a clear way that lets people know what products and services are right for them.

When you hide your products and services, you are potentially missing out on new customers, larger sales, and better leads to larger clients.

Now where can I get some chicken feet?

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