Restaurant Marketing Blog

Friday, February 23, 2007

**  There are 4 key issues going on in the USA/Canada right now…well actually there are more than that…but I’ll stick with the more domestic and peaceful ones…that ones that your guests are really concerned about. 

**  If you can connect the dots…that is make an emotional connection between your restaurant and your guests on any of these 4 key issues, and demonstrate that you are on the same wavelength as them, then you’ve Wow’d your guests in a subtle way…and thus, you’ve connected with them.

**  Here are the 4 issues that your guests are taking an either light or heavy interest in, or at least are cognizant of:

1.  Issue #1 Customer Bill of Rights (made “famous” by Jet Blue)
2.  Issue #2 Trans Fat
3.  Issue #3 Education
4.  Issue #4 Eco-Green/Global Warming

**  So, I ask you these questions and in the same breath, I’ll tell you what to do. And remember, I’m not saying that you’ve got to get knee-deep in involvement in these issues, but all you’ve got to do is communicate what stand you’re taking on any of these 4 issues. That means communication via a lobby poster, your email communique, or any strategic point within your four walls.

**  Marketing is all about story-telling—remark-eting makes you remark-able.

**  Got you thinking about these issues and connecting the dots? Do something about it now. If you communicate it to your guests…then you’ll emotionally Wow them over. Together, you’ll have established a subliminal relationship because your restaurant thinks like your guests.

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Friday, February 09, 2007

Make your mark by getting rid of trans fats and telling your community about it. It differentiates you from the others, and will make you the restaurant of choice.

Important Reading From The Philadelphia Inquirer—

It took five years for Philadelphia City Council to agree on a smoking ban, but today - mere weeks after the idea was first proposed - Council unanimously approved a bill banning trans fats from most dishes served by city restaurants.

In recent years, nutritionists have vilified trans fats as a largely artificial, artery-clogging fat with no dietary benefits. Think Crisco or margarine: inexpensive, semi-solid fats with long shelf-lives.

Philadelphia’s ban on the use of such products begins to take effect on Sept. 1, when restaurateurs will no longer be permitted to fry foods in trans fats or serve trans fat-based spreads. By Sept. 1, 2008, trans fats will be banned in all other types of food prepared in Philadelphia eateries. The ban will not apply to pre-packaged foods - such as a Tastykake Krimpet - sold in city stores and eateries.

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

1. Take the ordinary and make it Xtra-ordinary.

2. Take the plain old, boring vanilla look and turn it into a Ben & Jerry’s flavor.

3. Do the opposite, or do better than what the competition is doing.

4. Break conventional wisdom and think about “what if.”

5. Take the largest and make it the smallest; take the smallest and make it the largest; take the lowest and make it the highest; and the shortest, the longest.

6. Take what’s straight and even, and see what it looks like slanted and twisted. Take what’s center and look at it off-center.

7. Take everything that’s “just okay” and make it “the best.”

8. Go outside to look at your restaurant inside.

9. Break the rules and dream about how to make it better and more fun for your guests ... and then just do it.

10. Be remarkable—give your guests a snippet, a story about your restaurant ... something that they can remark about to their friends.

11. Go from behind your desk, or out of the kitchen and be the “mayor” in your community, making an impact and giving back.

12. Find your ‘place’ or your niche and be famous for it.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Saturday, February 03, 2007

Always nice to feel like you made the right decision as noted in a previous post, I’ve always believed that McDonald’s coffee tasted better than Starbuck’s.  Consumer Reports now confirms it, rating McD’s coffee ahead of Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King, when it comes to taste.

MSNBC reports that Starbucks may be the world’s largest coffee shop chain in the world, but what they serve isn’t as good as what McDonald’s brews, Consumer Reports says.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Friday, February 02, 2007

It’s easy to say, “Is everything okay?”  It’s easy to say, “Is there anything else I can get you?” It’s easy to say, “Would you like dessert?”  Actually, it’s not easy ... it’s lazy.

We take for granted the power of words. Words CAN sell. Words CAN make you more sales. Words CAN present a vision—a vision that tempts, persuades and salivates.

You say, “It’s just coffee!”  I say, “It’s hot, freshly brewed coffee.”

You say “cheesecake.”  I say, “Our rich, creamy New York style cheesecake that’s topped with strawberry syrup.”

You say it’s your “soup of the day.” I say, “It’s our original homemade vegetable soup.”

What do you do? Put Wow Words into your table presentation. Your guests will have great pictures of what you’re talking about. And, if you do it right, they’ll end up ordering whatever you want them to order.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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