I'm wondering what you all thought of your gift card sales this year. I know you have to have them, and I know they're all the rage to increase your ticket and put some money in the till before the end of the year, but are they all they're cracked up to be?
I've heard differing opinions. Some people are able to sell a lot, some have them as a convenience. It probably has a lot to do with how aggressive you are in promoting them, but at the end of the day:
Are gift cards worth the effort?
Tuesday
Thursday
Smart LSM: Drinking Beer = Doing Good
This is a good idea that someone just reminded me of. It's not 100% germane to you during the colder months, but this is a good summer / 4th of July promotion. A local restaurant printed his logo and the local fire station's logo (engine 13) on beer coozies. All proceeds help furnish the new fire station being built.
He probably gets them for $1 each (total spend = $300) and each one sold = 1 person in his restaurant (not exactly, but pretty close). Plus, the fire fighters tell everyone to go there and get one (word of mouth). I just love the simplicity of it.
He probably gets them for $1 each (total spend = $300) and each one sold = 1 person in his restaurant (not exactly, but pretty close). Plus, the fire fighters tell everyone to go there and get one (word of mouth). I just love the simplicity of it.
Wednesday
Destination Ideas
How can you make your store a destination? Get a little creative. You can often get free radio time or local news ink, depending on your hook. But partnering with an organization will also get you frequent messages in their newsletters.
Feel free to comment with other ideas:
- Toys for Tots
- Coats for Kids
- Pictures with Santa
- Related to Santa: get a mailbox and promise to "deliver" straight to the North Pole. Hand out coloring sheets/Dear Santa templates to local schools and pre-schools.
- Car washes in your parking lot (best for free-standing buildings)
- Touch-A-Truck events
- Bicycle safety rallies (partner with the fire or police dept.)
- Host open enrollment for local sports leagues
- Meet the Mayor (councilperson, state rep, whatever)
Feel free to comment with other ideas:
- Toys for Tots
- Coats for Kids
- Pictures with Santa
- Related to Santa: get a mailbox and promise to "deliver" straight to the North Pole. Hand out coloring sheets/Dear Santa templates to local schools and pre-schools.
- Car washes in your parking lot (best for free-standing buildings)
- Touch-A-Truck events
- Bicycle safety rallies (partner with the fire or police dept.)
- Host open enrollment for local sports leagues
- Meet the Mayor (councilperson, state rep, whatever)
Make Your Store a Destination
If only you could make your store a destination spot. If only you could get people into your store (during a season you'd really like to capitalize on) to see all of your merchandise. Oh, and it'd be great if you could get people to thank you for the privilege of being in your store.
Wait a minute. . .you can (from ACE Hardware in East Atlanta Village - great LSM-ers, btw):
And the response?
OK, so you're not a hardware store. Change the idea to fit your restaurant (or book store, or nail salon, or whatever). Ideas forthcoming in another post.
Wait a minute. . .you can (from ACE Hardware in East Atlanta Village - great LSM-ers, btw):
We heard reports of UPS & FedEx packages disappearing from porches - often only moments after being delivered. The speculation is that the thieves are following the delivery trucks.
So, as a service to our neighbors, Village Hardware will receive and hold your packages for you until you can pick them up. Have your packages delivered to your name, c/o Village Hardware, 1231 Glenwood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30316. When you are expecting a delivery, just give us a call and we'll see if it's arrived.
And the response?
Wow! That's awesome of you guys!
That is awesome customer service!!
No kidding. Jason, that's fantastic.(Don't forget, this is a customer telling others to buy stuff.)
And, you know, when you go pick up your package, buy some stuff!
OK, so you're not a hardware store. Change the idea to fit your restaurant (or book store, or nail salon, or whatever). Ideas forthcoming in another post.
Tuesday
Advantages of Targeted Facebook Advertising
Facebook offers highly targeted advertising at a relatively low cost. Facebook collects demographic info on 150 million+ users, which you can use to your advertising advantage. I know what you’re thinking, as a Facebook user – that’s kind of scary, right? But the targeted ads are actually quite subtle, and I for one don’t mind being served ads about brands and products I like. And from an advertiser’s perspective, it’s very efficient in reaching your target.
As far as targeting demographics, you can choose from age, gender, relationship status, location, interests, and more. The most recent Facebook stats show their highest growing age group is over 35. Facebook isn’t just for college kids anymore, although the under 24 set are still the biggest Facebook age group. The "young professionals" group ages 25-34 is doubling every 6 months. Talk about a growth explosion.
Building ads on Facebook is easy. In fact, they walk you through it. And you don’t have to have the ads point your homepage – in fact, it’s a better experience to keep users in Facebook and redirect them to either your restaurant’s fan page or to a specific event posting.
If you’ve never bought online ads before, Facebook’s system of bidding on cost per click (CPC) or cost per impression (CPM) might seem confusing. Fortunately, they’ll walk you through this, too. Basically, you choose a daily ad budget and then bid on how much you will pay per click or per 1,000 impressions. The minimum daily budget is $1.00. Pretty much everyone can afford that.
As far as targeting demographics, you can choose from age, gender, relationship status, location, interests, and more. The most recent Facebook stats show their highest growing age group is over 35. Facebook isn’t just for college kids anymore, although the under 24 set are still the biggest Facebook age group. The "young professionals" group ages 25-34 is doubling every 6 months. Talk about a growth explosion.
Building ads on Facebook is easy. In fact, they walk you through it. And you don’t have to have the ads point your homepage – in fact, it’s a better experience to keep users in Facebook and redirect them to either your restaurant’s fan page or to a specific event posting.
If you’ve never bought online ads before, Facebook’s system of bidding on cost per click (CPC) or cost per impression (CPM) might seem confusing. Fortunately, they’ll walk you through this, too. Basically, you choose a daily ad budget and then bid on how much you will pay per click or per 1,000 impressions. The minimum daily budget is $1.00. Pretty much everyone can afford that.
Friday
Twitter for Restaurants
You might already be tweeting for your restaurant. If not, think about adding Twitter to your overall LSM strategy. Many restaurants are finding that tweeting customers is worthwhile because it’s an easy way to get short messages out quickly. Many of your customers are probably already using it to gather information. Notice I say "your customers" - using Twitter isn't a method to gain more customers, but to increase the frequency with which existing customers visit your restaurant.
I’m not going to tell you how to sign up for Twitter (nor will I tell you the grass is green - it's obvious), but I am going to give you some ideas on how to use it to reach your customers in intimate and engaging ways. Here’s a list of ideas.
• Tweets don't always have to be business-related: Do you like to get sales messages all the time? Neither does anyone else. Keep your tweets relevant but throw in a personal touch. Show there’s actually a person behind your messages.
• Remember who you’re talking to: Tie your tweets to the community. Is it the mayor’s birthday? Did one of your loyal customers have a baby? What was the score of last night’s high school football game?
• Keep tweets timely: Is the local sports team that just won a big tournament in the restaurant? Tweet it with your congrats. The next time you’re at the local craft fair or other event, use Twitter to tell folks where they can find you and what you’re offering.
• Offer Twitter-only promotions: When it IS time to make business-related posts, make them of value. Offer a free appetizer, upgrade a sandwich to a combo, use Twitter-only codes to make your tweets feel special. Some restaurants even have “Twitter Tuesdays” or Thursdays and offer weekly specials to Twitter followers. Others offer daily or semi-weekly secret specials, tweeted at a different time every day. Gain more followers by offering a prize for retweeting (RT) a recruitment message from you.
• Become a true Twitter leader: There are a few good examples of restaurants using Twitter in out-of-the-box ways. A coffee shop in Seattle (and not Starbucks!) started taking to-go and drive-through orders via Twitter, at a customer’s request. A taco truck tweets their location every day so customers can find them. Other restaurants hold “tweetups” so local tweeters can meet each other face-to-face.
• Get involved in the Twitter food community: Most regions have tweeters who are food critics or enthusiasts. Know who these users are and follow them. You might also want to follow your competitors to see how they’re using Twitter. This is another good source for ideas.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, engage your audience: I can’t put enough emphasis on this. Twitter was created for sharing information. Your conversation should be two-sided. Ask your followers questions. “What else would you like to see on our menu?” or “What’s your favorite menu item?” Sure, these are a little boring, but you might learn a lot from them. And you don’t have to keep the conversation business-related. Watch what your followers are talking about and join them. RT their posts, if they are relevant to the rest of your audience. Just participate.
I’m not going to tell you how to sign up for Twitter (nor will I tell you the grass is green - it's obvious), but I am going to give you some ideas on how to use it to reach your customers in intimate and engaging ways. Here’s a list of ideas.
• Tweets don't always have to be business-related: Do you like to get sales messages all the time? Neither does anyone else. Keep your tweets relevant but throw in a personal touch. Show there’s actually a person behind your messages.
• Remember who you’re talking to: Tie your tweets to the community. Is it the mayor’s birthday? Did one of your loyal customers have a baby? What was the score of last night’s high school football game?
• Keep tweets timely: Is the local sports team that just won a big tournament in the restaurant? Tweet it with your congrats. The next time you’re at the local craft fair or other event, use Twitter to tell folks where they can find you and what you’re offering.
• Offer Twitter-only promotions: When it IS time to make business-related posts, make them of value. Offer a free appetizer, upgrade a sandwich to a combo, use Twitter-only codes to make your tweets feel special. Some restaurants even have “Twitter Tuesdays” or Thursdays and offer weekly specials to Twitter followers. Others offer daily or semi-weekly secret specials, tweeted at a different time every day. Gain more followers by offering a prize for retweeting (RT) a recruitment message from you.
• Become a true Twitter leader: There are a few good examples of restaurants using Twitter in out-of-the-box ways. A coffee shop in Seattle (and not Starbucks!) started taking to-go and drive-through orders via Twitter, at a customer’s request. A taco truck tweets their location every day so customers can find them. Other restaurants hold “tweetups” so local tweeters can meet each other face-to-face.
• Get involved in the Twitter food community: Most regions have tweeters who are food critics or enthusiasts. Know who these users are and follow them. You might also want to follow your competitors to see how they’re using Twitter. This is another good source for ideas.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, engage your audience: I can’t put enough emphasis on this. Twitter was created for sharing information. Your conversation should be two-sided. Ask your followers questions. “What else would you like to see on our menu?” or “What’s your favorite menu item?” Sure, these are a little boring, but you might learn a lot from them. And you don’t have to keep the conversation business-related. Watch what your followers are talking about and join them. RT their posts, if they are relevant to the rest of your audience. Just participate.
Wednesday
Managing Listings on Directory Sites (Yelp, Urbanspoon, Kudzu, etc.)
I’m assuming you’ve tried to look your location up before on Google Maps. Have you tried, specifically if your location is in the Atlanta area, checking Yelp, Urbanspoon, or Kudzu? These are all directory sites with entertainment, restaurant and service industry listings. Each of these sites are mostly customer-driven and allow users to rate and review businesses. But you hopefully already knew that.
Let’s talk about why it’s important to take ownership of these listings. You want your listing’s information to be accurate, for one. You also want the ability to respond to reviews, questions and comments. Your location may already be listed or you might have to add it. Some of these directory sites (Yelp in particular) will allow you to register as a business owner and add or take over your location’s listing. Once you have this done you can add your listing or make changes to an existing listing, upload pictures, and write a review for your listing (clearly stating you’re the owner or manager, of course). You’ll then be ready to encourage your loyal customers to write more reviews for you.
In the same vein, there are some definite DON’Ts with these directory sites:
• DON’T fake any reviews for your location. This can be very obvious and will make you look dishonest.
• DON’T incent customers to write favorable reviews. You want honest opinions only.
• DON’T ignore unfavorable reviews. Turn these bad experiences into good ones by contacting the customer privately and listening.
• DON’T become openly defensive about bad reviews. They happen. DON’T remove them, either. The point of this is to be transparent. But pay attention – you may have some changes to make.
• Lastly, and this should be obvious, DON’T write unfavorable reviews about the competition. Even if you think they’re doing it to you. This isn’t elementary school.
Taking ownership of these listings is just a small part of making sure people know who you are and what you are. It's just one more tactic for your localized social media strategy, and shouldn't take long to set up or maintain. You will probably want to do some research to find other local (and not-so-local) directory and rating/reviewing sites and make sure you're listed there. Here's a great list to start with, but your community may have sites of forums you'll want to become involved in as well.
As always, feel free to comment below with your stories about online directory marketing. How have you joined your customers' conversation?
Let’s talk about why it’s important to take ownership of these listings. You want your listing’s information to be accurate, for one. You also want the ability to respond to reviews, questions and comments. Your location may already be listed or you might have to add it. Some of these directory sites (Yelp in particular) will allow you to register as a business owner and add or take over your location’s listing. Once you have this done you can add your listing or make changes to an existing listing, upload pictures, and write a review for your listing (clearly stating you’re the owner or manager, of course). You’ll then be ready to encourage your loyal customers to write more reviews for you.
In the same vein, there are some definite DON’Ts with these directory sites:
• DON’T fake any reviews for your location. This can be very obvious and will make you look dishonest.
• DON’T incent customers to write favorable reviews. You want honest opinions only.
• DON’T ignore unfavorable reviews. Turn these bad experiences into good ones by contacting the customer privately and listening.
• DON’T become openly defensive about bad reviews. They happen. DON’T remove them, either. The point of this is to be transparent. But pay attention – you may have some changes to make.
• Lastly, and this should be obvious, DON’T write unfavorable reviews about the competition. Even if you think they’re doing it to you. This isn’t elementary school.
Taking ownership of these listings is just a small part of making sure people know who you are and what you are. It's just one more tactic for your localized social media strategy, and shouldn't take long to set up or maintain. You will probably want to do some research to find other local (and not-so-local) directory and rating/reviewing sites and make sure you're listed there. Here's a great list to start with, but your community may have sites of forums you'll want to become involved in as well.
As always, feel free to comment below with your stories about online directory marketing. How have you joined your customers' conversation?
Monday
Adapt the Tactic to Your Audience
It's come up a lot lately in individual conversations, so I make it a point to...uh...point it out again.
I need new ideas. This statement needs to be refined: You need new ideas for whom? I'm not splitting hairs, but generally people want new ideas and then they find people to market to.
Consider this example: A local restaurant puts on an open mic night. Their challenge now is to find people to attend said open mic night. They're now out pounding the pavement, talking to anyone who will listen, saying "come to our open mic night."
Did the general public ignore your promotion about how great your food is, but now all of a sudden they're falling over themselves to come in to read poetry or play the guitar? I doubt it. If an open mic night promotion works to the general population in your area then you would likely have had the same success with telling everyone how great your pizza/bbq/chicken tenders/steak is.
In other words, it's that you did any promotion at all that made it work.
The converse is usually also true. If an open mic night promotion fails to draw people, it probably wasn't the open mic night. It was your food.
If you're in this situation, a simple modification to the promotion might work better.
How can I get the church choir to come visit? Maybe an open mic night. It appeals to the target audience. If it works, try other church choirs. Try the HS drama club. But don't bother talking open mic night to the PTA.
Choose your audience first, then adapt tactics that appeal specifically to that group. You'll save yourself a whole lot of frustration.
I need new ideas. This statement needs to be refined: You need new ideas for whom? I'm not splitting hairs, but generally people want new ideas and then they find people to market to.
Consider this example: A local restaurant puts on an open mic night. Their challenge now is to find people to attend said open mic night. They're now out pounding the pavement, talking to anyone who will listen, saying "come to our open mic night."
Did the general public ignore your promotion about how great your food is, but now all of a sudden they're falling over themselves to come in to read poetry or play the guitar? I doubt it. If an open mic night promotion works to the general population in your area then you would likely have had the same success with telling everyone how great your pizza/bbq/chicken tenders/steak is.
In other words, it's that you did any promotion at all that made it work.
The converse is usually also true. If an open mic night promotion fails to draw people, it probably wasn't the open mic night. It was your food.
If you're in this situation, a simple modification to the promotion might work better.
How can I get the church choir to come visit? Maybe an open mic night. It appeals to the target audience. If it works, try other church choirs. Try the HS drama club. But don't bother talking open mic night to the PTA.
Choose your audience first, then adapt tactics that appeal specifically to that group. You'll save yourself a whole lot of frustration.
Friday
5 Facebook Ideas You Should Be Using
Got a Facebook fan page for your restaurant? Super. Don’t? Then read no further. Go directly to Facebook, build a fan page, and get back to us.
We're not saying that using Facebook is a strategy – but it’s a more personal way of communicating your other tactics (events, specials). Having an FB fan page won’t necessarily get you more business. Using Facebook to promote specials (or make someone feel good by making specials just for fans), highlight your community involvement, whatever – that’s how you make yourself Mayor of the Village.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about Facebook marketing. I’m going to lay down some ideas here. You may have used a few of these before and if so, leave a comment and tell us how it worked. I will also list some that are hopefully new to you. So without further ado and in no certain order:
1. Once you have over 25 fans, go to facebook.com/username and reserve a unique name and url for your page. Let’s say your restaurant is Fannie’s Cookies. Then reserve “fanniescookies” as a username. Your page’s unique url will now be facebook.com/fanniescookies which obviously is easier for directing your customers.
2. Everyone should know this one: promote Facebook-only specials. There are a ton of ways to go about this. Post a keyword or phrase like “Fancy Fannie likes funnies” or something that people wouldn’t use in normal conversation. Tell your fans that if they come in and dance for 15 seconds, they get a free drink with their meal. Hold a contest for all fans, giving something free and OF VALUE to a random fan or two when they sign up before the end of the month. Run a photo or video contest and have fans upload them to your Facebook page. The list goes on and on.
3. Do you have a presence at local events? Make sure you mention your Facebook page and specials. Maybe even make a quick business card or coupon with your Facebook url to send home with folks, because I don’t know about you but my memory sucks.
4. Another idea for Facebook and events. Let’s say you’ll be at the local high school’s football game this week. Use the Events app on Facebook to create an event. Invite all your fans to the event. Promote the event via posts to your page. Maybe even give a little something extra to customers who mention that they saw you on Facebook. Like American Express says, “Membership has its privileges.”
5. Promote peer-to-peer discussions. That’s what social media is about, right? So don’t just talk to your fans but facilitate discussions on your Facebook page. This can also be a contest situation, depending on how many people answer your discussions. Starting questions will depend on your audience, but could be anything from pitting 2 local football teams against each other (“Who has the best team, the Red Rangers or the Purple Penguins?”) to asking about fans’ favorite pizza toppings. No hard selling here, of course. Talk about what the fans want to talk about.
Stay tuned for more Facebook ideas soon. In the meantime, post comments here and tell us your Facebook success stories – and your fails. Those can be helpful, too.
We're not saying that using Facebook is a strategy – but it’s a more personal way of communicating your other tactics (events, specials). Having an FB fan page won’t necessarily get you more business. Using Facebook to promote specials (or make someone feel good by making specials just for fans), highlight your community involvement, whatever – that’s how you make yourself Mayor of the Village.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about Facebook marketing. I’m going to lay down some ideas here. You may have used a few of these before and if so, leave a comment and tell us how it worked. I will also list some that are hopefully new to you. So without further ado and in no certain order:
1. Once you have over 25 fans, go to facebook.com/username and reserve a unique name and url for your page. Let’s say your restaurant is Fannie’s Cookies. Then reserve “fanniescookies” as a username. Your page’s unique url will now be facebook.com/fanniescookies which obviously is easier for directing your customers.
2. Everyone should know this one: promote Facebook-only specials. There are a ton of ways to go about this. Post a keyword or phrase like “Fancy Fannie likes funnies” or something that people wouldn’t use in normal conversation. Tell your fans that if they come in and dance for 15 seconds, they get a free drink with their meal. Hold a contest for all fans, giving something free and OF VALUE to a random fan or two when they sign up before the end of the month. Run a photo or video contest and have fans upload them to your Facebook page. The list goes on and on.
3. Do you have a presence at local events? Make sure you mention your Facebook page and specials. Maybe even make a quick business card or coupon with your Facebook url to send home with folks, because I don’t know about you but my memory sucks.
4. Another idea for Facebook and events. Let’s say you’ll be at the local high school’s football game this week. Use the Events app on Facebook to create an event. Invite all your fans to the event. Promote the event via posts to your page. Maybe even give a little something extra to customers who mention that they saw you on Facebook. Like American Express says, “Membership has its privileges.”
5. Promote peer-to-peer discussions. That’s what social media is about, right? So don’t just talk to your fans but facilitate discussions on your Facebook page. This can also be a contest situation, depending on how many people answer your discussions. Starting questions will depend on your audience, but could be anything from pitting 2 local football teams against each other (“Who has the best team, the Red Rangers or the Purple Penguins?”) to asking about fans’ favorite pizza toppings. No hard selling here, of course. Talk about what the fans want to talk about.
Stay tuned for more Facebook ideas soon. In the meantime, post comments here and tell us your Facebook success stories – and your fails. Those can be helpful, too.
Saturday
Ben & Jerry's
This people must be stupid, giving away their food like that. Don't they know they'll cannibalize sales? Don't they know they'll addict their customers to discounts?
Or, maybe, they have propped up a weaker evening. Maybe butts in seats is worth it to them on this day. After all, you can't take a percentage to the bank.
Only Ben & Jerry's knows, but it does seem like they are promoting a higher ticket item (sundaes, instead of cones) which introduces customers to more menu items (and creates more reasons for going).
It also looks like they are incentivizing customers to bring friends (read: introduce them to the product).
Ben & Jerry's has done similar promotions in the past. Most notably free ice cream day, scheduled just before the weather breaks in the Spring, which serves to jump start their season and create new habits.
Maybe we can learn a little something from them.
Or, maybe, they have propped up a weaker evening. Maybe butts in seats is worth it to them on this day. After all, you can't take a percentage to the bank.
Only Ben & Jerry's knows, but it does seem like they are promoting a higher ticket item (sundaes, instead of cones) which introduces customers to more menu items (and creates more reasons for going).
It also looks like they are incentivizing customers to bring friends (read: introduce them to the product).
Ben & Jerry's has done similar promotions in the past. Most notably free ice cream day, scheduled just before the weather breaks in the Spring, which serves to jump start their season and create new habits.
Maybe we can learn a little something from them.
Thursday
Rewarding Neighborhood Heroes
Corporate America and chains have taken over what used to be the purview of mom and pops, namely community involvement.
Starbuck's, Ben & Jerry's, and now, Citgo? Yes, Citgo. The gas station. Nominate yourself as a community hero and win a free gas card worth $2500.
So why wouldn't you, as a local restaurant owner, do something similar? It doesn't have to be grand, because you still have a leg up on corporate America: you can put a face with the gesture.
- Have your target audience (principals, HR directors, charity directors) nominate their employees and volunteers.
- Recognize a different person each week (in-store); their co-workers come with them to celebrate
- Recognize them in a wider forum in your email distribution (Bob G. of Smyrna was last week's Hero - raising over $15,000 for Children's Hospital, for example)
- At the end of the year, donate $1,000 (or more) to the charity of one of the year's 52 winners
Total cost: 52 x lunch (@ food cost) + $1,000 (about $100 per month)
Benefits: an easy conversation with community leaders (fire chief, principals, pta, volunteer coordinators), a strengthened relationship with their organizations, increased frequency of message and (hopefully) email sign up.
If you're the mayor of your village, you can steal these ideas, make them your own, and do them way better than the corporate monoliths. (BTW, corporate monoliths do these things for a reason.)
Starbuck's, Ben & Jerry's, and now, Citgo? Yes, Citgo. The gas station. Nominate yourself as a community hero and win a free gas card worth $2500.
So why wouldn't you, as a local restaurant owner, do something similar? It doesn't have to be grand, because you still have a leg up on corporate America: you can put a face with the gesture.
- Have your target audience (principals, HR directors, charity directors) nominate their employees and volunteers.
- Recognize a different person each week (in-store); their co-workers come with them to celebrate
- Recognize them in a wider forum in your email distribution (Bob G. of Smyrna was last week's Hero - raising over $15,000 for Children's Hospital, for example)
- At the end of the year, donate $1,000 (or more) to the charity of one of the year's 52 winners
Total cost: 52 x lunch (@ food cost) + $1,000 (about $100 per month)
Benefits: an easy conversation with community leaders (fire chief, principals, pta, volunteer coordinators), a strengthened relationship with their organizations, increased frequency of message and (hopefully) email sign up.
If you're the mayor of your village, you can steal these ideas, make them your own, and do them way better than the corporate monoliths. (BTW, corporate monoliths do these things for a reason.)
Tuesday
Regions Bank = Poor Customer Service
Went to change a $100 bill at a Region's Bank in Georgia today - since that's all I had and most small businesses can't change $100 without at least a little difficulty.
Cashier asked if I had an account, I said no (it was the nearest bank). He informed me that he couldn't help me because he wouldn't be able to reach me "in case he needed to afterward."
Nevermind that this is complete BS, I can understand that certain privileges are reserved for customers and used as an incentive to become one. But shouldn't certain courtesies be extended to entice others?
I was floored. I really couldn't believe this was the policy. . .I stared. . .for nearly 20 seconds.
Happy ending: the customer at the next bay, in disbelief himself, gave me change for my $100 bill.
Note: Regions has a PR firm that, no doubt, trolls the web looking for positive and negative statements about their company.
Here's a blog post for them to find. I'm going to log out so I can tweet a similar message, since I've already told at least 4 people (all in under an hour).
Cashier asked if I had an account, I said no (it was the nearest bank). He informed me that he couldn't help me because he wouldn't be able to reach me "in case he needed to afterward."
Nevermind that this is complete BS, I can understand that certain privileges are reserved for customers and used as an incentive to become one. But shouldn't certain courtesies be extended to entice others?
I was floored. I really couldn't believe this was the policy. . .I stared. . .for nearly 20 seconds.
Happy ending: the customer at the next bay, in disbelief himself, gave me change for my $100 bill.
Note: Regions has a PR firm that, no doubt, trolls the web looking for positive and negative statements about their company.
Here's a blog post for them to find. I'm going to log out so I can tweet a similar message, since I've already told at least 4 people (all in under an hour).
Relationship Over Tactics
There's a lot of angst among folks just getting started with LSM, so let's re-focus on what is important.
LSM is about relationships, shaking hands, kissing babies, and being an upstanding member of your community. Period.
That you offer samples to overcome objections, suggest a fundraising program, offer tours to school children are just incidental. Your goal is to support the groups in your communities who will in turn support you.
"But what do I say to a school principal?" How about "hi"? Too often we go for the sale before we even have a relationship. First words: "We live in the community, we hire from the community, we rely on the community, we want to be a part of the community. How can we help?"
The school programs, emails, ads, sampling events, etc. are your media, not your objective.
Start the relationship then build on it. An honest desire to be a part of the community is half the battle. The other half, the tactics, are the fun part. But they can't be implemented until a relationship exists.
LSM is about relationships, shaking hands, kissing babies, and being an upstanding member of your community. Period.
That you offer samples to overcome objections, suggest a fundraising program, offer tours to school children are just incidental. Your goal is to support the groups in your communities who will in turn support you.
"But what do I say to a school principal?" How about "hi"? Too often we go for the sale before we even have a relationship. First words: "We live in the community, we hire from the community, we rely on the community, we want to be a part of the community. How can we help?"
The school programs, emails, ads, sampling events, etc. are your media, not your objective.
Start the relationship then build on it. An honest desire to be a part of the community is half the battle. The other half, the tactics, are the fun part. But they can't be implemented until a relationship exists.
Friday
Gossamer on Twitter
Not real sure of the value for my business, but Twitter has a pretty big upside for your restaurant marketing strategy.
I'll be honest, there's a lot of crap out there. But there are some nuggets, too. You can follow me at twitter.com/gossmark.
My plan for now is to post the good, bad, and ugly of restaurant marketing and service from the field. Tough job, but someone has to do it.
I'll be honest, there's a lot of crap out there. But there are some nuggets, too. You can follow me at twitter.com/gossmark.
My plan for now is to post the good, bad, and ugly of restaurant marketing and service from the field. Tough job, but someone has to do it.
Sunday
Community Involvement: The (Old) New Ad Media
Great article about decency as an ad medium.
Some things as this relates to your business:
Everyone says that word of mouth is the best form of advertising, so how come we spend money on lesser forms? Why not spend the money on our product quality? On putting food into people's mouths? On putting the words into our customers' mouths so that they can spread them?
The sidelines of the local soccer field are the new mass media. Better get used to it.
Some things as this relates to your business:
- People want to buy from someone they know, like, and trust
- Love me, love my product
- Care about what your customers care about, they'll care about you
- They'll promote you if you support them
Everyone says that word of mouth is the best form of advertising, so how come we spend money on lesser forms? Why not spend the money on our product quality? On putting food into people's mouths? On putting the words into our customers' mouths so that they can spread them?
The sidelines of the local soccer field are the new mass media. Better get used to it.
Friday
National Doughnut Day
It's National Doughnut Day, Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' are celebrating.
Which one will get a higher one day spike?
Which one will get a higher long range return?
My money is on Krispy Kreme. People will buy the coffee anyway, and the goodwill is better.
Which one will get a higher one day spike?
Which one will get a higher long range return?
To get your freebee at Dunkin' Donuts, you'll need to buy a drink. But there are no strings attached at Krispy Kreme.
My money is on Krispy Kreme. People will buy the coffee anyway, and the goodwill is better.
Sunday
You Could Learn a Lot from a Girl Scout
I know a Girl Scout, we'll call her Susie*.
Susie is in the process of selling Girl Scout Cookies in her neighborhood. Here's how she went about it:
1. Set a goal (400 boxes, might be a little ambitious)
2. Identified places to reach her audience: book store, grocery store, door to door, made a list of family and friends
3. Overcame obstacles. For those who 'already purchased from someone else' and for far away relatives who want to support don't really want you to send the cookies, she identified a local charity (a retirement community) to which you could donate boxes. She increased her ticket average significantly just through donations.
4. Made a plan. Monday: call bookstore owner, set up order taking in store (owner will provide a coupon - buy 2 get one free - for paperback books to anyone who purchases), Tuesday: call family, Wednesday: door to door in neighborhood x, Saturday: door to door in neighborhood y.
5. Identified an accountability partner. She and another girl in her troop share experiences and brainstorm solutions.
Cookies are more about sales than marketing - everyone knows about Girl Scout Cookies - yet she samples at events anyway, gives a little something to whet the appetite.
Maybe, if we think more in terms of sales instead of marketing, we might be able to learn something from a 10 year old (if we're willing to listen, that is).
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent...and minors who didn't ask to be profiled.
Susie is in the process of selling Girl Scout Cookies in her neighborhood. Here's how she went about it:
1. Set a goal (400 boxes, might be a little ambitious)
2. Identified places to reach her audience: book store, grocery store, door to door, made a list of family and friends
3. Overcame obstacles. For those who 'already purchased from someone else' and for far away relatives who want to support don't really want you to send the cookies, she identified a local charity (a retirement community) to which you could donate boxes. She increased her ticket average significantly just through donations.
4. Made a plan. Monday: call bookstore owner, set up order taking in store (owner will provide a coupon - buy 2 get one free - for paperback books to anyone who purchases), Tuesday: call family, Wednesday: door to door in neighborhood x, Saturday: door to door in neighborhood y.
5. Identified an accountability partner. She and another girl in her troop share experiences and brainstorm solutions.
Cookies are more about sales than marketing - everyone knows about Girl Scout Cookies - yet she samples at events anyway, gives a little something to whet the appetite.
Maybe, if we think more in terms of sales instead of marketing, we might be able to learn something from a 10 year old (if we're willing to listen, that is).
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent...and minors who didn't ask to be profiled.
Friday
A Little Tough Love
This post is going to sound a little haughty, but it needs to be said. It doesn't pertain to all of you, maybe not even most of you, but it applies to some of you and you need to hear it.
Insert whatever brand you hold in high regard below...
"I want to be the next Starbucks."
"Starbucks does this, and Starbucks does that."
What most people don't realize is that Starbucks does things many of you abhor. They give away free coffee to alter potential customers' habits (and yes, most often existing customers benefit with free coffee).
They also are very involved in their communities and in the world. What have you done to benefit a neighbor that, except for the good PR, didn't benefit you?
Lastly, have you seen the new Starbucks TV commercial? Visit any store, pledge 5 hours of community work, get a free cup of coffee? You want to be "just like Starbucks" but you need to realize that, except for their packaged goods that are distributed through other channels, Starbucks built their brand on word of mouth and real estate. Their advertising, in the past, has been limited primarily to billboards.
How about McDonald's? You want to be like them? They give scholarships to employees and provide them with training to retain the good ones.
Chick-fil-A. Are you going to be like them one day? Giving away free or discounted food for fundraisers in order to build goodwill and spread positive word of mouth?
The truth is, some of you aren't prepared for what it takes to be a local icon. You give 10% off coupons and wonder why no one redeems them. You don't know your other community leaders and you don't train to retain your good staff members.
In this climate, with 'change' all about us, with a renewed sense of community and impersonal restaurants struggling, you might want to reconsider what it takes to be the mayor of your village.
Insert whatever brand you hold in high regard below...
"I want to be the next Starbucks."
"Starbucks does this, and Starbucks does that."
What most people don't realize is that Starbucks does things many of you abhor. They give away free coffee to alter potential customers' habits (and yes, most often existing customers benefit with free coffee).
They also are very involved in their communities and in the world. What have you done to benefit a neighbor that, except for the good PR, didn't benefit you?
Lastly, have you seen the new Starbucks TV commercial? Visit any store, pledge 5 hours of community work, get a free cup of coffee? You want to be "just like Starbucks" but you need to realize that, except for their packaged goods that are distributed through other channels, Starbucks built their brand on word of mouth and real estate. Their advertising, in the past, has been limited primarily to billboards.
How about McDonald's? You want to be like them? They give scholarships to employees and provide them with training to retain the good ones.
Chick-fil-A. Are you going to be like them one day? Giving away free or discounted food for fundraisers in order to build goodwill and spread positive word of mouth?
The truth is, some of you aren't prepared for what it takes to be a local icon. You give 10% off coupons and wonder why no one redeems them. You don't know your other community leaders and you don't train to retain your good staff members.
In this climate, with 'change' all about us, with a renewed sense of community and impersonal restaurants struggling, you might want to reconsider what it takes to be the mayor of your village.
Wednesday
Are You Planning to Fail?
If you fail to plan, you're planning to fail.
Trite, eh? But it's pretty true. You might not fail miserably, but you almost always are less efficient without a plan. You waste time in forgetting things, you miss opportunities, you become so focused on completing the task you miss out on going deeper, bigger.
A marketing plan does three things for your restaurant:
1. It schedules your time.
2. It holds you accountable.
3. Focuses your efforts.
When you have an idea as to the scope of your tasks, you can take time to prepare accordingly and execute when ready. If you don't plan your time, you'll never find it (you have to make it).
A plan can be either a carrot or a stick. If you knock things out, cross them off of your list, it's a carrot. If you get sidetracked, encounter obstacles, or otherwise do not succeed, it's a stick.
Focusing your efforts means as much as the quality of your tactics. I've seen a lot of people with a lot of great ideas that just don't get it done. They chase another "opportunity" without giving the current one its due. They spread the word too far and wide and never gain enough frequency of message.
Plan your work. Work your plan. Visit the CommonMan Group if you need help getting started (go on, you have to register but it's free).
Trite, eh? But it's pretty true. You might not fail miserably, but you almost always are less efficient without a plan. You waste time in forgetting things, you miss opportunities, you become so focused on completing the task you miss out on going deeper, bigger.
A marketing plan does three things for your restaurant:
1. It schedules your time.
2. It holds you accountable.
3. Focuses your efforts.
When you have an idea as to the scope of your tasks, you can take time to prepare accordingly and execute when ready. If you don't plan your time, you'll never find it (you have to make it).
A plan can be either a carrot or a stick. If you knock things out, cross them off of your list, it's a carrot. If you get sidetracked, encounter obstacles, or otherwise do not succeed, it's a stick.
Focusing your efforts means as much as the quality of your tactics. I've seen a lot of people with a lot of great ideas that just don't get it done. They chase another "opportunity" without giving the current one its due. They spread the word too far and wide and never gain enough frequency of message.
Plan your work. Work your plan. Visit the CommonMan Group if you need help getting started (go on, you have to register but it's free).
Thursday
Make the time - it won't appear on its own.
The Sysco order needs to be made.
My manager is sick.
I'm training the staff. Again.
I have to do payroll.
I have to do the scheduling.
The Sysco order needs to be put away.
The bathroom needs to be cleaned.
All are perfectly good reasons for not marketing, at least until you realize that you don't do marketing on a weekly basis. Marketing is every bit as important as doing payroll. It's as important as scheduling and ordering the food.
You need to schedule the time, or it will never just "appear". You need to make the time, not find it. Here are some suggestions to make it happen.
1. Commit the time. If you don't acknowledge its importance, marketing will always get pushed down on the list - even behind cleaning toilets.
2. Hire well. Train well. Retain. These are investments, not simply costs. The better you retain good people, the more business you're able to do.
3. Refine processes, delegate. Once you have a good staff, delegate.
4. Schedule the time. Schedule time to plan for the week, time to prepare (print coupons, arrange meetings), and time to execute.
5. Mix it up. If you want to build lunch, market at 10am. Dinner - 5:00-6:00pm. Weekends - market on the weekends. Make it different every week depending on your audience (schools, churches, offices) and objective (trial, frequency, ticket average).
6. Find and accountability partner. Think of it as a work-out partner, someone who can help you plan, encourage you, help you work out challenges. Someone who will give you encouragement...and a kick in the pants when you need it.
My manager is sick.
I'm training the staff. Again.
I have to do payroll.
I have to do the scheduling.
The Sysco order needs to be put away.
The bathroom needs to be cleaned.
All are perfectly good reasons for not marketing, at least until you realize that you don't do marketing on a weekly basis. Marketing is every bit as important as doing payroll. It's as important as scheduling and ordering the food.
You need to schedule the time, or it will never just "appear". You need to make the time, not find it. Here are some suggestions to make it happen.
1. Commit the time. If you don't acknowledge its importance, marketing will always get pushed down on the list - even behind cleaning toilets.
2. Hire well. Train well. Retain. These are investments, not simply costs. The better you retain good people, the more business you're able to do.
3. Refine processes, delegate. Once you have a good staff, delegate.
4. Schedule the time. Schedule time to plan for the week, time to prepare (print coupons, arrange meetings), and time to execute.
5. Mix it up. If you want to build lunch, market at 10am. Dinner - 5:00-6:00pm. Weekends - market on the weekends. Make it different every week depending on your audience (schools, churches, offices) and objective (trial, frequency, ticket average).
6. Find and accountability partner. Think of it as a work-out partner, someone who can help you plan, encourage you, help you work out challenges. Someone who will give you encouragement...and a kick in the pants when you need it.
Tuesday
Who's in Charge: You? Or the Restaurant?
A consultant we had for one of the franchise systems I was involved with once told us that when you have franchisees talking about working 70 or 80 hour weeks, they were really just bragging about how inefficient they are.
There's some truth there. Not to belittle someone busting ass to make ends meet, but too many hours is usually a sign of poor processes, insufficient training/poor hiring, and an unwillingness to delegate.
Specifically, when it comes to marketing, most owners find other things to occupy their time. Face to face marketing is outside the comfort zone of many operators, so it gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list.
So the questions are:
- Is marketing as important as doing the schedule or payroll?
- Do you schedule your week, or at least your day, or do you take each day as it comes to you?
- Are your current efforts effective? Bad markets often expose mediocre tactics for what they are.
- Did you intend to buy yourself an $8 an hour job when you opened, or did it just evolve that way?
For marketing ideas and discussion with other restaurant operators, visit the forum at The CommonMan Group.
There's some truth there. Not to belittle someone busting ass to make ends meet, but too many hours is usually a sign of poor processes, insufficient training/poor hiring, and an unwillingness to delegate.
Specifically, when it comes to marketing, most owners find other things to occupy their time. Face to face marketing is outside the comfort zone of many operators, so it gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list.
So the questions are:
- Is marketing as important as doing the schedule or payroll?
- Do you schedule your week, or at least your day, or do you take each day as it comes to you?
- Are your current efforts effective? Bad markets often expose mediocre tactics for what they are.
- Did you intend to buy yourself an $8 an hour job when you opened, or did it just evolve that way?
For marketing ideas and discussion with other restaurant operators, visit the forum at The CommonMan Group.
Sunday
New Year's Resolutions
Do you want to spend more time on your business instead of in it?
Do you want/need to be more effective in terms of cost per customer gained, instead of cost per thousand reached?
Is your marketing mix too one-dimensional?
Vote in our poll and visit forum.commonmangroup.com to discuss and hear what others like you have said.
Do you want/need to be more effective in terms of cost per customer gained, instead of cost per thousand reached?
Is your marketing mix too one-dimensional?
Vote in our poll and visit forum.commonmangroup.com to discuss and hear what others like you have said.
Friday
Email marketing tips
Some tips and tricks:
- Use images to augment your message, but make sure text is the majority of your message.
- Email regularly, not necessarily frequently. Send too often and customers will remove themselves, not often enough and you'll have bad data. Every 3 weeks is a good rule of thumb (12-17 times per year).
- Give something away. "You've won x, y, or z" is a nice benefit that drives word of mouth.
- Use offers with tight deadlines. Today only, this Saturday only, after 6pm, before noon - all put time restrictions on offers which will encourage the viral nature of email and prevent abuse. Offers give you a chance to drive trial and measure your results.
- Build your list everywhere you go. "Sign up and win a t-shirt (or hat)", take a fishbowl to events, ask for cards when out marketing or at Chamber meetings, train counter and wait staff to ask for sign-up.
- Use images to augment your message, but make sure text is the majority of your message.
- Email regularly, not necessarily frequently. Send too often and customers will remove themselves, not often enough and you'll have bad data. Every 3 weeks is a good rule of thumb (12-17 times per year).
- Give something away. "You've won x, y, or z" is a nice benefit that drives word of mouth.
- Use offers with tight deadlines. Today only, this Saturday only, after 6pm, before noon - all put time restrictions on offers which will encourage the viral nature of email and prevent abuse. Offers give you a chance to drive trial and measure your results.
- Build your list everywhere you go. "Sign up and win a t-shirt (or hat)", take a fishbowl to events, ask for cards when out marketing or at Chamber meetings, train counter and wait staff to ask for sign-up.
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