The Lasting Impact of Going the Extra Mile: Turning Extra Effort into Exceptional Results

Many people don’t go that extra mile, don’t do that extra work to overdeliver. Today @kraakje went that extra mile, and delivered some the most badass shoes I’ve seen in my life. Instead of adding small details and doing very little research when making these shoes, she went in depth and created a story out of the art on the shoes. Figured out things about me and my life by deep-diving into my social media, to make the gift even more special.

Check out the link below for my daily podcast and blog, be on the lookout for a special episode about these kicks and how it can improve your restaurants marketing.
https://restaurantmarketingthatworks.com/
#shorts

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HOW I’D BUILD AND LEVERAGE A DATABASE TO BOOST MY RESTAURANT’S SALES #restaurantmarketing

Restaurant owners, are you ready to drive sales to your restaurant with the click of a button? Check DRYVERhttps://getdryver.com/
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In this video, I’ll show you how building and leveraging a customer database can transform your restaurant’s sales. We’ll cover why relying on ‘hope and pray’ marketing isn’t enough, and how gathering key customer information—like names, emails, and birthdays—can lead to predictable, repeat visits. I’ll break down the proven ‘Attract, Build, Retain’ methodology, share practical tips for growing your database, and explain how a compelling offer can make all the difference.

You’ll also learn the best ways to communicate with your customers through email, text, and Facebook Messenger without overwhelming them, and how to tailor your messages to maximize engagement. These strategies are essential for independent restaurant owners who want to take control of their marketing and build a loyal customer base.
If you’re new here, I’m Matt Plapp, CEO of Restaurant Marketing That Works. For the last 15 years, I’ve been helping restaurants improve their marketing and drive sales using proven, effective strategies—so stick around, and let’s start growing your restaurant together.
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Restaurant owners, are you looking to drive more sales and level up your restaurant’s marketing with massive attention? Then click the link to check out all the awesome resources and services offered on Restaurant Marketing That Works!
https://restaurantmarketingthatworks.com/

#restaurantmarketing #databasemarketing #restaurantowner

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Why Authentic Storytelling Gives Independent Restaurants the Edge Against Big Chains

My good friend O went from barely speaking English to owning a restaurant in Cedar Rapids. How did he make it happen? Through relentless hard work and passion. His inspiring story is a perfect example of what sets independent restaurant owners apart and is the key to standing out on social media—your #1 advantage over big brands.

Need help with telling your story? Then Click the link below and apply to get featured.
https://americasbestrestaurants.com/get-featured
#shorts

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Community-Driven Social Media: A Recipe for Restaurant Success

Another restaurant that’s doing it right, is @aldoandmannypizza. Aldo is an exciting personality who brings a lot of energy to all of his videos. But his real secret to his social media success lies in his community! He features local kids in his videos, capturing their reactions to his food, and promoting their sports teams, all while showcasing his awesome pizza— If you’re looking for great examples of what a restaurant’s social media page should look like, check them out!

Ready to share your restaurant’s story, create massive attention, and show the world just how good your food is? Then click the link below to apply for a feature on the America’s Best Restaurants Road Show
https://americasbestrestaurants.com/
#shorts

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Day 173 – The Puzzle – Restaurant Birthday Marketing Is A Gold Mine!

Yesterday, I got the email above through our DRYVER Platform for one of our clients, Super Smokers.

Now, before you text me Happy Birthday, it’s not really my BDay 🙂  I sign up for clients’ programs as they launch and put a date about a month out so I can see what we are doing for them right away versus waiting.  

When I saw this email, I was excited; the graphics really got my attention.  What you can’t see above is that this image is a GIF with movement.  The smoke you see coming up from the left is actual smoke in motion.  It’s so freaking cool!  There’s also movement with the text boxes; it’s an attention-getter.  

Today, I want to talk about Birthday marketing, but first, I must set the stage

What we are building with the DRYVER Restaurant Marketing Platform is a 3-prong attack:

1st – High-level intuitive marketing software that takes customers on a journey based on where they are in the marketing funnel; in this case, it would be my birthday.  I want to create the industry’s first customer management software that ensures your restaurant’s customers are actively marketed to, so we can DRIVE sales every week. 

2nd –  Customer Acquisition – We must help you create a constant stream of customers joining your marketing programs, like this restaurant’s Birthday program.  If you don’t have acquisition marketing daily, you’re letting a Ferrari sit there and run out of gas.  Most restaurants use their POS or online ordering as a crutch to fuel the growth of things like their Loyalty program.  The problem is that you run out of customers, and the momentum dies.  You must leverage paid Facebook and Instagram ads and in-store marketing to fill the fuel tank. 

3rd – Expert advice!  DRYVER will not be a “set it and forget it” marketing program like so many technology companies have become.  You will have someone on our team giving you expert advice and helping you build marketing programs that DRIVE SALES!

Now, onto my Birthday marketing idea

How many people live within 5 miles of your restaurant?  I wanted to do a little experiment on this for my team.  I googled the population of the three cities around me, thinking if I owned a casual dining restaurant in Florence, Kentucky, what would my potential “Birthday Reach” be daily?  

Florence = 32,618

Erlanger = 19,756

Burlington = 18,264

Union = 7,592

The total population came to 78,230 people.  Now, I know it’s not going to be exact, but assuming we split this up by 365 days, that means 214 people have a birthday EVERY DAY!

Birthdays are great for restaurants.  Casual dining concepts will benefit more than most.  So imagine if a restaurant in Florence, Kentucky, did the following for three years in a row

1st – Asked EVERY customer who walked into their restaurant to join their birthday program excitedly!

2nd – Had a system like DRYVER to use in step #1 🙂

3rd – Took the system “like DRYVER” and connected it to their website, online ordering, and restaurant point of sale.  

4th – Ran paid ads, $10 per day, targeting consumers with a birthday that month. 

5th – Used organic social media to celebrate customers on their birthdays.  Pull out your smartphone and film a video or take a picture of you giving them their gift.  Then, drop a link in the post description so viewers can join.

6th – Lastly, pick up the phone and call every customer in your system (like DRYVER) to wish them a happy birthday.  Plus, to remind them that you’d love to see their smiling face in the restaurant, taking advantage of their FREE birthday gift. 

What if, over those three years, you got 5% of the birthdays to visit?  That would be 11 people per day.  

Scratch that, what if you got 1% ?  

If ONLY two people came into your restaurant daily for their birthday, based on the stats in our system, they’d bring with them three other customers, and you’d have a $50-75 check average.  

You’d have around $35,000 in gross sales and approx $25,000 in incremental profit.  This means you would add $2,000 per month to YOUR PAY CHECK!

And this is only assuming a few people take advantage of it each day.  Imagine if you get what you should get, many more.  Also, imagine if this birthday program was simply one of ten marketing programs running daily.

IMAGINE

Day 172 – The Puzzle – Restaurant Marketing In 2024 & Beyond – The Streets Are Lined With Gold

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The year was 2018, and I’d just published my book “Don’t 86 Your Restaurant Sales.”  It was pretty easy to gain your customers’ data by engaging them in a conversation and using an irresistible offer to drive the first visit. After that, you use their data correctly and build relationships through email, text, messenger, Grassroots, and social media marketing.  

Turns out I was wrong.  

I had no clue how hard it would be to convince you, restaurant owners, what marketing had become in 2018. 

I’ll be honest: In 2018, I was naive. 

I’d been watching the transition of marketing happen since 2002. Since 2008, I’ve had a front-row seat, building my marketing company and watching consumers’ attention shift from mass media to smartphones.  

My marketing career started in 1998 as the internet was beginning to blossom.  

In 1998, you watched a Bengals game and sat through the commercials.  

By 2008, you were on your phone typing things like “is watching the Bengals beat the Steelers” during a timeout. 

By the time this book came out in 2018, you and your Facebook friends had become the media. Your Facebook posts and tweets had become the actual news. You posted video clips of plays and broke down what did or didn’t happen.

 Now, let’s take this a step further.  This is just covering social media.

In 1998, restaurants had limited access to and knowledge of how to market independently.  So I can understand why you were not doing it back then.  But by 2018, you all had access to email, texting, a website, social media, video marketing, and better grassroots marketing tools than ever before.  

By 2018, you could film a video on your phone, post it to numerous sites, and become a reality show FOR FREE.

By 2018, you could gain customer data as simply as someone commenting on a Facebook post and triggering a conversation in Messenger to acquire their contact information.  

By 2018, you could run a targeted Facebook ad ONLY reaching consumers near your restaurant on their birthday.

By 2018, you could go to the local high school football game, livestream a play, and put a call to action in the video for someone at the game to comment. You’d bring them a gift card to their seat at the game. 

By 2018, you could go door to door in your community, signing small businesses up to win a catered lunch for their employees.  You could have them enter the contest by scanning a QR code and answering a few questions.  This would also trigger a sequence that would email the person who entered with an offer they could forward to all of the employees.  

All of this and MUCH MORE were available in 2018, and here we are in 2024, and 99% of you still need to do it.  

What I thought would be revolutionary in 2018 turned out to be noise.  Noise that restaurants couldn’t grasp or didn’t want to.  I still don’t know why most of you have not taken the “bull by the horns” and dominated your marketing in 2024 like you could.  

So, as I type them, I’m still screaming from the rooftops how easy restaurant marketing is in 2024.  It’s not rocket science, but you’ve got to be willing to invest your time and money into technology, relationships, and marketing.  

In tomorrow’s blog, I will outline what I think is a low-hanging fruit opportunity in restaurant marketing, one that you all should be using as a part of your restaurant marketing mix.