Marketing Ploy: 10 things you need to know about togo menus! A Trick to put more people in the doors

It might sound basic, but creating an attractive To Go menu can increase traffic and boost sales.    Most owners print To Go menus and have them sit idle in their establishment,  never influencing sales.   Instead, I use my To Go Menu as a marketing tool- I'll explain more in a second.  Let's first talk about the components to include in your To Go Menu:  

1. Your logo

2. An attractive picture of your business (inside and/or outside)

3. Photos of  your delicious menu items

4. Hours of operation

5. Map of location & physical address

6. Website address

7. Phone number

8. List of daily food and drink promotions and/or features (ex: live music on Friday nights)

9. Full menu with pricing

10. Color printing - we want to grab people's attention, not lose them with boring black and white. 

When you print the To Go menus, also create a business card  that entitles the customer to one free appetizer.  Make sure to choose an appetizer that has a low food cost - no giving away steak or seafood here, think more along the lines of bruschetta or queso.  Stick to low cost items like bread, pasta, and chips.  Include an expiration date with your offer (2 months is enough time), then staple the business card to the To go menu and let the marketing begin.  Take the menus to every gym, hotel, and other high trafficked areas in town.  You'll want to speak with a manager to see if you can leave the menus at the front desk. 

 So why is this marketing ploy a home run?  The free appetizer offer brings customers through your door, and 99% of the time they spend more on extra drinks and/or more food.  Plus the customer might bring a friend or 2 with them. The total cost for the promotion should be a couple hundred for printing plus some cheap food.  So get moving!

Cut out Chaos

I had a few meetings last week with different bar managers and owners.  One bar manager recently took over a business that had no P&L statements or inventory history.  To make things worse, the staff wouldn’t do what was asked of them.  Even though this bar is one of the best looking bars in the area and has a great product, it's absolutely impossible to make money running a business like this.  If the staff knows you aren't watching every little thing that’s going across the bar they will rob you and leave you with pennies.

You need systems in place to operate a profitable business.  Whether you are just opening a bar or trying to make a bar profitable you must have systems in place for everything. The best business book for learning how to create systems in business is The E Myth, by Michael E. Gerber.  Here's an example of a staff organizational chart he includes in his book:

This chart shows how operations should be structured for a restaurant/bar business and who reports to who.  Obviously you may not need some positions (i.e. cloakroom attendant or valet) , but this chart should give you a solid starting point. 
You must assign every job on the chart to someone in your bar.  This means that one person could be the general manager, head of administration, and so on, but every person must answer to somebody.  You also need to write a detailed job description for every position with their key responsibilities.
 

The bar business is chaotic enough, so spend the time now on developing solid systems.  I guarentee you will thank me later.  

Here's how I ran my bars: I was in charge of operations and marketing, while my business partner was in charge of finance.  The head bartender was in charge of schedule, inventory, and ordering of products.  If the bar ran out of something I knew who to talk to.  If somebody didn’t show up for a shift I knew who to talk to.   This helped me give more responsibility to other staff members - for example if the bartender had a problem with something, they go to the head bartender.  If the head bartender can’t solve the problem, they go to the head of operations.  Everyone should know what they are in charge of and who they report to.  

Group bookings: As good as gold

My sister-in-law turns 21 this weekend and I'm planning a huge celebration for her.  Eight of us will meet at a local tapas ar for dinner then proceed to a few other bars.  I'm guessing we will each spend around $50-$100 on drinks, so if you have a bar in my town you'll definitely want us to stop by.  Booking parties and groups like ours is a fantastic way to improve your bottom line.  Not only do you usually make a nice sale from the group, but you also bring in new people who haven't visited your establishment.  Also, if you do a good job, then someone in the group may consider your bar for the next big event.

   

Most owners do something special for birthday parties and give a free dessert or shot.  I gave a mini-bottle of champagne for a few reasons: it got them drinking (if they hadn't started already), it was more memorable than a birthday shot, and it only cost me $2-$3.  You can do the same thing for anniversary parties, job promotion parties, or any other celebration. 

When groups come in, don't hesitate to ask everyone when the date of the next special event. Let them know you appreciate their business and want to host them again.  Group bookings can grow your business, so get marketing.

Pandora is a bar and restaurant owner’s dream

 For $36 a year you can have streaming music (advertisement free) for your establishment.  I’ve used Ipods and satellite radio companies like XM or Sirius, but nothing compares to Pandora’s small fee.   

Music influences customers’ moods, so when used appropriately, customers spend more money.  When customers are relaxed and having fun, they stay longer and consume more.  So what kind of music should you play for your customers?  There’s no right answer, but it’s important to consider the following three factors: theme of your establishment, time of day, and customer demographics. 

For example let’s talk about the sports bar I owned.  At lunchtime the majority of customers were middle-aged business class, so low volume, soft rock kept the atmosphere mellow and relaxed.  Once happy hour rolled around I had a similar customer demographic, but I needed a livelier atmosphere, so I would switch the music to harder rock from the 70’s-90’s and increased the volume.  After happy hour, the younger crowd came in, so the music changed to modern hits and I’d increase the volume again.

Pandora’s simple to use interface lets you navigate quickly between genres of music.  And for $36 a year, it might be the best investment you’ve ever made. 

America’s Next Great Franchise Idea

I checked online for info regarding the 2^nd season of NBC’s – “America’s Next Great Restaurant,” and unfortunately, it’s cancelled.  Given my enthusiasm for the restaurant business, this show quickly became part of my Sunday night routine – sandwiched between “60 minutes” and “Celebrity Apprentice” (don’t judge me.  The general public didn’t enjoy the show as much as I did and sadly brought lower ratings each week. 

For those of you who missed it, the show took 21 people with a concept for a fast/casual restaurant and put them through different trials, eventually eliminating the competition down to a lone survivor.  The finalist won the grand prize of having investors open the restaurant in 3 locations: Los Angeles, New York, and Minneapolis.  They wound up choosing a restaurant concept for southern food (or soul food)  – called Soul Daddy.

This show got me brainstorming about what the next great franchise in America will be.  In the last few years we’ve seen franchises like Chipotle Mexican Grill, Panera Bread, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Starbucks take over the country, but what’s missing? 

I see more people going to higher end, organic and healthier food options.  I think more people care about eating healthy, but won’t sacrifice good taste, and they want their food fast, and a great ambiance at the same time.  We are tough to please - we want it all and then some.  So what’s your idea?  E-mail me at tmsamurai42@gmail.com, I’d enjoy hearing your ideas and I’ll post your ideas on my blog.       

The New Craze: Groupon vs. Livingsocial – is it for you?

 

Every morning after my coffee and news, I’m on my phone browsing through the “deals of the day” from local restaurants. My wife and I enjoy trying new restaurants, but after being an owner and knowing the profit margins, it’s tough forking out the dough to someone else.  Enter Groupon.com and Livingsocial.com – these guys have me hooked.  I crave a good discount and when most restaurants offer 50% off vouchers, you better believe I’m going to check these apps once a day.

For the area I live in Livingsocial is more prevalent and I recently purchased 2 of the daily deals from them.  I bought a deal from a Mexican restaurant for $15 that gave me $30 to spend as well as a deal from an upscale Italian place that cost $20 to get $40.  My total bill at the Mexican bill was $77 plus tip and the bill at the Italian joint was $51 plus tip.  In both cases the owners got more out of me than the initial deal.   I felt like a sucker for a second, but I enjoyed two great meals so I quickly got over it.  In the end, the daily deal worked for the owner and for me, so no complaints.     

So let’s evaluate whether or not Groupon or Livingsocial is something you should take advantage of for your establishment…

First off, let’s go over the cons: not every customer spends over the amount of the voucher.  The majority of customers spend the amount on the voucher or slightly over.  Also, customers may send items back or take up tables on a busy night causing your profits to dwindle. And if you don’t keep track of voucher numbers, customers may reprint vouchers and reuse them at your expense.     

Now on the upside, you get new people through the door that you couldn’t get before – a golden ticket.  You get a chance to make them a customer for life if they enjoy your establishment and service.  Having a full restaurant is always a good thing, and some people will spend over the voucher amount.  Plus, the whole time you can look like a trendy marketing genius.

Offering a discount like this one week out of the year is plenty.   So which company do you choose?  Let’s over the numbers – they never lie. 

Groupon has a 50/50 spilt and a $2.50 credit card fee per transaction.

Livingsocial has a 60/40 spilt with no credit card fees.

If we use a 50% coupon on a $100 bill, Groupon leaves us with $22.50 in our pocket and Livingsocial, $30.00.  If we assume a 33% average food cost, we would be in the hole $3 with Livingsocial and $7.50 with Groupon, before anybody even walked in the door. 

If you want to give this marketing tool a shot - which I strongly recommend - Livingsocial is our winner.  With Livingsocial you save $7.50 over Groupon on a $100 voucher (not to mention they have a cooler app in my opinion).   It’s definitely worth trying once, so get marketing!

Stealing Behind the Bar

Here's the solution: stay with the bartender at checkout between shifts.  This is a great time to ask questions, review how the shift went, and coach the bartender.  Asking if a bartender is stealing isn't the best way to handle the situation; calling them a thief will only make them defensive - definitely not the goal.  You want to keep them working with you as a team member and not against you.  So during the checkout, point out that there are inventory shortages each day.  Tell them to be more careful with their pours; cutting down on miss-pours during their shifts. This lets them know that you are watching the inventory closely and that you know something is going wrong during their shift.  Most bartenders get the point and straighten out.  If the problem reoccurs, keep addressing it the same way a few times.  If the inventory still doesn't add up then it's time to look for a new bartender.

Here's the scenario: you run a very tight business and closely watch everything that's going over the bar.  You realize that one of your top employees is giving away extra drinks to ensure a better tip.  What do you do?  You don't want to fire them, because they are one of your best bartenders and bring you good business.  But you must do something to protect yourself, so you don't losemoney.

 



Here's the solution: stay with the bartender at checkout between shifts.  This is a great time to ask questions, review how the shift went, and coach the bartender.  Asking if a bartender is stealing isn't the best way to handle the situation; calling them a thief will only make them defensive - definitely not the goal.  You want to keep them working with you as a team member and not against you.  So during the checkout, point out that there are inventory shortages each day.  Tell them to be more careful with their pours; cutting down on miss-pours during their shifts. This lets them know that you are watching the inventory closely and that you know something is going wrong during their shift.  Most bartenders get the point and straighten out.  If the problem reoccurs, keep addressing it the same way a few times.  If the inventory still doesn't add up then it's time to look for a new bartender.