Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Today's Specials:
CASH: Refer the SportsTV Guide & Get Cash Back
We are proud to offer a special program for existing SportsTV Guide subscribers to recommend our service to their colleagues and friends in the industry. The best part of this program is that not only will we reward you, but we will also give your friend a gift, too.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Houston Hospitality Fund Helps Employees
The Houston Hospitality Employee Relief Fund has been established in an effort to assist hospitality industry employees in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The fund will provide assistance directly to restaurant employees via cash grants, according to the city of Houston. You can donate to the Houston Hospitality Employee Relief Fund here.
BK Babies
A New Jersey Burger King experienced a busy few days. Firemen were called twice after two separate women gave birth in the same BK parking lot. On separate nights, two women en route to the hospital had to pull off the road and into the parking lot to give birth with the help of NJ firefighters. If only Burger King offered a newborn discount.
Turning Beer Into Bucks
Germany’s largest beer festival held in Munich is back for another round. Oktoberfest runs for 17 days and generates up to 75.7. million Euros in gross revenue. The traditional Bavarian food, merchandise, and rides only make up for a small percent of Oktoberfest’s total profit. This infographic shows just how much beer is poured at the festival and the gross revenue from beer sales.
PRIVATE EYES [Song]
Why it matters to you: Should your VIP guests expect privacy in your dining room?
Privacy is an assumption most people make about their conversations at a restaurant, right? Not these two President Trump attorneys. John Dowd and Ty Cobb (yes, that’s really his name) had lunch last week in a Washington restaurant and were overheard by a nearby journalist. The two power-brokers were discussing internal White House politics and aiming barbs at official White House Counsel, Don McGhan, in addition to discussing the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kenneth Vogel, formerly of Politico and now of the New York Times, whose DC offices are next to the restaurant where these two geniuses were having lunch overheard their loud conversations.
There is no instruction here for you as an operator. What guests discuss at your tables is open season, and there should be no expectation of privacy in a public dining room. However, if someone wants privacy and alerts you to their need, then you should honor that as best you can. Most of you don’t get these types of VIP visits, but if you do, you may want to be proactive if you want to them to return. If your team recognizes a guest as a public person, then you should at least consider trying to buffer them to ensure they feel safe when visiting your restaurant. It’s good for business when someone famous visits your spot and you don’t want to drive them away with a story like this one.
TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING
Why it matters to you: You can use text message marketing as a key promotion strategy.
Restaurant week is a week-long event where business offer discounts along with promotional material to stand out to the frequent diners. It’s known to be fairly competitive based on the area and can be relatively challenging to stand out from the rest. Trumpia’s article provides exactly what restaurant operators need to take their marketing efforts to the next level. Among some of the common strategies used in marketing includes MMS (Multimedia Message Service) to help attract guests’ attention by crafting marketing campaigns launched via text message.
According to a study by SinglePlatform, roughly 81% of consumers search for restaurants on their smartphones, making MMS the perfect vehicle to send attention-grabbing images and deals. Unlike normal text messaging, MMS allows for image content that could consist of menus or taking orders. Typically launching deals, contests, or giveaways for guests opting into via text messaging services have seen success for top chains. It’s just another weapon restaurant operators should at least look into and consider to reach guests where they want to be reached.
