Monday, September 28th, 2009
Hi all. I’m going to turn this session’s blog over to my good friend, part-time business partner (see www.vuegear.com if you’re curious), and most importantly for this, very talented marketing, ah-hem, genius. His name is Rob Storey. Enjoy:
The business plan that you submitted for your SBA loan to get your restaurant doors open calls for you to sell 700 Angie burgers (short for angioplasty) and you are currently selling only 350. You need more customers. Perhaps you could increase your marketing spend from .0001 percent of gross sales to .001. But how would you spend this deluge of dollars? What about social media? Marketing is undergoing a dramatic shift, instead of blasting out coupons or emails to some random list, smart businesses are cultivating relationships and getting permission to talk to their customers. During these conversations, businesses learn how to improve, the freshness of the food, ambiance, price, location, etc. all the things you as a restaurant owner need to know to succeed…or at least get to the magic 700 burger threshold.
Let’s start with a couple of basics:
1. Don’t be afraid to pimp your restaurant. And by pimp, I mean talk about it. Mingle with the crowd, ask questions, get feedback. Ensuring that every time a customer walks through your doors, their experience is great.
2. Create a Facebook page for your restaurant. It’s simple. Ask your friends to become fans. Get a conversation going with those that already enjoy your restaurant. This is a way to observe the coveted “Word of Mouth” marketing and more importantly influence it. The conversation is already happening about your restaurant, join in and learn from the experience. A word of warning on posting. It is possible to “over share.” Tirelessly talking about your restaurant only can get old, but mix it up with some interesting stories, personal notes and some freebies once in a while.
3. Start a blog and link to it on your Facebook page. The set up for this is so so easy. And is currently free. Blogs are an opportunity to open up and share experiences, frustrations and manage the conversation in more detail. Again, this starts with your friends and loyal customers. Keep in mind that this takes some thought, good writing and CONSISTENCY. Don’t expect much for a few months or even a year. But building a valuable channel for your business works.
Hey look at that, your .001 marketing budget can go further than you thought.
Rob Storey is a managing partner at Vinca Consulting. Vinca specializes in helping early stage businesses develop marketing plans, go-to-market strategies and more effeciently spend marketing resources. Contact rstorey@vincaconsulting.com for more information.
