Start a Restaurant

New customers are as important for the restaurant business as the regular ones. In fact it is not possible for any business to prosper without new customers. A steady flow of new customers is needed to balance the old customers that are no longer coming to your restaurant for some or other reasons such as relocating or changing dining habits. Below is a list of some powerful strategies for attracting new customers to your restaurant.

- Market Your Restaurant in Public Places

A fool proof way to entice new customers is to market your restaurant in public places such as parks, shopping centers, supermarkets, etc, and offer them to have a taste of some of your most delicious food. When they stop for that, don’t forget to give out your restaurant menu, coupon or a business card so that they’ll know exactly where they can go in order to taste more of your tasty food.

- Cross Market Your Restaurant

Cross marketing your restaurant with various nearby hotels, motels, holiday, inns or tour bus is another great idea to bring potential customers. For example, you could list your restaurant in the “nearby attraction list” at the hotels or you could advertise in their lobbies.

- Referral System

Your existing customers can bring a lot of business for you. But for that you should encourage them by offering some kind of attraction to do so. For example, you could offer 10% off for the customer who refers a new customer. (more…)

There was a woman in Wisconsin that made the best soups in town. Her whole family encouraged her to open a restaurant, which she eventually did. They all chipped in to get her a nice location and design the small place like their living room. She had dozens of great recipes and various family members served as cooks, waiters and her accountant. Soon she was open for business and the crowds came pouring in. Folks, that was just a fairy tale. Sure, she did make amazing soup, but nobody came. Why? Because she failed to advertise.

The large sign in front and her reputation seemed to be enough. True, it was a relatively small town, but not everyone knew her cuisine skills. They decided to pass out flyers in front of the restaurant, but that didn’t turn the tide either. With money running out, one of her sons finally placed a small ad in the local newspaper and that brought in a trickle of customers. But it was so expensive, they had to stop after a few weeks. Today, that place is filled with a bookstore. The moral? A restaurant without advertising is a recipe for failure.

I should know. I’ve been an advertising consultant for over 25 years and had hundreds of restaurant accounts. Many were small, family-run ventures with limited resources and capital. They began with a dream and ended in a nightmare; underestimating expenses, over-estimating income and customers. Advertising was on the bottom of the list. Or else they decided that it could be cheap or even free. I sold Yellow Page ads and they didn’t understand the power of the directory. Most thought it too costly although they knew how well used it was. So they might opt for something small and hard to find, which proved to be a real waste of money. (more…)

Many women restaurant owners and managers have learned how to drive a starving crowd to their restaurants on a shoe string budget.

On the other hand, many men restaurant owners and managers seem more likely to stick with the status quo and many keep using conventional marketing techniques even while they continue to lose money.

The problem with conventional restaurant marketing techniques is that they are getting more and more expensive while they are proving to be less and less effective.

Maybe a psychologists can explain why women are taking the lead of using unconventional restaurant techniques in the restaurant business. This seems odd because we know that men are usually more willing to take risks.

Never-the less, women seem to be the more aggressive gender when it comes to restaurant marketing.

Here are some of the many unconventional marketing techniques women are now using:

1. Women are using far less radio, TV and print advertising.

2. They are doing a much better job of capturing customer data such as names, addresses, birthdays, anniversaries and most important email addresses.

3. Women are doing a lot of direct mail promotions and they are doing even more email promotions to their customer data base. (more…)

Everywhere we look, we see the businesses such as restaurants, bars, resorts and casinos, that theme their uniform style to match their business’ atmosphere. That’s all well and good, but sometimes you might think that the uniform styles out there are a little homogenized. Of course, it’s understandable that you want to keep to a professional image at all times. But you might also be feeling more creative, like you want to break out of the mold and re-invent the restaurant uniform concept.

Example: If you’ve seen the movie “Pulp Fiction”, there’s a restaurant that Vincent and Mia go to early in the film which looks like a fun place to go. It’s modeled after the 1950’s “rockabilly” era, and if you watch this scene carefully, you’ll see some incredible uniform “casting” in this fictional restaurant. Would you have thought of having Buddy Holly and Marilyn Monroe look-a-likes as waiters and waitresses? Or how about the midget in the red bellhop uniform who seats the couple? Hint: he’s modeled on an old Phillip Morris commercial, as you can hear him shouting his line as he leaves the scene: “Call for Phillip Morris!” Now, that is creative theming!

For those who want to make an impression far deeper than the average fashion statement, let’s try thinking experimentally. Here’s a list of ideas that many will find bold, edgy, or even too daring. But they are very original. We’re not recommending them too heavily, or you can take them and modify them; perhaps one of these will be inspirational!

So, some very off-the-wall ideas for a hospitality business uniform theme: (more…)

It was not very long ago that the only place that thought about kids were the big fast food chains, and even then limited by offering a small toy with the purchase of a hamburger. These days if you don’t create an amazing experience for the twelve and under demographic you will lose their vote!!! So let’s look at a few ideas to get them on side in part 3 of this article:

12. Have family nights

These are a great idea for a slow Monday or Tuesday nights. You could show family TV shows or movies or even cartoons. You can have special discounts on adult meals, and provide other forms of entertainment such as clowns, magicians and musicians. It gives reasons for families to go out when they otherwise would not.

13. Produce family deals

You have already seen this at most of the fast food restaurants like, KFC where they offer 10 pieces of chicken, with bread rolls, coleslaw, potato and gravy, and bottles or cans of drink for the one low price. Family packs welcome family business in a different way. The idea is to produce an interesting variety of foods for a family to enjoy for one low price. Maybe you could provide a large appetiser, two adult main courses, two children’s meals and a big serving of fruits or ice cream to share for the one price.

14. Have a games room with tokens

Guess who always finishes eating first in the family? Every time! If your restaurant is right for this it is a great way for the kids to keep busy while the parents enjoy their meal. There is no limit as to what you can include, whether they are video games or mechanical games, they will all appeal to children. If the games take tokens, you can include them with a children’s meal and more can be purchased if necessary. They can be purchased from the server, or added to the bill. You can give away prizes for high scores and even provide large packs of tokens for a big discount. There are many places that sell both new and reconditioned stand-up arcade games, and allsorts of games on the internet.

15. Have a children’s dining area

You could develop a children’s playing area, or even a separate dining area. While parents bring their children to the restaurant, it doesn’t mean that they would not love a little break. (I’d put money on that one). The area must be well supervised. There is a lot that you can do with this idea. They could have their own servers, and even have their own décor. You could provide games, books and toys so that they remain entertained, or keep them busy while they wait for their parents or their food. If the parents think their children are safe then they will relax more and probably even order more off the menu or have an extra wine or dessert. They will feel more relaxed and love you and your staff for it. (more…)

Every restaurant owner should constantly be taking an objective look at how well your restaurant is doing. Staying ahead of the competition will keep you on your toes. Here in part 2 of this article, we look at more ways you can get a good report card.

6. Be aware of your customer’s preferences and usual favourites.

Customers love to feel special. Most diners go to a restaurant for an experience, not just a meal. You know how it is if you go somewhere regularly and they can never remember you, or they do, but they can’t remember your name. How special do you feel then? If a customer orders the same drink all the time, not only do they think it is nice if you remember, they will soon start to wonder why you can’t if you don’t. Customers always are impressed when a server remembers their preferences or favourites from visit to visit.

7. Don’t get too chatty with guests

It’s great to have a chat with customers, and it should be encouraged, but it should not be overdone. A server may even spend extra time with a customer before the food arrives, however they should be basically left alone after that, other than checking for additional needs.

8. Think of customers as family and close friends

Think of your family members and your friends for a moment. You know that Harry likes seafood but does not like oysters. Warren only drinks single malt scotch and Jenny loves Chardonnay. Bob likes ice cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and hates garlic. Get to know your customers the same way and it will pay off.

9. Keep record cards

I like to keep small record cards about customer’s details and preferences. They record information about a customer’s likes and dislikes. It has birthdays, anniversary dates and any other information that is deemed important to help make them feel special. Reward your servers every time they add something to a card. Don’t get too nosy, but generally people love to share information with people they trust. (more…)

Naming their new restaurant business is something most owners spend a lot of time thinking about, dreaming about and testing on friends, family and strangers. In reality, the name of the restaurant isn’t really that critical to its success, but because that is the identifier in the new owner’s mind, they give it undue importance and significance.

There aren’t really any hard and fast rules about picking a good name in terms of what name will do better than others, but there are some things to keep in mind generally about selecting a name that will be more user friendly. Don’t pick a name that is hard to spell or hard to say. Even if you are using a name for a restaurant business that may serve French food, try to not to pick a difficult to spell or pronounce French name for the restaurant. Don’t pick a name that will be easily confused with another restaurant. Aside from potential trademark issues, you just don’t want to accidentally send business to the wrong restaurant.

Don’t pick a name that might have a second meaning or that could be misconstrued as negative, or worse as bigoted or insensitive. Don’t pick a name that is too “adult” or risqué, as just the insinuation may turn off a lot of people even if the inside may be more family friendly. Don’t pick a name that doesn’t fit with what you are selling. If you call it a diner, some people are going to expect meatloaf on the menu. If you don’t plan to serve meatloaf, make sure the name fits. Café and bistro are two more examples of restaurant names that will imply a certain kind of menu. (more…)

Every restaurant owner should constantly be taking an objective look at how well your restaurant is doing. Staying ahead of the competition will keep you on your toes. Here are some ways you can get a good report card.

1. Know who your competition is!

I have encountered situations where a restaurant owner has identified the competition. Or at least what they think is their competition, but they’re not. If I am selling Gourmet Burgers with the finest of ingredients, including trimmed premium Scotch Fillet Steak for the beef patties, (like I do), in a licensed restaurant with full service and extras, I am not really in Competition with the greasy burger joint down the road, or a group like Burger King am I?

So make sure your competition is truly your competition in the first place.

2. Get Employees to Sample the Competition.

You should always know what your competition is doing, it is essential to your success. It may be difficult to go yourself though as you would no doubt be known. So send one of your employees instead. Brief them what to look for. It will also give you the opportunity to treat a staff member to something different. How about showing up for work to be told you have to go out to dinner or lunch…all expenses paid!!!

3. Employ the services of a mystery shopper.

This is the reverse of what we have just spoken about. Here you get someone to come to your restaurant and report back to you. So none of you staff know what’s going on. I organise this by going to our local business or community college and speaking to someone from the food and beverage school. They always suggest a student that would excel at the project. They earn some money, have some fun, and get a free meal. I often donate something to the college or I might even go and speak to there for them. Everybody wins. (more…)

It was not very long ago that the only place that thought about kids were the big fast food chains, and even then limited by offering a small toy with the purchase of a hamburger. These days if you don’t create an amazing experience for the twelve and under demographic you will lose their vote!!! So let’s look at a few ideas to get them on side:

1. Always have a kids menu

Times have changed. These days’ parents are taking their parents along to the best of restaurants, so a children’s menu is essential. This is not to just keep the kids happy, but the parents too. Otherwise the parents will feel that they will be pressured to pay full price for a meal their kids may not enjoy and probably will not finish. It will be no encouragement for them to return. And as we all know only too well these days, the children often have a lot to do with family dining decisions, so meeting their needs is critical.

2. Use name tags

This is easy and fun and it makes the kids feel a bit special. But it is not just about the name tags it is also about using their names. We all enjoy hearing our own name or being addressed by our own name, and our children are no different. Servers should always ask for their names and use it as much as possible. If for any reason they do not want their name tag, the parents will be pleased to take it home.

3. Give them small gifts

We all love presents, and so do our kids! They do not have to be much. Crayons are always a popular favourite. The dollar stores are a favourite as a supplier for these things. They are cheap and there is a large selection. You can get stickers, pencils, books, and heaps of toys. You can put all the toys in a box and they can even choose one. Just make sure they are all totally safe for their age. Lollies are not a great idea as they may not be allowed to have them. (more…)

I’ve been in advertising for over 35 years. I began with an advertising agency and then started by own. Later, I became a sales consultant for the Yellow Pages. Most of my accounts were the smaller, family run businesses. Many were restaurants. Yet they all had one thing in common. They wanted either very low-cost advertising or free advertising. So I had to explain about the, “there’s no free lunch,” concept. They would be in denial and explain how they were going to use the referral idea, or WOM, which I call free advertising idea number one.

That’s right; they were talking about that good old “word-of-mouth.” But that’s not exactly traditional marketing. It relies entirely on someone telling someone else. The problem is that no one has control over what is said be it good or bad. So WOM can be as much damaging as it can be helpful. Even after that is explained, they feel it’s better than no advertising at all, which is typically a high-cost item. After all, they had already bought expensive equipment, furnishings, paid a store rental, hired employees, and retained insurance. Now, nothing was left. Wouldn’t that great large sign above the door be enough? It was their version of free advertising. Of course, if someone weren’t walking or driving by, they would never see it. So much for free advertising number two.

Then they might also tell me about their ten year old that could bike around the neighborhood and place flyers on local car windshields or in house doors. They could print a homemade colored sheet right off their computer printer for virtually nothing and little Jimmy was paid a few bucks here and there. And then I would try to clarify that those same flyers might make people mad because of the intrusion or annoyance factor. I know I hate to get something on my windshield. Sometimes they didn’t get my point, but then I was trying to sell them something. (more…)