MARKETING: 5 Best Local Marketing Tips for Restaurants
Unless you're a part of a restaurant chain, the majority of your guests come from the local community. Yes, there are circumstances where you'll have people from out of town, especially if you're located in a big city or near a busy highway, but you'll have to market yourself to the locals first. Here's how to get started.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Ugly Sweater Season
Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties are pretty mainstream and now food & beverage vendors are getting in on the action. Miller has released a Miller Lite ugly sweater that some are calling “actually pretty attractive.” That’s debatable but we admire their ingenuity and ability to cash in on silly, seasonal trends.
U.S. Trails in Voter Turnout
A massive volume of early voting points towards a record turnout in yesterday’s midterms. More than 35 million early votes have already been cast, easily beating 2014's total of 20 million ahead of election day. Despite the historic number of early votes this year, it is still far behind the 2016 presidential election when over 46 million were counted on the eve of the contest. It is also likely to be far behind major national elections in other developed countries.
Reese’s Candy Swapping Machine
It’s been a week since Halloween so you’re all out of candy, right? Lolz. Anyways, if you (see also: your kids) got candy none of you like, you’re in luck. Reese’s created a machine that lets you swap out all the Halloween candy you don’t like and get some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in return. That’s a win-win. Unfortunately, only New Yorkers are getting in on the action.
OPEN FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Why it matters to you: Don’t lose a day of profit, open for Thanksgiving.
The holidays are a time to recharge and spend time with your families. And for many in our industry, a time to give our teams some time off. However, did you know that 1 in 10 people are planning on going out for Thanksgiving dinner? This may or may not leave you with a dilemma, but it for sure leaves you with a chance to profit. This is especially true if you are opening after dinner. But don’t take our word for it; check out these 19 chains who are opening with various service levels for Thanksgiving.
You also might be surprised by how many of your staff don’t have specific plans and would even welcome the work. When I hosted Thanksgiving at my restaurants, we always finished with a staff meal to thank our team for working. Let’s face it. You spend an awful lot of time around the folks you employ, sometimes even more than your own family. So, if you do decide to open for Thanksgiving, make is a festive for yourself as you will for your guests.
[Source: TheDailyMeal]
MINIMUM NO MORE
Why it matters to you: Several ballot initiatives that will impact restaurants were decided last night
Arkansas and Missouri both had ballot measures included on last nights voting that will impact restaurants. In Missouri, Proposition B won 60% of the vote. This initiative increases the minimum wage to $12 by 2023 and would give employees a bump from $7.85 to $8.60 in January. In August, Kansas City outpaced the Proposition B minimums by raising the city rate to $15, but the Governor passed a law banning municipalities from setting their own minimum wage.
Arkansas's ballot Issue 5 was also passed last night, but the increase it bit less aggressive. This affirmative received 68% of the votes cast. Starting in January, Arkansas minimum wage recipients will see a jump from $8.25 to $9.50 and will eventually get to $11 by 2021. Anaheim California also had a ballot question to increase the minimum wage to $18. This would clearly impact the folks at Disney. Unfortunately, California doesn't certify it's elections until 30 days after the vote. We will update you when we know more.
[Source: NRN]
