Archive for January, 2008

30 January, 2008 by Jeffrey Summers Categories :
Restaurant Marketing
TOH (1) Comment

The Absolute Best Way To Deal With Donation Requests

They’re called “receipt drives” and this one comes to us from Bob Batley, owner of the Stadium Grille in West Chester and Chester Springs, PA. I think you’ll agree that this is probably the absolute best way for turning all those nagging little donation requests into free advertising and new guests. Note the long list of groups at the end! Read his policy here …

“We believe strongly in supporting the community in which we live and work. That is why the Stadium Grille sponsors benefits for nonprofit organizations. These benefits have been very successful, and are a true “win-win” situation for everyone. Here are a few simple steps for having a special day at the Stadium Grille:

Organize your group so you can pick your night early. These nights are very popular and the calendar fills up fast.
Pick any Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Our management staff will assist you with selecting an available date that is convenient for your group.
Confirm the date by calling the Stadium Grille at 610-344-7860 (West Chester) or 610-321-2595 (Chester Springs). We will need the name, address, and telephone number of the contact person and the group name.
Promote your benefit, and tell everyone the date of your event. Get family, friends, neighbors, business associates, etc. to eat at the restaurant on your day. Inform your patrons to let our staff know you are here for your specific benefit. You receive 15% of the sales from the people from your benefit who dine with us. As a result, the more people who come, the more money you make! In an effort to be sensitive to our other guests we can not allow signs or soliciting at the restaurant.
Within ten days of your event, a check will be waiting for you to pick up.

These nights have been successful because they are a true “win-win”. The group wins by raising money for their cause. The Stadium grille wins by supporting our guests charities and gaining new customers. Since they opened in 1990, the Stadium Grille has donated over $175,000 to local charities in Chester County.”

Not bad for an independent huh?

Popularity: 41% [?]

Maybe The Best Promotion Ever For Independents

New York does it. So do Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Now, so will Cleveland.

The city’s first Cleveland Restaurant Week debuts Sunday, Feb. 24 and will run through March 1. Consumers, and downtown’s economy, could be the winners. The goal: Offer lower-priced meals and parking to lure more people downtown, with the hope they will come back again.

Read the story here..Â

Popularity: 29% [?]

26 January, 2008 by Jeffrey Summers Categories :
Restaurant Marketing (0) Comment

6 Ways To Drive Sales In The Upcoming Month

What Advantage Does OpenTable Give You?

OpenTable is a tool that only gives you an advantage in a market that has a high demand for tables like large metropolitan areas (too many butts wanting to sit in too few seats) and only among competitors that offer a much better experience for the guest.

That advantage is ease of access. If my restaurant and yours offers an â€œAâ€ level experience, I win if I can find a way for those guests who may be trying to decide which of us to patronize, to get a table in my restaurant with much less effort than yours. But then you become an OpenTable member also and that advantage is lost. We are now equal again in the minds of our guests. One of us must create an advantage over the other to gain more guests.

In smaller demographics, midsize and below, as well as small rural markets, it does no good to be a part of a crowd in which you get lost. You lose the ability to differentiate and therefore those resources would be best allocated to a more meaningful way of communicating to your guests. Too many seats and not enough butts.

The best advantage for having success is simple, offer a better experience and communicate the value of that experience more effectively to your target market than your competitors. Itâ€™s just not easy.

Popularity: 21% [?]