Kitchen Nightmares Sheds Some Light

Say it isn’t so! It looks like Chef Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares showed its last episode in December. Ugh! For someone who doesn’t watch much television, I am bummed that it won’t be airing. Because that was “good TV”!

And the best part – Chef Ramsey always had a local store marketing component. Thanks Chef for showing the world that marketing your restaurant can be as simple as hosting a tasting event in the parking lot (remember the episode where a restaurateur sampled his famous meatballs to passersby).
If you want to see past episodes of Kitchen Nightmares visit: http://www.fox.com/kitchennightmares/


Local Store Marketing is not about glitzy ad campaigns, or big television budgets. It’s about reaching out (literally) to people who live or work right around your restaurant. And yes, sampling is one simple tactic that will help you introduce yourselves to prospects.

Look at Mrs. Fields Cookies – a company that was built on sampling. In 1977, Debbie Fields, founder, opened her first store. By noon on opening day, she hadn’t had any customers. So she filled a tray, went out, and gave passers-by samples of her cookies. It wasn’t long before people started to pour into the store and buy. Today, her stores use the same sampling technique – people walking by are invited in to sample free cookies. Who could possibly resist?!

The Time is Now

In any newspaper across the country, we are reading headlines like “Business is down due to slow economy.” And in the last two days I’ve talked with restaurant chains who are reporting a 5% to 20% decline is sales year-to-date. No doubt, there are economic factors that are affecting retailers and restaurants around the country. If there ever was a time to “hunker down”, regroup and get focused on sales – that time is now.

Here are 4 local store marketing ideas focusing on current guests and potential guests who work within a 5-minute drive from your store.

1. Existing customers are the best prospects. You don’t have to spend time, money and energy trying to connect with them. They already love you. Come up with new items or services that appeal to them. And don’t be afraid to ask them to help you market your business. For example, give them flyers or delivery menus to take back to their office to share with the office manager or other employees. Buy them a side or soft drink for their help. If 10 customers help you, you could potentially reach 100 or more people without ever leaving your store.

2. Turn an occasional customer into a regular one. Shorten the purchase cycle of existing customers by giving every customer a bounceback offer featuring an aggressive discount. The key is to include a short redemption period on the offer. For example, if your customers are eating at your restaurant an average of one time a month, then create an offer that expires in 10 – 20 days.

3. Focus on increasing your overall ticket average. To increase ticket averages, focus on one product each week and educate the front-of-the-house staff on how to suggestively sell the item to each guest. This in-store strategy will allow you to build sales without having to leave your restaurant. Depending on your product mix and available add-on items, you may decide that a realistic number might be a 25¢ increase per check or $1.00 per transaction. Whatever amount you decide upon, set a goal and share it with your restaurant staff so everyone is on the same page. With a concentrated effort from your restaurant staff, you have the power to achieve whatever goals you set.

4. Conduct a meet-and-greet with area corporations. Build relationships with local businesses and in turn, you’ll gain new customers from referrals and internal recommendations. All relationships take time to grow. But you’ve got to start somewhere. So start with neighboring corporations that are likely to dine with you. Drop off samples and offer a smile. You’ll probably make someone’s day. When visiting businesses, ask for the person in charge of planning employee events, client gatherings and office events. This could be the Human Resource Director, office manager or executive assistant. Introduce yourself to that decision maker and give them a free certificate for dinner or lunch (if they aren’t familiar with your restaurant), copies of your menu and coupons to give out to employees.

Try implementing one of these ideas each week for four weeks and monitor results. It'll be worth the effort.

Catering? Delivery? What do we call it?

I recently encouraged a friend to have her business meeting catered by one of our restaurant clients. We thought it would be a good proposition for both. The restaurant serves amazing food with a California flare for fresh and interesting ingredients – a good fit for the 50+ business owners who are used to top notch food and top notch service. So my friend worked with the restaurant on what to order, how much, when it would be delivered and all the other pertinent details.

The food was a hit – the meeting-goers were impressed with the flavor and quality of the food. Yah for our client. My friend was baffled by the whole process and thought it was going to be catered. Whoa. “What?” I said. “Didn’t they deliver it?” “Of course, they delivered it,” said my friend. “But I thought it was going to be catered.” After a few minutes of trying to figure out if the food arrived and how it arrived, it finally dawned on me. Yes, the ah ha moment occurred.

Ahhhhh, there’s the challenge – right out in front of us. To my friend, catered means that you drop the food off in pans with sternos and provide plates (china or plastic doesn’t matter to her), utensils and napkins so guests can serve themselves. And then you stop by after the meeting to retrieve your pans. To my restaurant client, catered means delivery. They use clam shells (high quality) to individually package each meal – so all you have to do is hand out the clam shells to meeting-goers. They provide napkins and plastic ware so there’s no mess which makes for a quick, easy clean up for all involved. Two very different views on what catering and delivery mean.

If you are catering or delivering to neighboring corporations and/or large orders to private homes, be sure to keep this notion in mind. And consider the following:

1) Clearly define catering, carry out, or delivery services – or offer all three. And then explain the charges associated with each service.
For example: Clearly explain how the food will be delivered.
Do customers need to call or fax in their order ahead of time. If so, when, where and how will they need to pay for it.
Is there a minimum they must meet in terms of dollars for you to deliver or cater?
Does the final price include gratuity, tax, a set up charge?

2) Be specific about how requests are handled For example, will you call them back to confirm the order? Do they need to place an order at least 24 hours in advance?

3) Payment Options should be included
Do you accept credit cards (if so, which ones), cash, or check?

4) Cancellation Policies
For example, if an order is cancelled in less than 5 hours, is the customer is responsible for full payment of the catering order?

5) Additional items (if available)
Will you offer plates, napkins, condiments, plastic forks, etc.

6) Restaurant Information
Don’t forget to include restaurant address (with cross streets and locators), hours of operation, phone number, fax number, website and contact person (if applicable).

7) Mouth-Watering Descriptions
Sell your food by providing descriptive copy for each item.

8) Your Story
In 3 sentences or less, tell your story. People love to know about the restaurant, the owners, and the passion behind the food.

Catering, delivery, take out -- whatever you decide we hope you are implementing a program like this. It's a great way to build topline sales and introduce your fare to potential new customers. Don't forget to include menus and special offers when delivery or catering food. Give people yet another reason for coming to your restaurant.