Increase Your Restaurant's Repeat Business and Reward Customer Loyalty.

SellMoreMeals.com

The only restaurant marketing program designed to increase repeat business by 15-20% and reward customer loyalty.

In this day and age and especially in today's economy, you have to take advantage of all the ways technology can help grow your business.

Build Your Email Database...

The first step is to build a powerful and compliant email data base. This gives your restaurant a cost-effective way to reach your customers at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing.

A special offer or incentive, sent to your customers a few times a month, can increase your repeat business by 15 - 20%.

Deliver Your Offers

There's no design cost, no postage costs or printing costs. Simply create a professional looking offer using our online design wizard and click the send button. Your "ad in an instant" is immediately delivered to all of your customers.

In today's economy everyone loves a special offer and this becomes just the motivation your customers need to consider your restaurant "FIRST" each time they choose to dine. It's proven! If you motivate them, they will come more often.

Reward Customer Loyalty

Add an optional loyalty feature for customers who eat at your restaurant more often. After 10 - 15 - 20 visits, you can offer a free desert, drink, appetizer, whatever you like. The program tracks and manages the entire process for you and keeps your customers coming back for more. No other program on the market offers this proven method of customer loyalty... and it's FREE.

Your Satisfaction Guaranteed!

We're so confident in our system that if after trying us you decide were not for you - just click the cancel button in your back office. It's that simple. No long-term contracts, JUST RESULTS - GUARANTEED!

SellMoreMeals.com

Two great reads on Thanksgiving meal items.

I just have to share these two articles from the Dine and Wine section of the New York Times. I really enjoyed reading them and I think you will too.

After the Bird, Everything Else Is Secondary

Show-Off Sides to Rival the Pull of a Drumstick

Enjoy it.

And enjoy life today. It's worth it. ;-)

Great American Entrepreneur Video.

Watch and enjoy this video. John Nese is what I call and true American Entrepreneur. His passion comes through. He sells soda pop.

Marketing via Trash is....

…. Well, trash.

Last weekend I spent some time talking with someone about a marketing scheme his bosses at the local delivery franchise he worked for were implementing during the week of Halloween.

The idea was simple, they were given thousands of useful cups with lids to put coupons in that were to be delivered to neighborhoods in their area. The way they were delivered was dependent upon the managers of the franchises. Which to me is an apparent mistake. One, it says that the people who thought up the idea had no idea on how to deliver it. Two, you're missing an opportunity to make a marketing impact by focusing on one unique delivery method and all you will end up with is a confusing bunch of methods that have the potential to backfire.

I think in the long run this will backfire. What they opted to do in my area was take those 2,000 plus containers and throw them on the lawns and drive ways of the homes in their delivery zone.

So, not only did they pick a week when a lot of people are expecting pranks and tricks because of the Halloween holiday, but they basically littered on people's lawns.

Lose, lose, in my opinion.

When I get litter on my lawn, I don't bother to investigate what it is. It goes right into the trash. Worse, you've now got the name of this business on the litter and it's associated with this behavior.

It may not result in a lot of irate calls, but in the long run this leaves a negative image in the mind of the their potential customers and that affects brand.

What do you think?

Harold for
SellMoreMeals.com

Reward for guest = Value of the guest to the business

Do you have customers who frequent your restaurant on a regular basis? You know, those customers you know by name, who always come in like clock work.

You know who they are when their day goes by and you or more likely their normal waitress or waiter realizes, "Hey! He wasn't here today."

It's those customers who are your fans. The people who come not just because of the food, but because your restaurant offers them something more, sometimes something as intangible as friendship or a place to rejuvenate.

How do you reward those restaurant guests for their loyalty?

Is the reward equal to their value as a customer to your restaurant?

If it's not equal to the value of that customer to your restaurant than you may want to ruminate upon that for a little while.

Unless you're one of the big restaurant chains with large marketing budgets, you are going to find it difficult to let the people within driving distance know you exist. Harder still is finding a way to keep your name before those people on a regular basis.

Those loyal customers though, they know people and they will willing spread your brand because they have found value in your business. They are the people who will bring others via that old fashion marketing mechanism of "word of mouth". In essence they are the coals to your fire that you need to nourish and keep burning. If you let them cool then getting that fire going will be more difficult, and worse, it could be that you find all your coals have become wet!

So as you consider ways to reward your best customers, consider that reward in relation to their value.

Remember, we're here to help connect with those customers:
www.SellMoreMeals.com.

Great Video on how Eating Out Helps Economy.

I saw this on the Visions Blog and think it's a wonderful video. Figured I would share it with you all.

What did your guests take away when they left?

Don't answer that off the top of your head. Put yourself in the position of your customer driving into the parking lot of your restaurant and walking through your doors. Then what? Do they order at the counter and sit down, or are they led to a seat and given menus. Mentally walk through their meal, what they get, what they observe, what they hear. Now, leave with them, pulling out of the parking lot onto the busy road and to their next destination.

Ask yourself, "What did they take with them from your restaurant?"

Did they just get their bellies filled with something tasty? That memory/sensation won't last.

The customer needs an experience. Is it an experience of thorough and enjoyable service? Is there an element of your restaurant that rockets it above your competition? What is it that your guests journey out into the world with that makes them say, "You've got to go and try this restaurant out"?

Only you can figure this out. But when you do you can strengthen that element and stress it thereby giving your guests the ability to become your cheerleaders. We at SellMoreMeals.com can help you with that process with our proven technology that will increase your referrals and connect you with your guests beyond the walls of your restaurant.

Check out these tips on branding from Uno Grill

I just came across this article and wanted to share it. It's on how Uno Grill went about breathing new life into their restaurant.

Uno official offers tips on revitalizing your brand

Five years ago, officials from Uno Chicago Grill thought they had their key customer pegged.

That customer, they thought, was a middle-class male who liked to hang out at the bar and eat pizza. But after conducting demographic research, officials realized they were missing the mark.

"Truth be told, our customer base was more than 60 percent female, well educated and eating more than pizza," said Jamie Strobino, vice president of new concepts at Uno Restaurant Holdings, the parent company of Uno Chicago Grill. "But if you looked at our menu five years ago, we were going right down that path (of thinking the main customer was a middle-class male), and if we had kept down that path we would be in trouble right now."

Check out the link for the full report and info on how they went about it. I am sure you can find something of use there that you can apply in your own restaurant.

Harold

SellMoreMeals.com

Must see video that gives hints of success for your restaurant.

It's about the customer and the service you give to them. That's what keeps them coming back. It's also what gives the customer the passion to carry your brand into the world and share that with others.

That's the message I get from this great video interview on Fox Business with Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A President and COO Dan Cathy.

Make sure you watch the full thing. It's a long interview where they talk about a number of subjects but I think you will find some good info. Did you know that in spite of this economy, Chick-fil-a is growing? They are actually going to be adding more stores.

Here's the link to the video:

Chick-Fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day

-Harold

We can help you connect with your customers and spread your brand at SellMoreMeals.com.
The only restaurant marketing program designed to increase repeat business by 15-20% and reward customer loyalty.

The Customer Experience and Food Cost Control

Talk about a balancing act for a restaurant. But if you're in the restaurant business than you are used to balancing.

I came across two blog posts today that I want to direct your attention to because I believe you will find something of use in both of them as a business owner.

The first is one woman's experience with customer service which left an indelable impression upon her. It has great take away value:

And The Customer Service Winner Is…Surviving the Recession

For those of you who own eating establishments, here is an important tip for you:

People don’t care as much about what the place looks like as what they feel like by being there. What you feed them and what they pay are totally connected to how they feel, they want to feel like they’re the best thing that happened to your day because of walking into your establishment.

That I echo whole heartedly. Be sure to click over for the full post.

Next take a look at this post:

Yields, Menu Item Cost & Recipe Costing in Food Cost Control

Determining accurate recipe and menu item costs are the foundation of menu item pricing. Without establishing an accurate menu item cost, it is impossible to determine a menu pricing strategy that will achieve your restaurant food cost and profitability goals. To establish an accurate menu item cost, it is important that the ingredient and recipe cost for a given menu item is determined properly. To achieve this, it is important to distinguish between the "as purchased" product price and the "edible portion cost" for your menu item ingredients. Using a yield analysis spreadsheet will enable an operator to easily calculate this edible portion cost.

Good advice in that entry I believe so be sure to read the whole thing.

Until next time,
Harold

SellMoreMeals.com
The only restaurant marketing program designed to increase repeat business by 15-20% and reward customer loyalty.

Are you leaving a positive restaurant Brand upon your customers?

It's an important question and one that you as an entrepreneur should not take lightly.

And I'm not just refering to your markee, or the design of your logo, or even the theme/style of your restaurant.

No, brand goes far deeper than that today. In part, perhaps because we've forgotten to slow down and manage the small things. Everyone is on a tear to the next big problem. Hurry, hurry, hurry. But that's not the mindset you need to get trapped into and it's not the mindset that you should impart to your staff.

When people hurry, short cuts get taken and quite often something gets missed. I'm not saying that we shouldn't find ways to make ourselves leaner or find ways to effectively reduce costs. What I'm saying is that you need to be sure that you aren't going to do something that is going to hurt your brand in the mind of your customer.

It's important to recognize that from the moment your customer arrives at your restaurant that what they see, hear, feel, not just eat, is impacting them in regard to your brand. Here are a few questions to consider in areas we sometimes lose sight of or take shortcuts on.

Is there trash or unsightly dead plants in your parking area? Or is it clean and spuced up?

When they walk in the door are they greeted immediately or do they have to wait?

Do your servers have a pleasant demeaner and greet each customer with a smile and do their best to be a servant?

Is there dust on your lighting and on your picture frames? Or food particles smashed in the corner baseboard?

How's your bathroom look? How's it smell? If a customer had to set at a table an look at your bathroom walls and floor would it sour their meal?

What do the customers see your staff doing? How do your staff interact with each other?

Do your staff take pride in your establishment?

All this is branding/marketing and it's an impression that can make or break your restaurant.

You want your customer to have an experience that makes him or her feel confident and comfortable within your walls. And you want them to tell other people how great their meal was at your restaurant. They will, trust me.

Talk about these things with your staff. Impress upon them the importance of brand and how each customer is an opportunity to carry that brand beyond your doors into the world that can reap further rewards for them.

We are more connected today then ever and brand can spread like wildfire beyond your doors. Make sure it's the kind of fire you want to spread.

Harold for
SellMoreMeals.com

Do you touch the heart of your customers?

Okay, I admit that after I wrote that title I realized that might be interpreted in the wrong way.

So let me explain.

I've been reading and thinking lately about the world we find ourselves in today. The economy is tight for everyone. I'm sure you don't need to see the latest news headline to tell you that things are difficult for a lot of people.

As a restaurant owner or manager of a restaurant you know on a greater level just how this economy is affecting your business and your customers.

And it hurts, doesn't it?

The natural reaction for many in such a time is to pull back from the pain and get into a ball and avoid that which hurts.

Now in your business, the reaction could translate into you curled up in a corner on your restaurant floor.

Okay. You're right, that seems unlikely. You're an entrepreneur after all, and you like people. So what you need to guard against is avoiding or being distant from, even grumpy with, your customers.

This reminds me of this blog post I read some time ago:

How Every Touch Counts

It gives a real world example of how, in this web enabled world, making a bad impression on a customer can go a long way towards making business especially hard for a business owner.

Some of you may read that and see the negative in all this connectedness but there is a positive as well. And that is what I want you to focus upon. You see, all this connectedness also means the good stuff gets out for all to see.

First and foremost when a customer walks into your restaurant search for the good in them knowing that there is good there. In fact you should work at see everyone in this way, start with your staff if you're not already. Then impart this attitude to your staff.

People are worth knowing. Come on, say it with me. People are worth knowing.

Practice that each day with the people that choose your restaurant as a stopping place for their daily routine.

Take time to touch them on a personal level.

Sunday, is a great example. I ate at a favorite restaurant of mine, Zeko's Mediterranean Grill. - Great food if your in the area. - While there with my friends and family I learned something about the business that I didn't know. The restaurant was named after the son of the owner. And get this, the son was taking the time to go around and chat with all the patrons, trying to see if they needed anything, helping remove used dishes, and just shooting the breeze.

What was most interesting to me was that I would have to peg this son's age in the range of twelve to fourteen. He is an uncommon young man in that he wasn't shy about helping out or engaging the patrons in chit-chat. And that is a lesson I think we can all learn. Step out and engage. That human touch is one of the things that endears Zeko's to me. That and the wonderfully seasoned beef, and the fried vegetables, and... oh snap, I just made myself hungry.

Anyway, the point is don't hold back finding ways to touch the lives of your customers. It doesn't have to be in some big way either. Not only will you encourage them but they will encourage you.

The result will be customers who share their experience with their friends on Twitter and the other unique social areas of the Internet.

They will be your champions. You're business will win out for it.

I'm Harold for Sell More Meals [dot] com.

And remember, we can help you tap into and reward those loyal customers, helping you multiply them and discover new customers for your restaurant.

One big key to restaurant success.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that it is BIGGEST key to a successful restaurant.

My thinking was mostly spurred to blog about this key by this news article I read this morning:

Viewer's Choice Restaurant Report Card - #3 to #1

First of all, Kudos to those three restaurants for rising to the top in Greensboror, NC.

There was a great quote from the #1 restaurant that bears repeating and thinking carefully about if you are in the restaurant business. And I suspect it is key to why Tripps is number one for the third year in a row and scored a 100 on the inspection.

"It's really amazing. It's really a tribute to my staff, my team, my culinary team here. They work so hard, they work well together, everybody helps each other out. An the most important goal here is to take care of the guests fulfill all their needs. Make friends, that's what we do here at Tripps," says the managing partner.

I've emphasized the key that stuck out to me. It's service. Tripps, I've never eaten there but given the chance I would love to visit when next in the area, I dare say goes beyond the practice of just selling some food to a customer for some money.

They recognize that coming into their restaurant is an experience the customer wants to have with them and they go into a "be of service to you" mindset. This attitude translates into the business cleanliness, food quality, and staff relations, I do not doubt.

It's this attitude that other restaurants need to develop in order to survive the current economy and come out on top.

And just for yet another example of this service mindest, check out this article in CityPulse:

Food Finder

"Good is not enough for me," he said. While the food might get new customers in the door, Rawal knows it’s the service that will keep them coming back. That's why he commutes to his pride and joy every day from Farmington Hills, working from sunrise to well after sunset. "I am only as good as the last meal I serve," Rawal said, in earnest. "That's what keeps me going."

Until next time,

Harold

SellMoreMeals.com

Cost effective marketing for your restaurant will increase your business 15-20% and double your referrals.

We can help you foster those great relationships with your loyal customers and add to them.

Marketing in the Internet Age.

It's mandatory.

More 75% of the North America population is on the Internet. If you have a business and need to reach, well, customers (and what restaurant business doesn't?) then you need to be on the Internet too.

That's where we at Sell More Meals can come in and give you a hand. We've designed a marketing program that you can easily use to connect with people in your area over the Internet. It helps you to identify your loyal customers and reward them for their business and that can double your referrals. It's been shown to lead to a 15-20% increase in business.

That said did you see KFC's recent marketing mistake with the free grilled chicken give-away?

Such mistakes aren't uncommon in trying to generate business and KFC's reaction was to use the Internet to try to mitigate the impact of the failure of planning on their part.

But such a failure isn't new. Check out this list from Grub Street:

The Dark History of Fast-food Promotions

Yesterday’s Oprah-KFC disaster will likely appear as a case study in an upcoming marketing textbook, but it’s not like this hasn’t happened before. Unhappy customers, ousted executives, and PR nightmares are strewn throughout the history of fast-food promotions like so many Sunday inserts. Most references we found were recent, so it’s easy to blame Internet ubiquity. Combine that with the power of Oprah, and KFC never stood a chance.

We can learn from such mistakes so study them.

Something else worth studying which will improve your business is this article:

17 “HOT” Leadership Best Practices

Also, in building your Internet presence, click over and read:

The Opportunity Facebook Offers To Restaurants In Marketing Their Brand.

Facebook has become one of the most integral part of our social communication medium. Without it it must be hard to live as a social human beings where we like to communicate with each other whether it is with our friends or loved ones. My self would be a great example who use Facebook more than email or even phone call if I want to communicate with my friends whether in States or other countries. 

Until next time.

It's all about the customer.

Look, I know it, you know, and they know it. This economy is tough on everyone right now. But that doesn't mean we just throw up our hands and walk away. It means we actively get to work making it better for our neighbors and thus ourselves.

Communities thrive when the "community" is part of the equation. Good businesses owners recognize this and they take proactive steps to cultivate relationships with their customers which results in loyal active customers.

Why? Because they are a restaurants life blood. Not only do they mean that someone will be putting some money into the business you love but they mean bringing more customers to you.

Here are a couple of articles that prove my point.

Nothing is finer than a cozy diner

Regular customers continue to patronize family eateries despite hard economic times

Vasilakos knows he will have business, even in a rough economy, because he knows the Jacks and Jills who visit. He and his family — father Peter, mother Christina, brother Teddy and sister Zoe — have invited some regulars to their home for holiday gatherings. And they have been invited to friends’ family affairs in return.

Overcoming the Economic Storm

Is there a resolve? Is there a solution? Are there answers? YES—you provide it. YES—you create it. YES—you make them happen.

First, start with your resolve:

Click the link above to see the list of things to do that the "Economic Storm" offers.

But also check out how our marketing business at Sell More Meals can help you utilize the customers you all ready have and reward them by bringing them into a closer relationship with you. We can provide you with a cost effective program that will help you gain more referrals from your customers and retain those people growing them into your best customers.

Restaurants and Entrepreneurs Surviving in this Economy

Hi everyone.

I hope you are doing fabulous today.

There are a couple of news articles dealing with the current economic climate outlook for the restaurant business that I think are worth your time in reading if you are a restaurant owner or managers.

The first is from The Wall Street Journal and shows how an entrepreneur can succeed in reshaping his or her business.

Recipe for Success

What's on David Burke's fine-dining menu? A lot of in-your-face discounts.

Mr. Burke, it seems, has figured out a way to navigate the downturn. His strategy is to throw out the high-end-dining playbook that says discounting should be subtle. Instead, he is offering dramatic, attention-getting and significant discounts. By engineering the menu carefully and keeping labor costs in check, he is able to slash prices without losing money, he says.

The other article that I believe you will find of interest if you are considering starting a restaurant is from USNews:

Yes, You Can Start a Restaurant in a Down Economy

So you're thinking about opening a restaurant. The allure of fame and fortune seduces you, your love of food drives you, and you want to heat up your life in an exciting industry. That's all fine and well--just as long as you make sure the flame isn't turned up too high. Even in a healthy economy, the restaurant failure rate tells a grim tale, but in a recession, the industry is even more unforgiving. Expensive food spoils, labor costs are high, restaurant-goers are harder to come by, restaurants close and life goes on.

Lastly, here is what I think is one of the best articles because it details the power of cultivating your local customers loyalty.

JUST LIKE HOME: Some neighborhood restaurants thrive despite poor economy 

Omelet House co-owner Kevin Mills said the location at 2160 W. Charleston Blvd., which is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary, has been in his family "since the beginning," and responds as if by instinct when asked to define a neighborhood restaurant.

"Someplace that knows your seating preference when you walk in and knows what you want to drink without having to ask, and has your special jelly or sauce in the little cabinet for you," Mills said. "More along the line of mom and pop."

One customer, he said, comes in every weekday; they've asked him "if he's not going to make it in by noon to let us know so we don't worry about him," Mills said. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is another regular, coming in a couple of times a week, Mills said.

Read the full article, and you'll see how the worth in getting to know your customers.

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out our website and the video at SellMoreMeals.com for how we can help cultivate your loyal customers and reward them. The results will show in your business.

Some Helpful Twitter Marketing Tips and Other Restaurant News.

Good Friday!

I hope this blog post finds you well today. It is Good Friday and the weather here in Florida is beautiful.

I came across a great blog article today that all restaurant owners and management need to read when it comes to entering into marketing on Twitter.

7 Tips For Restaurants To Attract More Twitter Followers.

It's a must read.

Here are the points.

1. Build a relationship  with your followers and also one who you follow as well like @SocialNetworkTV
2. Study before following any body and make the first tweet very personalised like @iRestaurant
3. Try to inject humour with your twitter to give a different flavour like @PopeyesChicken
4. Ask questions rather than just tweeting a plain statement like @mikefilsaime
5. Tweet in relation to your subject topics and also other occasional personal tweets like@geekpreneur
6. Don’t try to promote only your blog or your product or service in every tweets. Recommends @sethgodin
7. Humanise your tweets like @chrisbrogan

Click over to the full piece by Nash at MarketingRestaurantOnline. He goes into detail on each of the 7 points.

Also, here is some good news:

Restaurants may see diners spending more

Sarah E.  Lockyer reports:

According to new data from Atlanta-based RBC Capital Markets, fewer consumers plan to cut back on restaurant spending in the next three months and a larger number of consumers than in previous months actually plan to spend more at restaurants. 

And check out this marketing campaign by the Colorado Restaurant Association.

Colorado restaurants say 'Fork the Recession'

A $170,000 promotion, with the slogan “Fork the Recession … Feed the Recovery,” started this month and runs through May, with TV, radio, print, billboard and web ads. The campaign also allows restaurants across the state to offer their own “Fork the Recession” menu deals. 

I'm not sure that the double entendre is always the best marketing idea as it can back fire. But it's interesting to check out.

And here's some interesting news for restaurants about Yelp.

Yelp Will Let Businesses Respond to Web Reviews

Well, I hope you all have a great weekend and a wonderful holiday. Until next time.

And remember to check out SellMoreMeals.com for how we can help market your restaurant cost effectively so that your business can double it's referrals and increase the number of meals you sell by 15-20%.

Expenses Reduction tips for Restaurants and Hotels.

Here is some great information for people in the Restaurant biz from someone I met at LinkedIn. His name is Jorge Calderon. He is looking for a work so if you like what you read you might want to check him out.

Expenses Reduction tips for Restaurants and Hotels.

As an experienced hotelier and restaurateur, I've came up to several ways to reduce expenses. 
Among many other things I've done, I believe that the following will "light up the spark again" guaranteed: 

1.-Plan ahead, you cant drive a business like a headless chicken, you need to focus on "getting back to basics" to project the future, but beware, you can't do this on your own, there's a team involved and it's one of the most precious resources you have, you have always tree major elements that need attention: 
+Client satisfaction (comments and mouth to mouth advertisement campaign). 
+Owners satisfaction (financials). 
+Staff satisfaction (if you have a well motivated team, service will surface on its own). 

2.-Walk throughs, if you don't know what is going on on your floors, you won't be able to transform and to cutt down expenses (this comment goes mostly to Controllers and GM's). 

3.-Get your executives to work the floor (it may sound strong), but if the executive team works as one, great things can happen, it's a task, would the Customer be waiting for a Sales Director or the Chief Engineer or even the GM to greet them while checking in and WALK THEM to their room??? that will be for sure a pleasant surprise for the Client, it will give them a sense of team effort, concern and warm hospitality (this gets translated into mouth to mouth marketing allowing you to reduce marketing expenses). 

4.-Use a sustainable way of thinking, it's cheaper to get local ingredients, materials and resources. Just think about it, Guests are looking for local experiences, why don't deliver it to them? 

5.-Cross training, why does a Maid or a Waiter have to concern on other departments activities? because every action a department performs will for sure affect other departments operation and expenses (remember that a Restaurant or Hotel is like a big family and everything you do comes around). 

6.-Use your vendors, be on top of them for the best quality at the best price, negotiate, build a relationship with them, as businesses are made among people and not companies (companies are the pure result of it). 

7.-Enhance seasonality, you will buy better quality at the best all year round costs, be present at local events, boards and associations, you will demonstrate that your hotel or restaurant is present and open for new deals (this reduces travelling expenses). 

8.-Turn around your inventory, I can guarantee that your warehouse is full with "long time no see" elements that will allow you to reduce cost, effectiveness, plus you will have more space for the important materials that will add value to your Client. 

9.-Energy is one of the most common sadly missunderstood expense, don't look at the meter, look over from where is leaking (burning stoves all day long, water fawcet open for defrosting beef (it should have been taken out from the freezer yesterday but somebody forgot it), aim the sprinklers directly to the plants, not the pathways, turn computers and printers off while not in use, don't turn all light when waiters are setting their tables, turn them on for your Clients (those are the ones that pay for it), don't wash your pots and pans with extra super water pressure (I'm sure that with a nice scrub and the correct detergent will do the magic), use the nature elements, open up the windows if a nice breeze is blowing, if it rains, you can take advantega of it to clean halls and some floors and can refresh the landscape without further effort. 

10.-Get everybody involved, by having your staff with their feet on the ground, you will be getting ideas from where you thought you couldn't get any. 

I hope you enjoyed this posting as I did writting it, if you have any question, please don't hesitate on contacting me directly, I'm sure I can help you achieve the success you are looking for. 

Best regards, 

Jorge Calderon 
chefcalderitas@hotmail.com

Good advice, don't you think?

Remember to check out what SellMoreMeals.com can do to help market to your restaurant customers in a cost effective campaign that will increase your business by 15-20%.

Two Sites Worth Reading: HACCP and Putting Small Farms on Internet

Hi everyone! I hope this Monday has gotten off to a good start for you.

I came across two interesting items today on the Internet that I really think are worth passing along to you restaurant owners and managers.

The first is the main meal. It deals with an important subject: FOOD SAFETY.

Food safety is key to the success of any restaurant for the sheer reason that if your food isn't safe people get sick, you lose customers, and then someone closes your doors.

Here's the article title and link:

HACCP - What is it and how can it Help My Restaurant?

by Malcolm J. Richmond

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points or HACCP is a preventive approach to food safety that aims to prevent hazardous effects to consumers by identifying potential food safety hazards in all food industries and applying certain actions known as Critical Control Points to reduce and eliminate threats to the health of consumers.

HACCP started in the 1960s when the United States’ NASA needed to make sure that their astronauts would not become sick from the foods they carried into space. The company Pillsbury was chosen to prepare the food for NASA’s space flights because the stringent production systems they used helped to ensure the safety of their foods. They also invented the acronym HACCP.

Click over to read the rest. It's worth your time.

This second link is more the desert of today's meal. It's an idea that's just finding some traction and I think could have a very good possibility of taking off and helping local restaurants to buy from local farmers in a more efficient means.

Can Putting Farmers Online Make Food Biz More Sustainable?

Jennifer Kho

The idea of buying food from a local farm might seem like the very opposite of high tech. But FarmsReach, a California startup that won the audience choice award at our Green:Net conference this week, hopes to make it easier to buy directly from farms by putting produce online.

The company has developed a web marketplace to make it easier for buyers — such as restaurants, hospitals and schools — to order produce from nearby farmers, and for farmers to manage their sales and deliveries. Farmers list the produce they have for sale on the site, and buyers can search for the fruits and vegetables they want and place orders, either picking them up at nearby farmer’s markets or having them delivered.

Follow the link above for the rest of the post. It really sounds like a viable idea if they could work through the means to input inventories. Small farms are one of the fast growing (pun unintended) sectors in the USA from what I've been hearing lately.

As always, remember that if you are a hard working restaurant owner or manager to check us out at SellMoreMeals.com for how we can help you increase your business and double your referrals. The first 14 days are free so that you can try us out.

Until next time.

I'm Twitter

Hey Everyone,

Twitter is a great place to meet people with similar tastes and passions in life. It's also a great place to connect with customers.

If you're not using it, why not? As a business owner you really should be.

I am and you can follow me at this link:

http://twitter.com/sellmoremeals

I try to post news and info that helps you in your business and daily life.

And don't forget to check out our website SellMoreMeals.com for a way that we can help you market effectively to your customers and build a great relationship with them.

You can try out the service for free for the first 14 days.

Example of How Every Touch Counts in the Restaurant Business.

I ran across a rather intriguing blog post the other day that details the amazing power of the wonderful Internet social mediums like Facebook and Twitter.

The post is focused on an event that took place in a hotel restaurant and it is so important for owners and managers to see because it's a great example of the power in the Internet.

Here's a snippet:

A customer waiting for attention from the waiter instead decides to update his Facebook Status with the message that “I’m in The Mill Pub and can’t get service. Hate that”. This message then becomes visible to the customer’s network of hundreds or thousands of friends. Could this have a negative effect on perception and even on bookings? Potentially.

A similar incident became widely publicized in the US recently when the high profile wine blogger and internet celebrity Gary Vaynerchuk when he attended a recent conference in Miami. His poor experience in a high profile hotel affected him so much he video blogged about it, as did a few other high profile internet folks with the result that hundreds of thousands of people learned of their experience within 24 hours. The results were huge and the hotel went into fire-fighting mode to try and offset the negative publicity.

The bad publicity lost the hotel a lot of key business.

It's a great example of the need of business owners and managers to treat every customer like they are their only customer. Is it easy? Good grief, no! But it is necessary to succeed in this current economic climate where we must do everything we can within reason to keep our loyal customers and and make new ones. Great food at a great price will bring people in! But a great personal experience will hook them and goes miles in keeping them coming back.

It's also a great example of just how powerful this new medium is today and as business people we need to be actively involved in using the power of the Internet to connect with our customers and make new ones.

That's what we at SellMoreMeals.com are committed to doing with our spa marketing program for you. We can help you connect on the Internet with your loyal customers and others in your area with a cost effective program that will increase your business by 15-20% and help double your referrals. Your customers will love it.

Management Tips for Restaurant Owners from a Cartoonist.

In doing some research today on a totally different subject I stumbled open a blog post that I think contains some gems when it comes to advice on managing a restaurant.

And perhaps the strangest thing is it came from a cartoonist. A rather well known cartoonist. Scott Adams of Dilbert fame.

Apparently he owns a restaurant.

Stacey's at Waterford: www.eatatstaceys.com

His blog is rather humorous - go figure - but this particular one has quite the gem of a management style list

You can check it out here: Management by Cartooning

Here's the first few of the list:

The principles I tried to establish with the staff early on, that seemed to have stuck, include these:

1. Have fun. Loosen up.
2. Try something new. Often. Keep whatever works.
3. No penalty for a new idea failing. Trying is the thing.
4. Employees are more important than customers.

There's five more in the list. So be sure to go check them out. His restaurant is running great business is up.

I think that the key to this list, hidden in it, is that it builds loyal customers. When the staff is having fun the customers are having fun. Loyal customers are gained and they come back again and again because the restaurant becomes the place away from the stress of the day and they get rewarded there for their patronage.

Let me know what you think about his list. I'm curious to know.

With loyal patronage in mind, let me point you restaurant owners and managers at our marketing program that will help you build upon those loyal customers, reward them, and gain more in your local area.

SellMoreMeals.com

Time are tough, but you can find opportunity

The times are difficult but as a restaurant owner you already know how 
to take advantage of opportunities when they come. You just need to 
remember to do so and not to get complacent. 

Tough times like these shakes up that complacency. 

At www.SellMoreMeals.com we help you take advantage of technology to 
maximize your dollars in an effective marketing and customer referral 
program. It's cost effective and builds customer loyalty while getting 
those loyal customers to help you in gaining new customers. 

Check out our video on our website for more information 

http://www.sellmoremeals.com/

A service that rewards your regular customers and attracts new customers.

With the economy hurting, keeping loyal customers coming back on a regular basis is a key to keep a restaurant open and profitable.

With SellMoreMeals.com you can easily and inexpensively reach your regular customers and encourage them to invite others.

It's a service that can increase your business 15-20%.

Stop by our website and check out the demo.

Direct mailings are getting more and more cost inefficient. But all most everyone has an email address and we can show you how to leverage the inexpensive costs of email with coupons and customer rewards which will create customer loyalty and word of mouth.

Which will lead to an increase in business. Check out our main website at SellMoreMeals.com.

Hello Blog-O-Sphere!

Hi there blog world. Getting my toes wet here in the Internet pool.

Water feels good. :-)

I hope to help share info and ways to help restaurant owners improve their ability to retain and gain more customers in their areas.

We're in a tight economy right now and retaining customers is key to survival. So building customer loyalty is very important.

I'll be posting next how you can do that and increase your business by 15 to 20 percent.