Do Your Restaurant Marketing Before You Need It


by Ian Macdonald - Date: 2006-12-08 - Word Count: 530 Share This!

You know I have been involved in many businesses and I continue to advise many more, from large corporates to small business. We own a restaurant and a winery. Very diversified interests! However it never ceases to amaze me that I see so many businesses leave their marketing efforts until they urgently need them…or often until well after. And at that stage it is often too late!!

In the restaurant business, owners should know when their quiet times are and also pay attention to what is happening in the economy. The restaurant industry if one of the first to be affected in both economic downturns and also economic upturns.

Studies that I am aware of have shown that in many instances marketing results do not pay off for some three to six months after they are set in motion. By making marketing a daily part of your restaurant business, (or any business), you help keep your profits higher and your customer base growing.

Many restaurant owners discount the natural attrition factor that occur in daily life, such as customers moving away, having to change their diets for medical reasons, going on holidays, getting sick and all sorts of criteria that affects their trade.

Another mistake is to rely on just one method of marketing. To put your marketing efforts into one medium or into one type of marketing is very short sighted and fraught with danger.

We use a marketing consultant in our businesses that specialises in low cost marketing. And we have lots of fun doing it too. I recently read an article that he wrote where he talks about a lazy attitude to marketing that I often see restaurant owners making. He states that many just use the standard traditional form of marketing, such as advertising in a newspaper and nothing else because it's easy and no effort.

His name is Darrell Berg-Smith and he states:

"The main reason traditional marketing doesn't work is the small business owner doesn't really know much about marketing, and relies on the salesman of the marketing media to tell them what they need. The problem is they use the "trust me" method which is: "Give me your money, I'll run your ad and trust me; the leads will come rolling in". Heard that before???? They strong arm you to spend your whole budget with them and then….you guessed it, it doesn't work."

That's like asking a car salesman which type of car you should buy!!!

Another reason is Laziness. Business owners that do not understand marketing, very often just want the easy way out. They just think….. And we can all be guilty of this at times… that "well I'll just run an ad for a while, and that should bring in some sales". If only it was this easy.

Advertising copy is a highly specialised field that very few advertising sales people know anything about. They are selling ads….they don't write them, and they rarely understand what makes them work. Yet they are usually the ones that are asked for advice. It's just crazy."

So why don't you look at what marketing you are doing now.

What are you doing that you would like to see the results of in the near future?


Related Tags: small business marketing, restaurant, low-cost marketing, restaurant marketing, restaurant management

Ian Macdonald as founder and owner of Macdonalds Gourmet Burgers combines his passion and knowledge of food, wine and nutrition with savvy business tactics. He is also the MD of a corporate consulting firm that advises on strategic negotiation, dispute resolution and workplace change. Clients are mainly from top 100 corporations. For lots of free resources from their extensive website go to: www.MacdonaldsGourmetBurgers.com Here is the link to Darrell's article titled: "Great Advertising…It's All In The Headline…And a Great Story Helps Too!" at www.darrellberg-smith.com/articlesGreatAdvertising.htm. There are lots of great low cost marketing ideas too.

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