Restaurant Marketing, Menu Preparation and Food Variety
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Howard Moskowitz has consulted many companies in the food industry to help them discover profitability through offering variety. Clients include Pepsi, Prego, Ragu and many others.
I recommend watching this video of author and speaker Malcolm Gladwell as he details revelations of Howard’s research and life experiences.
Things to note:
- People don’t often know what they want
- There is a great variety in what people like to eat and drink
- Don’t search for the perfect recipe. Instead, seek the perfect recipes.
- Offering variety will increase your audience, and your profit margins.
There are many considerations when crafting a menu. Experts will say to keep the menu small and centralized. My recommendation is to find ways to offer variety around your primary dishes, whether that’s through toppings, sauces, rubs, etc. Offering samples of these might also be wise to ensure guests are satisfied with the full dish.
FohBoh Video Tour - Restaurant Social Network
Find more videos like this on FohBoh
I had the pleasure of working with Ted Cohn and Michael Atkinson to produce this video tour of FohBoh, the premiere restaurant industry social network.
During production I interviewed people such as Doug Golden from AdvanceMe, Ray Villaman from the Tahoe Restaurant Group, Amanda Hite from Talent Revolution, Andy Swingley from Thomas and King, and Matt Urdan from Nantahala Outdoor Center.
If you haven’t already, make sure to join FohBoh and get involved. The amount of resources available are powerful and will do much for your business.
HelpMyBusiness.com - Maverick Marketing Video
Andrew Lock introduced HelpMyBusiness.com today with his first “Maverick Marketing” episode. He offers sound, actionable, wide-scale marketing advice.
For this particular episode, part three was the most impactful for me. Pay special attention to how Andrew addresses the marketing Disney uses for their ticket prices: largest prices at the top, with the greatest value (and most expensive) circled in red. From there, the prices get less expensive… and the least expensive ($60+) feels like a bargain after starting out with their suggested package.
While “Help My Business Sucks” only boasts one episode as of today, Andrew has assured me the pipeline is full. Be sure to check back for updates to this well-produced show.
RipCard - Business Card Referral System
The Restaurant Revolution is about creating systems, tracking and being pro-active with marketing. There are many ways to systematize your marketing processes, and one of the latest and best is a Patent Pending item called the RipCard.
I’ve personally spoken with Alf Marcussen over the phone about his new product, launched April 1, 2008. Now that I understand the scope of this project, I honestly feel you should take a serious look on how it could be used in your own business.
Reason being, it not only creates a system, but you can track the results and test different offers. These are the key features of any serious marketing strategy of the 21st century.
Restaurant Street Signs: Text, Color and Marquee
Quick thoughts on restaurants signage.
Fonts
Fonts that are difficult to read, or take more than a split-second to read, will confuse people. Confusion is not inviting.
Color
Look at the color of your sign vs the surroundings. If it’s against the sky, your “competing” color will mostly be light blue. That’s obvious, but what color is the sign compared to that? If it’s a white background, good luck. If it’s against trees and your colors have green, good luck. Why do you think Waffle House has those large yellow signs? It’s impossible to miss them.
Random link: color scheme generator. I’ve used that site for years to help determine everything I do with color. Logos, signs, brochures… everything has a planned color scheme. Look at your surroundings, stick a similar color into that generator and you’ll see colors that “pop” against it.
The results aren’t always practical, but will give you a direction and things to consider, especially if you’re using…
Marquee signs
When was the last time you considered changing the colors of the letters on your marquee sign? Ever? If you’re running a “welcome offer” or weekly special on the sign, consider changing the colors. Run the same offer two weeks in a row. First week use your normal color, second week try an alternate. See if there’s a difference.
Example: “Buy two entrées get free dessert” posted with black letters. Try red. Too much red competing near you (because you reviewed your surroundings, right?)… Try blue or green.
The simplest, seemingly insignificant things can actually make a big difference.
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