HotOperator® Restaurant Menu Builder

Restaurant Social Media: Maintaining a Personal Profile and Business Page on Facebook

I recently got a question from one of our clients in regard to the use of personal and business accounts on Facebook. There seems to be some confusion as to the benefits and down-sides to maintaining two separate Facebook accounts, one for personal (say the restaurant operator), and the second as the restaurant business itself. Before I go ahead and weigh the pros and cons of each, I would first like to distinguish the difference between a personal profile and a business page.

A Facebook profile can be set up for personal use, in which a restaurant operator can enter their first and last name, email, password, birthday and gender on the home page of Facebook. Once you have created a personal page you are able to upload a profile picture, add friends, photos and update statuses, etc.

When a restaurant operator wants to create a business page, without a personal profile, the option below the Sign Up form on the Facebook page that says “Create a Page for a celebrity, band or business” is where they should go to set up a restaurant business page. From there, he/she will be directed to enter the type of business, location and phone. Proceeding on, a restaurant operator or manager can control the page by posting photos, updating statuses, creating applications and maintaining the restaurants image on the social media site.

The important factor that distinguishes the difference between a profile and a page is that a profile is strictly personal and a page is mostly business. Sometimes a profile is created for a business and not only does that seriously limit your restaurant’s social media potential, it’s also more difficult to manage and it violates Facebook rules. (If you’ve done this, don’t worry you can convert your company’s profile to a business page)

It is the restaurant operator’s decision as to which one to create depending on their wants and needs. We highly recommend a Facebook page for every restaurant business, it doesn’t matter which one is created first or if just one is created. However, keep in mind that both can be managed under a personal account. If a restaurant operator creates a business page using a separate account (not a personal account), all he/she must do is go onto the personal profile, ‘Like’ the business page and log back into the business pages account and add as an administrator on the Admin Panel.  

We understand the importance of privacy when it comes to separating personal you from professional you, and so does Facebook. Unless you’re willing add your business to your personal occupation in the “About Me” section, your connection with your restaurant business will be kept hidden. People who like your restaurant business page will never know you are the administrator; the ability to access and post on behalf of both personal and business pages is strictly for your convenience.

Restaurant Menu: Developing An Artisan Menu

As a follow up to the Artisan controversy between large corporations and small restaurants, there are still the authentic artisan restaurant operators that continue to promote their restaurant brand despite the currently publicity of the issue.

HotOperator recently completed a menu makeover for Stone Hut in Washington. Pictured here is the original menu.

As said in a previous post, the true artisanal restaurants are often the ones that don’t use the word as their claim to fame; it’s more about how they do what they do and the resulting products, than it is about how they promote themselves.

For an independent restaurant operator, there are two options on how to develop an attractive restaurant menu. The first and perhaps least effective way is to confide in a factory menu company to create a menu that consists of a template, which restaurant operators can put in their text and be done. This is a low-cost alternative that will often leave a restaurant operator with weak results.

The second alternative is to work with a menu engineer to develop an artisan menu. There is something to be said about the creative process of developing a handmade restaurant menu. Although it may take longer and is generally more expensive, the results can be superior.

"By gaining insights on your restaurant business, menu engineers get to know your restaurant's brand and effectively help it grow."

The process begins with a consultation with a menu engineer and a menu matrix analyze. The entirety of this process is known to be most effective because of the successful communication between the engineer and the restaurant operator. By gaining insights on your restaurant business, menu engineers get to know your restaurant's brand and effectively help it grow. From there, a menu development team can create descriptive text, add new products to a restaurant menu and strategically price items.

The finished product left Stone Hut with an attractive new look that wowed its customers

Following that, the designer is able to base the restaurant menu’s design around the restaurant operator’s vision for the restaurant business. Through back and forth alterations, the result is an extraordinary handmade menu that can bring in upwards of 5-7% increased profit depending on food, service and customer loyalty.

Does How You Treat Your Restaurant Vendors Reflect How You Treat Your Restaurant Customers?

After reaching out to a number of restaurant operators in Illinois, I was impressed at the level of annoyance and inconvenience I brought upon the staff, management and restaurant operators from a simple phone call. Wholly crap, this is a sensitive industry.

Our restaurant menu expert is heading down to Illinois in the upcoming weeks to meet with clients. I was instructed to make a few calls letting people know of this opportunity to meet for half an hour and have any questions answered in relation to restaurant marketing, restaurant social media and menu design, etc.

I immediately embarked on my cold-calling journey and became disheveled when the first person I called hung up on me. Without giving up easily, I attempted to move down the list of former clients and acquaintances and noticed a trend. The restaurant employees would put me on hold for so long I’d have to hang up and try again, and again and again, and let us not forget the ones “taking messages” to pass along which never get passed along, or if they do, the message gets ignored.

It’s not like I was calling at an inconvenient time, either. Having worked at a couple of restaurants myself, I knew the down times between lunch and dinner. Perhaps the employees think of me as a useless advertiser and the management simply doesn’t have time; however, I think this reflects on the quality of the business and the state of the industry overall. 

And the real tragedy is our menu engineering process can bring between 7 and 14 percent in gross profits to the restaurant per location. So if the restaurant we’re calling is pulling in $500,000.00 per year in income in food, we can offer them the opportunity to make a cool $70,000.00 in added cash to the bank. And who the hell wouldn’t want that? 

Not many realize that this kind of consultation generally comes at a hefty cost. And if they took the call, they might have had the chance to learn from a menu expert with more than 20 years of menu engineering experience and more than 2500 menus developed.

It must be that many restaurant operators in Chicago and surrounding areas have so much business, and they are so smart that  they really don’t need any help. If the way they treat a simple introductory call is any indication as to how they treat their customers, it is little wonder so many independent and small chain restaurants are going out of business.

Common decency isn’t something that can be turned on and off with a switch. It has to go through an organization completely, from top to bottom. So the next time you see a server or manager treating someone in a way that makes you cringe, take a look in the mirror. They probably learned it from the person staring back at you.

Restaurant Marketing: What Are Consumers Looking For in Your Brand?

In a recent report put out by Nation’s Restaurant News, various restaurant consumer demographics were surveyed to find out the changing needs of different generations as consumers in the restaurant industry.

After various blog posts on restaurant social media and other important restaurant marketing efforts, here is the proof of the importance of these elements that should be factored into restaurant marketing plans no matter what target demographic.

Although convenience, atmosphere and authenticity ranked among the top necessities in all generations, millennials continued to stress the importance of restaurant social responsibility and community involvement. For restaurant operators who want keep up with these demands, the easiest and cheapest way to effectively demonstrate restaurant social responsibility is to turn to social media.

An interesting part of the report suggested that baby boomers are looking for more than a restaurant’s service style; but suggests that these consumers are looking for royalty rewards and perks of being a restaurant customer. This information can be used to reach out to your restaurant customers in exchange for information to build a restaurant customer database.

Another important factor that almost all generations consider before eating at a restaurant is if there is a established relationship between themselves and the restaurant brand. By creating engaging and interesting content on a restaurant social media page, a deeper connection between a restaurant and its consumer will naturally develop.

The results of this restaurant demographic report has an underlying theme that we tend to stress throughout all of our blog posts. While the millennials are the most frequent diners, all restaurant demographics are important, and a restaurant operator must be prepared to adapt to these changing needs and implement them into their restaurant marketing plans.

Restaurant Social Media: Self-Promotion Isn’t the Answer

As restaurant operators continue to face restaurant social media marketing challenges, many found insightful information at the 2012 NRA Show held in Chicago this past weekend. I found this article that addressed many similar issues we explained at our booth at the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo back in March. Not only does the article reinforce the answers we provided to our restaurant operators, but it also hits on some other interesting social marketing points.

"If your restaurant’s social media content isn’t original, then it’s probably not worth mentioning."

The first key point brought up was restaurant operators using social media just to sell and self-promote their restaurant businesses. The brands using these platforms most effectively come up with fantastic original content.

If your restaurant’s social media content isn’t original, then it’s probably not worth mentioning. Restaurant consumers visit social media platforms (just as they come to your restaurant) often to escape from reality— Think of a restaurant visit as a mini-vacation. If you aren’t able to catch a restaurant patron’s attention or entertain them, then you run the risk of losing potential customers.

 Something that restaurant brands using social media often overlook is the potential to engage their audience in a meaningful way. Two examples of this are on Noodles & Company’s Facebook page and AJ Bombers Twitter; these are the restaurant brands that are using social media correctly.

There are unique algorithms that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter use to determine a user’s interests, and by engaging your audience, your restaurant business is more likely to appear on their news feeds. Once you see an increase of People Talking About your restaurant posts on Facebook or Re-Tweets and Conversations on Twitter, you know that your brand is staying in front of your audience.

The trick is to avoid self-promoting on your restaurant social media accounts all the time. Nor should you feel pressured to give away free stuff every day just to keep the buzz going. If you really believe in your restaurant brand and the restaurant industry itself, success with social media will find a way into your restaurant’s marketing efforts. Find something cool and interesting and don’t be afraid to share it, whether it relates to your restaurant business or not.

 What other challenges are restaurant operators facing with social media? Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Knowing what you’re best at in your restaurant business, and what you might need help with, may be the difference between success and failure.

 

 

Restaurant Business: Six Tips for Building Your Customer Database

I was talking with the owner of a restaurant in Wausau, Wis. last week who was doing fairly well, until recently. A new family restaurant opened up nearby that has a 2 egg, hash brown, choice of meat and toast deal for $3.99— two dollars cheaper than what our friend is selling it for.

“I know that she’s probably going to go out of business selling that much food for such a low price, but how do I keep up in the meantime?” He asks me.

He’s right, there’s no way for the competing restaurant to be successful because there is no long-term sustainability in a deal like that. My advice on how to wait it out? I told him to reach out to his restaurant contact database.

His response suggested that he didn’t have any contacts to reach out to. Surely he has regular customers and first-timers that enjoy the food, but as for their contact information, well he’s never asked for it.

Many restaurant operators don’t understand the missed opportunity of getting customers contact information. When you have phone numbers, emails or social media followers, you have the opportunity to reach people no matter where they are and market to them directly.

"The hard part may be getting that information, but once you have your foot in the door, the results can be extremely effective."

By establishing a connection, whether it be over a computer or through a text message, you are putting your brand in front of your customers. The hard part may be getting that information, but once you have your foot in the door, the results can be extremely effective.

With that being said, here are six surefire ways to get phone numbers, emails and other information from your customers:

1. Set up a birthday and anniversary club. Offer free meals to your loyal customers in exchange for contact information and permission to send them promotional materials and information. A loyal customer can be worth $650 per year or more to a restaurant, so giving back $30 a year is a wise investment.

2. Work with an affiliated loyalty rewards program. The upside to that is everything is already done for you in a manageable format. The downside to using an establish program is that it’s more expensive than if you were to do it yourself, and the design is rather cookie-cutter.

3. Run a loyalty rewards program yourself. This is your best option to showcase your brand and engage with your customers. With really good content management comes extremely rewarding results. Make sure you seek out a professional to manage the program, otherwise you could find yourself losing track of the big picture and struggling to come up with content that engages your guests.

4. Market to your customers every week. Consistency is key in this business (and in any business for that matter), so staying in front of your customers is crucial. As for the downside, it’s downright difficult. Once again, seeking help from a professional is the most time and cost-efficient way to manage your marketing efforts.

5. It’s all about the content. You could call yourself a social media specialist because you’re on Facebook all day, but you’re probably lying to yourself. It’s one of those “Don’t try this at home unless you’re really good” type of situations. Did we mention to seek out a professional?

6. Surprise and delight your customers once in a while. Don’t be afraid to run deals and give stuff away. It only takes a few seconds for someone to stumble upon your Facebook page or website and decide whether they’re interested or not. Be mindful of your audience and in return they will be mindful of you.

Restaurant Marketing: Testing Domino's Artisan Authenticity

An artisanal restaurant outrage, wait, did I use that right? Webster’s Dictionary defines an artisan as one that produces something in limited quantities often using a traditional method. Some recent marketing people apparently didn’t look that up, and now a controversy  between small artisanal restaurants and large artisanal corporations seems to have broken out over the use of the word, artisan.

To get a better idea, watch Lewis Black’s latest rant on The Daily Show discussing the absurd marketing tactics of large chains such as Dunkin Donuts’ new “Artisan bagels” and Domino's “Artisan pizzas.” Contrary to what Black is saying, the word probably does have an effect on what consumers will think when told a product is artisan, and will probably have a different expectation of the product attributes and quality.

For example, a person who orders an artisan pizza from Domino's may truly believe that the pizza will be better than Domino's regular pizza. Just as the person shopping Dunkin Donuts for an artisan bagel is probably thinking that there was a lot more effort put into creating that bagel, and that Dunkin Donuts spent some time figuring the bagel out, and that it’s a good one. Having done that, the Dunkin Donuts bagel will also need to stand up to scrutiny. And a word to the wise for your own business, most restaurant artisans don’t need to say they are artisans in the first place. Their food is artisanal because people say it when they try it, not because it’s advertised that way.

We sampled the artisanal pizza from Domino's recently. We brought in the Spinach & Feta pizza and the Italian Sausage & Pepper Trio for a taste test. They do look different than a regular Domino's pizza, although the crust has the same frozen aftertaste that is prevalent in their regular pizza. And the price was somewhat higher because the product is smaller with sparse toppings, and very little cheese.

Specific to each, neither was cheesy enough and the ingredients were large, gnarly and heavily brined. The sausage had a mellow flavor, but there wasn’t enough cheese or sauce to make the pizza have a distinctive flavor much different from their regular sausage pizza. Did we say there isn’t enough cheese? I wondered if the pizza we got wasn’t made correctly, because really it didn’t have any cheese on it, which is like having a new artisanal salad without any green leafy stuff, oh what’s it called, lettuce?

As for the spinach and feta, everyone agreed that this was the better pizza of the two, but not enough to order it again. The problem is it’s still Domino's, which has a fast and cheap, but not good reputation that college kids buy to fill their bellies before hitting the bars. This was fast, not exactly cheap and not exactly good, so maybe it doesn’t fit the brand very well.

By the way, the whole idea of saying no to ordering the pizza with any options just makes me think that the pizza comes into the restaurants frozen or something, because a little more cheese would make this product so much more edible; but like the ads say, you can’t get it that way. I wonder if Domino's Artisan Pizza will still be available in another six months.

 

Restaurant Business: Why a Cheap Menu is Way More Expensive

 I got a call from a restaurant operator the other day who was talking about getting a menu from another company for less money than what HotOperator charges. He was having a difficult time justifying the extra expense for a menu makeover, and it seems like there are a number of restaurant operators with the same dilemma. Thus, I have written a thoughtful insight to those with the same concerns about the cost of menu engineering and better design.

"If you look at menu engineering as an expense rather than an investment, you’re better off not spending anything and doing it yourself."

If you look at menu engineering as an expense rather than an investment, you’re better off not spending anything and doing it yourself. If your approached by a company who is willing to do your menu for $500 to $1000, you’re going to get what you pay for, which is minimal work in minimal time. It takes between 30-40 hours to develop an effective menu, and for that price, you’re only getting around eight hours of entry-level design. Now let’s say you get an estimate at a job shop rate of $55 per hour, which means you’ve got $1650 to invest in menu engineering. At that rate you’re not getting that good of a designer either. What you need to look at is the experience of the designer, the credibility of the agency and most importantly, the amount of profit you wish to gain.

If you look at menu engineering as an investment, you’re looking at it in terms of how much you are willing to make. Now, if you believe that you can make $25,000 extra in sales, would you spend an extra $1,500? What it comes down to is a restaurant operator’s desire to make an investment and believe that it will result in a well-designed menu, which will ultimately contribute to the success of their business.

The most successful restaurant operators understand the value of what we do at HotOperator and we make sure that our clients know that our services are about growing their business and expanding its potential. We’re not the type of company that’s interested in nickel and dime, so companies that offer that a menu makeover at a lower cost are doing us a favor by weeding out the businesses who care more about the nickels and dimes than the potential of the investment.

There is no way a restaurant operator can discount their way to success. It takes determination, optimism and investment to grow and expand a business. Ultimately, restaurant operators need to provide value to their customers and we as an agency are here to help provide that value.

 

 

Restaurant Marketing: Affordable Marketing Strategies for Competing With Large Corporate Restaurant Brands

  Lately, news of large restaurant corporations revamping restaurant menus, creating new restaurant marketing campaigns and renovating restaurants has been swarming restaurant publications throughout the country. Just in the past month we’ve seen Burger King’s new menu debut, Wendy’s new slogan and a number of other restaurants investing millions of dollars into advertising, branding and marketing.

 According to an article put out by CS News Foodservice, not only are the financially strained cutting back on food away from home, but also the financially well-off are doing the same thing for different reasons. Affordability and diet/health are the top two reasons for cutting back from each group, and certainly chain restaurants have been adjusting to fit these needs.

 New menu items and marketing plans are now being pushed to the forefront of restaurant’s business plans, and that leaves local restaurant operators unsure of how to compete with the millions of dollars of corporate spending. There are three basic factors that every restaurant operator must consider when trying to keep up with large franchises, and those are creativity, community and consistency.

 Creativity. Although corporations have a lot more funding for marketing campaigns, the power of social media has made it easier for smaller businesses to reach out and market themselves with lower cost. It’s important to make restaurant marketing your business a priority because often times restaurant operators get caught up in day-to-day operations and sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture. Outsourcing your marketing initiatives is an option that many operators choose to go with for quality content, creative web design and brand management.

 Community. Another part of an effective marketing plan or social media presence is building your social community. Web analytics make it easy to find your desired target market and use social media advertising effectively. Knowing what your customers want is another key element in bringing in profits and often should be the main focus of your marketing initiatives. Online surveys provide useful information for more about your market and what they are looking for.

 Consistency. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to be consistent. As I mentioned before, it’s easy for a restaurant operator to get sidetracked and push such things as marketing and social media to the back of their minds. It takes a person seven times to look at something before actually remembering it and it doesn’t matter whether it’s an Olive Garden Facebook ad or a local Italian restaurant, consistency is key.

"It’s important to realize that by spending more money for professional services, restaurant operators can rest assured knowing a marketing investment will keep the customers coming through your doors."

 You don’t need millions of dollars to increase walk-in business, or to redo your restaurant menu or even to begin a new restaurant marketing campaign.  It’s important to realize that by spending more money for professional services, restaurant operators can rest assured knowing a marketing investment will keep the customers coming through your doors.

Restaurant Menu: Burger King Plays Copy-Cat

Burger King's menu makeover has stolen many of the headlines in national food service publications in the past week, so we decided to let them steal ours, too. In an article written in the Washington Times, president of Burger King's North America operations Steve Wiborg stated that "consumers want choices, and not just healthy choices, but competitive ones." Which isn’t exactly true – what people really want is something they already love in a new form.

"The direction that Burger King seems to be choosing is to follow the footsteps of McDonald's by offering similar items that, in turn, don't offer much excitement for consumers."

The direction that Burger King seems to be choosing is to follow the footsteps of McDonald's by offering similar items that, in turn, don't offer much excitement for consumers. Although all of the research may point to this "new" menu as a solution to it's declining sales, the odds of it putting them back in the ball game to earn the number two spot back from Wendy's with the current strategy is unlikely.

Burger King needs to focus on what they're good at and differentiate their burger from every other burger. And while Wendy’s gets good marks for their menu revisions, this me-too strategy isn’t doing anyone any good. Consumers lose because they don’t actually get new choices, but just another place to eat what they can get elsewhere, Burger King loses by being an also-ran and the franchisee suffers further losses in market share.

Bottom line: if people want healthy choices, Burger King is not at the top of the list, and if people want cheap "premium frappes," smoothies or snack wraps, the first place that pops into their mind is most likely McDonald's. All of the buzz about the menu only relates to the unmistakable similarities to McDonald's, and that in itself won't get customers lined up at their door. Note to Burger King: Want more consumers? Try defining what makes you different, special and better.