Day 9 – The Puzzle

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The digital delivery of YOUR OFFER to your restaurants FREQUENT customers after they OPT INTO your program, how should it happen.

Now, depending on what restaurant marketing platform you’re using, this maybe handled for you.  But let’s walk through what we’ve seen work with regards to emailing and texting restaurant offers.  

1st – Always send a welcome text and email.  When they opt-in wherever they do, you should say “check your email and text to confirm you got entered correctly. This should happen ASAP in your system.

2nd – This message should be CUSTOM.  Remember, at this point we are focused on your best customers only, so your messaging your reflect that.  No need for directions to the restaurant, etc.  These are your best customers, TELL THEM THAT with the right messaging.

3rd – The first text should be simple and include an image.  You’re not going to want to use an image every time though, they cost more.  I’d use them every 3-4 texts and only when needed.  This text should have that welcome image, maybe your logo or an amazing food picture and say “Welcome to the family, check your email for program details and your first offer” and then ALWAYS sign off with your name and the restaurants name.

4th – The first email needs to spell out the offer they got and what’s to come.

5th – Your reminder sequence.

This will vary based on how they use the program.  But I like alternating reminders between text and email every 7-10 days, so that in a month they will hear from your 3 times for this VIP offer, but not weekly from one platform.

You also want to be using Facebook and Instagram targeting for this.  You need to have a way to setup ads for the members of this program. You can do this for as little as $1 per day.  

 

BUT HOW?  Well, if you collect their information on a specific platform you should be able to include a tracking code on that page to reach them back on Facebook and IG.

What I want you to remember is that you don’t want to stalk these people EVERY WEEK on text and email.  You want to work into the mix of your normal marketing reminders for any very high value promotions they may have.  

But I’ll also say, YOU should trust this part of your marketing 100% to a marketing firm or platform that understands how to do this and has technology built in that does all of this heavy lifting.  

P.S. – I thought this puzzle piece was one of my best, except I miscalculated the top bar and missed the corner 🙁

 

Day 8 – The Puzzle

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There are 3 places to gain customer data with your badass offer.

1st & most important = In Store

2nd & almost as important = Your website

3rd & easiest, but least important = Social Media

 

In the 4th quarter of 2022 I decided to go work at one of our clients, Rapid Fired Pizza in Florence Kentucky.  WHY?  Because I wanted to understand a few things at a much deeper level.  One of those items was the fact that NO ONE ever opt into their program at the cash register, when buying.

How is it possible that the most important customer in your business, the one standing right in front of you handing you money, was the hardest to get to opt into the marketing programs. 

As I stood their folding pizza boxes next to the register I was confronted with the ugly truth…THE EMPLOYEES were bad at asking, if they asked at all.  Was this training, was this lack of “shits given” or were they just not good sales people.  The latter couldn’t be true, we’re not selling anything, it’s the opposite.  We’re GIVING THEM free stuff.

Then I saw this interaction

Employee –  “Hey, scan the QR code”

Customer – “Why”

Employee – “You get something”

Customer – “What”

Employee – “I’m not sure”

Customer – “No thanks, I’m good”

 

I’m not exaggerating, it was one of the toughest things I’ve ever watched.  As a professional sales person, marketing and business owner I was ashamed at what had just transpired.  

We had given the owner training instructions many months before on how to have the conversation. We had a digital guide and training on what they could say, what the offers were, test sequences for the employees to go through and catchy slogans to use.  

HOW did all of this fall on deaf ears, or did they just not get the training.

It was at this point in which I hopped in “do you mind if I cash out the next customer?”

Here was my interaction with the customer:

Me – “Yo, you didn’t get a dessert pizza, have you had the cinnapie before?”

Customer  (looks up at the menu in disbelief) – “No, I haven’t, looks delish”

Me – “It’s insane, you’ll love it.  And I want to make sure you get one next time, you cool if I give you a free one for your next visit?”

Customer (looking dumfounded) – “Uhh, yeah, I’d love that”

Me – “Cool, do me a favor.  Take out your phone. Scan this code.  It will open in Messenger.  Yep there it is, answer those 5 questions really quick.  FYI, we don’t spam you, we use your email and cell to send you a free perk like this from time to time.  Great, that’s all there is to it, you’ll get that free dessert pizza in a few hours along with a few other amazing offers”

Customer (SMILING ear to ear) – “ DUDE, thanks man. This is awesome.  I can’t wait.

The employee was blown away.  He was astounded.  They get what?  That’s what the QR code does?  WOW!

And with that one customer interaction, their in-store VIP Program opt-ins went through the roof.

The mistakes were apparent. The owner had failed to understand at a VERY DEEP level himself how the program worked.  He failed to OWN it and that trickled down hill to his managers and then to the employees.  There wasn’t any accountability and there wasn’t anyone monitoring the stats to see how often people joined.  

And I don’t want to hear how “this is hard.”  Your employees never wore masks before the pandemic.  Your employees wash their hands before they touch food. There’s ZERO reason this can’t get the same level of buy in, it just comes down to YOU doing your job as the leader of the restaurant.  

The good news is the digital opt-ins are much easier

1st – Your website, have a pop-up that’s in your face and to the point

2nd – Social media, have weekly catchy posts touting the program’s perks and ask people to click or comment to join. Plus, you should have paid ads running every day as well.  Look up my podcast Restaurant Marketing Secrets episode 568 to find out more about that. 

See you tomorrow…

Should your restaurant pass on credit card processing fees to the customer?😬 #restaurantindustry

Don’t find yourself on the wrong side of viral marketing! Recently, I came across a story about a restaurant that decided to pass credit card fees onto its customers. Picture this: in a sea of restaurants where such practices aren’t the norm, standing out might sound appealing, but not when it means drawing attention for the wrong reasons!

Sure, profitability is crucial for any business’s survival—especially in the fiercely competitive restaurant industry. However, could this strategy potentially backfire? 🤔 After all, the ultimate goal isn’t just about making saving a buck; it’s about thriving and serving our communities with exceptional culinary experiences.

Join me as we dig deeper into this thought-provoking topic on episode 534 of the Restaurant Marketing Secrets podcast! Let’s explore whether passing on credit card fees could inadvertently harm your business’s reputation and what it means to get the RIGHT attention. 👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr1tNsemjtE&t=7s

#EntrepreneurLife #BusinessStrategy #shorts

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Day 7 – The Puzzle

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In July 1997 I decided on our trip to Myrtle Beach to propose to my now wife, Christy.  

I had a girlfriend, I had the ring, but now I needed to DELIVER the proposal.

There are two parts to this. The ACTUAL offer, what you’re giving them.  And the “ask”, how you plan on talking to them about said offer.

In my marriage proposal I had exactly that, the ring and asked for her hand in marriage.  But I also had the manner in which I did it on the beach.  

Let’s start with your actual OFFER!

This is really simple, give people an offer they’d feel stupid saying no too.  DON’T give them homework and don’t give them a coupon. 

Your job with this offer is REALLY SIMPLE.  You want to gain their contact information and the best way to do that is make it a no brainer.  This offer is not about making money on visit #1, it’s about gaining their info so you can market to them at a much higher level in the future.  And if you have their information, that’s pretty darn easy.  You are making this ask for visits 2 – 40, not the first visit.

Do not give them a coupon, PERIOD.

Do not give them homework, you know, “buy 2 entrees and a drink and get a half price appetizer.”

Here’s the formula to win the game of gaining customer data.

I like 4 offers on the front end:

Offer #1 = 100% Free item.

Offer #2 = 100% Free offer that drives a visit that might not normally happen.  Imagine you’re a lunch restaurant mainly and this is for dinner.  This is to drive an incremental visit. 

Offer #3 = 100% free item that can be added onto their visit that is going to happen, like a free appetizer or dessert

Offer #4 = Some sort of combo offer

BOGO variant.  I will say for offer #1 a BOGO can work, but here is the down side.  Let’s say you’re Ashley from my team, who’s married with no kids. If you give her a BOGO pizza you lose, she has no use for two pizzas and she never takes you up on the offer.  

As we discussed, your goal is to gain the customers data.  But your secondary goals are to drive sales where they may not exist.  Other day parts, other menu items, etc.  If you’ve ever heard my story about Larososa’s Pizza cookies then you know what I mean. They gave me a free cookie promo years ago and since then I’ve added HUNDREDS of $9 cookies to my order.  

Ok, so to wrap up.

NO OFFERS THAT SUCK!

P.S. This includes birthdays too, no one wants a damn coupon as a gift. 


The Puzzle – Day 6

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In yesterday’s blog we established where to start the journey of increasing your restaurants sales by starting with your most important customers, the frequent ones, now let’s talk about HOW to gain their information.  

What does it take?

First, it takes a software.

Second, it takes an offer so good they’d feel stupid saying no to it.

Third, it takes a marketing campaign to us that data correctly

And, last but not least it needs TRAFFIC.

Today, let’s talk about the first step, a piece of software capable of housing your customer data and helping you use it.  

My journey into restaurant marketing software started in May 2015.  It was that April when I launched our first marketing campaign on Facebook for National Pretzel Day For Hofbrauhaus.  The idea was simple, prove to my clients that we could drive sales through a Facebook post.  What happened after that was HUGE.  We drove $18,000 in incremental sales in 1 day. 

The client was stoke and their new love for digital marketing was kicked off.  But then it hit me, who the heck used the BOGO pretzel promo.  Yes it drove sales, but by who?  

And it hit me.  What if I knew who those customers were and could control their marketing journey.  Easy enough, onto the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago.  There were 4,500 booths, surely a marketing firm existed that had exactly what I needed.

WRONG!

There wasn’t a single company with a solution that would do what I wanted, so I created it.

From 2015 until 2017 I worked on what I called the ROI Engine, a solution to help me with gathering customer data and taking them on a journey to spending more at the restaurant.  By 2023 we’d done it in a big way, but that we knew there was MUCH more to do.  

And that’s when we acquired a powerhouse int he restaurant marketing software business,  Repeat Returns.  In was November 2023 and the vision now much bigger.  It w was to build an industry first restaurant ONLY marketing platform that assisted in this and more.  

So back to the topic at hand, you need a product like Repeat Returns, one that allows you to collect customer information at a level deeper than just an email.  

For the past 7 years we’ve used a custom template we built in ManyChat, a tool that integrates with Facebook and Instagram Messenger.  Many of you will use your restaurants Point Of Sale system, and that way work.  But whatever you use, below are the questions you want to answer about your customers.

You must get their:

Name

Visit Frequency

Phone Number

Email

Birthday

Tomorrow we talk about your ASK!

 

The Puzzle – Day 5

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So, where does driving sales start?

What’s the first step in your journey to driving massive sales to your restaurant?  

It starts with customer data, aka a customer list.  But more importantly, it starts with building a list of your best customers, “your frequent ones.”  A database is one thing, but a database of your best customers is another. 

There are three ways to grow your sales and the first is by driving your best customers in more often or getting them to spend more money on their regular visits.  And in order to that you need to know exactly who they are.  Worst case scenario you need their email address.  But ideally you’d have your restaurant’s best customers: name, email, cell phone number and birthday.  Then and only then can you really build a meaningful relationship with them and drive on demand sales from the easiest set of customers.

So that means you need to create a plan to get this information from your customers.  There are three logical places to start.  First is inside your restaurant, with your team and point of sale, or a marketing database software.  Second is from your website and online ordering.  And the third place is your restaurant’s social media pages.  

Now you know where to get them, tomorrow we talk about HOW to get them.

P.S. My drawing of puzzle pieces each day hasn’t gotten any better, go figure, it’s only been a few days 🙂


The Puzzle – Day 4

Drive Sales...Then Build Brand

Well shit, I was wrong.

In fact, I’ve been wrong for way too many years.  

I’m been spouting off at the mouth about the importance of building your brand through your marketing.  I’ve been passionate about the opportunity that exists today with social media and digital marketing as a whole.  We are in the greatest time ever to market and I get excited.

Then recently I was asked by one of our employees “why has one particular client done SO WELL with what we’re preaching.  What is it about him, that has him bought in 100%?”

That was a thought provoking question, and knew the answer.  

That client had freed himself from being occupied by daily nuances most restaurant owners have, operational challenges and financial needs.  When you couple that with a drive to do more, you get what I consider to be our #1 client ever.  

It was literally the first time I’d ever thought of it at that level.  It was the first time I went deep into the WHY he was able or willing to do what he did to grow his restaurant by millions. 

So that got me thinking.  If it took that perfect storm of the right person, the crazy drive and finely tuned operations, then why in the hell do I think others will follow me?

But more than that, am I creating ideas and strategies that apply to the 1% and if so WHY?  

Our company’s mission is simple, “to help restaurants double their sales by finding more frequent customers.”  

And I know it’s 100% possible, but what if I’m teaching at too high of a level.  What if my expectations of what an owner should do NOW are too focused on a result that will come in 2-3 years.   They might not be here then.

And that’s when it hit me…I WAS WRONG!  

I was wrong to overlook the main thing everyone needs help with NOW.  

So with that we tweaked our messaging and a renewed focus is being placed on ONE big initiative.

DRIVE SALES

I realize it’s my duty to help restaurants DRIVE SALES and then build brand.  

Yes I still 100% believe you should aim to build a brand that sells itself, but if you never get there, then who gives a shit.  

YOU NEED SALES, and you need them now!  

And I get that.  

As I was having this conversation I  began to internalize it.  “I asked myself, Matt, why aren’t you obsessed with everything we do for restaurants having a systematic trackable system to drive sales?”  

And the answer was pretty simple and the same as you.  I am obsessed right now with our company’s cash flow and operational challenges.  I have no choice, I have to make sure we MAKE it to the other side.  That’s one of the big reasons I’ve not been as focused as I could be on our core goal, driving sales.  

And I think the reason this was an easy thing for me to see when the question arose was due to the fact that I’m in the same place so many of our restaurant customers are.  Yes, I’m in a unique position where I’ve carved out a large chunk of our weekly cashflow to help us build a massive brand with America’s Best Restaurants and Repeat Returns, but me taking that risk has forced me to focus on 3-5 items vs 1.

That 1 item should be without a doubt an industry best platform that is one dimensional, it predictably drives sales for restaurants.  But because I’m in the trenches with certain day to day items, it’s hard to have the level of focus or OBSESSION you need on that 1 time.  

So with that simple question about one of our clients comes my renewed focus.  

And it also brings a deeper level of symphony for our clients.

SCREW branding and everything that gets you there. 

Let’s focus right now on DRIVING MASSIVE SALES!   

Let’s focus on helping you increase your weekly sales so that you have breathing room.  So that you have the ability to start thinking about other items that will make your restaurant a legacy brand, a local institution.  


Well shit, I was wrong.

In fact, I’ve been wrong for way too many years.  

I’m been spouting off at the mouth about the importance of building your brand through your marketing.  I’ve been passionate about the opportunity that exists today with social media and digital marketing as a whole.  We are in the greatest time ever to market and I get excited.

Then recently I was asked by one of our employees “why has one particular client done SO WELL with what we’re preaching.  What is it about him, that has him bought in 100%?”

That was a thought provoking question, and knew the answer.  

That client had freed himself from being occupied by daily nuances most restaurant owners have, operational challenges and financial needs.  When you couple that with a drive to do more, you get what I consider to be our #1 client ever.  

It was literally the first time I’d ever thought of it at that level.  It was the first time I went deep into the WHY he was able or willing to do what he did to grow his restaurant by millions. 

So that got me thinking.  If it took that perfect storm of the right person, the crazy drive and finely tuned operations, then why in the hell do I think others will follow me?

But more than that, am I creating ideas and strategies that apply to the 1% and if so WHY?  

Our company’s mission is simple, “to help restaurants double their sales by finding more frequent customers.”  

And I know it’s 100% possible, but what if I’m teaching at too high of a level.  What if my expectations of what an owner should do NOW are too focused on a result that will come in 2-3 years.   They might not be here then.

And that’s when it hit me…I WAS WRONG!  

I was wrong to overlook the main thing everyone needs help with NOW.  

So with that we tweaked our messaging and a renewed focus is being placed on ONE big initiative.

DRIVE SALES

I realize it’s my duty to help restaurants DRIVE SALES and then build brand.  

Yes I still 100% believe you should aim to build a brand that sells itself, but if you never get there, then who gives a shit.  

YOU NEED SALES, and you need them now!  

And I get that.  

As I was having this conversation I  began to internalize it.  “I asked myself, Matt, why aren’t you obsessed with everything we do for restaurants having a systematic trackable system to drive sales?”  

And the answer was pretty simple and the same as you.  I am obsessed right now with our company’s cash flow and operational challenges.  I have no choice, I have to make sure we MAKE it to the other side.  That’s one of the big reasons I’ve not been as focused as I could be on our core goal, driving sales.  

And I think the reason this was an easy thing for me to see when the question arose was due to the fact that I’m in the same place so many of our restaurant customers are.  Yes, I’m in a unique position where I’ve carved out a large chunk of our weekly cashflow to help us build a massive brand with America’s Best Restaurants and Repeat Returns, but me taking that risk has forced me to focus on 3-5 items vs 1.

That 1 item should be without a doubt an industry best platform that is one dimensional, it predictably drives sales for restaurants.  But because I’m in the trenches with certain day to day items, it’s hard to have the level of focus or OBSESSION you need on that 1 time.  

So with that simple question about one of our clients comes my renewed focus.  

And it also brings a deeper level of symphony for our clients.

SCREW branding and everything that gets you there. 

Let’s focus right now on DRIVING MASSIVE SALES!  

Let’s focus on helping you increase your weekly sales so that you have breathing room.  So that you have the ability to start thinking about other items that will make your restaurant a legacy brand, a local institution.  

 

 

At Pizza Expo, one 16-year-old’s interview will leave you speechless | no, it’s not about the pizza!

I spoke with over 100 pizza shop owners, and while many had great insights, his stood out. He shared how his family’s legacy, starting with his grandfather and now carried on with his help and his siblings’, gives their shop its unique charm.

Your story is what makes your independent restaurant stand out against the big-box competition!

Check out episode #548 of the Restaurant Marketing Secrets to hear more takeaways from the interviews I did at Pizza Expo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j316LDQqhUQ&t=82s

#PizzaExpo #RestaurantOwners #shorts

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The Puzzle – Day 3

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Day 3 – Friday April 5th, 2024

L.M.S

Lead, Market, Sell

That’s my mantra as the LEADER of my companies.  

I have to LEAD my team.

I have to MARKET by brand.

I have to SELL my vision.

This is what I aim to do every day, let’s break it down piece by piece.

LEAD 

Leader =  someone who others will follow. 

Think about that statement and then think about your daily life.  Do you want your team to follow you?  Are you healthy in your mind, body and spirit?  Are you a person they should follow?  I had this exact question with myself December 25th 2023 as I looked in the mirror.  I was 20-25 pounds overweight.  Yes, to my team I was “in shape”, but I was not in shape to me.  And I certainly wasn’t leading.  A leader would be absolutely YOKED!  RIPPED.  IN OBVIOUS SHAPE!  Not, kind of in shape.  Or at least working their ass off to get there.

I always reasoned with myself that I was far enough ahead of most people as my reasoning for living my version of a “healthier” lifestyle.  On that day as I looked in the mirror and looked into my soul I told myself enough was enough.  I needed to start LEADING in a big way.  If soft drinks are bad for you, then why am I an occasional drinker of them vs never?  If donuts are bad for you, then why am I walking around with one?  

 

So on that day I decided I need to start LEADING when it comes to fitness and nutrition.  It’s been 3 months and 1 week.  I’ve not had a cookie, donut, cake, soft drink, etc.  I’ve cleaned up my eating.  One month into this change I cut out all energy drinks.  I want my team, my friends, my family to see that I am willing to make uncomfortable changes.  If I can’t and I continue to do what WE shouldn’t be doing, then how can I expect them to stop? 

 

On top of that, there are other areas I’m working on.  

 

Being a kind leader, a compassionate leader, being a leader that listens and isn’t afraid to be wrong.

 

Every day I’m asking myself, is the person I’m putting in front of myself someone I’d follow?  

 

MARKET

 

You’re not a restaurant owner.  

 

You’re a restaurant marketer! 

 

At the end of the day if NO ONE walks through your doors and hands you money, you’re out of business.   It doesn’t matter if you have the best food, service and location.  

 

If you don’t SELL FOOD, then you go out of business.

 

So that means you need to get off your ass and MARKET every waking minute you’re awake. 

 

The owner 100% must be marketing all day every day.  When I see you at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago you should be rocking your gear.  When I see you pull up to a pee wee football game you should be in a wrapped vehicle and rocking your gear.  

 

There’s not much more to say here.  Your job should revolve around marketing your restaurant every chance you get.

 

SELL

 

Every day sell your vision to your family, friends, employees, potentional employees, bankers, vendors and customers.  

 

GET THE PICTURE?  Every ONE!

 

You should be SELLING your vision every day.  Why can’t most restaurants find staff?  Because no one wants to work for just another restaurant.  Heck, growing up we were told “if you keep doing that you’ll end up flipping burgers.”  

 

If you want employees to be knocking down your door every day, build something special and they SELL YOUR VISION to them! 

 

 Scream from the mountain tops who you are, what you’re doing and WHY!

 

CLICK HERE and buy the book Vivid Vision.  It’s a short read and I can promise you, you won’t regret it.  

 

As the OWNER you need to paint a picture of your future that’s SO BIG it scares people.

 

It scares them because it’s so big and awesome.   The Starbucks we know today started with a VISION for 50 stores.  This was at a time where coffee shops that we know today did not exist, it wasn’t a market.  So 50 was, HOLY SHIT land.  Today they have over 38,000 worldwide.

 

Do you think their early investors and employees would have been stoke to work at a regular coffee shop?

 

You need to build a vision and sell it to everyone who will listen.  They need to know you’re not just another burger joint.  That you’re doing something special.  

 

Something they’ll want to be a part of.

 

…see you tomorrow. 

 

P.S. Make sure you read blog #1 in this series to understand the terrible art work and mission 🙂

 

The most influential people for your restaurant are in your community! #restaurantindustry

Consider your local band director: With an average of 125 students in the band, along with their families, friends, and neighbors, you’re reaching a potential audience of 2,500 people. For example, when the band director promotes a dine-and-donate event at XYZ restaurant, these are the individuals likely to participate.

Now, how do you tap into this network? It’s not just about promoting your food, it’s about meaningful connections. Imagine having a podcast where you feature interviews with the band director, the football coach, local charities, and other community figures. Suddenly, everyone connected to or passionate about these topics becomes interested in your restaurant for more than just the food!

Don’t forget to check out the Restaurant Marketing Secrets podcast for daily insights on attracting more frequent customers and doubling your sales! 👇https://www.youtube.com/@restaurantmarketingsecrets3580
–
#RestaurantMarketing #SmallBusinessStrategy #Shorts

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