Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Today's Specials:
MARKETING: Your Restaurant Marketing Ideas for April 2017 [Infographic]
April is here. Give your marketing efforts a nice jolt of creativity with these marketing ideas for April. Also be sure to check out our social media marketing ideas for April, too, full of example posts you can share with your guests.
DID YOU KNOWs…
Cook Like A Pro
Ina Garten (the Food Network queen) is introducing a new cooking series on Food Network that will feature professional chefs from top kitchens. The show is called ‘Cook Like a Pro’ and will teach viewers techniques that helped top chefs grow in their culinary careers. Other details are TBD.
Comcast Owns Live Stream
Comcast recently acquired the rights to live streaming, however, isn’t planning on launching a live streaming service like DirecTV or Dish’s Sling TV. This is important to keep in mind because if Comcast does enter the live streaming business, then many live streaming channels will only be accessible via Comcast.
Hello Weedbukx
In case your morning Starbucks wasn’t doing it for you; New Jersey is getting its first weed-themed restaurant but won’t actually serve any cannabis products. Yup, just for décor. Expect to see lots of pot leaves, green, and Bob Marley. Naturally, the restaurant is set to open on 4/20. Inhale, exhale. Click to see.
STARBUCKS GETS A PICK-ME-UP
Why it matters to you: Starbucks is catering to their existing market’s needs.
Last week Starbucks announced a new lunch menu featuring healthier sandwiches and salads that are planned to debut in Chicago. The new menu will launch in 100 Starbucks in the Chicago area and expects to expand to other cities. Starbucks is following through on the part of a much bigger plan to expand further into the food scene and as of last year, plans to double food sales by $5 billion by 2021.
In addition to their new food menu, Starbucks is also leading the way in technology advancement. As of next month, anyone with an iPhone and Apple Pay will be able to text Starbucks gift cards via iMessage. The new feature is expected to make gift cards more accessible and is catering directly to their digital users. We can learn from how the coffee chain is making calculated choices based on what their customer feedback is; although they have their up and downs, Starbucks is an industry leader paving the way for others to follow.
FUTURE OF RESTAURANT DATA
Why it matters to you: Are you using the available data that can drive business decisions and boost revenue?
Being in the restaurant industry, you’re probably familiar with OpenTable. If not, OpenTable is a reservation service that makes it easy for millions of users to find places to eat and secure tables via an app. OpenTable also offers a product called Guest Center which could be an essential tool for restaurant analytics. It allows restaurants to keep track of table availability as well as also offering insights into customer’s eating habits and dining patterns.
This type of data is not only extremely valuable but also can be a key factor in driving business decisions. In addition to providing analytics, you can provide a better quality of service if you can track your guest’s eating patterns, where they prefer to sit, and the drinks they want; that way you know what to recommend. Restaurants have entered a digital realm, and every restaurant should keep up to date with the information available.
VIRTUAL RESTAURANTS
Why it matters to you: getting into the mobile ordering/delivery market could be a profitable business decision.
Online ordering and food delivery have seen a peak high in recent months. Jumping on the trend is a New York startup called Green Summit Group that has launched nine virtual restaurants in the Chicago area. The restaurants have no dine-in option, just a steady flow of delivery drivers and a fast-working kitchen. Green Summit has raised $3.6 million since its launch in 2013 and is projecting about $18 million in sales this year.
The majority of the restaurant industry’s annual sales come from dine-in customers while the delivery market is experiencing exponential growth. With the success that is coming from mobile delivery and online ordering, it remains a worthy consideration. It is also beneficial to know the existing customer base. Millennials have been known as the majority of mobile orders/deliveries whereas other generations remain more traditional.
