Here’s a little story about what happens when there is disconnect between a marketing plan and it’s actual execution. Let it serve as a reminder that all the pieces need to be in place in order for your strategy to get you to your end goal.

I went to dinner last night at one of the better restaurants in my town and being me I checked in on FourSquare. We were happy to see that instead of the usual $5 off if you use your Amex, this restaurant had a fun promotion, “Show the screen to our staff to get one free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees!” I commented to the hostess as she took us to our seats.

Now, having been a lifelong advocate of great customer service and being a social media addict/proponent and strategist, I will state for the record that I am probably overly observant when it comes to things like this but what happened next was a perfect example of both what is right and what is wrong with a well-laid out but poorly communicated marketing plan.

We ordered two appetizers and two items off the main menu. My dining partner brought up the FourSquare thing again, the waiter was a little confused but pleasant enough. Shortly after that the manager and the head of the waitstaff both came to our table and asked to see the FourSquare screen. They had absolutely no idea about the promotion whatsoever. They looked at, talked about it and went away.

Our appetizers showed up, we began eating them. There was discussion coming from the kitchen about the FourSquare promotion and some other deals that could be found on the website. In all probably ten staff were standing together speaking with the chef who was apparently the mastermind behind the specials. Then the manager came back to our table and said that we hadn’t ordered from the right portion of the menu to receive the special. Having made his proclamation he was off and we never interacted with him again.

Dinner was still quite good, the service was adequate and two hours later I received a message on Twitter thanking me for checking in at the restaurant and asking for my feedback. I followed them back and I responded in 140 characters about my experience. This morning I had a second tweet from them asking me to post my feedback on Yelp! Now, I quite sure that they would actually prefer that I NOT do that so there’s the learning opportunity.

Clearly they have done an excellent job in linking their social media platforms together and creating a outbound dialog with their customers.The timing and messaging are spot on. Secondarily in this scenario, the food was beautiful, fresh and tasty so their product was in place.

The lessons to be learned are:

• Don’t rely solely on automation for all social media output, it’s supposed to be a dialog
• Be sure that all of the team members are aware have a clear understanding of the specials
• Provide intelligent customer service; know when to bend the rules and ensure happy customers

If we had only gone in and eaten there, without the social media debacle, we would have found it pleasant enough and would have gone back again at some point as our dining choices in this town are somewhat limited. The communication breakdown won’t stop me from going back but it has had me thinking about that aspect of the experience and not the food ever since.

So, as you market your business be sure to think through the entire customer cycle, not just what brings people in, not just what rewards you can give them for visiting but really think about how you can earn their loyalty and repeat business.  Follow through with good old-fashioned service and realize that while social media is a new phrase, it’s truly just an extension of the oldest item in the marketing tool kit – word of mouth.