MARKETING: 5 Marketing Mistakes Restaurants Make Far Too Often
Making a restaurant these days is hard work due to dwindling numbers of people eating out, faster takeaway and delivery options, and the vast amount of competition. However, is your restaurant harming your own success while marketing your business? First impressions count for a lot, so if you’re marketing yourself incorrectly (or unprofessionally), you could be causing yourself some problems. Let’s explore some of the most common marketing mistakes restaurants make, so you can avoid them at all costs.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Money on the Election
Residents of Missouri and Arkansas will hit the polls in a few days to, among other items, vote for a possible minimum wage increase. Both ballot initiatives would gradually raise the wage floor to $12 & $11, respectively, over the next few years. Proponents of the increase say the increase would bring the states back up to where the min-wage was in 1968 when adjusted for inflation.
Dry Aged Steak 101
Few things beat a perfectly prepared steak. It’s a staple item for many restaurants. But how much do you know about dry aged steak? This video gives you a 101 rundown of dry aged steak. Everything from what it is, how it’s made, and the effect of bacteria on the steak.
PlayStation Classic Lacking Classics?
As the following chart shows, some of the PlayStation’s biggest hits are missing from the PS Classic line-up, much to the fans’ chagrin, who will now have to dust off their old consoles to play Gran Turismo, Crash Bandicoot or Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
LIMITED TIME ONLY
Why it matters to you: Because it doesn’t end with pumpkin spiced hot wings.
Do you remember when scarcity was a thing? If you are older than 50, you do remember that strawberries were only available in June and asparagus and blueberries came in late-summer along with great tomatoes. We couldn’t wait until sweet corn season in September.
Since we now have a global food system, there are no longer seasons for anything. Enter Pumpkin Spice flavors for fall. This is the new scarcity -- limited time only. Buffalo Wild Wings knows scarcity matters, as they are serving their very own BWW Pumpkin Ale sauce this fall. Add to that the re-emergence of the McRib and you may have found yourself the next trend.
Sure, the temptation is to find an item that you make seasonal that crushes it and put it on the menu year-round. And you can do that, but what if that kills it? Most of you don’t do a holistic approach to seasonality with your entire menu. Consequently, adding something for each season and making sure it’s really special will be even more valuable. Giving folks something to look forward to is as great a reason for them to visit as you can leverage. That type of product loyalty is the gold that keeps companies like Dunkin Donuts and Trader Joe’s growing. You can do the same.
[Source: USAToday]
WHO IS CHARGING WHOM?
Why it matters to you: It’s time to take a look at your credit card processing approach.
If you are like most operators, you endure your credit card fees as a cost of doing business. But did you know that you can mitigate them with a surcharge. That’s right. In 2013, a class action suit made it the law that you can add up to 4% for any credit card charge. The guest can avoid the fee if they use their debit card or pay cash. This may seem petty, but if your process $500,000 in credit card transactions that would return you $20,000. There are a lot of considerations to a move as bold as adding a credit card transaction fee, but you are already seeing it arise again in other places like gas stations.
To be clear, we are not advocating for any of you to suddenly at a 4-point surcharge to your credit card payers’ checks. We are, however, informing you that this possibility exists. It’s a serious choice and you would need to implement it with a commitment to transparency. That being said, you can recapture significant profit if you do.
Another way to mitigate your credit card fees is to bid your service. We often discuss the inertia that is inherent in so many of the operators in our industry and credit card fee auditing is a favorite example. In some cases you could save thousands, but it’s doesn’t seem enough to get many managers to action. So, we leave you with food for thought. Is it time to review your approach to credit card processing? Uhhh, YES!
[Source: RestaurantBusinessOnline]
