What brands can learn from Kogi BBQ

A few months back I read a post by Ed Cotton about Mission Street Food called “What brands can learn from Mission Street Food.” Aside from making me really anxious to go eat there (which I haven’t yet), it made me think of Kogi BBQ (which I have tried), a Korean-Mexican fusion “restaurant” that hawks its tasty tacos out of a truck window in LA and Orange County.

I decided to write a companion post—partly because I really liked Ed’s post and partly to demonstrate (to myself, if no one else) that SoCal has its own foodie-friendly offerings. This post starts with stealing Ed’s format but at times descends into blatant plagiarism. Sorry Ed (sincerest form of flattery and all, right?).

Here’s how Kogi BBQ works.

As mentioned, Kogi BBQ sells food out of a truck window—actually multiple trucks, all in Southern California. But unlike your average taco truck, Kogi tweets (@kogibbq) to let potential customers know when and where they can find a truck in their area. The result, in the words of an LA Times article, is “a social-networking juggernaut, drawing 300 to 800 people each time it parks (often several times in an evening) and spawning a burgeoning cyber-hippie movement affectionately referred to as “Kogi kulture.”

So…what can brands learn from Kogi BBQ?

1. Smart use of social web

Kogi BBQ is often cited as a significant Twitter success. With about 50,000 followers currently, they’re providing critical information to their followers—a stark contrast to much of the arbitrary fluff being pushed around on Twitter by other companies.

How are you taking advantage of new ways to connect with customers?

Are you providing useful, relevant information through social web tools, or are you just pushing useless information?

2. Encouraging playfulness

Check out Kogi’s blog and you’ll immediately get a feel for their sense of humor and the extent to which they interact with their fanatic customers. And unlike companies known for discouraging unsanctioned interactions with their brand, Kogi downright celebrates its customers’ playfulness.

How are you allowing/encouraging customers to interact with the brand?

3. Innovating through integration

That’s a fancy way of saying Kogi BBQ’s food is Korean-Mexican fusion. Innovation can be as “simple” as taking existing parts and putting them together to create a greater whole (iPhone?). “I’m biting into my taco and it dawned on me, ‘Alice, wouldn’t it be great if someone put Korean barbecue on a taco?,’” (again, from the LA Times article).

Who/what could your brand integrate or collaborate with to add value?

“Innovate” doesn’t have to mean “invent.” Are you ignoring existing opportunities to offer your customers something they want/need?

4. Changing up the menu

Kogi has a basic menu but is mixing it up all the time with specials. They recognize that—as a novelty food experience like Pinkberry or Beard Papa’s—some people may feel they have no reason to return after they’ve tried everything. As Ed’s post states, “In a world of hyper-instant gratification, people are constantly demanding for and seeking out the new.”

How does your brand surprise its audience?

What are you doing to prevent brand fatigue?

5. Value pricing

I’m stealing this one directly from Ed’s post about MSF. Kogi’s prices are right. While their food is considered an exciting novelty, and many in the long line outside their trucks are likely to be self-described food snobs (or at least adventurers), they’re still selling something out of a truck window. Their pricing hits the bullseye between “expensive enough to be good” and “cheap enough to be worth the wait.”

Is your pricing right?

Do you know what price is so low that customers will question quality, and what’s so high that they’ll start shopping around?