As the recession continues, restaurant owners need to find new revenue streams. One of the best ways of doing this is to expand your customer base. Here are some simple ideas that you can implement to increase your customer base and as a result your profits.
Make your menu affordable to everyone. Don’t leave anybody out
Lunch time is usually a time for customers to get in and out. You’ll always want specials on the board that are quick and easy; and cheap. You need to produce efficiently to get the customers in and out as quickly as possible. Dinner time is a more relaxed experience for customers. They will take their time when choosing menu options and they will look at a wider range of choices. It is always a great idea to offer options that range anywhere from $7.99 for a Spaghetti &Meatballs to a Heavy NY Strip for $18.99. You are, therefore, opening the menu to different customers and wallet sizes.
Advertisement on a Local Radio Station
If you can find a local radio station, usually it ends up being an AM station to advertise for you, it will significantly boost your sales. I did this with an AM station every Monday morning. The disc jockey would ask me questions about specials, my background, location, menu items, do we serve alcohol, etc. I was allotted a time slot for every week. I would often mention specials for the listeners and as soon as I hung up the phone, my phone lines would blow up before I was even open for business. The cost to me was around $170.00 a month. That’s a fraction of funds compared to advertisements in local newspapers or magazines. I had drones of people coming in to meet me that heard me on the radio.
Lucky Rock Bags
Take a box of sandwich bags, put a river rock in the bag to weigh it down, and include your menu, a coupon, upcoming specials, and locations. You throw these out on people driveways. The typical reaction when people call is that they received a bag in their driveway and this was the first time they were trying the restaurant or heard of you. Unfortunately, you will have a choice few that will be upset that the bag that actually landed in their driveway was purposively thrown in a bush or on their perfectly manicured lawn. I usually shrug these people off since they have never worked a day in their life in a restaurant. After all, we have free speech and this is a way for you to get your name out. That’s all I tell them.
Participate in Food Competitions to increase customer base
I have participated in these for a couple of years now and the feedback you get is incredible. There are hundreds of people that are walking around trying local fare. You can meet and greet the locals, tell them about yourself, and hand out menus. It’s also a great way for potential customers to sample your items before they visit your location.
Write a blog to gain customers
There are so many resources available on the web for you to write about your restaurant. Most of the time these websites are free and they will get the word out about specials you’re running, location, menu items, and other pertinent information about your particular restaurant. Some of the best websites for blogging on restaurants is chowhound, cooks, and pizza.com.
Have a Newspaper write an Article
An article about your restaurant is a great source of free advertising for your restaurant and can have a real impact on your business. A restaurateur that I know had one of the most popular newspapers from his area do an article about his restaurant in January 2007. They interviewed some of his best customers and asked them to put their two cents in. They took a picture of him cooking in his chef jacket. The article described his life as a chef, his background, and his favorite items to cook. He still busy 6 months after the article came out. This was due to the fact that the article had attracted new customers to his restaurant that ended up becoming regular customers of his. People were even traveling from 2 hours away to visit his restaurant.
Make a club and Email List
For example, you could form a pizza of the month club. Then twice a month you would provide the customers with an XLarge specialty pizza, 6 garlic rolls, 2 desserts, 2 salads, and one appetizer for $39.95. It’s your club, so you can do what you want to. Be creative. You can create an email list within this club to let your customer base know what the specialty pizza of the month is going to be or upcoming events.
Wine Tastings
Depending on your clientele, this is an extremely lucrative way to have other streams of income coming in. This is, of course, is dependent on if you have a Beer and Wine License. You can combine your food with the type of wine the wine guy has brought for tasting.
Cooking Classes
Provide classes to your customers each week about a particular aspect of cooking, a technique, a type of cuisine, etc. This can be worked around your restaurant hours. This is a great way to develop relationships with your customers.
Catering
This is a lot work and often times you need a lot of employees to help. You need a form of transportation that will safely transport the food without diminishing the quality. This requires planning and knowledge. For example, you need to know the portions sizes for a certain amount of people and have to remember to take every item you need for service with you. Catering can be a great source of new revenue, whether it be peparing food for private parties (weddings) or delivering lunch for local businesses.
Some of the ideas in this post come from an article by Lauren Axelrod, published in Business on August 2, 2008. To read the original article, click here.
Showing posts with label Guerilla Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guerilla Marketing. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
One-Night-Only Eateries and Reach Out to Community Groups
One-Night-Only Eateries
Restaurateurs are getting creative with their new ventures. As a way of experimenting with new businesses despite the economic downturn, share-space-restaurants that are only open one or two nights a week are becoming the newest craze. These new restaurants are sharing the kitchens of already established restaurants during their off hours and off days.
Even Rachael Ray is getting in on the trend with her new Cafe Una Notte, which uses the kitchen of New York's Barbuto.
We have been seeing some retail stores recently buying store front space in short time segments (everything from one day to three months), but now it seems the restaurant industry is catching on to the idea.
This is a part of the greater "Carpe Diem" trend we are seeing today. People are sick of waiting for thing to turn around economically and thus are finding ingenious ways of starting their new ventures today.
This may not be something you want to try, but let it inspire you to think outside the box.
Reach Out to Community Groups
Consider inviting a book group to have their meeting at your restaurant or hosting a networking event for a community organization, like the chamber of commerce. Many organizations have monthly events for their members, so why not contact them and see if they need a location for any of their upcoming meetings or might want to have the event catered by your restaurant.
Don't be afraid to initiate contact with these groups and organizations. It's worth it to offer them a small discount on catering an event for them, or on any orders placed by members when they meet at your restaurant. You might just gain some new customers and a whole lot of positive word of mouth advertising.
Restaurateurs are getting creative with their new ventures. As a way of experimenting with new businesses despite the economic downturn, share-space-restaurants that are only open one or two nights a week are becoming the newest craze. These new restaurants are sharing the kitchens of already established restaurants during their off hours and off days.
Even Rachael Ray is getting in on the trend with her new Cafe Una Notte, which uses the kitchen of New York's Barbuto.
We have been seeing some retail stores recently buying store front space in short time segments (everything from one day to three months), but now it seems the restaurant industry is catching on to the idea.
This is a part of the greater "Carpe Diem" trend we are seeing today. People are sick of waiting for thing to turn around economically and thus are finding ingenious ways of starting their new ventures today.
This may not be something you want to try, but let it inspire you to think outside the box.
Reach Out to Community Groups
Consider inviting a book group to have their meeting at your restaurant or hosting a networking event for a community organization, like the chamber of commerce. Many organizations have monthly events for their members, so why not contact them and see if they need a location for any of their upcoming meetings or might want to have the event catered by your restaurant.
Don't be afraid to initiate contact with these groups and organizations. It's worth it to offer them a small discount on catering an event for them, or on any orders placed by members when they meet at your restaurant. You might just gain some new customers and a whole lot of positive word of mouth advertising.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Using Bribes ("Free Gifts") to Boost Your Profits
Here's an excerpt from an article titled "Guerilla Bribes" by Jay Conrad Levinson, the creator of Guerilla Marketing. Every entrepreneur, especially small business oweners, can benefit from doing a little Guerilla Marketing. This article discusses how effective bribes can be at generating leads, increasing name awareness, thanking customers, boosting store traffic, and the amazing results they have with every demographic.
"The polite phrases for bribes are "advertising specialties" or "free gifts." Whatever term you use, know that bribes work on all demographic groups. Bribes do a bang-up job of empowering your marketing. Unlike premiums, which may require a purchase, bribes are given for free and offered for free. Their primary purposes are to generate leads, increase name awareness, make friends, thank customers, boost store traffic, introduce new things, motivate people to act, and create an unconscious obligation to do business with you.
During the nineties, the most popular bribes in the United States have been T-shirts and baseball caps, jackets, headbands, writing instruments, desk and office accessories, scratchpads, and glassware and ceramics. Mousepads and screensavers are moving up fast. So is free information.
Marketing people invest over $15 billion on bribes each year. Reasons: they fit almost any marketing budget; they complement other media; they can be directed to selected audiences; people jump through hoops to get them for free. About the only disadvantage is the teeny-tiny space available to say anything to the recipient. There's usually room for your name, possibly your theme line and logo, but that's it.
So, do these bribes work? Well, 40% of people can remember the name of the advertiser as long as six months after receiving the free gift. And 31% use the gift at least one year after receiving it. That's not even counting the high response. And the goodwill.Probably the most popular of the old-time bribes were calendars. Today, with the average household having four calendars, you might be smart to consider them again.
A recent study proved that free gifts not only increased mail response, but also raised the dollar purchase per sale a whooping 321%. Naturally, they generate positive feeling about you. And those feelings often lead, not only to sales, but also to closer relationships. Guerrillas are always trying to increase the number of their close business relationships.
Once you've made the decision to try a bribe, ask these five questions: 1. How many people do I want to reach? 2. How much money do I have to spend? 3. What message do I want to print? 4. What gift will be most useful to my prospects? 5. Is this a unique and desirable gift? Would I want it?
If you can show a handsome color photo of the enticement while offering it for free, you're about to be hooked by this sorta sleazy, but very human method of increasing responses, traffic, leads and profits.
Every guerrilla knows that the most powerful word in the language of marketing is "free." They've learned that it correlates directly with the most powerful goal of marketing a business -- profits."
To read the original article, click here.
This is one of the many reasons why TaDa came up with our Incentive Certificate Program which allows our members print an unlimited number of certificates for complimentary vacations that they can use to market their business.
"The polite phrases for bribes are "advertising specialties" or "free gifts." Whatever term you use, know that bribes work on all demographic groups. Bribes do a bang-up job of empowering your marketing. Unlike premiums, which may require a purchase, bribes are given for free and offered for free. Their primary purposes are to generate leads, increase name awareness, make friends, thank customers, boost store traffic, introduce new things, motivate people to act, and create an unconscious obligation to do business with you.
During the nineties, the most popular bribes in the United States have been T-shirts and baseball caps, jackets, headbands, writing instruments, desk and office accessories, scratchpads, and glassware and ceramics. Mousepads and screensavers are moving up fast. So is free information.
Marketing people invest over $15 billion on bribes each year. Reasons: they fit almost any marketing budget; they complement other media; they can be directed to selected audiences; people jump through hoops to get them for free. About the only disadvantage is the teeny-tiny space available to say anything to the recipient. There's usually room for your name, possibly your theme line and logo, but that's it.
So, do these bribes work? Well, 40% of people can remember the name of the advertiser as long as six months after receiving the free gift. And 31% use the gift at least one year after receiving it. That's not even counting the high response. And the goodwill.Probably the most popular of the old-time bribes were calendars. Today, with the average household having four calendars, you might be smart to consider them again.
A recent study proved that free gifts not only increased mail response, but also raised the dollar purchase per sale a whooping 321%. Naturally, they generate positive feeling about you. And those feelings often lead, not only to sales, but also to closer relationships. Guerrillas are always trying to increase the number of their close business relationships.
Once you've made the decision to try a bribe, ask these five questions: 1. How many people do I want to reach? 2. How much money do I have to spend? 3. What message do I want to print? 4. What gift will be most useful to my prospects? 5. Is this a unique and desirable gift? Would I want it?
If you can show a handsome color photo of the enticement while offering it for free, you're about to be hooked by this sorta sleazy, but very human method of increasing responses, traffic, leads and profits.
Every guerrilla knows that the most powerful word in the language of marketing is "free." They've learned that it correlates directly with the most powerful goal of marketing a business -- profits."
To read the original article, click here.
This is one of the many reasons why TaDa came up with our Incentive Certificate Program which allows our members print an unlimited number of certificates for complimentary vacations that they can use to market their business.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Gorilla vs Guerilla - How Independent Restaurants Can Use Guerilla Marketing Tactics To Defeat The Chains (Part 2 of 2)
Three principles provide an advantage to independents:
Ambience
Menu
Staff
The ambience is obviously the most prevalent factor in defining a unique capacity for independent operators. Ask yourself what options you have in making your environment a warm and welcome experience. This doesn’t mean you need to invest in remodeling, it means adjusting what you have on hand. Light, air quality, condition of the fixtures, and general cleanliness will all affect the “ambience factors” an independent operator can provide. It should be regular maintenance to change light-bulbs, dust fixtures, and keep the house clean. However, the slight alterations an independent operator can make is a tactic to his disposal.
But it goes further. It’s no secret that department stores play music that is conducive to consumer spending. You won’t hear tired, worn out love songs being played at K-Mart. Rather, they’ve adapted to the listening habits of their customers. Restaurants do this, too. Smart operators will always play music that fits their environment or the customers listening habits. Independents can defy corporate radio in their establishments and can use this to their advantage. Using your music selection can be an asset, particularly during holidays.
Time of day or “daypart” analysis can benefit an independent restaurant guerrilla, as well. For instance, if you have a nice view of a sunset or waterfront property, the guerrilla can have the advantage every time. But other factors such as parking, entranceways, and other landscape fixtures can also benefit the guerrilla. Though these traits are never overlooked by chains, independents can use this to their advantage and modify them, too.
Traffic volume is a factor that a guerrilla should consider as either good or bad, and here’s why: If an independent is located in a high volume traffic area, is it something that works to their benefit during peak traffic hours? How accessible are their parking areas? Is their outdoor promotion logical or attractive? These are the first and obvious concerns you should ask when benefiting from high volume traffic areas. If your dinner rush hour is between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm, guerrillas should always seek to maximize their potential by implementing ideas that bring in customers during non-peak hours.
A report released by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research on April 30, 2004 confirms this position by indicating that 75 percent of respondents said they would in fact dine during off peak hours if there was an incentive to do so. This is important to remember because the independent restaurant guerrilla can ease the waiting time for tables during peak hours, and increase sales and customer satisfaction simultaneously by inserting off peak hour incentives for their customers.
But it goes both ways. The chains can throw their weight in areas that can dramatically sway attention to the public. Most notably in the jingles created for menu items such as “Chili’s Baby Back Ribs,” or the McDonald’s Big Mac songs. Did this lead to sales? You bet it did! While guerrillas are left humming these songs as they go to work, Chili’s and McDonald’s succeeded in grabbing your attention. By viewing these ads carefully, you’ll see that they are designed to garner demand at certain times of day.
It all relates to the menu. Because the menu is the most adjusted and most often victimized element for an independent operator, putting the menu under the blade before the microscope is a fatal error, and should be avoided. Rather, consider how some simple tweaking on your menu would be more rational.
Just because the chain down the road specializes in ribs, doesn’t mean you need ribs on your menu. Why not use a chop instead? The point is this: instead of improvising a popular chain menu item, create a similar item of the same product (such as pork in this case) that the chain won’t offer. One case that comes to mind is how an independent restaurant guerrilla offered a one pound stuffed pork chop, where the nearest chain was known for their ribs. Chains are slow to make extraordinary menu adjustments, which is an advantage that independent guerrillas should always benefit from.
Independent restaurant operators also have the flexibility for menu development that chains cannot offer. For instance, the low-carb diet is extremely popular right now. Providing a daily or temporary low-carb selection for your guests will keep them coming back. Some independent operators have adopted a low-carb menu for their guests, but going this far is not always an option for others. Providing distinctive menu items for low-carb guests, or other trendy dieters such as vegetarians, will give you market share that chains are not ordinarily known for.
Chains are often in the position of gaining consumer trust while providing trendy and appealing food items simultaneously. Chains invest heavily in consumer demand, product research and development, and pricing structures that coincide with consumer interests. Obviously, the independent restaurant guerrilla does not have the resources or capacity for the R & D the major chains can utilize, so if you can’t beat the research, use it instead. For instance, if a chain has a martini drink list that has become their hallmark, why not adopt a house martini or more to satisfy consumer interest. This doesn’t mean duplicating the specialties of the chain, it means confronting that hallmark and profiting from it the same way the chain does. Through careful training and input from customers or your staff, an independent restaurant guerrilla can benefit from the same research and product development that chains invest in.
Which poses this question: Can the independent restaurant guerilla convey this tactic easily through their staffs?
The staff to an independent restaurant guerrilla is a primary concern to the nature of their establishment. While the competition for skilled, experienced and honed labor is fierce and competitive, both sides seek to obtain the best employees to appease the customers’ experience. Picking off key employees from one restaurant to another, between the independents and chains is not uncommon. There are three parts to any restaurant staff:
Front of the House (FOH)
Back of the House (BOH)
Management
Your front of the house (FOH) should always be treated as professional sales people. Insuring that they are in tune with your menu, knowing the dishes and their presentations adds big sales. Having attractive daily specials to offer is symbolic of the guerrilla establishments. There has always been a “myth” that guerrilla establishments offer nightly dinner specials because they have to get rid of old or leftover food product. But that is myth. Daily or nightly dinner specials work to the benefit of the guerrilla because it gives them a chance to market new dinner items and show their flexibility and talent.
But what good is a nightly dinner special if your waitstaff can’t sell it? There’s a certain and real bond that should exist between the menu and nightly dinner specials. Going wildly out of tune to meet a market niche is a dangerous proposition, and should be reserved for holidays or special events. Creative training techniques can help your waitstaff maximize their potential while selling your menu to customers. The better they understand your menu, the greater your sales.
Your back of the house (BOH) is the most essential organ to an independent restaurant guerrilla. The kitchen is where it all begins. Chains have been successful in developing fail proof mechanisms to control the consistency of food products. Large commissaries provide large quantities of food and distribute it out to the units. Its mechanization is so large that when McDonald’s recently changed their chicken nuggets from dark meat to white meat, the entire chicken market in the United States felt the change. Independent restaurant guerrillas are then forced to absorb the price structures that can be set by chains. If a chain as large as McDonald’s (with 30,000 units) makes a change to their menu, the entire foodservice industry can feel the impact of that demand.
How is your back of the house measuring up to standards? Are there proper training techniques in place? Are food safety and handling techniques in place? Is turnover affecting your food quality? Are they satisfied with their jobs? These are things that cannot be overlooked or ignored, and can often vibrate the morale of the entire house. Insuring that your BOH can produce quality in times of peak business hours is highly important to independent restaurant guerrillas. Chains elude this issue by inserting bells, whistles, and buzzers to remind the kitchen staff that food is ready. Independent restaurant guerrillas more often rely on the experience and talent of the BOH to produce without such “reminders.” Training becomes the safety net toward consistency for independent restaurant guerrillas, and must always be viewed as the most powerful weapon in the guerillas' arsenal.
Management is the binding factor for an independent restaurant guerrilla. It is the trifocal responsibility of management to bring the BOH, FOH and the customer together. There is no such thing as a natural ability to bind these three together, creating a daily challenge to find comfort and happiness with all three. The most effective managers understand their customer base, their community, their staff and their operations. If any of these components are missing, one can expect weaknesses in the overall performance of their establishment. However, finding this composition is not always an easy chore for either a chain or an independent. Having management that can articulate, analyze and be responsive to both the needs of the establishment and customer simultaneously is pivotal to any business.
What’s the distinction between the independent restaurant manager and the chain manager? As Ron Yudd, author of “Points of Profit Leadership,” indicates, it’s this: “The company or shop is often driven by the operations manual - the product looks like this, the food cost should be this, the delivery time must be less than this and service to the guest sounds like this - and on it goes.” For independent restaurant guerrillas its nothing like this, rather they acclimate to the characteristics of their environment, establishment, location, customer base, staff and menu. Guerrilla managers adopt these traits on a case-by-case basis, making decisions based on the nature of the issue at hand. Because nepotism is a strong peculiarity among guerrillas, finding continuity in the decision making process continues to be an issue for independent restaurant guerrillas.
Finally, independent restaurant guerrillas should always seek to benefit from catering or banquet functions. This is the biggest advantage guerrillas have over chains! Michael Attias, founder of The Results Group, says that “catering and banquets can add up to 30 percent to the bottom line.” Why not look at it this way: it’s an additional 30 percent advantage independents have over the chains. With rare exception, chains typically do not offer these services, which leaves the market wide open for guerrillas.
Functions (as we call them in the industry), allow independent restaurant guerrillas to serve large numbers of people and allow an opportunity to flaunt the products and services that they offer. Everything from hog roasts to lobster boils, and on down to the basic birthday party, the independent restaurant guerrilla is able to accommodate the needs of large groups of people, whereas the chains, (if they do accommodate groups of people), are often left without the capacity to handle large functions, and typically are not designed to accommodate large functions.
In summary, it’s important to remember that independent restaurant guerrillas (as we have defined them here) have unique capabilities that distinctly separate them from corporate chains. Finding those capabilities and capitalizing on them will enhance the survival rates of independent restaurant operators. Utilizing these characteristics and modifying them in creative and unique ways will bring customers to the door, dollars to the till, and satisfaction to your employees. You don’t have to do as the Romans do to compete, rather let the Romans do as you do to identify their audience. Keeping your product quality high, your staff well-trained and knowledgeable of your menu, and keeping your service methods high will cause the chains to fight for every inch of the market share.
This article was written by Eric Hahn, who has an extensive background in operations. A Phi Alpha Theta graduate of Indiana University, Hahn is also a former congressional lobbyist researcher with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Washington,D.C.
(for the whole article click here)
Ambience
Menu
Staff
The ambience is obviously the most prevalent factor in defining a unique capacity for independent operators. Ask yourself what options you have in making your environment a warm and welcome experience. This doesn’t mean you need to invest in remodeling, it means adjusting what you have on hand. Light, air quality, condition of the fixtures, and general cleanliness will all affect the “ambience factors” an independent operator can provide. It should be regular maintenance to change light-bulbs, dust fixtures, and keep the house clean. However, the slight alterations an independent operator can make is a tactic to his disposal.
But it goes further. It’s no secret that department stores play music that is conducive to consumer spending. You won’t hear tired, worn out love songs being played at K-Mart. Rather, they’ve adapted to the listening habits of their customers. Restaurants do this, too. Smart operators will always play music that fits their environment or the customers listening habits. Independents can defy corporate radio in their establishments and can use this to their advantage. Using your music selection can be an asset, particularly during holidays.
Time of day or “daypart” analysis can benefit an independent restaurant guerrilla, as well. For instance, if you have a nice view of a sunset or waterfront property, the guerrilla can have the advantage every time. But other factors such as parking, entranceways, and other landscape fixtures can also benefit the guerrilla. Though these traits are never overlooked by chains, independents can use this to their advantage and modify them, too.
Traffic volume is a factor that a guerrilla should consider as either good or bad, and here’s why: If an independent is located in a high volume traffic area, is it something that works to their benefit during peak traffic hours? How accessible are their parking areas? Is their outdoor promotion logical or attractive? These are the first and obvious concerns you should ask when benefiting from high volume traffic areas. If your dinner rush hour is between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm, guerrillas should always seek to maximize their potential by implementing ideas that bring in customers during non-peak hours.
A report released by Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research on April 30, 2004 confirms this position by indicating that 75 percent of respondents said they would in fact dine during off peak hours if there was an incentive to do so. This is important to remember because the independent restaurant guerrilla can ease the waiting time for tables during peak hours, and increase sales and customer satisfaction simultaneously by inserting off peak hour incentives for their customers.
But it goes both ways. The chains can throw their weight in areas that can dramatically sway attention to the public. Most notably in the jingles created for menu items such as “Chili’s Baby Back Ribs,” or the McDonald’s Big Mac songs. Did this lead to sales? You bet it did! While guerrillas are left humming these songs as they go to work, Chili’s and McDonald’s succeeded in grabbing your attention. By viewing these ads carefully, you’ll see that they are designed to garner demand at certain times of day.
It all relates to the menu. Because the menu is the most adjusted and most often victimized element for an independent operator, putting the menu under the blade before the microscope is a fatal error, and should be avoided. Rather, consider how some simple tweaking on your menu would be more rational.
Just because the chain down the road specializes in ribs, doesn’t mean you need ribs on your menu. Why not use a chop instead? The point is this: instead of improvising a popular chain menu item, create a similar item of the same product (such as pork in this case) that the chain won’t offer. One case that comes to mind is how an independent restaurant guerrilla offered a one pound stuffed pork chop, where the nearest chain was known for their ribs. Chains are slow to make extraordinary menu adjustments, which is an advantage that independent guerrillas should always benefit from.
Independent restaurant operators also have the flexibility for menu development that chains cannot offer. For instance, the low-carb diet is extremely popular right now. Providing a daily or temporary low-carb selection for your guests will keep them coming back. Some independent operators have adopted a low-carb menu for their guests, but going this far is not always an option for others. Providing distinctive menu items for low-carb guests, or other trendy dieters such as vegetarians, will give you market share that chains are not ordinarily known for.
Chains are often in the position of gaining consumer trust while providing trendy and appealing food items simultaneously. Chains invest heavily in consumer demand, product research and development, and pricing structures that coincide with consumer interests. Obviously, the independent restaurant guerrilla does not have the resources or capacity for the R & D the major chains can utilize, so if you can’t beat the research, use it instead. For instance, if a chain has a martini drink list that has become their hallmark, why not adopt a house martini or more to satisfy consumer interest. This doesn’t mean duplicating the specialties of the chain, it means confronting that hallmark and profiting from it the same way the chain does. Through careful training and input from customers or your staff, an independent restaurant guerrilla can benefit from the same research and product development that chains invest in.
Which poses this question: Can the independent restaurant guerilla convey this tactic easily through their staffs?
The staff to an independent restaurant guerrilla is a primary concern to the nature of their establishment. While the competition for skilled, experienced and honed labor is fierce and competitive, both sides seek to obtain the best employees to appease the customers’ experience. Picking off key employees from one restaurant to another, between the independents and chains is not uncommon. There are three parts to any restaurant staff:
Front of the House (FOH)
Back of the House (BOH)
Management
Your front of the house (FOH) should always be treated as professional sales people. Insuring that they are in tune with your menu, knowing the dishes and their presentations adds big sales. Having attractive daily specials to offer is symbolic of the guerrilla establishments. There has always been a “myth” that guerrilla establishments offer nightly dinner specials because they have to get rid of old or leftover food product. But that is myth. Daily or nightly dinner specials work to the benefit of the guerrilla because it gives them a chance to market new dinner items and show their flexibility and talent.
But what good is a nightly dinner special if your waitstaff can’t sell it? There’s a certain and real bond that should exist between the menu and nightly dinner specials. Going wildly out of tune to meet a market niche is a dangerous proposition, and should be reserved for holidays or special events. Creative training techniques can help your waitstaff maximize their potential while selling your menu to customers. The better they understand your menu, the greater your sales.
Your back of the house (BOH) is the most essential organ to an independent restaurant guerrilla. The kitchen is where it all begins. Chains have been successful in developing fail proof mechanisms to control the consistency of food products. Large commissaries provide large quantities of food and distribute it out to the units. Its mechanization is so large that when McDonald’s recently changed their chicken nuggets from dark meat to white meat, the entire chicken market in the United States felt the change. Independent restaurant guerrillas are then forced to absorb the price structures that can be set by chains. If a chain as large as McDonald’s (with 30,000 units) makes a change to their menu, the entire foodservice industry can feel the impact of that demand.
How is your back of the house measuring up to standards? Are there proper training techniques in place? Are food safety and handling techniques in place? Is turnover affecting your food quality? Are they satisfied with their jobs? These are things that cannot be overlooked or ignored, and can often vibrate the morale of the entire house. Insuring that your BOH can produce quality in times of peak business hours is highly important to independent restaurant guerrillas. Chains elude this issue by inserting bells, whistles, and buzzers to remind the kitchen staff that food is ready. Independent restaurant guerrillas more often rely on the experience and talent of the BOH to produce without such “reminders.” Training becomes the safety net toward consistency for independent restaurant guerrillas, and must always be viewed as the most powerful weapon in the guerillas' arsenal.
Management is the binding factor for an independent restaurant guerrilla. It is the trifocal responsibility of management to bring the BOH, FOH and the customer together. There is no such thing as a natural ability to bind these three together, creating a daily challenge to find comfort and happiness with all three. The most effective managers understand their customer base, their community, their staff and their operations. If any of these components are missing, one can expect weaknesses in the overall performance of their establishment. However, finding this composition is not always an easy chore for either a chain or an independent. Having management that can articulate, analyze and be responsive to both the needs of the establishment and customer simultaneously is pivotal to any business.
What’s the distinction between the independent restaurant manager and the chain manager? As Ron Yudd, author of “Points of Profit Leadership,” indicates, it’s this: “The company or shop is often driven by the operations manual - the product looks like this, the food cost should be this, the delivery time must be less than this and service to the guest sounds like this - and on it goes.” For independent restaurant guerrillas its nothing like this, rather they acclimate to the characteristics of their environment, establishment, location, customer base, staff and menu. Guerrilla managers adopt these traits on a case-by-case basis, making decisions based on the nature of the issue at hand. Because nepotism is a strong peculiarity among guerrillas, finding continuity in the decision making process continues to be an issue for independent restaurant guerrillas.
Finally, independent restaurant guerrillas should always seek to benefit from catering or banquet functions. This is the biggest advantage guerrillas have over chains! Michael Attias, founder of The Results Group, says that “catering and banquets can add up to 30 percent to the bottom line.” Why not look at it this way: it’s an additional 30 percent advantage independents have over the chains. With rare exception, chains typically do not offer these services, which leaves the market wide open for guerrillas.
Functions (as we call them in the industry), allow independent restaurant guerrillas to serve large numbers of people and allow an opportunity to flaunt the products and services that they offer. Everything from hog roasts to lobster boils, and on down to the basic birthday party, the independent restaurant guerrilla is able to accommodate the needs of large groups of people, whereas the chains, (if they do accommodate groups of people), are often left without the capacity to handle large functions, and typically are not designed to accommodate large functions.
In summary, it’s important to remember that independent restaurant guerrillas (as we have defined them here) have unique capabilities that distinctly separate them from corporate chains. Finding those capabilities and capitalizing on them will enhance the survival rates of independent restaurant operators. Utilizing these characteristics and modifying them in creative and unique ways will bring customers to the door, dollars to the till, and satisfaction to your employees. You don’t have to do as the Romans do to compete, rather let the Romans do as you do to identify their audience. Keeping your product quality high, your staff well-trained and knowledgeable of your menu, and keeping your service methods high will cause the chains to fight for every inch of the market share.
This article was written by Eric Hahn, who has an extensive background in operations. A Phi Alpha Theta graduate of Indiana University, Hahn is also a former congressional lobbyist researcher with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Washington,D.C.
(for the whole article click here)
Gorilla vs Guerilla - How Independent Restaurants Can Use Guerilla Marketing Tactics to Defeat The Chains ( Part 1 of 2)
Independent restaurant operators represent the American Dream to its finest core. The individual distinction and character the independent restaurant operator brings to the American consumer, should never be outwit by the chains that daunt them. In the 1970’s the independent restaurant held a commanding 85% of the market share. During the 1980’s, chains perfected their strategies through their own survival, and mastered their ability to identify with consumer demand. Today, chains now hold 88% of the market share, leaving independents scrambling to find their voice in the industry.
In times like these, independent restaurant operators are finding themselves tough squeezed by the ever-growing restaurant chains. In some areas of the country, independents have gone out of business faster than the national failure rate, because chains are capturing the majority of the market share. While chains measure consumer demand in terms of macro-economics based on large audiences, independents adopt their strategies based on local or regional demand. When independents let their guard down, they pay for it!
Enter the independent restaurant guerrilla. Jay Conrad Levinson, author of "Guerrilla Marketing" defines a guerrilla as “one who adopts frugality and thrift.” In this essay, we apply this term to the independent restaurant operator and how he adopts “guerrilla” techniques into his everyday working logic. This essay isn’t about pointing out ideas of “try this or try that,” rather it centers its attention on the overall working schematics of what an independent restaurant operator is, and how they can embrace their individuality to their advantage.
Traditionally, chains were not considered a major threat to independent restaurant operators because they were always considered to be fast food. Everyone knew exactly what they were going to eat before they got to the restaurant, and had a good idea of what they were going to spend. The drive-thru windows became symbolic landmarks that people lined up for (which is still the case), but radically different. Chains are now very prevalent in the fast-casual market, and continue to grow into the middle price range of demographics. Restaurant “rows” are confining metro diners in many parts of the country, causing chains to cannibalize their own markets to gain market presence.
It all comes down to money. When chains have large national advertising campaigns, buying power with suppliers, and celebrity or name brand recognition to solidify their position in any given market, the independent operator is always at a disadvantage to compete. The key is finding what advantages the independent restaurant operator has over the chains, and how well they capitalize on the unique characteristics they can offer. In many cases, independent restaurant guerrillas are generally smaller and can embrace their customers’ experience much more personally than chains. Yet, nothing annoys an independent restaurant guerrilla more than seeing a line of customers waiting outside to hear their name called over a loudspeaker. The independent restaurant guerrilla knows that these people are not typically interested in great food, ambience, or service; they’re in line because they already know what to expect and know the consistency. Realistically, they’re in line because they saw the menu or price from a creative television ad. But that’s an entirely different subject, so let’s not go there.
The independent restaurant guerrilla is left with little to compromise. They must turn to what instinctively draws them to the business, define the unique characteristics, and set a new competitive agenda. Independent restaurants can easily modify their prices and standards to meet local demand, which works in their favor. While chains tend to provide “manufactured” products (both quality and presentation), they are much less flexible for adjusting to local consumer demand. It’s the difference between the cookie-cutter. One uses it, the other doesn’t.
It’s widely viewed that if an independent operator has made it past the five-year mark in a community, his chances of survival (even with chains as primary competition) are much better. In spite of this, the independent operator is usually forced into changing his patterns not just because of the fierce competition, but also for the sake of retaining his staff and his customer base. In the long run it can weigh the balance of consistency and making money, which is not a position most independent operators would ever want to be in. This motivates the independent operator in different ways:
First, it causes the independent operator to be more aware of their customer base. Learning and listening to customer demand and meeting those demands, is something that the independent restaurant operator has at his disposal.
Second, it causes the independent operator to coordinate with his staff unique incentives to enhance the customer’s experience. Adjusting the mechanics of your front and back of the house routines can be a huge advantage over chains.
Lastly, it causes the independent operator to review his fixed and variable operating costs which previously may not have been considered.
Resourceful operators fine tune their unique capabilities, and use that as their first line of defense against chains. At times, it can mean an entire overhaul of the operation in order to save it. Chains take a little bit from everyone, (which naturally is a part of our free market system), and it’s important to remember that chains will provide healthy and provocative competition that can bring in dollars for independents. It’s the difference between a limited scope and a wide scope, which puts the independent at an advantage.
--Stay tuned for Part 2 of 2 tomorrow (or you can read the whole article by Eric Hahn here)
In times like these, independent restaurant operators are finding themselves tough squeezed by the ever-growing restaurant chains. In some areas of the country, independents have gone out of business faster than the national failure rate, because chains are capturing the majority of the market share. While chains measure consumer demand in terms of macro-economics based on large audiences, independents adopt their strategies based on local or regional demand. When independents let their guard down, they pay for it!
Enter the independent restaurant guerrilla. Jay Conrad Levinson, author of "Guerrilla Marketing" defines a guerrilla as “one who adopts frugality and thrift.” In this essay, we apply this term to the independent restaurant operator and how he adopts “guerrilla” techniques into his everyday working logic. This essay isn’t about pointing out ideas of “try this or try that,” rather it centers its attention on the overall working schematics of what an independent restaurant operator is, and how they can embrace their individuality to their advantage.
Traditionally, chains were not considered a major threat to independent restaurant operators because they were always considered to be fast food. Everyone knew exactly what they were going to eat before they got to the restaurant, and had a good idea of what they were going to spend. The drive-thru windows became symbolic landmarks that people lined up for (which is still the case), but radically different. Chains are now very prevalent in the fast-casual market, and continue to grow into the middle price range of demographics. Restaurant “rows” are confining metro diners in many parts of the country, causing chains to cannibalize their own markets to gain market presence.
It all comes down to money. When chains have large national advertising campaigns, buying power with suppliers, and celebrity or name brand recognition to solidify their position in any given market, the independent operator is always at a disadvantage to compete. The key is finding what advantages the independent restaurant operator has over the chains, and how well they capitalize on the unique characteristics they can offer. In many cases, independent restaurant guerrillas are generally smaller and can embrace their customers’ experience much more personally than chains. Yet, nothing annoys an independent restaurant guerrilla more than seeing a line of customers waiting outside to hear their name called over a loudspeaker. The independent restaurant guerrilla knows that these people are not typically interested in great food, ambience, or service; they’re in line because they already know what to expect and know the consistency. Realistically, they’re in line because they saw the menu or price from a creative television ad. But that’s an entirely different subject, so let’s not go there.
The independent restaurant guerrilla is left with little to compromise. They must turn to what instinctively draws them to the business, define the unique characteristics, and set a new competitive agenda. Independent restaurants can easily modify their prices and standards to meet local demand, which works in their favor. While chains tend to provide “manufactured” products (both quality and presentation), they are much less flexible for adjusting to local consumer demand. It’s the difference between the cookie-cutter. One uses it, the other doesn’t.
It’s widely viewed that if an independent operator has made it past the five-year mark in a community, his chances of survival (even with chains as primary competition) are much better. In spite of this, the independent operator is usually forced into changing his patterns not just because of the fierce competition, but also for the sake of retaining his staff and his customer base. In the long run it can weigh the balance of consistency and making money, which is not a position most independent operators would ever want to be in. This motivates the independent operator in different ways:
First, it causes the independent operator to be more aware of their customer base. Learning and listening to customer demand and meeting those demands, is something that the independent restaurant operator has at his disposal.
Second, it causes the independent operator to coordinate with his staff unique incentives to enhance the customer’s experience. Adjusting the mechanics of your front and back of the house routines can be a huge advantage over chains.
Lastly, it causes the independent operator to review his fixed and variable operating costs which previously may not have been considered.
Resourceful operators fine tune their unique capabilities, and use that as their first line of defense against chains. At times, it can mean an entire overhaul of the operation in order to save it. Chains take a little bit from everyone, (which naturally is a part of our free market system), and it’s important to remember that chains will provide healthy and provocative competition that can bring in dollars for independents. It’s the difference between a limited scope and a wide scope, which puts the independent at an advantage.
--Stay tuned for Part 2 of 2 tomorrow (or you can read the whole article by Eric Hahn here)
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