Awesome Restaurant Marketing Ideas!

Simon Sinek's innovative views on business and leadership have earned him invitations to meet with an array of leaders and organizations, including Microsoft, Dell, SAP, Intel, Chanel, Members of the United States Congress, and the Ambassadors of Bahrain and Iraq.

A high impact restaurant marketing campaign must have the restaurant team not only cooperative but also enthusiastic.

If morale is low in your restaurant and if getting people to smile a rare occurrence, this garbage challenge may be just what you need.   The garbage can challenge was something I learned in the 70's.  I used it for the next 30 years with great success.  

Here is the garbage challenge:

If you are a dishwasher... and I am an assistant, manager, district manager or restaurant owner, you should hope to hear the following challenge:

"I am going to DUMP everything from your dish station garbage can onto the floor.  If I find any silverware in the garbage on the floor, you clean up the garbage off the floor.  If I don't find a single piece of silverware in the garbage, I will clean it up."

A restaurant marketing plan can easily fail due to inaction or resistance of the restaurant manager.  No alarm bells will ring and no flashing lights will tell you the restaurant manager may be a problem.  Visiting a restaurant during peak times will many times reflect success... or failure.

Excuses.  You hear them daily. Excuses can become a habit, an instant response or a "profound reason" as to why there is no time, no money or no understanding for how to do restaurant marketing.

Here is a prediction, one of two scenarios will occur:

• Next month restaurant sales will be up. There will be reasons.
• Next month restaurant sales will be down.  Excuses will be heard.

Both are a symptom of restaurant marketing activities. Both can be influenced.

A restaurant marketing strategy will consider opportunities for the short term while laying a foundation for long term growth. 

For example...

This true story should help you understand why the dishwashers in your restaurant do such a bad job. 

What daily & weekly non-negotiable tasks are included on a restaurant checklist?