Awesome Restaurant Marketing Ideas!

Thousands of potential new customers are out there, hungry for a delicious meal, and here you are, a restaurant owner, hungry for more customers. So, what gives? Why aren’t you packed with people who want to sample your soup of the day or dessert of the week? Well, for starters, you’ll want to take a look at your marketing efforts to begin analyzing how and why you’re falling short of the mark.

Before Thanksgiving, thedailymeal.com asked their readers to vote for their favorite pizza chain, out of a list of 100 throughout the country.  From the smaller guys like Jet’s Pizza and Hungry Howie’s to the big guns like Domino’s and Pizza Hut, just about every pizzeria that would consider itself a chain (even a few with less than 10 locations) made their way into the survey.

The infographic that predicts the future.  Over the course of the next 12+ months, the culture will continue to change and at the center is personalized computing.  

Restaurant marketing is absolutely the best, easiest and most rewarding all types of marketing. 

Even with the amount of time you spend working your restaurant, you have noticed that the smart phone has become convenience tool of choice.  With access to the Interent via the smartphone at super-speed with LTE, even the smaller screen and thumb management does not keep the smartphone (or iphone) from being the favorite entertainment and connection tool for people on the move.  

Restaurant district managers have a perpetual tug-of-war from all directions.  The role can be as rewarding as it can be a curse.  Restaurant managers are not typically in love with the idea of a floating boss who participates from a distance.  Companies can be known to be distrustful of district managers since they have so much freedom of choice.  Too much freedom corrupts.

This is for the independent restaurant owner who at one time broke away from the pack and staked a claim in the restaurant business.  Remembering a bit of the past on Independence Day may give a lift and inspire you along the journey.

Labor budgets is part of the daily conversation.  The restaurant employees are paid hourly and hope to "get more hours" while the management team is focused on beating the budget.  You are tired of talking about it and hearing about "cut labor".  In fact, many dwell on the labor budget to the point of needing therapy.  "Schedule cops" instead of leaders are developed.  To break new barriers and not only meet but beat labor budgets, old mindsets must be left behind to make room for better solutions. 

In at least four scenarios during my 30 year career, you would have called me a “Dead Man Walking”.  This was the direct result of 70+ hour weeks working in the restaurant business.  The restaurant business was not to blame, nor were my immediate supervisors; it was much more related to a mindset for creating success.

The reputation of your restaurant depends on training and on your leadership, which is directly influenced by your beliefs.  The widgets and tools online are only a means to reflect the best of your products and service.  In truth, what the restaurant team believes in becomes the foundation of a reputation.  The perfect slice served as if the the guest is royalty becomes a sharable experience.

This is a true story about an assistant manager who worked hard, followed directions well and aspired to be a restaurant manager.  She worked in my district under a general manager who had years of experience but lacked the typical “get up and go”.