2017 has been a difficult year for many restaurants. The restaurant industry continues to change in many ways driven by the choices customers have. Many of the choices are facilitated by technology and the options it offers us to make decisions. Let’s take a closer look at just two ways in which technology has impacted […]
Most restaurant owners are faced with problems every week. There are a lot of balls juggling in the air every day. Some are handled flawlessly; some balls are dropped. The question remains how can you become a better juggler. The best jugglers practice a lot and have coaches to help them perfect their act. If […]
With many of our clients, we utilize a Restaurant Reputation Management tool to monitor what is being said by their customers on the review sites. We see the good bad and the ugly side of consumer comments about many restaurants across the country. It truly becomes obvious as to why some restaurants are very successful […]
No, this is not a blog about the Dr. Seuss book, but it is a story about places you might wind up at. Learn about how digital maps can impact your restaurant’s reputation. As a Restaurant Coach, I often use Google Maps when I travel. In many areas, I am not familiar with the towns and […]
Over the past few years, many restaurant owners I have met with have been very skeptical of review sites such as Yelp or TripAdvisor. They contended that the reviews are false, misleading or competitors just writing bad reviews about them. In some cases they claim that Yelp was misleading in its representation of reviews. Recently […]
Restaurant Margins are tight, we all know that. Rising food cost, minimum wage increases, and competitive pressures make a day to day impact. It’s a tough business, every penny counts, but are you getting every penny your restaurant is earning? I’m sure your distributor is passing along all of the allowances that they get from […]
As we start a new year it is important to take a step back and look at how you did last year. Was it a good year filled with great things that will lead you into 2015? Was your restaurant marketing plan effective? Many restaurants owners I meet with are just too busy to take […]
November is upon us and the holiday planning is set in place for most restaurants. Gift card promotions in place and holiday parties are booked. Fortunately gasoline prices are dropping which will free up discretionary spending. The challenge is to drive traffic into your restaurant and away from the big box stores. Promotions on social […]
Over the past few weeks I have visited with many restaurant owners to discuss what their restaurant marketing programs are and the results they are getting. Some are doing great while others need help in building the business with effective marketing programs. Throughout my conversations, it became apparent that many restaurants are overspending on programs. […]
When was the last time your restaurant’s website made you money? The majority of restaurant websites that I take a look at are not really helping restaurant owners increase revenue. Yes, a website is designed to create awareness and promote a professional image, but it can also drive new traffic and create new revenue streams for […]
Where has the customer traffic gone? In recent meetings with clients, the focus has really shifted on how do we build customer traffic counts. The NRA data confirms that customer traffic counts have been declining steadily for several years. Restaurant sales have shown minor increases largely due to price increases. The question still remains the […]
Restaurant’s Changing Lives! That’s a powerful statement. Recently I was in Philadelphia and had lunch at a Maggiano’s Restaurant. When the waiter put down the menu, there was an additional menu in which a percentage of the proceeds were donated to the Make a Wish Foundation. A great program to help those in need. Taking […]
With food costs rising every week are your restaurants profits taking a hit? Almost every day there is something in the news about the price of something going up. Beef, pork, dairy, and coffee are all going up. As a restaurant owner, what is your strategy to handling these increases? Some chains will be raising […]
Recently I came across a study that was done by Deloitte consulting on loyalty within the restaurant industry. It is a very good analysis of loyalty in the industry, but another fact caught my attention. The study looked at driving factors of why consumers go to restaurants. There are many factors that drive our decisions […]
How do restaurant operators look at the cost of marketing? The NRA’s guidelines for restaurant marketing says that restaurants should allocate anywhere between two and four percent on restaurant marketing. Do restaurant owners follow this model when budgeting for their business? Like many families, the budget sometimes goes out the window when juggling expenses. The […]
