Posted by Walker Thompson on Fri, Sep 03, 2010 @ 04:24 PM
Sometimes funny, but mostly about what makes the retail and restaurant industry tick, each Friday the WhenToManage team plays on our company name with a WhenTo(DO). This week's WhenTo(DO) is on the mobile front, or when should your restaurant go mobile? According to the technology website cnet.com, in the first quarter of 2010 over 314.7 million mobile phones were sold, a 17 percent increase year over year. Clearly, mobile is on the rise and now you're thinking: what does it mean to my business and how do I "use" it??? Good question, but one that doesn't have an end-all-be-all answer. The smartphone and mobile space is clearly evolving. Not to mention, all the "pads" that will soon launch. So the answer is stay on top of the trends! As committed and former restaurant executives, managers, cooks and servers, we also have some ideas on how mobile can help, and our software does just that, help...
- Communication
- Using our report creator, you can "subscribe" to any report you create. Once the report is created using our web-based excel-esque interface, sending to your managers or peers is easy. The data goes right to their iPhone or Droid and the data is now at their finger tips.
- Workflow
- Hundreds of restaurants use our report creator, and mention often how much they appreciate the SMS (text-messaging) functionality. Once a schedule is published, the employee is notified of the job and schedule of that job.
- Engagement
- Keeping every constituent engaged in operations is easy using our "alerts" functionality. If you're especially concerned about tip adjustments or cash over/short then why not have a mobility offering to KNOW NOW!
We care about how restaurant employees, managers and executives spend their day and mobile is part of it. But again, stay on top of all the trends by following these authors:
Posted by Walker Thompson on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 @ 06:34 PM
Sometimes funny, but mostly about what makes the retail and restaurant industry tick, each Friday the WhenToManage team plays on our company name with a WhenTo(DO). This week's WhenTo(DO) is WhenToWATCH-A-YOUTUBE-VIDEO? Sure many of you out there in restaurant land have wasted time watching youtube videos (or Vimeo). Who hasn't? There's some funny stuff out there, but great video content exists. Many times the authors only want to help educate and inspire; so they're not all a waste of time. In this post, we've added a few videos that made an impact on us. Go ahead, sit back at your desk, or dinner table, and watch, you'll find something in these clips that might make you think about marketing, data and ideas...
In this video watch author Malcolm Gladwells' incredible TEDtalks.com presentation about the impact of multiple spaghetti sauces...
Another must is from the frequently mentioned marketing guru Seth Godin. In this video, Godin talks about tribe and impact building networks increases sales.
So you see, and hear, not all youtube videos are just for wasting time. Many of them have great things to teach and tell us. When you're not busy, or can make time for knowledgeshare, be sure to take a look around to see what amazingly free content is out on youtube.
Posted by Jim McGinty on Tue, May 04, 2010 @ 10:24 AM
Restaurants are a common new business venture but unfortunately, they also have a high rate of business failure.
We ask ourselves... what are the reasons people go to restaurants? Dining out is more than just going for food. In many situations, dining out means a social event or an entertainment experience. The overall atmosphere within the restaurant has a large impact. The manager or owner of a restaurant needs to have a focus on the customers' entire dining experience.
Many times, dining experiences are designed to impress someone, say a new date, a prospective client, or friends. A restaurant manager or owner should consider adding little things that the customer does not expect. The enhancement a restaurant gives its product or service before offering the product to customers. For instance, some restaurants that have targeted children have done an excellent job of creating a theme. The same is true for adults. The mood that is set by the restaurant has a significant impact on our perceptions--wall colors, lighting, furniture, background music etc., all impact the dining experience. The important thing for the restaurateur to understand is that the restaurant success depends as much about the experience as on the food. Central to marketing efforts is the concept of creating the experience that you desire the customer to have.
Every person who enters a restaurant has expectations--here are some of these:
- Clean facility--food and restrooms.
- Prompt service attention--many times people are going to a restaurant for convenience, speed of service and to be cared for.
- Friendly service--people want to feel welcome and appreciated.
- Convenience--food delivered in a certain amount of time.
- Food quality--consistency.
- Quick resolution of the bill.
Every restaurant should have service standards. And training is a big key. The business owner must establish the standards of performance in the business. Left to chance, it will probably not be as desirable as if the business leader creates the experience.
Develop a list of measurables within the restaurant, develop standards for each one, provide training to ensure staff is prepared to meet the objectives and, finally, provide a method for measuring and reporting actual performance in relation to desired performance. Additional reinforcement in behavioral science, the presentation of a stimulus following a response that increases the frequency of subsequent responses, whether positive to desirable events, or for this type of program can be provided by linking feedback or bonuses, both financial and non-financial, to actual performance.
A restaurant grows by generating positive word-of-mouth advertising. Dining establishments develop a reputation, which is the ultimate indicator of future success. No amount of radio, TV and newspaper advertising can overcome a bad reputation. A great reputation, properly maintained, is a fortress that will protect the success of a restaurant.
Word-of-mouth advertising, or buzz, will develop on its own. However, the most proactive approach is to plant the seeds of a great reputation. Here are some strategies to accomplish this.
- Attract influential people (local celebrities, early adopters, leaders)
- Emphasize events and celebrations with special programs
- Offer gift certificates--use them to cross promote the business.
- Get the media involved--get some good press.
- Spark lunch traffic with local businesses and organizations in your local area, think about a "Company Day" where you offer a specific discount to company employees on a specific day.
- Do "date night" promotions--work in conjunction with other businesses to offer a more complete package (i.e., dinner and an movie, etc.).
- Use coupons effectively. If not done effectively they can hurt your business instead of helping your business
- Develop a "valued customer" database to prompt recurrent/forming dining habits.
And don't forget about using Social Media to help promote this, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Linkedin and YouTube to name a few. Social media marketing has become one of the most advantageous avenues by which a business can attract new customers while also maintaining strong relationships with existing clients. By creating a more personal relationship with these customers and clients through social media outlets your restaurant can develop greater brand awareness, build strong networks and establish a loyal following.
While social media does require a time commitment the benefits of exposure it will generate for your business followed by increased traffic and new opportunities is well worth it.
Posted by Jeff Schacher on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 @ 11:38 AM
Miley Cyrus left Twitter
because she felt like a social media slave and I certainly felt like
one last week as my to do list kept bugging me that I haven't blogged
in a while.
No one ever said it was easy to do this social
media thing, but I think it's especially challenging for businesses. I
try to blog once a week. If I have ideas during the week, I just pop
them into a folder and then when "blogging time" comes, I pick one.
This is great when life is normal, however, any business owner can tell
you that life is full of one emergency after another and it can be
tough to get back into a routine when the dust settles.
So when
my dust recently settled, and it came time to write a new blog post, I
had nothing to say. A few days pass and then a few more and still
nothing to say. How can I be out there encouraging other businesses to
take up a social media strategy and not be doing it myself? Some would
say, just write anything, but I'd rather be silent than inauthentic.
There's
a sense of obligation that develops when you start blogging or
tweeting. That you are on this ride and you can't get off. I had a few
days with these feelings, but then the lightbulb came back on.
Social media is supposed to be social! It's about listening!
I
had lost sight of what this was all for. It's not about what I have to
say, but it's about what I'm hearing. It's a conversation, and you
can't have a conversation without listening. It's such a simple point,
but it makes all the difference.
For any slaves out there that
feel stuck, remind yourself that social media is a two way street. The
only pressure you should feel, is the pressure to listen to your
customers (which you should be doing anyway). Once you refocus on that,
the rest should fall into place.
Posted by Jeff Schacher on Mon, Apr 20, 2009 @ 01:45 PM
Okay,
okay, you've finally broken down and decided to get in on the social
media train. I welcome you and you can relax because it's not too late,
and it's not too hard. Each of these technologies are unique, but they
all have the common goal of connecting people. In your case, it's
connecting you and your restaurant to your guests. So let's get
started...
#1 - Twitter
- Set up time - 15 minutes
- What is it? - Twitter is the newest kid on the
block and the easiest to use. It's very simple, you enter messages of
140 characters or less and they appear on your page for the world to
see. Other users can "follow" you to stay up-to-date on your updates or
"tweets".
- What should I use it for? - This is the million
dollar question and where your creativity comes into play. Businesses
are using it for all kinds of things. From customer service to
promotions, the choice is yours.
- How do I start? - https://twitter.com/signup
#2 - Facebook
- Set up time - 15 minutes
- What is it? - Almost everyone has at least heard
of facebook by now. It's a "social networking" site that allows its
users to connect and communicate with each other.
They have a special feature that allows a business to create an account
(or page).
- What should I use it for? - Once you set it up,
let your guests know about it. You can then post pictures, share
stories, and list upcoming events for all of your new "facebook friends"
- How do I start? - http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
#3 - Blog
- Set up time - 45 minutes
- What is it? - A web log or "blog" for short is a
place for you to post your thoughts, stories, or ideas about your
business or anything else you find relevant.
- What should I use it for? - While users can comment on your posts, blogs tend to be more of a one-way conversation.
The nice thing about a blog is that you can customize the look and feel
to match your brand and several companies use their blog as their
official web site.
- How do I start? - http://en.wordpress.com/signup/ (there are others, I just happen to like this one)
Extra Credit - Google Search Alerts
- Set up time - 5 minutes
- What is it? - Google has a tool that allows you to
enter a search term and then have any results that come up for that
search sent to your email on a daily basis.
- What should I use it for? - This is a great way for you to see what others are saying about your business.
- How do I start? - http://www.google.com/alerts
With any of these things it's very easy to use them for a week
or so and then let them die off from neglect. For any of these tools to
work you need to commit about 60 minutes a week. An hour a week is not
much time when you consider the potential benefit. I promise you, you
have some guests out there that would love to hear what you have to say
and will be all the more loyal if you will only reach out to them.