Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Today's Specials:
SOCIAL MEDIA: The Most Accurate #ServerLife Tweets
We found a collection of spot-on tweets from people in the service industry that collected their everyday struggles using the ServerLife hashtag. Many of these really speak to the difficulties we face from all positions. Let us know which your favorite is!
DID YOU KNOWs…
An Apple a Day
Apple’s cash pile is growing by the second. Over the past quarter it has grown past the trillion dollar mark in the first few months of 2017. Here is an infographic shows the list of companies that Apple could acquire with all their cash money.
T-Mobile Wants to Be a G
T-Mobile is looking to build the first nationwide 5G network. Their plan is to deploy its recently acquired radio airwaves toward a next-generation wireless network used for covering long distances with “tremendous speed.” Can ya hear me nowww?
Drunk Yoga
Beer yoga is the next hot trend that bars are using as a marketing ploy to appeal to yoga lovers that apparently love to get drunk. Here’s a fun idea as a sponsored event to bring a new crowd to your restaurant.
GROWING TOO FAST
Why it matters to you: some restaurants are expanding but customers are not on board.
Most often the restaurant industry is rather resilient however there has been a recent trend where restaurants pay the price for “overindulging.” According to the Washington Post, some restaurant chains have been expanding at a rate that many of them cannot sustain but keep expanding with the hopes to bring in more revenue. Visits to restaurants have been growing steadily at around one percent a year, according to market research firm NPD group, which provides an extra incentive for chains to keep expanding. However, in 2016, restaurant visits began to decline for multiple reasons, causing potential mass closings. Even a small alter in percentage could affect a handful of restaurants.
Industry analysts have narrowed down the issue to a couple of variables. One potential reason could be that restaurants have seen high workforce turnover, and heavily relying on part-time help, leading to “an uneven experience.” Many restaurant chains that continue expanding are fighting for possible customers that may not be willing to spend their money. Another threat to these restaurants are grocery stores which have many put forth an effort to expand into restaurant-style concepts. Although many restaurants are facing a variety of difficulties, only time will tell on whether expanding could be damaging revenue.
INSTA-WORTHY
Why it matters to you: does your restaurant look good on Instagram?
It’s no secret that many restaurants have found popularity on Instagram and are using it as a force to drive marketing and design decisions. One Minneapolis establishment noticed one major problem upon opening; it wasn’t going to look good on people’s Instagram posts! The owners then decided to redesign the restaurant with social media photography tips in mind in an effort to boost sales. “In this day and age, if it’s not Instagrammable, you’ve just sacrificed your entire marketing potential,” said Dean Phillips, one of two owners at the café in downtown Minneapolis. “It really is a whole new paradigm.”
Phillips went on to rework many of his existing menu options as well to provide a more picturesque appearance. Therefore, his menu items would compete with existing food pictures seen on Instagram. Some may argue that redesigning a restaurant based on what could be a short-lived trend is a mistake, but many believe that tailoring a restaurant to Instagram is a great way to attract new customers. After the redesign process, the Minnesota restaurant did see an improvement in customer growth. So apparently some trends do pay off in the long term.
