Restaurant Marketing Blog

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

A zillion books in a bookstore. Most are crap. Most have flowery language and BS. Most are theoretical. Here are the two most powerful books that can change the direction of your business immediately. The Purple Cow and Raving Fans.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Friday, October 26, 2007

Like millions of other baby boomers, next month I’ll be turning into an Old Coot.

**  I’ve already exhibited the early warning signs ... I can’t stand today’s music, can’t stand noisy restaurants or arenas, can’t stand rudeness and I boycott companies that hide their rules in fine print. I tend to ask more questions now, challenging tradition that’s been based on ancient rules and corporate red tape. Don’t ever say to me, “because that’s the way it is.”

**  I prefer one-on-one conversations, love to help people and would rather teach than tell. I don’t read my local newspaper. I get all of my news on the Internet, scanning over 300 articles a day, and my TV is glued to CNN and The Discovery Channel. My 10 car radio buttons are all set to this one Oldies station. I wish Elvis was still alive today. Embarrassingly, I’m hooked on Desperate Housewives.

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**  I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on that November day when JFK was assassinated. It still seems like yesterday. I guess when one turns into an Old Coot, everything seems like it happened just yesterday. I just wish they had warned me earlier on that life goes this fast.

**  I find myself more opinionated than ever, never hiding anything and saying what I want. Why? I feel I’ve earned it. I find myself regretting some of my past words and actions and now have a better understanding of my own frailties and know how best to address them.

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**  My favorite quote comes from Famous Dave of Famous Dave’s BBQ. “Scream or you’ll never be seen.” Sometimes I scream too loudly, sometimes not enough.

**  My favorite book is Seth Godin’s The Purple Cow. If you want to seamlessly integrate yourself into blandness, then this book isn’t for you. If you want to excel and differentiate, this book should be your bible, as it is mine.

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**  Over the years, I’ve accumulated tons of experience and tons of answers to problems and issues that don’t take a PhD or a high falutin’ consultant from one of those Fortune 500 firms to figure out. The answers though are really simple. I guess that’s the honesty in me, and it’s hard to charge a lot of money for simple and honest answers, like “you need to relate to your customers better.” You see, someone long ago, must have said that simple answers that work just aren’t acceptable because they’re too darn simple and easy to implement, like smiling or shaking a customer’s hand. Most people will choose the difficult, expensive approach because someone told them that problem solving must be done one way only ... the hard way.

**  There are some great benefits in becoming an Old Coot. I can finally cash in on those “senior discounts” that everyone offers, plus now, I’m a card carrying AARP member. So don’t push me around!

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**  I think being an Old Coot will be really exciting. I’ve still got plenty of fresh ideas, I’m still involved in cutting edge technology and now more so than ever, I understand what it takes to build businesses. Believe me, it is simple.

**  I also understand now—- and here’s the million dollar WOW, that there’s only one single thing that stops people from becoming unstoppable. There only one single thing that stops people from achieving the greatness they want to achieve. And that one single thing you can find when you look in the mirror.

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**  People are already starting to ask me what I’m doing for the big six-oh. It seems like I’m supposed to be doing something really huge. I don’t know what I’m going to do ... I’ve still got about 4 weeks to think about it, but most likely I’ll just spend it with my family, gaze at the leaves in their blazing autumn colors and go for a jog. To me, that’s really huge.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Monday, October 22, 2007

Restaurant Marketing: Subway takes a step into new media with their mobile campaign, sending text message product offers right to your phone. Sign up now at Subway Mobile

Is the first step to saying goodbye to direct mail, especially when cell phone penetrations in the USA is close to 100%? Want to know how to do a cell phone campaign? We featured it in one of my previous WOW Restaurant Marketing issues.

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Saturday, October 20, 2007

From HealthInspections.com: Dairy Queen has one of the worst health records in the fast food industry. That conclusion is based on a review of thousands of health inspections in 12 cities.
When health inspectors walk into a Dairy Queen in one of those cities, they often find critical violations that have not been corrected since the last inspection.  The chain has one of the worst records in fast food for repeating the same health code violation time and again.
In the 12 cities we surveyed, we found that the average Dairy Queen had nearly five critical violations. That means inspectors typically found five problems that can make customers sick.
Employee hygiene is the number one problem at DQ – accounting for 22% of the chain’s violations. Hygiene includes everything from workers not washing their hands to employees found eating and drinking in the kitchen.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Wednesday, October 17, 2007

With a month still to go before the Birthday Bash at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, we only have four seats left. I take this to mean the content of Birthday Bash 2007 is striking a responsive chord with independent operators ... as it should. We are looking forward to a very different—and a very rewarding experience at the Mall ... and there is just barely time for you to be part of it.

If the past is any indication, we will never repeat a program like this again. If you have been toying with the idea of attending this unconventional restaurant marketing event, it is time to stop thinking about it and register.

When the program is full—most likely in the next day or so—we will start a waiting list in the event that one of the registrants has to cancel. That is possible, of course, but being in limbo on a waiting list will make it impossible to buy plane tickets or make plans until the last minute ... and you know how the airlines penalize you for last-minute purchases. Better to get online now and snag one or more of those last spots while you can. Click on Birthday Bash.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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