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 media will be up significantly as they all try to reach mobile consumers.
Is it too early to think about 2015? What is your vision for your restaurant? How will you achieve your goals?
2015 looks to be another year of rising food cost, increasing labor cost, distributor mergers and continuing technology advances. Driving traffic to improve sales will continue to be a major goal of chains and independents alike. What will be the impact on your restaurant in 2015?
Where to start? While the holiday season is going strong, it may be time for a restaurant data analysis review to understand where you are at and set goals for 2015. Time to look at the following areas for improvement:
- Menu engineering analysis to determine your true food cost and improve menu profitability.
- Proper alignment of labor to sales to manage your prime cost.
- Brand reputation review. What do customer see when they search your restaurant online?
- Were your 2014 marketing activities effective? What would you do differently to drive customer traffic?
- Development and execution of quarterly marketing plans. Did you have documented plans in 2014 that were executed properly?
- Are you getting all of the manufacturer rebates that are available to you to help lower your food cost?
- Do you have the time to do all of this and still run a business?
Sounds like a lot of work and it is, but the results to be gained are well worth the effort in terms of increased sales and profits. Many of our clients have implemented this process are seeing results that are significantly greater than the restaurant industry. Proper implementation and execution of a strategy does deliver results. Will you be ready for 2015?
Where should you start?
The best way to start is to get a complimentary Local Search Visibility review for your restaurant along with a FREE coaching session. These programs combined with our projected revenue report will give you an indication of the potential opportunity gains for your restaurant. This free service can be completed by contacting CORE Restaurant Marketing at 1-888-890-9492 x 101 or by sending an email to info@corerestaurantmarketing.com.
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