Turn on the computer.

Do a search.

There is a good chance you will find a blog. You may not realize it since the blog software platforms have evolved to the point where it is more difficult to differentiate them from a non-blog website.

There is no reason to review how to blog here. Information can be found with a few searches. In fact, the choices for learning how to blog for business are too numerous.

It is important to consider the cost of a blog and how it might impact your restaurant business.

Set up Costs:

Domain name: Attach it to your current domain name Free

• I use 1and1.com

Hosting Attach it to your current domain hosting Free

• I use hostgator.com

Software Generic, open source options Free

• WordPress wins the popularity contest

Computer Use current computer No added cost

• You can have it set up to blog via email.

Training Learn how to blog 20 hours Owner $1,000

Or Learn how to blog 20 hours Staff $ 400

This includes using the software and principles of blogging

Initial Blog Set up Design and set up $ 500

Design and set up with DIY – Do it yourself $2,000 – $10,000

DIY solutions for set up are the most expensive as it can take months to learn the software, test, fail, and re-learn. An owner who is not taking care of the restaurant so he can learn how to set up a blog will lose staff and guests.

Guest Pulse To listen to the pulse of brand for content Free Setup and Trial

Note: Premium versions are very powerful but the initial set up and consultative training can cost up to $2,000. I prefer the premium versions because they are simple, easy to teach and intuitive for the user as a blogger can be guided to maximize SEO.

Monthly Costs:

Blogging for a restaurant is not enough. It is important to add the social media tools to the blog. This can be included in the set up. Social media interaction might take 15 minutes a day or 2 hours a day. It depends on the nature of the business, the community and their goals.

Domain name: Same domain name Free

Hosting: Same hosting as website Free

Software fees: The free versions continue to be free Free

Computer: No new costs added for blogging

Training: New updates 4 Hours by Owner $ 200

Or New updates 4 Hours by Staff $ 80

Sharpen the SAW (Skill And Will) with classes, Boot Camps, Webinars, etc.

Changes to Blog Structure or design changes to blog by pro $ 50

Time to blog 3 blogs per week

30 minutes each to research

30 minutes each to write

30 minutes each to promote, invite, connect

Total time is rounded to 5 hours a week

Cost for owner to blog each month $ 1,000

Or Cost for staff to blog each month $ 400

I

Total set up is estimated to be about $1000. (This includes time and expense.)

Total monthly costs estimated to be about $500. (This includes time and expense.)

These estimates do not include: Digital camera, video camera, photos purchased, video software or other fancy gadgets.

Blogging is a bit different, though. Once the blog article is written, it sticks. It can become a reference point and over time can actually gain strength to help you be found. Not like traditional advertising which is tossed into the garbage. If you know how to maximize the blog titles for your restaurant, in one year you could accumulate 150 + pages online about your choice of topic.

By the end of the year you might have invested about $6,000 into blogging for your restaurant. (Again, each blog is a web page and searchable on the Internet.)

For that to turn a buck, you need to either save it elsewhere or improve the business by at least four times that expense. Or you will need to increase business about $24,000 a year.

How can you increase sales $2,000 a month by blogging?

That will come next week. I only promised to share an overview.

Remember though, $2,000 a month in sales is only about $70 a day. If your typical check average is $25, then you only need about 3 transactions a day for blogging to pay.

Next week is the fun part: Making restaurant blogging pay.

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

Did you watch the video?  It is only 2 minutes long.  Have you ever created a video?  Has your restaurant consultant told you to do a video?  Does it seem too hard?  Do you want to share your video on YouTube with a title of your restaurant to get found online?  Do you know how to upload the video to many video hosting sites at once?  You can sign up at www.animotomarketing.com to create a free video.

The video that you see was made with the business version which has more options for background, removal of their logo, can be longer than 30 seconds, has speed variables, and most importantly can have a link at the end to make an invitation to click.

Since we last talked about using celebrations as a focus to make the day of those visiting your restaurant, I just couldn’t help myself.  I had to make a video.  This is a true story as I was called and told to be ready this last week and dragged away for lunch.  (It was a pleasant drag,)

I will not tell you that putting a banner up is a marketing plan, but it helps.  I will not tell you that having an extended “new management special” at deep discounts is a marketing plan, but it can make people look twice.  I will not propose having office supply store giant letters for a phone number in the window to be a marketing plan, but there is no missing the number.  The exterior of this little store front is screaming:  “Here I am and I want your business.”

California Monster Sushi is now on my recommended list for all to try.  This restaurant owner reached out and introduced himself with a handshake and asked “What brought you in?” along with a happy birthday candle unique to his business and then trumped it with Panda Bear oranges for the kids.  Not to be outdone, the server wrote a big Happy Birthday note at the end of the hand written check.  This restaurant does not try to be glamorous.  It is a very comfortable, warm, friendly place which could easily be the reverse since it is in a strip mall.  I believe this family business which has been open for only two months will get a reputation quickly both online and offline.  Not because they use social media but because they treat people as if they are “family, friend or royalty.”  I am thinking there are a few others who are having birthdays soon.  I will certainly want to take them to lunch at the California Monster Sushi Restaurant in Kent, WA.

This is NOT a commercial for this restaurant.  I share this as an example to give you a piece of reality.  I will be inviting others to lunch at this restaurant.  Why do people invite others to your restaurant?

Are you thinking about making a video?   www.animotomarketing.com

Are you thinking about uploading the video to ten other video sharing sites at once?  www.tubemogul.com

Whether you want to live in the past and do it the old fashioned way by hand without special software or if you want to speed up your life with the latest and greatest tools, you need to celebrate more.

Next week I want to chat about:  How Much Does it Cost to Blog for Restaurant Marketing?  My Inbound Marketing hat will go on.  Stay tuned.

PS

Google:  “California Monster Sushi Birthday” and see if the video is not already on the first page of Google.  I know it is here . . . But Google is now different from location to location.

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

John steps into the lobby of the restaurant. It is very apparent that it is his first visit. You know because of the hesitation in his step and the pause to look at each wall, doorway and counter along the way. Some lobbies are so focused on décor or advertising, they forget to make the flow of entry easy to understand.

Behind John there is his wife and two kids. Each child has a hard grip on their mother’s hands.They are strangers in a strange land with other people coming and going. They all miss their very large family (who you see in the photo.) Next time,
they will invite everyone.

At this point it is a mystery as to why they are visiting this restaurant on this day at this particular time.
Could it be they are part of a “secret shopper program”? There are many who will recruit themselves
into a mystery shopper service company to make extra income. Times are tough and every little bit counts. Could it be she is a blogger who has decided to be a restaurant critic? Anyone can start a business today as a “restaurant critic”, start a blog, and sell advertising or products to add to their income.

It appears on the surface that John, Mary and their two children are simply dining for the evening. Regardless, it is time to turn on the charm and make their experience one to remember.

Creating an experience first starts with: The Birthday. With four people in their party, you might say there is a 1 in four chance that it is a “Birthday Month” for one of them. If you begin to celebrate “Birthday Month” and offer something special for those who have a birthday during the month, you will be going beyond the service of the typical restaurant next door.

Are your ready for how the conversation goes?

“Good evening.”

“It is good to see you.”

Notice, I did not say: “Four?” It is not that important to “cut to the chase with numbers” immediately. It is more important to make them feel like it is THEIR place.

“I would love to know, did anyone have a birthday this month?”
- Smiling, with head nodding is a form of positive re-enforcement to gain an answer. More times than not they will volunteer the right birthday month even if it is not the current month.

You already know where I am headed don’t you? J

- What easy words to say.

- Or a combination of positive words along this line.

“Oh? Last month was Mary’s birthday? I don’t remember seeing you come in to celebrate! Did I miss seeing you?” – Of course more often than not they say: “No, we went somewhere else for Mary’s birthday.”

“Oh? Well, we want to celebrate your birthday too! Let’s do something special for you tonight as a belated gift.”

- When you hear the word gift, do you ever refuse? Maybe at first there is hesitation as disbelief and confusion happen from the unexpected offer. In the end, no one refuses a gift.

Now the rest is easy. You celebrate with them. You treat them the way you would if it was actually their birthday. It is no secret and the team is sure to say within hearing of other guests: “Mary is celebrating her birthday month at table 25.” Candle, cake (make it look amazing) and even a flower in a vase appear. Grab the digital camera. Take a photo of the family together. Take two, digital is cheap. Take three, digital is cheap. Ask for their email address so the link to the photos can be sent immediately and when they get home, the photos will be ready. Include two special invites.

• Make one invite for next month to celebrate: _________. (You choose)

• Make another invite at the same time for Mary’s birthday month where she can get it done again… and she can invite friends and family. *Yes, you will do it again during her birthday month. Every day is a great day to do restaurant marketing.

If you How many times have I “forced” birthday celebrations, don’t know what to do with the anniversary celebrations, graduation celebrations, getting email addresses, here is The Best married celebrations on those who have dined in my Email Management Services restaurants? Too many to remember. Though the many List for Business on the Planet.
who celebrated did not originally come to “celebrate” and many were a little hesitant, there were only smiles and appreciation for the extra effort. It was fun to watch the slight hesitation turn to acceptance and then to enthusiasm. How could they deny gracious enthusiasm, commitment, a gift and energy from the team? Few can. In a way, they were being reminded that the world is a “friendly place” where good things can happen for no apparent reason.

Why? With every celebration, you draw others in. A small bit of enthusiasm is in the air. This can be done with class and sophistication or can be done with downright outrageous behavior. There are a multitude of songs to be played whose theme is Happy Birthday.

I have said it before. I will say it again over and over. Celebrate. This is something you can try to “systemize” but it requires the right leader who has a great team.

Maybe John is a secret shopper with Inside Hospitality. It is possible that Mary (who may have no experience) has a new business to blog and critique restaurants. Make their day. Celebrate. This is more than advice, it is a personal testimonial.

Once you are intent on doing this every day and every week, at the end of a year, you will find guests returning on their birthday month. You will have MANY email addresses. You will have many new friends.

Measures of success:

of positive comments online
of email addresses
of people who requested “me too”
of previous guests returning with friend / family for THEIR celebration
Average ticket of those celebrating vs. those “just visiting”.

Next month they will bring back their friends who are celebrating THEIR birthday month. That person you force a celebration on today will become your ambassador next month. (Trust me, this is what happens.)

I am sitting in the lobby of your restaurant. I see John, Mary and their two kids just walking into your door. Get the candles, cake, balloon, flower, camera and team. It is time to celebrate. (Don’t forget to email
them the photos and invitations!)

At your service,

Mike

P.S.

Think of the celebration as a way to show off a bit. When a guest gets wind of how another is getting a celebration and they are not, they will speak up with “What about me?” You then have opportunity to celebrate with another and get their email address, take and send photos along with invitations for future celebrations. This is more than an idea. It is history and works.

The real barrier is not ideas. Leadership and your team must have the skill and will to consistently
execute day after day. This is not easy but it is FUN!

If you have multiple locations and hope to execute at this level, there is no doubt that having a system to confirm is necessary. Hopefully you will have feedback online. Otherwise, you will hire a company to know that celebrations happen daily. Question: How many restaurant celebrations are happening?

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.

The Invisible Restaurant Manager.

To understand the restaurant business and the success or failure of an operation, we must first look at the invisible restaurant manager.  Without doing so, the eye of an owner, investor or supervisor may not fully see the true restaurant success.

Restaurant owner:  Do you evaluate your manager(s) based on their personal effort?  Or do you instead look to the results?  Do you hear from your leader(s)?  :  “I am the hardest working manager!”

If you see a manager at 120% working every position, working extra hours and skipping breaks; is this a good sign?

If you were able to filter the restaurant manager from your field of vision and consider them invisible, what would you see?

You would then see:

• The staff
• The cleanliness and sanitation
• The safety
• The appearance of products
• The morale
• Guests smiling (or not)
• Guests waiting (or not)
• … And many more details in the operation.

If you evaluate your leadership by how involved they are with the details BEFORE looking at the overall results then you may have a GREAT employee in charge but not necessarily a leader or manager.

Focus on just the staff for just a moment.  Watch how they perform their responsibilities.  Is there waste?  (Remember, the restaurant manager is invisible to you now.)  If there are 20 staff persons on duty, is it possible they are doing their jobs “the hard way”?  What is the chance of each one of them increasing their performance by just 10%?

Here are reasons performance might improve by 10%:

• Equipment working better
• Training
• Aces in their places
• Team work
• Systems improved
• Communication
• Scheduling
• Preparation
• Planning
• Coaching (Direct supervision)
• Eliminate the bottom producers
• Removing misc. barriers holding people back.

Now that you are able to see the opportunities to help the individuals improve and know more precisely where the waste is, now look to your restaurant manager.  Are they working hard?  Or are they a catalyst to improving performance by 10%?

If a manager can create an environment and lead the team in such a way to improve the performance of 20 people by 10%, the math says that is twice what the manager could do personally.  (20×10%=200% improvement)  There is little chance that a restaurant manager can add to the restaurant operation simply by working harder or longer.

Once each person on the team has improved by 10%, there will be a dramatic improvement in the morale and guest experience as well.  Then the old conversation such as:  “I don’t have much time to do restaurant marketing, I am working very hard and there just doesn’t seem to be time.”  Or “I can’t seem to find the time to follow up with guests after their visit.” will become a thing of the past.

Evaluate the restaurant manager by making them invisible as you review the restaurant operation.

Sure, you can do this with any supervisor.

No, you must not think this means the restaurant manager should make themselves be invisible.  They must ensure each on the team is successful.  It does mean HOW they work side by side with their team will change.

Yes the principle works with a smaller staff but the managers are more involved and integrated in the operations with lower sales.  (I expect this would be a motivation to do more restaurant marketing and improve sales.)

Now you know the secret to improving the results of your restaurant manager by 200%.

It is time to apply the same principles to you, the restaurant owner don’t you think?

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.

The Nanea Restaurant in Princeville, HI at the Westin.

A Reputation Management Story

The Place:  Restaurant in Princeville, HI at the Westin.  Nanea Restaurant & Bar

The time:  6:30 PM Hawaii time.

The Date:  07/30/2010

This is a true story.  It happened just as I have told it.  Names have been left out though if you live in Princeville or work at the Nanea Restaurant & Bar located at the Westin, you may know more than the rest of the world.

I share this to show you the risk of the new culture where anyone is able to write a blog article.  This is also to motivate you to evaluate your operational systems and the quality of your team.

On with the story:

Just as we had hoped, the four of us were seated quickly.  The weather was perfect.  A slight breeze came from the ocean with only a few clouds in the sky.   Vacationing in Hawaii and celebrating for a moment by being a guest at the local restaurant that was within walking distance of the condo we vacationed in.

The waitress was hard working and moved quickly.  I would guess the accent was New Jersey?  Do not trust my judgment on accents.  After a review of the menu, the “Hawaiian Special” for that evening was the choice for each of us.

There were several reasons we selected this restaurant.

• Walking distance
• Restaurant reputation referred to by a local resident
• Hawaiian Special
• Live music / Hula Dancer

It was one of those evenings we were hoping to select the best and have a night to remember.

We did not go online prior to dining at the restaurant and felt confident that it offered everything we hoped for.

The Mai Tai’s were memorable were the perfect start.   (This is second hand from the others.)  Nanea did not hold back with creating a Mai Tai with Pow and Wow.

The appetizers were something to fight over.  We did.  To start such a night with what I call “five minute bites” is a sign of excellence.  (The “five minute bite” is where each bite is so grand that the incredible flavor is extended beyond the moment and you don’t want anything to interfere with the joy, not even the next bite.)

The ukulele player was also the soloist and he was accompanied by a hula dancer who expanded on his romantic Hawaiian songs with an exotic flow of motion.  We will call him ‘Uke’.  ‘Uke’ has a voice which is smooth and appealing.   We listened as he went from table to table singing a song that might reflect on their celebration or reason for visiting the island of Kauai.

During the appetizer, I excuse myself for a few minutes to run a personal errand.  Upon returning it seems I missed the action.

Uke and the dancer had played at the table, she who is near and dear to me had found a long black hair on the appetizer plate and there were fresh new Mai Tai’s being served on the house to remedy any dissatisfaction about the hair.  (The Mai Tai’s were given without request or conversation.)

The main course was:  No less than amazing.  After the complimentary Mai-Tai’s and the “five minute bites” of the main course, even the hair was becoming a distant memory.

‘Uke’ was just finishing up another great song.  As ‘Uke’ and the dancer walked slowly by our table, he says complimentary words to the other couple and then turns to me and she who is near and dear to me and says a derogatory and insulting remark.  I was stunned of course and it was so out of place, I did not react.  (Was he joking?  His face did not indicate that he was.)

He again repeated the insulting remark and that did not seem to be enough so once more he had to make his point as he moved on to the next table.  A younger man would have probably “punched him out”.    In the moment of confusion, we quickly finished our dessert (Which we wished for more.) and departed with palates tantalized but emotionally distraught.  (Sorry, I will not repeat the words ‘Uke’ shared.)

We have another five days in Kauai and would love to go back to Nanea Restaurant & Bar.  Why would we return to a place where there is risk?  I will not take the time to rectify this with the manager of the restaurant.  We are not local residents and there are many options on Kauai.

Here are the questions I leave you to ponder:

1. If you are the owner or manager, how are you prepared to rectify this AFTER the meal is over and it has been made public to the world?
2. Do you believe that everyone is now a restaurant critic?  (I Hope this blog will convince you the answer is yes)
3. Do you believe your business will be invisibly influenced because of reviews online?
4. If you were alerted by GuestPulse about someone doing a review (or this blog), what will be your response?
5. Can you be sure to avoid any similar incident in your restaurant?
6. Is the best remedy to “hair on the plate” a gift of free Mai Tai’s?
7. How do you ensure satisfaction of each guest so they won’t blog as I am and tell the world or write a poor review?
8. What is your best next step with the staff, the guest and your reputation online?

After my experience , I began to wonder if we made the right restaurant selection.  Did we make a bad choice?  From TripAdvisor:   (Notice:  These reviews are from people who live all over the USA and are not local to the restaurant in this particular case.)

Are there other comments which are more positive and appreciative?   Yes.

Which will influence the decisions of those making a decision more?  The negative or the positive remarks?

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.

Restaurant Marketing Wizardry

Today we will combine:

• Restaurant Marketing
• Dorothy
• The Wizard (of OZ)
• The Yellow Brick Road
• The Curtain
• You  (A Restaurateur)

First we must think about you.  How will others describe you?  How do your daily activities highlight your identity?

Do you:

• The desire to stand behind a curtain.
• Remain out of sight and out of contact behind a curtain.
• Pull the levers; push the buttons while watching from a distance with technology.
• Want others believe you are very powerful.
• Make yourself look bigger than reality.
• Secretly manipulate the actions of others with your technology.

IF you or one of your managers can be described with these characteristics, these describe a restaurant marketing wizard.

Yes, we have journeyed to the movie “The Wizard of OZ”.

There are people on a restaurant team in search of answers, fulfillment, success and celebration.  They are looking for the yellow brick road (the path to success).  There is risk and resistance with every step.  Each person has their own baggage and skills to work on.   Courage, heart and smarts to name a few.

Without the right kind of support and leadership, those on the teams may wander aimlessly with no direction and focus on their own issues vs. a common purpose.  Here may be reasons why:

A restaurant marketing wizard does not talk to people or connect one on one.

A restaurant marketing wizard of oz tries to appear as more than they really are.

A restaurant marketing wizard of oz relies only on data.

A restaurant marketing wizard of oz does not listen to real people who must execute the ideas.

A restaurant marketing wizard of oz will not be transparent.

A restaurant marketing wizard of oz will act more defensively than offensively. (Protecting ideas vs. listening and adapting.)

If you know a restaurant marketing wizard of oz standing behind a curtain and not sharing the vision, the plan, the purpose and they spring “last minute sales ideas”; then I would say there will be frustration, disbelief and a lack of cooperation.

If you think about the temptation to sit in a room, look at data, watch the competition via technology, use the automated push button tools to create advertising campaigns.  Someone who is in the advertising / marketing role could literally get it done behind the curtain of the Internet and have not contact with the outside world.

People contact is time consuming.

Interaction to get feedback from the team may be tough since schedules conflict.

Analyzing and comparing the feedback with hard numbers may take longer than 5 minutes.

It is tempting to take the easy route, use data vs. people and hope for the best.   It is appealing to make a decision from behind the curtain and use the bells and whistles to make things happen and then pass the expectations off electronically with a click

“How odd!  The plan was perfect and yet the results did not pan out.  It couldn’t have been the plan that was made from behind the curtain.  The managers and staff are at fault.”

Once you decide that being a restaurant marketing wizard of oz is not your style, here is the challenge;

What time is blocked each day to connect with live people?  How much time?  Who will the key connections be to ensure accuracy and relevance?  How will the connection occur?  What are the two most important questions to ask?

The Internet acts as a curtain and allows people to appear successful when not being so.

The Internet also allows live connection with people to get real feedback quickly to confirm that “numbers” are accurate.

As the world is now a database, the temptation to lump decisions increases.  Fortunately, the opportunity to sort the database and connect with people also improves.

Hopefully, you will not be tempted to become a restaurant marketing wizard of oz and use the new technology to connect.

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.

Restaurant Marketing is Inbound Marketing

OR should I say instead:  Inbound Marketing is Restaurant Marketing?

To train a restaurant owner or manager how to be the best inbound marketer on the planet, I believe you put a manager in a marginal restaurant with low sales and tell them:  “You have $50 a month marketing budget, low staff, bad operations and sales are down.  Turn it around yesterday.”

Yes.  This is a part of my past.  More than once.  More than twice.  In fact…   let me count – - -   Too many to remember.

Inbound marketing in my mind starts a bit like this:

Ignasius wakes up in the morning.  He is already hungry.  It is in fact part of the human condition that he must eat to stay comfortable through the day.  You could say that he is … well, addicted to food.  In other words, he will not go a day without taking action to reduce his personal craving.  Ignasius woke up this very morning and as usual he is already pining for a double tall latte with just a bit of sugar.

Will he have time to make a latte for himself?  Is he feeling up to it?  Of course he knows that caffeine alone will not be enough and he must also have something called breakfast.  Soon after that there will be lunch and how lucky is Ignasius, because he gets to have dinner just a few hours after that!

Food stays at the edge of his mind all day long.  It is part of his passion.  Eat or die.

Now comes the best part.  A restaurant serves food.  Restaurant owners have a ready and willing audience.  There is already a top of mind passion and need in place.  This is what Inbound Marketing is about.  Finding a passionate audience already looking to fill their needs and wants.

Ignasius might ask during the day about 15 minutes before lunch, “Hey, do you know any good barbecue restaurants around here?”  Someone will refer Ignasius to a location they feel will not only meet his need but also a place they can proudly show off. (They know the best place to go, after all.)

For Inbound Marketing, someone will type their passion or interest into the Google search box online.  They already know what they are interested in.  The world is a giant database.  GoogleFriend (my new name for Google by the way)  refers the searcher to the point of interest. (Along with a million options.)

Inbound marketing is about getting found at the right time by the person searching.  A website can get found by having links to a website or a referral via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Restaurant marketing is about getting found at the right time by the person who is hungry and has a pang for a specific flavor.  A restaurant can get found by having a referral which could also be in the form of a link on Facebook, email or Twitter.

Inbound marketing is about “converting”.   The person coming to a website page must be impressed, have trust, find it easy to use, and definitely believe there is value.

Restaurant marketing relies on every aspect of what a visitor sees online and offline.  Even the flowers that die, the broken tiles, the dark exterior, the smelly bathrooms, the 20 year old menu can add up to, “We heard good things but let’s go across the street.  That restaurant looks better.”

Inbound marketing is about measuring results and eliminating the bad while doing more of what makes people glad.  Measuring Inbound Marketing can be done with Hubspot software (I’m Hubspot Certified so I had to mention it) or a variety of other tools such as Google Analytics.

Restaurant marketing is about measuring results and eliminating the bad while doing more of what makes people glad.  GuestPulse is not the only tool Inside Hospitality provides.  Every business will have its own Point of Sale computer system that breaks down every aspect into measurements.  What were people interested in?

When restaurant owners hears about “social media” and the various tools, they should shout with glee.  Social media tools are key to Inbound Marketing.  If the purpose is to “get found”, “convert” and “measure results” and social media tools help to make this happen more quickly, then why the heck wouldn’t a restaurant owner say, “I am going to Vegas!”

If you could double your marketing speed and reduce the time to test and measure by half, would you take the time to learn how?  That is your next move:  “Learn how to leverage the social media tools to my best advantage.”   (I hear there is a Restaurant & Hospitality Social Media BootCamp in Las Vegas)

Will you think about how to listen better and connect better?

I hope so.  Ignasius wants to eat at your restaurant but he does not know where you are or what you serve.  The buzz has not yet reached his ears.  Don’t worry.  There are thousands of other restaurants that will take care of Ignasius.  You keep working hard and maybe he will find you.  Maybe.

P.S.

Remember last week?  All about HTFCSM Labeling?

See the snapshots below.  Notice how people will talk.  You don’t even know they are.   Sure, you can save time and have everything delivered to your inbox.  www.guestpulse.com (free trial)

PPSS

I know.  It sounds a bit like a commercial doesn’t it?  Sorry.

I have learned bucket loads over the years.  It starts with a spark.  These came from events, workshops, college classes and people on the street in the community.  There was one common rule for the best ideas:  “Go outside the normal path.”  Restaurant ownership can make a person feel trapped (and indispensable.)  At least twice a year, go where you can get fresh thoughts and think about the path you are on.  You will double business just as I have.

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

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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.

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Erase everything about how you analyze your restaurant business for a moment.

Bring it down to its simplest form.

Name all the reasons someone would possibly walk into the door of your restaurant.

Hunger

Thirst

Fitness

Celebration (Party)

Show off to someone

Meeting

Are there others?

Here are the labels:  HTFCSM

Every transaction is counted not by what guests eat, not by how many are dining … but by their purpose.  Each gets a label.  If hunger and thirst are the primary motivators, you can satisfy your guests easily since they are simply visiting for personal maintenance.

Do you know the current ratios?  What percentage of your guests come simply for “maintenance” and could eat anywhere?   Do you know why your place exists in the mind of those who visit?

If your restaurant primarily exists for what I call “maintenance food” then you will have a tough time getting more money from anyone.  (Low check averages and discounts will be your motto.)

If your restaurant is a place to have meetings, celebrations and give someone a chance to show off, then your marketing changes.  Your chance that the menu price point is less of an issue improves.

There are some restaurants that should put up a sign that says “Food Maintenance” instead of “restaurant”.  “We are here to … fill you up.”  What a concept.  Just fill them up and move them out.  J

Next step in breaking it down to its simplest form:

Who is the boss?  Who influences your business the most?  Who makes business happen?

Look very closely at your restaurant.

Here is a test question:

Ask the management team:  Which person do you learn from the most?

1. The owner?
2. Your peers?
3. The persons on the team?

When I have asked this question over the years, the majority of managers have said:  The team.

Who influences the return of those guests whom you have labeled HTFCSM?  Is it the manager, the owner or team members?   You could reverse the question and ask who influences the guest not to return?  (It is no surprise to hear the team or staff since they have 100% contact with the guests.)

If the team members have a great influence on the boss and they are also a primary determining factor in whether guests return, will this change your relationship with those on the team?  Or will you continue to view them as simply soldiers following orders?

Here is my verdict:  Treat every staff person as if they were the boss.  If you look very carefully, they already in many ways determine the course of your business whether you like it or not.

Now add social media tools where texting, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, blogging and review sites can be txt, liked, followed, tweeted and commented on by anyone on the staff.

1. Anyone who owns a restaurant must know the REAL reason for the guests visiting.  HTFCSM
2. Any restaurant business has an army to blog, tweet, comment and review.
3. Any restaurant owner better look very carefully at who is truly influencing the business and ensure nothing gets in the way of their success.

Sure, you need a leader but that leader must understand the power which is at their disposal.

Don’t forget HTFCSM labeling.  You will be surprised at what you learn.

PS to you the reader:

This is another test for you to follow.  It is about branding and being found in the search engines.  The unique phrase of “HTFCSM labeling” should come up within a very short time after this blog is posted.  You can ensure this by bookmarking this blog post on www.delicious.com, tweeting it on Twitter, sharing it on www.digg.com and sharing on Google Buzz.

Google Caffeine is so fast that it responds in minutes.  Do you have a very unique brand, phrase or menu item that you want to impress your community with and have NO competition?  Pick something fun and relevant to your community and begin to tweet or blog about it.  Create products with the name.

While in the beginning there will be no one looking for your unique name and you will not be found, over time you will dominate the term as you make it a household name in your community.

Here is the alternate plan:  Try to rank in Google for a term everyone is trying to be found for.  A small business will NOT be found on Google for a popular term.  Chances are the term will be only more difficult and you will NEVER be found in Google.  Seafood Tampa Bay for small restaurant businesses would be always tough to beat.   How about seabayfo?

If you think this is crazy then take another look at the big names today.  Squidoo?  Google?  pipl?

You decide:  In 24 months you will dominate your market with a unique name for a product no one else serves.  It will be your signature and it will become bigger than the word fish in your community.

This was just an example.  Make up your own unique name here:  http://www.bustaname.com/

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

blog post by resident blogger Michael Hartzell

How can you be sure someone returns if you are simply an assembly line for meals?  Restaurant marketing is not a push button task nor is it something you can just order from a central location 1000 miles away in a home office.  Restaurant marketing starts at the very core of the restaurant.  It is the culture and belief of the restaurant team.  Restaurant marketing is not what you do, it is who you are.  Restaurant marketing is not an activity.  Restaurant marketing activities are a symptom of the essence of belief.  Belief turns into thoughts and thoughts into action.  Every day there are new opportunities for a person who is restaurant marketing, so have a calendar and clipboard ready.

Just as this blog is hosted on Inside Hospitality, those who hope to be successful in the restaurant business must have a heart for hospitality.  A restaurant business must be a place where every guest knows they are experiencing ultimate hospitality.  (There you go.  That is the name of your new program:  Ultimate Hospitality People – UHP for short.)

I can hear it now:  Are you UHP?  I want to hear a yes!

Who is on your restaurant marketing team?  If you say there is one, two or even three, I challenge you to think about the structure of your business one more time.

Survey for restaurant owner or manager.  How many times do you participate in the following each day?

• Wash the windows.
• Sweep the floor.
• Send out thank you cards to guests who visited yesterday.
• Verify cash.
• Personally thank a guest as they leave with a handshake.
• Check the temperatures of refrigeration.
• Inventory critical food items.
• Cook in the kitchen.
• Vacuum the floor.
• Monitor plates on the way to the dining room.
• Check the status of sales vs. historical and vs. projected.
• Monitor what is being said via social media.
• Share via social media valuable and helpful to one or many.
• Say thank you to a team member.
• Do a random act of kindness to someone on the team.
• Wash dishes.
• Do a random act of kindness for a guest.
• Verify the status of labor costs for the day.
• Verify the status of “up-selling” for the day.
• Verify hand washing is being done.
• Inspect restrooms personally.
• Talk on the phone to a consultant or advisor.
• Talk on the phone to an associate.
• Order food products.
• Invite a local leader or volunteer to lunch or dinner.
• Guerrilla Marketing Squad calls to local community to recognize and celebrate.  (Google “Guerrilla Marketing Squad” for secret weapon to dominate in your community.)
• Search online for new products, services, equipment or vendors.
• Learn and practice with new software or push button tech tools.
• Give special instructions to team member(s).
• Make comments on website review sites.  (Including special secret offers.)
• Role play with team member(s).
• Bus tables.
• Role play with team member(s) with how to get a better connection with guest to the point of having contact information. (Such as address, email, twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, cell phone numbers, etc.)
• Motivate guests to say something via online review sites. (While mentioning the name of the person who might have WOW’d them.)
• Act as cashier.
• Inspect garbage to determine waste, guests’ happiness with products and staff training levels.
• Do prep.
• Audit guest checks to verify accuracy, trends and patterns, satisfaction, speed of service and that all guest expectations were exceeded.
• Walk a guest out in the rain holding the umbrella.
• Walk a guest into the building when it rains holding an umbrella.
• Give out samples of brand new menu items to create smiles and hear feedback.
• Look for and read the advertisements in the local newspaper with the question: “Who can be collaborated with?”
• Review Jay Conrad Levinson’s book “Guerrilla Marketing” with team members and possible options to apply today.
• Help a guest celebrate something great to give a reason for a photo, email and/or greeting card.
• Stop people in the community and invite them for lunch or dinner.

These are but a small few of the activities you may be engaged in.  You may be one who snickers at this.  That is fine but when I recently was greeted at the front door of a restaurant by the owner who said:  “I don’t have everything done yet and I am short staffed so I will be opening an hour late today for lunch,” it was very apparent he is not an Ultimate Hospitality Person.  He was too busy cooking to provide hospitality.

Here is the question:

Which activities ensure that you connect with the guest?  Which are you personally involved in more as a restaurant owner or manager?  Which activities are defense and which are offense?  (Defense keeps business while Offense creates business.)

Create reasons for listening, interaction, education and inspiration.  There is more than food in the restaurant business even though it is one of the few businesses which will stimulate all five senses.

What is on your checklist of daily activities that is reflective of your true nature?  Do you  manage things, do you lead people or are you a restaurant marketer?  Who is on your restaurant marketing team?  I say:  double the number and boost sales.

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

By Guest Blogger Michael Hartzell

Inbound Marketing is based on the conclusion that someone is already looking for you online.  This can apply to restaurants just as well as other industries.  I have already shown you in previous articles that people are online searching for a product or service you offer.

Question: Marketing plans include “inbound marketing” to get a restaurant found at the top of Google organic search results for specific keywords.  How do new changes in Google affect the plan?

Possibilities, Answers and Thoughts:

Fuel

• Consider that the brightness and length of time something can be seen is based on fuel. There are a variety of fuel types.

Lighter fluid for the barbecue gets your attention…it gives a big whoof and is then gone quickly.

For instance, have you noticed?

Sometimes a Craigslist ad pops to the top but its fuel quickly dwindles.  Videos are also a good example.  (Though if you use www.tubemogul.com and post videos everywhere at once, it is interesting to see which sites are more found and which are not.)

Here are various types of inbound marketing methods to be found in the search engines.

1. Links to your website from other authority websites.  (Longer lasting)
2. Fresh content on your website, frequently.  (Longer lasting)
3. Social media, classifieds, press releases are now in search engine results. (Fast and dwindles quickly.)
4. Articles on article sites (Can add authority and last)
5. Online press releases. (Fast and dwindle quickly)
6. Kindle books, ipad books, ereader books are new in town.  What will they provide?  Will you write short books for e-readers?   (To be determined.)
7. The i-Phone or mobile App.  How will more push button technology affect this?  What type of fuel will this be for search engines?  Or does this bypass search engines?  Watch this grow.  Push button is the goal.  (To be determined.)

As with any fire; the wind blows, the rains come, and anything fuel-based will be affected.

Prediction: It is only a matter of time until “tax” is a word spoken more on the Internet.  When will there be a tax per consumption?  Isn’t the Internet, in a way, a utility?  Don’t you wonder how that wind will affect things?

Two ways to approach changes in Google

1. Reactive: Trying to figure out the next change or current change…chasing the chicken like everyone does and never quite catching it since the chicken quickly changes direction.
2. Proactive: Thinking 12 to 18 months in advance and anticipating what the goal of those in the search engine business are about:

Which might be: Read the minds of those who search and give them what they want before they even know what “it” is themselves.

Being in the restaurant business for 30 years teaches one a thing or two:  Anticipating wants and needs and giving it before guests ask makes you “unbelievable”.  This creates FAT.  (Faith And Trust).    When FAT is high then prices can be higher.  When FAT is high then there is less competition.

If the goal of a Google-Yahoo-Bing is to read the mind of the searcher and understand the truest nature of every page via bots, widgets, and eyeballs…then wouldn’t it be crucial to simply be the most amazing resource on a specific topic?  Then no one will be able to help but say:  That is the best place to go.

If some restaurant businesses would work just as hard on serving and being amazing with their guests as they do with search engine results and being on top, they would hear only the very best comments on tools such as GuestPulse.

Considering the options, pro-active and reactive, chasing the chicken and the ultimate goal; here is a solution list for the small restaurant business owner:

1. 1. Use the free resources on Google Places, Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Bing Maps.
   2. Include Social media, blogging, and fresh content.
   3. Videos, classifieds, press releases
   4. Asking guests for their feedback during their visit.
   5. Monitor your progress with GuestPulse and respond to the comments.
   6. Restaurant marketing is not only about tasks to be done, it is a culture.
   7. Everyone on staff is part of the marketing culture

These will improve the chances for a restaurant owner to keep a business competitive online.

Question:  What do you believe?

Which will people respond to more?

• Your website that has links to your restaurant website?
• Comments on the various review sites, social media and word of mouth?

The answer depends on the reputation of your business and the community. Monitor it and you will know.  Someone is searching for your type of business online.  What are you doing to get found?

Once you know the answer, that will determine where you spend your time and how you invest your money.

Here is a dashboard to consider for measuring success:

1. Online Presence:  Happiness Factor, mentions, comments, buzz. (Use GuestPulse.)
2. Dining Room: Comments, feedback, opinion.  (Your team and managers can do this.)
3. Website: New connections, new emails, new contacts. (Send them a welcome card.)
4. Guerrilla Marketing Squad: Number of responses to invitations in community.
5. Internal Daily Snapshot: Sales, labor, COS, Cash, menu mix, promotion results.

As you can see, my measures of success lean heavily on restaurant marketing and people.  Controls are very important but the connection to people is the most valuable of all.

Question:  What are your measures of success based on?  How do you measure your people connection?

The information I have reviewed is neither new nor original.  It is simply a reminder.  Sadly there those of you who work very hard for people to find you in the traditional methods.  They still work but more is needed.

Take-Away:

• List of options for inbound marketing.
• A decision to make based on Reactive or Proactive.
• A solution list for the small restaurant business owner.
• Five measures to include on your dashboard.

Michael Hartzell –, Inbound Marketing Certified Professional in Seattle / Tacoma, entrepreneur, writer, speaker, restaurant marketing coach.  As a self proclaimed Professor of Magic Marketing, author of “10 Magic Marketing Tips” and over 30 years experience in the restaurant business, Michael helps business owners “Boost Sales & Build Teams” on the foundation of Knowledge Empowers so Learn & Teach ™.  Member of the American Marketing Association and Guerrilla Marketing Association