Inside Hospitality is excited to partner with Tundra Specialties as our restaurant equipment vendor of choice. Tundra Specialties is a leading distributor of restaurant equipment, restaurant supplies, and equipment parts for the food service industry.

Tundra Specialties will a weekly guest blogger.  We are excited to be associated with and endorse the leading vendor in the restaurant equipment industry.

Visit Tundra Specialties by clicking here!

Check out the eTundra blog by clicking here!

We invite you to join us live for our first live radio show of 2011. An interactive discussion of the issues and topics that are most critical to your restaurant marketing success. Hosted by Gary Tripp of Inside Hospitality and Jeffrey Summers of RestaurantWorx.

Starting live at 2pm cst. Click here to join the conversation.

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

Scenario one:

Chuck greets you and says:  “Hi Mike!  I haven’t seen you for a while!  Where have you been? You won’t believe the new copy machines we have at the store!  They are twice as fast as last year’s model.  They come in four colors and since I know you, I can get you a special discount.”

Scenario two:

Chet greets you and says:  “Hi Mike!  It’s been a while.  How are you doing?  Are you going to be in the area next week?  Why don’t you drop in for lunch?  We have a new unbelievably delicious dessert.  In fact, when you stop in, let me know so I can buy you dessert?  I would not want you to leave without trying it.  Will you come and visit me?”

It you were to listen to either of the conversations, the first scenario sounds like a quick pitch and the second sounds like an invitation to experience pleasure.  Watch the face of someone who is having a food experience described to them in advance.  (Especially when they are hungry.)

Restaurant marketing is not only enjoyable; it is something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week.  As the millions are reminded to be thankful, food will be at the center of the occasion and restaurants will be serving five minute bites.

I am thankful for restaurant marketing because restaurants are one of the very few businesses which touch the five senses:  sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell.  If there was a sixth sense, it might be “anticipation”.  People anticipate the experience before the first bite is taken.  Restaurant marketing invites folks to experience pleasure like no other business since all five senses can be literally dominated and influenced.

I am thankful for restaurant marketing because the benefits are personal.  Beyond the five senses and health benefits of food, each person takes their food experience very personally.  This can be a negative for a marginal operation.  If a restaurant team understands the impact of this personalized attitude, they can leverage the moments into the ultra-experience.

I am thankful for restaurant marketing because of the human condition.  Since people wake up hungry and the thought of food is one of the first of the day, there is an automatic audience.  It is not a matter of if someone is hungry enough to eat; it is a matter of when and how often.  Everyone eats.  While a restaurant will focus on a cuisine, or day part or possibly even an age group, no scientific study is needed to know that people eat.

I am thankful for restaurant marketing because the benefits are emotional.  When invited to be a guest at a restaurant and they are treated like friend, family or royalty, the ego can be stroked.   Making the guest feel like family, friend or royalty is free.

I am thankful for restaurant marketing because it is easier to create “magic marketing”.  You know when this occurs.  It is when you have busy nights, increased sales, more large groups and you can’t quite put your finger on why.  It seems to be “magic” since it does not appear to have a direct cause and effect.

Everything about a restaurant sends a message and leaves an impression.  It is not just the logo and menu which is restaurant marketing; it is also the team and the connection to the community.

It matters little whether you are a restaurant manager, a restaurant owner or a middle manager in a larger organization.  I would make a bet that you have it wrong.  Restaurant marketing gives opportunity to change lives, ensure smiles, influence health and well being.  Restaurant marketing invites people to celebrate, to share lives with people they love and create memories of a lifetime.

As you use the tools to evaluate the performance of your operations, think about whether you have anyone on the team who believes that restaurant marketing is not just a series of tasks

Be thankful this season for those crazy people who love restaurant marketing and believe the restaurant business is more than just a plate and fork in one hand and a checklist in the other.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how Inside Hospitality does not simply measure results related to tasks but also of heart?   Add one or more of these questions to the mystery shopper’s survey:

1.       How many on the team appeared to have “Heart & Soul”

2.       Are there enthusiastic restaurant marketing activities in the restaurant?

3.       Which staff member would you say would give you are reason to return?

4.       Do you feel appreciated?

5.       Do you feel important?

6.       Do you feel special?

7.       Will you return?  How soon?

What you are looking for in GuestPulse is NOT the number of negatives that exist.  (Though these do highlight what more can be done.)  Use GuestPulse to note those who are standing out in a positive way.

Have the best Thanksgiving and when it is over, don’t stop being thankful for the blessing of having the opportunity for restaurant marketing.

PS

Tip of the day:   Call this number and leave a message:  253-326-4924  Your message will be an invitation.  “Mike, if you are in the area, I would love it if you would stop in for lunch/dinner.  We have a new _________________ which will blow you away.  In fact, ask for me and I will be sure to _____________.  It will be great to see you! “

Then, do it again 10 more times a day from this day forward to those amazing leaders, teachers and service people in your community.   If you make an impact, they will share with others… even in the social media and maybe magic will happen.

Michael Hartzell – Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, entrepreneur, writer, speaker, restaurant marketing coach.    Member of the American Marketing Association.  Read more at www.michaelhartzell.com/restaurant-marketing

________________________________________________________________

Today’s tip is brought to you by Inside Hospitality™, a comprehensive and innovative guest experience management and measurement company whose integrated suite of hospitality business solutions from restaurant focused mystery shopping to online reputation management achieves tangible results in the marketplace and is the choice for restaurant and hotels worldwide.

Contact us today and learn how Inside Hospitality™ can create a custom solution for your organization. We can be reached anytime @ (888) 260- 0380.

Click the “RingMe” button and we’ll call you back within 1 minute.

Sometimes it won’t make sense to send so many of your employees to an off-site training event. We totally understand and agree. But that shouldn’t prohibit you from providing your people with great information and great training.

So forget about all that travel, airplane, hotel expenses, as well as having so many away from their offices and teams and business responsibilities, have us come to you instead.

This is the most economical means of injecting powerful content into your ongoing staff training program. We can bring our Social Media Marketing Bootcamp content to your group or organization for a lot less than it costs to send everyone to our closest event.

We can also customize the content to fit your existing marketing and social media strategy and can further customize it to include any option(s) you need in order to achieve your education or training goals.

Contact us for additional information.

Restaurant creates Foursquare rewards club for customers

Joe Sorge, who has boosted business at his four Milwaukee restaurants by mastering social media as a way to engage customers, recently diagnosed a problem he was noticing among his Foursquare-loving regulars at his burger joint AJ Bombers: “check-in fatigue.”

“Because I’m with my customers so often and we’ve developed a lot of these social-media tools together, they’re open to sharing how they feel about certain programs,” Sorge said.  

Many of his guests stopped checking in on Foursquare when dining at AJ Bombers because they felt like the rewards for doing so were out of reach, he said. The “mayor” of the restaurant, Jim Simon, averaged 16 check-ins per month, making it all but impossible for anyone to dethrone him and robbing others of the incentive to engage via Foursquare. Even Simon seemed to be getting bored with checking in, since his reward for becoming mayor, a free burger, was redeemed long ago.

So Sorge expanded the pool of people getting rewarded, using Foursquare’s dashboard feature to track the three people besides Simon checking in at the restaurant most in the previous month. Deemed members of “The Loyalty Royalty” club, the winners then get to suggest items that will be added to the “Mayor Menu” available only to them. Once a month, the club members share their special menu with the rest of AJ Bombers customers.

Within weeks of implementing the program, check-ins doubled and some old faces returned to the restaurant, Sorge said.

“I thought, let’s take that same principle that’s made AJ Bombers grow, the concept of the customer as owner, and apply that to our mayor campaign,” he said. “Because Foursquare gave us this dashboard and we know who checks in most in a month, let’s use that information to spread this out. We added a further twist for those people by allowing them to open their item of choice to others one day a month.”

Giving those frequent customers a say in the menu development process not only made them R&D chefs, but also enthusiastic brand ambassadors.

“We had a bunch of customers taking ownership of the products they created, and they had the ability to drive business that day because their item was featured,” Sorge said. “It all starts to come together nicely.”

Sorge said that while the doubling in check-ins since the promotion started may not correlate exactly to an increase in foot traffic, the word-of-mouth and media coverage the offer generated did bring more people through the door.

“It may have been the case that the customers checking in were going to be there anyway, so it’s possible that the offer didn’t drive added traffic,” he said. “But as this story’s developed, it is something that drives traffic. Our use of social media causes traditional media coverage, which causes further social-media coverage, and they roll into each other.”

The menu items Simon and the Loyalty Royalty club members suggested ended up being completely different limited-time offers, like a pulled short-rib sandwich, which engaged the restaurant’s chef and renewed many customers’ interest in participating in Foursquare. Sorge admitted that sourcing ingredients the restaurant normally doesn’t use created a little extra work for him, but it was worth it to offer his customers some perceived control over the menu.

“It’s a scary thing to give customers control of your brand, but that’s the age we live in,” Sorge said. “Empowered customers rule the day.”

Read complete post at Nations Restaurant News by clicking here!

As promised, understanding how blogging for restaurant marketing can pay off is the topic.

Note:   This is only AFTER you have listed yourself on the free directories online, Google Places, the maps via Google, Yahoo and  Bing.

Be aware of the competition online.  How do you track online blogging activities?  How can you track competition blogging?  GuestPulse is a tool offered by Inside Hospitality.  Using tools such as GuestPulse will keep you aware as alerts will come direct to your inbox (vs.  Doing searches for your restaurant name).

If the goal is to add $2,000 in sales to the restaurant each month to pay for the restaurant marketing via blogging, this will highlight a few key points.

1.       More pages online =- increased chances of being found online

a.       Blog often

2.       Using the words and phrases (called keywords) your guests use to search is a must.

a.       Don’t guess

3.       Three transactions per day x $25 = $2,250

a.       It doesn’t take much and builds over time

There are many more aspects to consider but this is where we will start.  For more popular keywords such as seafood, view and waterfront, the results can be much better if a restaurant can dominate online.

Do not write a blog as long as this one.  (The purpose here is to educate and support you.)

300 to 500 words should do the trick.  The blog article is meant to give them a sample to introduce or invite.  Include a photo.  Share a testimonial.  Make it visually easy to read and VERY appetizing.  A blog could simply be photos of the best plates of the day with the name of the person who prepared the plate.

The first step is to use tools for keywords suggestions.  Just as the weatherman does his best to use the technology to forecast the future, so do these tools.  Tools such as  Hubspot or Google or only two of many.

By simply typing in a word into a keyword suggestion tool, suggested words and phrases are shown.  These words and phrases can then be included in page titles, headings and the content. (Referred as “keywords”)

Each page on a website can be found on its own.  Example:  “Fort Worth Sunday Brunch” or “Seafood Restaurant Fort Worth”

Don’t start rolling your eyes and think to yourself “This doesn’t matter”.  If you don’t have a GPS, it is time to buy one.  One of the buttons to push will be “restaurants” along with gas, banks, cash, motels.  If you are invisible online, then you will also be invisible on the GPS.

Here are example results from Hubspot and Google keyword suggestion tools:

Hubspot Keyword Suggestions for Restaurant    (not free)

Suggestion                                                         Monthly Searches

————————-                                      ———————

restaurant reviews                                         Very High

new york restaurants                                     Very High

best restaurants                                               Very High

las vegas restaurants                                     Very High

new york restaurant                                       Very High

restaurants in las vegas                                 Very High

italian restaurants                                           Very High

restaurant review                                           Very High

london restaurants                                         Very High

seafood restaurant                                         Very High

chinese restaurant                                          Very High

chicago restaurants                                        Very High

restaurants sydney                                         Very High

restaurant city cheat                                      Very High

chinese restaurants                                        Very High

san francisco restaurants                             Very High

chinese restaurant                                          Very High

chinese food                                                      Very High

chinese menu                                                    Very High

chinese delivery                                              Very High

chinese takeaway                                           Very High

mexican restaurant                                        Very High

seafood restaurant                                         Very High

fast food restaurants                                     Very High

family restaurant                                             Very High

chinese culture                                                 Very High

chinese new year                                            Very High

thai food                                                             Very High

london restaurants                                         Very High

take out                                                               Very High

asian food                                                           Very High

vegetarian restaurants                                  Very High

menu                                                                    Very High

delivery                                                               Very High

delivery service                                               Very High

indian food                                                        Very High

sushi                                                                     Very High

food menu                                                         Very High

(Download the complete list on a spreadsheet at:  www.michaelhartzell.com/restaurantkeywords )

Keyword Suggestions via Google Sktool for Restaurant (free)

Keyword                                                              Monthly searches

—————————–                                 ———————

restaurant recipes                                           15000

applebees restaurant                                    10000

thai restaurant                                                  8200

restaurant toulouse                                       5400

restaurant montreal                                       5400

family restaurant game                                 5400

restaurant jobs                                                 5400

restaurant lyon                                                 5400

restaurant amsterdam                                  4400

fridays restaurant                                            4400

restaurant japonais                                        4400

restaurant bordeaux                                      3500

restaurant tour eiffel                                     3500

restaurant franchise                                       3500

fifteen restaurant                                           3500

restaurant marseille                                      3500

restaurant zürich                                             2800

restaurant berlin                                             2800

(Download the complete list on a spreadsheet at:  www.michaelhartzell.com/restaurantkeywords )

Notice the trend and pattern for the words being suggested by Hubspot and Google.

• Location is important.  (Very Important)
• Type of restaurant is important  (Very important)
• Restaurant game and references to restaurant games are on the list
• Restaurant recipes is being searched, but by who?  Restaurant owners or guests?
• Restaurant reviews are a top contender.

Overall, words with the specific type of restaurant with location (city/town/state) is the best place to start.

Here are other words and phrases to consider using:

Meeting rooms

Party rooms

Free meeting rooms

Gluten free

Vegetarian

Buffet

Brunch

Sunday Brunch

Big Screen TV

References to Football and Restaurant

Restaurant delivery

Catering

These words and phrases then can be applied to more than just your blog.  They can also be used in directories, maps, Google Places, etc.

The future is now as the GPS lists restaurants by type and it is simply click and drive.  These words and phrases which describe the business were important in the days of the phone book and are even more important in the age of the database.

Ultimately, the goal in the beginning is to have 3 more people find your restaurant per day because they found you via a search engine online.  The first step is using the words and phrases which describes your business very accurately.  “Thai restaurant” is a popular search.  If you own a Thai restaurant and blog continuously with Thai restaurant as the topic with recipes, health, news, events, awards, etc, then there is an increased chance of getting found.  Remember, people are already looking for this phrase every month.  Maybe they are looking In your town?

There is no exact science and it is a moving target.  If you continue blogging week after week about those topics those in your community are searching for, then there is a better chance of getting found.

Here are fun blog titles to spur the imagination:

• Thai Restaurants are no competition in Fort Worth
• Thai Restaurant Recipes  in Fort Worth
• Watch Football on Big Screen TV in Fort Worth
• Restaurant Coupons Not Necessary in Fort Worth Restaurant
• Restaurant with Everything Healthy :  Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Low Calorie
• This Restaurant starts with Desserts in Fort Worth
• Sunday Brunch Voted Best in Fort Worth
• Best Restaurant Buffet in Fort Worth
• Restaurant Wins Taste Test vs. Applebee’s Restaurant in Fort Worth
• Brunch Restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas Gives More
• Favorite Restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas
• Waterfront Restaurant in Fort Worth is Better than Seattle (Not)
• Restaurant Review of myrestaurant in Fort Worth
• Restaurant Catering vs. Restaurant Delivery.  What’s the difference?
• Waterfront View with Photos in Fort Worth (and have nothing but photos of food and view)

If you want to have serious fun, use GuestPulse to track the competition and then title YOUR blog exactly the same as your competitors but make yours with better photos, better testimonials.  If your competition does not have GuestPulse, they will not even know you are blogging with the same titles.

The purpose of a blog is to “Get Found” and then “Convert” the reader into an action.  The action might be to change a paradigm, subscribe, buy, make reservations, make a phone call, write a comment, tell ten friends, donate to a non-profit, or visit another website.

If your blog grows and attracts those interested, you might even become the talk of the town.  As with anything, one time will not count for much but consistent execution over and over will prove to win.

Michael Hartzell – Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, entrepreneur, writer, speaker, restaurant marketing coach.   Co-Author of “The Reality of ROI & Social Media Marketing”.   Member of the American Marketing Association.  Read more at www.michaelhartzell.com/restaurant-marketing

Dan:

… is a restaurant owner who enjoys cooking and avoids technology.  Working side by side with his staff is very enjoyable and Dan believes heavily in leading by example.  There is no job in the restaurant he believes he is too good for.

Dan works 6+ days a week and has leaders in place but they work primarily as an extension of himself.  Costs are in line and morale is stable since Dan is in the restaurant a majority of the time.  Computers are available but he uses only the core basics of these technology tools for analysis and marketing.  He would prefer by far to look someone directly in the eye in and measure their satisfaction by their body language and smile.  Of course to do this, Dan must be in the restaurant.

Dan believes that if he takes care of people well enough and consistently offers value above expectations that marketing will take care of itself. (As people will say good things and spread the word on their own.)

Dan realizes that even though he spends many hours in the operation, since costs are in line and morale is stable with low employee turnover, he is not pushed to spend time and effort with hiring and training.  In the past, poor staffing was the cause for many issues.  This is absolutely not a scenario he wants to repeat.

Marketing is not his style as it involves “risk”.  He did not go into the restaurant business to gamble and advertising is a form of gambling in his mind.

Recently it seems that his wife and family are becoming accustomed to doing more without him.  He also finds sales are slipping a little more than usual but there are no apparent reasons as to why.  He is a little more concerned because of a slight pain in his leg and Dan knows that “work harder, work longer” is not an option.

Potential loss over the next 12 months:

• Family time

o       Alienated kids get in trouble.

o       Relationship with his wife continues to erode.

• Hospital bill
• $50,000 in Sales Loss (or more)

For every restaurant owner, there is a different scenario.  Each restaurant owner decides their priorities and what the acceptable risks are.  Sadly, there is not usually a check and balance.  Each restaurant owner makes choices and lives with the consequences.  There is no push button answer for Dan nor does he probably feel that there is a dire emergency where he needs to make a decision.  “Wait and See” is the mind set for Dan and if it gets worse, then he can decide what to do.

This is why it becomes too late and families are broken, restaurants close and pain happens.

The puzzle is this:

Ø      There are restaurant consultants who offer FREE consultations with no strings attached.

Ø      There are software programs available which have free trials along with training and support.

If only Dan and those like Dan would put one more task on their “to-do list”.  That task would be to make one phone call per day.  Either to a consultant, teacher, coach, software company, etc.  “I would like to make a change in my business.  How can you help me do so?”

The conversation begins.  No commitments, just a conversation.

If the solution for Dan to spend more time with his family, increases sales, have opportunity to see a doctor without negative consequences to his business was readily available and a satisfaction guarantee was attached, would it not be almost insane to refuse to accept the help?

How much should Dan expect to pay to gain $50,000 in sales, have time with his family, a more flexible schedule, a team of leaders in place and opportunity to move forward?

$5,000?  $1,000?   $10,000?  Dan is the one to decide the value of his family, health, future sales and profits.

Dan is also the person who has to make that tough decision since his confidence to overcome is still very high.  “I can do it” is the mantra of every successful entrepreneur but I don’t remember many successful business owners who said “I can do it all.”

Software is pretty inexpensive and there are services provided by Inside Hospitality to help Dan with his restaurant business.  I hope he calls them tomorrow.  It doesn’t hurt to have a conversation and I bet his wife would be very happy to hear that he is searching for solutions.

Michael Hartzell – Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, entrepreneur, writer, speaker, restaurant marketing coach.   Co-Author of “The Reality of ROI & Social Media Marketing”.   Member of the American Marketing Association.  Read more at www.michaelhartzell.com/restaurant-marketing

________________________________________________________________

Today’s tip is brought to you by Inside Hospitality™, a comprehensive and innovative guest experience management and measurement company whose integrated suite of hospitality business solutions from restaurant focused mystery shopping to online reputation management achieves tangible results in the marketplace and is the choice for restaurant and hotels worldwide.

Contact us today and learn how Inside Hospitality™ can create a custom solution for your organization. We can be reached anytime @ (888) 260- 0380.

Click the “RingMe” button and we’ll call you back within 1 minute.

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Once again, we ate our way across the country in search of the best new restaurants. These 10 fantastic spots–from casual places with communal tables to high-end, white-tablecloth affairs–prove that the American restaurant scene is alive and well, and more delicious than ever.

Check out the top 10 by clicking here!