MARKETING: Market Your Wings During College Bowl Season [Sponsored Hack]
NCAA Bowl Season is here. And while we know you want your seats filled during the games, fact is, some fans want to watch from their couch. But they’re not lost revenue! Restaurants & sports bars should market tailgating menus to sports fans planning to watch games from home. And at the centerpiece should your tasty chicken wings.
GUEST EXPERIENCE: 4 Ways to Bring in Holiday Traffic with Text Messaging
The holidays are almost here. One way to improve the guest experience is through text messaging marketing. Here's four ways it helps restaurants & makes guests happy.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Tulips & Bitcoins
During the so-called Tulip Mania, contract prices for some bulbs of the recently introduced and fashionable tulip reached extremely high levels and then dramatically collapsed in February 1637. It was the first reasonably well document asset bubble in history. To some observers, the rally around the crypto currency Bitcoin has a touch of that market frenzy from 400 years ago. The resemblance is uncanny, as this infographic shows.
Customer Love
The top reason for customers to break up with brands is using data consumers confided in them without their knowledge or permission. 80% of respondents worldwide say this was the number one reason to divorce. An unresponsive customer service is the second most acute reason customers terminate their relations with a brand (71%). Here are other reasons why customers break up with brands.
Foodservice Workplace Deaths Soar
The number of foodservice and bar employees killed on the job jumped 40% in 2016, one of the sharpest increases among all professions, according to a new study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The absolute number remained relatively low, however. A total of 165 employees died on the job while the foodservice industry employees more than 11 million people.
TWO REACTIONS, ONE BILL
Why it matters to you: Will you invest in wages or technology with the new tax break?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will shortly become law and it has many in our industry wondering what will happen. If we start with the job creators that President believes will spur growth as a result of these tax cuts, our industry is a real example where that will likely be true. Downward wage pressure because of other increasing expenses has contributed to the staffing difficulties for many operators. In the case of restaurants, labor is a key way to increase sales and drive revenue. Consequently, you can expect small and medium sized operators to either increase their wages to attract competitive staff or invest in new technology that will improve their operations. Either outcome would satisfy the assertions made by Republicans that the reform will initiate growth.
While owners/operators may benefit, what does it mean to the hourly worker. If you work for a QSR, likely you will see more investment by your company in new technology that is determined to replace the employee. Ordering kiosks and automated productions systems are a real threat to these workers, and increased capital to invest in those initiatives could actually cause that class of employee to be replaced. This is less so with full service because of the custom nature of food preparation and service expected by the guest. Therefore, the bulk of our subscribers’ staff will either have a neutral or slightly positive experience with the law. Time will tell if the intended outcome is achieved, but for full-service restaurants the future looks bright.
INSTA-STAFF
Why it matters to you: Use social media to recruit as well as market.
We have spent a quite a bit of energy trying to convince you that Instagram is a great place to market your operation. The social platform is well used by Millennials and Generation Z’ers, and restaurants need to be where their current and future guests are spending time. But are there other uses for Instagram that will benefit your restaurant? The answer is a resounding YES. Check out what the University of North Carolina did to attract students to work for the cafeteria system.
The college dining system at UNC posted pics and insights into jobs they were seeking to fill. Benefits like flexible schedules, free food, and other perks are easily articulated via Instagram. At Bloomsburg University, they post about how their positions will impact a potential employees resume. When you think about it, recruiting staff isn’t all that different than recruiting customers. The goal is to show your restaurant in its best light to someone you wish to attract. Ultimately, you just want to visit with the intention of learning more and then you can show the other benefits of being on your team. Instagram, it’s not just for marketing and great food pics anymore.
