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If you have made the decision to get into the food preparation business, you may be about to live one of your lifelong dreams. You might have some experience in this particular business or just like to cook and have a particular talent in one area or another. What if you just want to see the pleasant look on the face of your visitors as they really enjoy one of your creations? These are all very admirable, but don’t forget that you have a significant challenge ahead as this is one of the most competitive industries of all.

The food preparation business is so competitive, but there are so many possibilities open to you due to the wide variety of lifestyles, tastes, traditions and food stuffs available. All of us seem to have less and less time available to make our own food at home and our hectic lifestyles dictate that we might want to go out to eat more often. Restaurant owners can satisfy these needs.

As it is estimated to account for more than $250 billion per year in sales, the food preparation business is the third-largest in the world. A significant proportion of these establishments are accounted for by nationally syndicated chains, but the independent restaurateur nevertheless accounts for one in five of all eateries.

There seems no end to the level of construction all around us, and even during this period of recession we can expect to see an increased level of activity rebound. When ever new developments spring up, there are opportunities for the forward thinking entrepreneur and a potential area for you to establish your food preparation business.

The demand is so great that it is said that more than 500 new restaurants open around the country each month. If you are considering the establishment of a food preparation business, your mouth should be watering when you view the statistics. You should be especially interested to learn that the average American spends much more than 10% of his or her monthly income when they eat out.

Lifestyle changes all around us have helped to fuel a trend toward “eating out.” Only a couple of generations ago it was more normal for the wife in a typical family to remain at home to look after the children. As such, family meals were more often spent together at home at the end of the day. As both parents tend to work these days, there is often a crunch for time and an additional potential for your food preparation business to spring into action.

To make your food preparation business work, you will need a lot of different abilities and at least need to be able to stay ahead of the trend and be dynamic. Think outside of the box, or the competition will do it for you.

Over-deliver always in your food preparation business as without this approach you will have little chance of succeeding. You need to convince people to come back and visit you, as you cannot possibly rely on first-time visitors to sustain a business of this kind…

Expert Jose L Riesco teaches the most effective methods for getting more people into your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Learn more about the food preparation business here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

It is often a good idea to diversify in business and this goes especially in the food and drink industry. You may find that you have a large facility available to you for your new operation and may choose not to fill up the space with tables alone, but allocate part of the facility to a place simply to unwind and drink. Restaurant and bar marketing for operations such as this may require you to have two different trains of thought to be effective, or can be inclusive.

If you split your business operation between drinks and foods, your marketing techniques may need to diversify. A club or a bar may attract people who are at different stages of need. They may not be in the mood to eat, but may value the social element of a bar atmosphere. Calculate carefully whether you need to segregate your restaurant and bar marketing operations.

If you can achieve it, it’s a good idea to offer a similar theme when considering restaurant and bar marketing in a common building. If you can do this, you can cross refer to either part of the business as a goal. It doesn’t seem logical to have a fine dining establishment in one part with a popular music style bar in the other.

If you have to handle restaurant and bar marketing separately in some respects, if they complement each other then you can achieve commonality. Just remember that restaurants are generally attractive to all comers, while a bar is a distinct way of socializing.

These days, a lot more entrepreneurs are spending time and effort in developing their online presence. If you have both an eating and drinking establishment, the good news here is that you can host a website designed to appeal to both. It is quite easy to segregate two sites by having a subdomain and you can quite easily link one to another if applicable.

Cross promote your “pub” when people are dining and vice versa and your restaurant and bar marketing can work hand-in-hand. For instance, you can have a coupon offering a free appetizer at the restaurant, or the first round of drinks “on us” in the bar.

Maintenance of a highly professional brand is important, to how diversified your operations may be. Restaurant and bar marketing can be much easier if you pay attention to these high standards, so that people may recognize your involvement and your professional ability in both.

Always get people to come back in through the door, no matter what type of food or drink business you’re in. Restaurant or bar marketing is all about word of mouth, as people will almost invariably tell others if they are enthusiastic enough themselves to come back.

Writer Jose L Riesco teaches the best methods for getting more visitors to your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Uncover your restaurant and bar marketing here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

Restaurant promos, as they’re known in the trade, are so important that as a restaurateur you should ensure that you are in an almost constant state of brainstorming as you devise some of these future projects. You will certainly set your business apart by being truly creative and always trying to go the extra mile to attract and retain valuable clientele.

Ensure that all your staff are involved in the development of your business, proactively. You must ensure that they do not view their employment as just a means to an end and a way to get a living wage. If they engage in the success of the business, you should solicit their ideas on a regular basis. If they come up with a tangible and workable restaurant promo, reward them for doing so.

Your imagination is not limited and therefore restaurant promos should be cultivated and explored all the time. Always refer to your business mission statement and whatever your unique selling proposition should be and work your promotions around these core principles. Be as innovative as you can and you will go far.

Never switch yourself off from what is happening in the outside world, or in your locality, under the pretense that you’re so busy focusing on work that you can’t really notice. If you are sharp, you can create some great restaurant promos by focusing on some event or other that is capturing the news. You could create a special menu item that is appropriate, or may be able to produce an event that gives back in one way or another to help a rather pressing cause. People will notice your ingenuity and creativity and if you do this correctly, they will subconsciously elevate your restaurant in their mind.

Social media platforms are very important these days and restaurant promos should utilize them at all costs. Consider a Facebook business page, a Twitter profile and a MySpace account and others and keep up with them. Be interactive and get people to follow you and listen and observe what you are saying. For example, suggest that your visitors sign up to your Facebook account, where they will be able to see specific and targeted weekly offers, for example.

Restaurant promos can always focus on branded items, as this is a traditional way to give people something for nothing. Always weigh up the cost versus benefit analysis, though, as you do not want to produce an item that is so inferior that it is thrown away immediately, nor to produce a bad impression through inferiority.

You should realize the value that a customer’s e-mail account represents. Give them something special as part of a specific e-mail marketing restaurant promo and they will likely give you their e-mail address. Once they have done this, be very careful how you treat the information and never spam, but from time to time send highly valuable newsletters. Don’t be tempted to sell every time that you send an e-mail, but over time this kind of “drip” marketing will be valuable to you.

Research as much as you can and look to see what other businesses are doing in your locality and elsewhere, even around the world. Use these ideas that you see to spike your imagination. This form of research will just fuel your creative mind.

Author Jose L Riesco shows you the best methods for getting more visitors to your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Learn more about restaurant promos here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

The exchange of e-mails is now an accepted part of our everyday lives and indeed many of us would not know what to do if we were not able to access our e-mail accounts either through our blackberries, our smartphones or our laptops. Savvy entrepreneurs have long realized that this mode of communication can be great for marketing and e-mail marketing for restaurants is now becoming a great resource.

Some people think that you have to be involved in an Internet only operation to be marketing e-mails. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially when you consider that these days you have to look outside of the box and turn away from many conventional marketing methods. When e-mail marketing for restaurants, just remember that you are not trying to attract people to come back to your online site as such, but to get them to go to your bricks and mortar operation.

It is a moment of celebration when somebody walks into the door to a restaurant and time for you to act. First order of business is to make sure they enjoyed their experience, eat well and leave with a great impression. Of equal or maybe even greater importance, you have to get them to come back in the future. As such, work out a way to get their e-mail address so that they can be put into a business database as soon as possible.

If you get the e-mail of a visitor to your eatery, you can engage with them in a subtle, yet persuasive nature online. E-mail marketing for restaurants allows you to communicate on a regular, but not intrusive basis. If this is done right, it is one of the most powerful ways of persuading people to return to your restaurant.

When communicating with people who have a good impression of your business to start off with, sending them e-mails with great ideas for recipes, home cooking concepts, food and drink business news can be very welcome. Occasionally, you will put in a special offer for a coupon of some kind.

E-mail marketing for restaurants can represent a great return on investment. This is not labor intensive as automated systems called auto responders have been developed to work in a very personal and highly effective manner.

Innovative e-mail marketing for restaurants has been proven time and time again. Of course, one of your biggest challenges is to get that e-mail address to start off with. This should be achieved when the client is particularly happy with services received and if you give them a coupon of some kind, you will undoubtedly get their information.

Remember that people are always checking their e-mails and they like to open mails from addresses that they know and trust. Make sure your e-mails can be recognized immediately so that they are not deleted and have an enticing subject line, so that they are further prompted to open and read.

Expert Jose L Riesco shows you the best methods for getting more visitors to your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Find out about e-mail marketing for restaurants here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

Everyone knows that you need a lot of patience, tenacity and a long list of important and critical tools if you’re planning a new business venture in the future. Your restaurant promotion strategy will be the most important if you’re going into the food and drink service industry. It’s one of the toughest business lines you could enter and you won’t get anywhere unless you can promote properly. Unless you’re in business for five years, you have not passed the danger point and unless you apply considerable attention to promotional matters, you may join those unfortunate ranks.

A good restaurateur understands how important it is to consult experienced and successful marketing organizations when they are compiling their important restaurant promotion strategy. It needs to be incorporated within the business plan and must be fully analyzed to the ultimate detail in advance. Be fully aware of all your methods of exposure before you commit to the finer detail.

With a restaurant, promotion strategy always includes a wide variety of marketing initiatives. You cannot simply focus on a particular style and not pay attention to the others. The customer’s buying decision is affected by so many external forces and different triggers, some of which are not easy to quantify and others are rather indirect. As such, you will need to take a multi-pronged approach here to ensure that the customer ultimately pays attention and visits.

Restaurant promotion strategy concepts can include any number of direct and indirect, or above the line and below the line activities. These days, social media marketing is a hot subject and it should definitely be included within your plans. You will need to think about public relations activities, various price and product promotions, how you package your product or services and how you brand your advertising.

Know who your media contacts should be and exert a special public relations campaign to help you reach them, as consistently and as positively as you can. You should compile a list of the major media outlets and try and get to know the specific person at each, normally the food editor or similar title.

Don’t make the big mistake of thinking that a restaurant promotion strategy is all about advertising or branding. Rather, you must be concerned with the entire customer experience, from the time that they become aware of your existence to the time that they leave after eating. The business plan should detail how you handle through each stage, as it’s not enough to attract the visitor through the door and then forget it. They must be so impressed that they always come back and as such, customer service and experience policy is paramount.

When it comes to promoting sales, you need a schedule and a list of backup activities. Detail the collateral that you will have to produce, who is possible for producing it and make sure that it is available as and when needed. This is a lot about logistics and about following up.

Customer relations is so important when it comes to restaurant promotion strategy, but branding is critical to the outcome too. Planning a big opening or event can take up all the time of the restaurateur and they can be so caught up in the intricacies of the field to see the bigger picture. A common message must ensure that all elements match, including billboards, decor, uniforms, branding, menus and so on.

Expert Jose L Riesco teaches the best methods for getting more people into your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Find out about honing your restaurant promotion strategy here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

Many an entrepreneur has been known to make the mistake of lumping all activities designed to reach across to a potential customer into the same category. sometimes they refer to it simply as “marketing,” without taking the needed time to individually categorize all activities. Not all advertising promotions are the same, far from it and you really have to have some understanding of how the human mind works when it is processing external triggers, so that you can approach the prospect from all these creative angles.

Restaurant PR can be classified as a marketing activity, but it is not necessarily advertising. This is a more thorough and long-term way of manipulating the impression that your prospects may get of your business. PR is also known as public relations and can represent a third-party endorsement of what you are trying to do, if you do it well. A creative campaign can be much more productive than some other methods of marketing sometimes. As you know, we all tend to block out direct advertising as we see so much of it during all our waking hours.

If we tune out out all those expensive adverts and commercials, what do we pay attention to? This is of course not black-and-white but we do tend to give more credence to third-party endorsements of products or services. Thus if we read a newspaper article for example we allocate this a few additional points in our subconscious mind. We are not as wary of the content contained therein as we would be if we saw any associated claims in an advert somewhere else.

Restaurant PR is not easy to measure according to set figures or parameters. With Internet advertising, for example, you can measure how many “clicks” perimpression you get and therefore quantify how many people are taking a certain action. Here, however you need to focus on the general reach of the media outlet, and ensure that it is credible and long-lasting, so you can produce a restaurant PR campaign the best way.

If you look at your own buying habits, you should be able to get some assistance as you prepare your restaurant PR campaign. Whenever you’re looking to purchase an expensive item, you almost always look elsewhere after you have scoped it out in the manufacturer or supplier ad. In these cases you would go online and see what testimonials you can find. “Social proof” just such as this is increasingly important in the overall buying cycle.

Social proof is so important these days, it explains why media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook are booming. Independent assertions of products and services can be found here. Social media marketing must be an important part of a restaurant campaign anyway, but always remember how that social proof is important when compiling restaurant PR programs.

Good restaurant PR depends on you having something specific to say in the first place. You cannot conduct a PR campaign around the sale of a service or product, but must have a credible story. At the end of the day, people will be much more aware of your existence and are more likely to come in to check out the quality of your operation.

You might have given up on mainstream advertising due to the high cost of it all. A healthy restaurant PR program will enable you to cement a relationship with media contacts, enhance your credibility and reputation and go much further.

Writer Jose L Riesco shows you the best methods for getting more people into your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Learn more about honing your restaurant PR here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

The restaurant industry has gone through considerable upheaval and change in the last ten years in an ongoing effort to keep people coming through the doors and provide innovation. Part of this change has involved the creation of a market specifically catered to wine enthusiasts and thus wine bar marketing is a hot topic these days.

We are told by the Wine Market Council that 57% of adults enjoy drinking a glass of wine occasionally and this has increased from 43%, 10 years ago. It’s a good increase which reflects the efficiency of wine bar marketing in general. Any established restaurateur should consider creating a bar of this kind within the facility as they try to broaden the total appeal of the business.

There is a certain social acceptance to wine and according to figures released by the Wine Market Council, in any one year, 3 gallons of wine on average per capita is consumed. There are a huge variety of different types and brands of wine and the United States, specifically Napa Valley, is well to the fore in terms of production and consumption. Hence the proliferation of dedicated bars and the need for specific wine bar marketing initiatives.

Wine appeals to the younger set, as it has a certain mystique and a definite sense of adventure. Younger people appreciate the experimentation that comes with discovering various brands and labels and this is a trait that is not shared within the beer or liquor industries. Wine bar marketing experts thus pay particular attention to creating a “hip” association between this particular demographic and product.

A special kind of environment can be created within wine bars and unique conversations developed around a theme. The wine bar cannot really be compared to the regular bar or a typical pub and there is even a sense of upscale association. As such, sales in these locations are not as price-sensitive as they may be in other alternatives.

We have learned from successful owners that wine bar marketing is best focused on education. Every single brand has a story to tell and many wineries have a long and outstanding legacy. Each batch of wine is unique and marketers realize that they can pull a lot of interest in from fans and those on the periphery by engaging in a good process of education.

Looking toward big business, some wine bar marketing initiatives focus on corporate outings, customer relationship marketing and wine tastings in particular. The owner can set up a meaningful association with the company, developing special events which may cater to that company’s clientele.

Social media marketing can be a wine bar marketing director’s best friend. The operation should have a blog at the very least and a presence on all the major social media platforms. Feedback and two-way conversations between clients should be encouraged, to develop a great bond for future growth.

Expert Jose L Riesco teaches the best methods for getting more visitors to your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Learn more about honing your wine bar marketing here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

During the 1970s, independently owned restaurants proliferated the landscape around the USA and it was said that they represented fully 85% of the options available to the hungry public. These days, that has changed considerably and chain restaurants are much more dominant, believed now to have completely reversed the scenario, so that independents only represent 12% of the market.

The independent restaurateur has considerable challenges and in order to survive must be very efficient and must try and stay in business for at least five years, statistically. Restaurant guerrilla marketing tactics must be deployed to help the small guys stay ahead of the dominant chains and win the battle of the David versus Goliath war.

Large chains typically benefit from an analysis of macroeconomics. They are able to use a considerable amount of detail and data, number crunching their way to a determination of the right kind of menu and presentation. While they benefit from these economics of scale, they are at one significant disadvantage as compared to the independent property and this is where restaurant guerrilla marketing comes to the fore.

The mom-and-pop eatery or cafe prides itself on an ability to interact with customers on a very personal level and this is where restaurant guerrilla marketing shines. It can make the difference between success and failure, without a doubt. A chain restaurant is all about the numbers and often summons a party to eat at the table with a very impersonal pager, rather than a smile. Conversely, the independent guy notes and greets all his guests by name.

To make best use of restaurant guerrilla marketing techniques, a business owner should be very fleet and able to adjust menus or prices at short notice accordingly. The ability to tinker with the mechanics of the setup is not shared by the dominant chains and thus must be milked to every advantage.

Independent restaurateurs pride themselves on the fact that they are not “cookie-cutter” establishments at all. They have a unique definition and have the most distinct and unique selling proposition. Without this ability to change and cater at micro level, they would all get swallowed up by an increasingly faceless chain mentality.

There is one dilemma facing the business owner practicing restaurant guerrilla marketing techniques and this is the ability to balance. It may be difficult to retain the loyalty while maintaining consistent delivery if experimentation and menu changing happens on a regular basis. The regular clientele may not be able to remember that particular “hook” which brought them in the first place and there’s a danger that they could move elsewhere.

A small neighborhood restaurant is dependent on its ability to keep its guerrilla marketing at the forefront. There simply must be a great two-way communication and face-to-face interaction with customers, to give the restaurateur all information and ammunition she needs to survive.

Writer Jose L Riesco teaches the best methods for getting more visitors to your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Find out about honing your restaurant guerrilla marketing here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

Don’t just sit there and spin your wheels, expecting people to come to your business forever without you taking some action to keep up with trends. Every organization has to develop and change and maybe restaurant renovations should be in your future. If you find that you have to conduct major changes due to some external event, so be it, but in any eventuality you should look at this as a positive challenge and make your team enthused about the options. Remember, people are seeking a getaway when they eat out as well and will value your efforts to make it better, for them.

Restaurant renovations can run the gamut from simple to extremely complex. On the far end of the scale, you may well have to prepare a comprehensive business plan once again and formalize your approach, especially if third parties are contributing resources or finances to the operation. In certain cases, this can be almost like opening a brand-new location.

We have all heard that the business that does not innovate and try and improve is effectively standing still or falling backwards. The food and drink business has always been one of the toughest and in this brutal economy every restaurateur needs to be looking for a new angle or edge to set things apart. Do your fair share of research before you consider restaurant renovations, though.

If you think there are no new angles to try and that somebody somewhere has done this before, you may be right. However, 99% of your visitors will not know of this and will be pleasantly surprised by what you are trying to do and you should always be able to give a unique spin of some kind to a creation.

While you are undergoing restaurant renovations, take the opportunity to improve the way that your restaurant flows, the seating chart, give your staff more room to work while generally making things more pleasant.

Your marketing plan, one of your key documents as you know, should be sufficiently dynamic to enable you to incorporate your restaurant renovation plans to maximum effect. Create a great new spin and why not even ask your regular clients for their own input and color.

Restaurant renovations can be scary thoughts sometime and it is natural to have doubts as you plan. Consult knowledgeable experts in the industry at this time, as they will invariably have come across your approach and will be able to advise you accordingly.

Don’t be tempted to sit on your laurels and think that the success you have now will continue ad infinitum. You must transition and grow, as trends make new waves in the social marketplace.

Expert Jose L Riesco teaches the most effective methods for getting more visitors to your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Learn more about your restaurant renovations here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing

Running a business can be fun, but it’s a huge challenge. If you choose to go into the restaurant industry, you are going to face a challenge bigger than most. Just look at those statistics that show us how many restaurant ventures fail before the business is even 36 months old. You will need dedicated restaurants skills and must consider your position before you begin. Remember that you are relying on return visitors and will you be able to provide them with a totally enjoyable, first class, entertaining experience?

Take a deep breath and focus on your restaurant skills before you go too far. If you have limited experience there are many resources available to help you, reference books, courses, online sites and advisers. It can be done, but will require a strong effort.

Right at the top of your list and certain to test your restaurants skills is the ability to manage staff. There are so many issues here, as it is very difficult to control people. An additional effort to choose the right people will pay huge dividends. A strong personality is very important for your waitstaff and greeters, while ability and experience is important through the business. You should trust your employees if you select them well and don’t micromanage.

Diners are looking for visual stimulation as well as a pleasant menu. Your environment should be conducive and your theme should be fun and enticing. Don’t sacrifice your working conditions to be clever, however as your staff must be motivated and happy and able to do this job successfully to give you that special “something.”

Training is an important element of people management. Do they all have the same vision as you with regard to the future of the business? This is crucial and training is one of your requisite restaurant skills, together with adequate internal communication.

Marketing is a close second to people management when it comes to potential success. You can have a fantastic menu with a great-looking presentation, but if your restaurant skills do not include marketing, you will be sunk. Direct advertising used to be the only way to go, but now social marketing and media are rising very quickly.

Don’t expect to be a hundred percent proficient with all your restaurant skills when the business opens, but the fundamentals must be in place. As with anything else, you will learn as you grow.

A restaurant is not a static object, it is a living and breathing thing and you must keep up with all your industry developments to help you move forward. With a lot of internal strength and a positive approach and commitment, you will be one of those who succeeds.

Expert Jose L Riesco teaches the most effective methods for getting more people into your restaurant at www.myrestaurantmarketing.com. Learn more about honing your restaurant skills here.

Technorati Tags: Dining Out, eating out, food and drink, restaurant management, restaurant marketing