One restaurant that has been doing just fine during the economic downturn is McDonald’s. Their combination of convenience and affordability has made the golden arches the restaurant of choice in tough times. As consumers become more and more health and value conscious, restaurants have an inherent advantage over fast food …
Read More »Restaurant Marketing: The Hunting Season Is Over
So, your sales are down and you decide to send out a direct mail piece into your zip code, expecting your usual response of 2 to 3%. I’ll bet you’ve never ever thought about those other 98% in the zip code who never responded to your offer. You see, they …
Read More »Restaurants Need To Catch Up On Technology
At the National Restaurant Association’s annual trade show last month, a lot of restaurateurs were talking about the technology gap in the food service industry. Big chains like T.G.I.Friday’s and Hard Rock Café have already begun to introduce digital gadgetry into their restaurants as a way to connect with younger …
Read More »Restaurant Marketing: Your Focus Shouldn’t Be On Social Media
I arrived in Madison, Wisconsin last week to do a restaurant marketing workshop for Sysco and was looking for a place to eat. Obviously in a strange town and no one around to make recommendations, I pulled out my trusty iPhone and downloaded the Yelp app. Immediately, I got hundreds …
Read More »Green Initiatives: A Rise In Cost Or A Part Of Your Marketing Budget?
QSR magazine published an article recently about new take out packaging for restaurants made from recycled plastic water bottles. Dubbed The Bottle Box, the restaurants that have used it say it performs just as well or better than normal plastic take out packaging, and that it can be customized with …
Read More »How To Give Your Customers Value
In yesterday’s post I talked about the new reality facing restaurants, namely, the consumer expectation of great value. This doesn’t appear to be changing despite an uptick in consumer spending. A number of voices in the food service industry have been advising restaurants to provide value to their customers in …
Read More »Should Your Restaurant Have A Website?
The short answer is yes, definitely. As long as you build a decent site, it can’t hurt your marketing efforts and has the potential to be a big help. Some of the things you can do with an internet presence for your restaurant: Get to know your customers. A website …
Read More »10 Holiday Restaurant Marketing Tips
The folks at MustHaveMenus.com were kind enough to share some great marketing insights from John Foley, editor of The Restaurant Blog. Must Have Menus is your source for food menu templates, event flyers, restaurant menu software, and restaurant marketing ideas. 1. What are some easy, inexpensive ways to drive customer …
Read More »Independent Restaurant Marketing – 3 Ways To Compete With The Big Boys
Big chain restaurants dominate the mass market when it comes to advertising – a fact of life that can sometimes make it difficult for smaller independent operations to be heard among all the songs about baby back ribs. Launching a restaurant marketing campaign for an independent means less money to …
Read More »Eat Your Own Dog Food, Restaurant Style
Last month, Rohit Bhargava published a post with a compelling title, “Forget Eating Your Own Dog Food – Just Try Buying It …” His premise is built around the adage that the best way to understand your customer is to experience your product as they would and he means every …
Read More »