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Marketing
If your local market is typical, you've probably noticed the number of eating establishments in your area increasing at a faster rate than the number of people available to frequent them. As an independent operator, chances are you don't just have more competition, but in particular, more competition from chain operators who are very focused on capturing market share and have the marketing budgets to get lots of attention. While the chains can be serious competitors, independents have definite advantages. You'll learn strategies and tactics to take advantage of your independent status and ways to effectively market and promote your restaurant without resorting to the traditional means of expensive and often ineffective mass media advertising. Our objective in this section is to bring to light many approaches and ideas for you to consider in the area of increasing customer counts and sales volume through creative and "low cost" marketing and promotional activities. As you know, marketing a restaurant is not an exact science. What works for one restaurant, may not work for another. But what we do know is that doing nothing fails 100% of the time. A key component of successful restaurant marketing is to keep trying. Constantly experimenting with inexpensive ways of attracting attention and creating interest in your restaurant will eventually lead to positive results. We'll give you a wide variety of proven ways to enhance your marketing skills and create more customers.
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DOWNLOAD: Restaurant Marketing Planning Calendar
Today, sales growth doesn't just happen, it requires proper planning and execution! Get a jump on your 2012 marketing plan with this great tool to organize your promotions for the entire year onto a single spreadsheet that shows the dates of each promotion and the tasks required to make them happen . . .
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WEBINAR: Valentine's Day Tips and Strategies
Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Are you prepared to take advantage of the single biggest "date night" of the year? Listen now to owner/operator, Edmund Woo, and learn what Edmund does to maximize guest counts, generate thousands of dollars of extra sales on and around Valentines Day to make February one of his most profitable months of the year. . . .
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SCREENCAST: Marketing Best Practice - Scratch Ticket Promotion
Watch as veteran operator Peter Troutman shows you his variation of the 'secret envelope' promotion that's resulted in a 30%+ year to year sales increase in one of his slowest months. Learn in detail what he does, his results, costs, prizes, changes he's made over the years, and more. . . .
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How to Claim Your Page and Set Up a Special on Foursquare
Foursquare allows business owners the opportunity of claiming "Business Pages" and using them to promote their places. Almost every business now has a page on Foursquare, see the steps on how to claim your page and create special campaigns to boost your bottom line. . . .
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How Foursquare Can Boost Customers & Sales in Your Restaurant
Foursquare is a rapidly growing location-based platform for mobile devices, similar to Facebook and Twitter, where users can post pictures, leave comments and reviews about a place or suggest things to do. The platform is easy to set up, free, and can help you increase sales. . . .
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WEBINAR: How a Simple Birthday Club Results in 50% More Sales!
Pat Vaselakos' quick serve restaurant's sales were stagnant & even declined for 4 years after opening. Then, she started a birthday club & her sales went up OVER 50% in three years! In her amazing success story, she'll show you exactly how she did it and how you can too. . . .
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DOWNLOAD: Customer Database Template
This download features an Excel spreadsheet that can be used to build your own customer database for birthday clubs and other promotions. It also includes a printable form for customers to fill in their contact information. . . .
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How to Calculate & Track Your Marketing ROI
by Joe Erickson
Restaurant operators may differ on how they market and promote their restaurants, but nobody wants to throw money down the drain. Learn how to plan and track your marketing investment dollars so that you can clearly determine what marketing activities are worth repeating and which ones should be modified or dropped. . . .
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DOWNLOAD: Restaurant Marketing Promotion Tracking Template
Many restaurants spend from 2-4% of revenue on marketing. The most successful ones track their promotions so they "know" which ones work & which don't. Use this template so you can concentrate your efforts & dollars on your most productive marketing activities. . . .
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How to Target New Customers with Facebook Ads
See how to create very specific ads on Facebook targeted to a particular market and criteria. The ad features are numerous and allow you to be creative to discover which ads are most effective with your audience. . . .
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DOWNLOAD: Catering Marketing Letter Templates
Need a creative boost to jump-start your catering sales? Use these ready-to-use marketing letters to introduce your restaurant to prospective catering clients. These templates include five sample introductory letters that you can send to your direct mail or email list of prospects. Also includes our day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, sales letter template. . . .
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How to Attract Facebook Fans and Engage with Customers - Part 1
Interacting with fans on Facebook is similar to interacting with guests at your restaurant-but a different environment. Facebook is about bonding with your clients and establishing a personal relationship. This article will help attract new customers and keep your current ones coming back. . . .
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How to Create a Personal Profile Page on Facebook
There are two ways to create a personal profile on Facebook and start connecting with your customers. See these easy to follow steps to create your own personal profile page to take advantage of all the benefits of exposure on Facebook. . . .
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Why You Should Use Facebook and How to Get Started
Are your sales stagnant or in decline? If you see little change in your business volume you might be suffering from social media deficiency. Recently, social media has caused major changes in dining habits, and many independent restaurants have chosen to ignore it. If you think you're suffering from social media sickness your cure may be Facebook. . . .
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What Every Independent Operator Should Know About Social Networks
Many of our members are reporting major successes using social media. They say these sites are helping them reach new customers and build communication and dialog with existing ones, resulting in more loyal guests and higher sales. Here's a quick reference guide to some of the most popular social media platforms and the differences between them. . . .
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How to Manage Online Customer Reviews
by Amelia Levin
For better or for worse, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zagat and other online user review sites are here to stay, just as social media continues to become the wave of the future. If you're doing everything right - your food is good, your service top notch, your house is clean and running smoothly - you'll get great reviews, if not, it's time to take a closer look at your restaurant. . . .
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