SOCIAL: 6 Tips for Promoting Your Restaurant on Twitter
Twitter is a great way to market your restaurant to guests. Unlike Facebook and Instagram that use algorithms to decide what people see on their feed, if someone is following you on Twitter they have a better chance of seeing your tweet. But operators still need to put in time and effort if they want their Twitter marketing to make a difference. First step is knowing who your target guests and followers are. Here’s what else you need to know.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Are Americans Happy with Working Conditions?
Employers added 136,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in September, resulting in the unemployment rate falling to 3.5%, its lowest level since 1969. While most Americans are no doubt satisfied with the state of the economy, how do they feel about their working conditions? Gallup has been measuring U.S. worker satisfaction across a range of characteristics for the past two decades. According to the 2019 edition of the research, U.S. workers are generally satisfied with most aspects of their jobs, though there are some areas where improvements could be made.
Housing Bubble
UBS determined that Munich had the highest risk of developing a housing bubble. Other cities at risk include Amsterdam, Toronto, Vancouver, and Frankfurt, placing two Canadian and two German cities in the top seven. Amsterdam recorded the sharpest yearly price increase of any city, since the survey's first release in 2015. San Francisco rounded the Top 10 as the only US city.
Dish & Fox Make a Deal
After ten days, the Dish Network & Fox carriage dispute is over. The two companies announced a long-term carriage agreement. That means Dish and Sling TV will once again host Fox-owned local broadcast networks, FS1, FS2 and BTN. BTN, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes, however, will continue to not be available on Sling. Always know when and where to find the big games your guests want to see by signing up to receive the SportsTV Guide in your inbox everyday.
ARE YOU ACCOMMODATING?
Why it matters to you: SCOTUS says your website must be ADA compliant.
A ruling this week by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is forcing all of us to rethink our website strategies. SCOTUS found that Domino’s does have a responsibility to make their ordering app and website accessible to people with disabilities. The case stems from a suit filed by Guillermo Robles, a blind man who twice tried unsuccessfully to order a pizza from Domino’s. The court found that Dominos is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make any guest-facing service is capable of accommodating people who have disabilities that would preclude normal use of their site. This is a serious issue that none of us should ignore. As of June 2019, there have been over 5,000 lawsuits over ADA rules, according to BentoBox, an accessible restaurant focused website platform.
Your website is a valuable element of your marketing and therefore you can’t just give up and not have one. However, you aren’t wrong to feel a little overwhelmed by this, but it’s not as difficult a problem to solve as you may think. Unless you are the size of Domino’s and can build your own ADA compliant site, you can start by using a website platform instead of building a site of your own. The first question you should ask when choosing that platform to host your site is if they are ADA compliant. From there these platforms delivery largely the same functions and can have other elements like online ordering or a blog built in seamlessly. The one thing you shouldn’t do is ignore this issue. An ADA lawsuit is a nuisance you don’t need, and a little proactive behavior will ensure you never have to experience one.
[Source: Restaurant Business Online]
YOU NEED A SOURCE
Why it matters to you: If you want your own restaurant, you must figure out how to finance it.
The path to restaurant ownership is different for everyone, but commonality is that it costs real money to start any business and food-related companies can be particularly expensive. Finding that money can be a daunting task, which is why this blog about how to start and fund your restaurant is great place to start. The blog is an honest conversation about the process and pitfalls of raising money for a business no one can visit and that one has never heard of. The primer starts by telling the author’s personal story, but the insights are relevant to anyone that has ever desired to open their own joint. She starts by saying what may seem obvious, but still needs discussing: Be prepared to risk it all. Inherent in any start up business is risk, but everyone’s appetite for risk is different.
You have to be prepared for the ups and downs and the very real prospect of failure. What you can’t be is so scared of failure that you are paralyzed to inaction. A second insight, and corollary to the risk appetite issue, is that you will likely have to ask people you know to help you get started. So, not only is there risk of failure, but also risk that you will disappoint people you have asked to trust you with their money. You could source the money through crowd funding, as the article discusses, but that will dictate the scale of your business. No matter how you get there, this article has some valuable insights on the journey. Give it a read. If you are still hot to open your own place, at least you’ll know what you have to first to get there.
[Source: Vice]
