Let me tell you about two restaurants I encountered this week.
One canceled our DRYVER Loyalty program.
The other reached out for help.
Different approaches. Same problem.
The difference? Effort and understanding.
Restaurant A: The Honest Hustler
Restaurant A is run by a passionate operator. Great food. Clear vision. Big goals.
But they’re barely making it.
Why?
They know what needs to be done with their marketing, but they haven’t taken action yet. He acknowledged that, and that’s half the battle
We had a solid conversation. I’m confident they’ll get there.
Their issue isn’t knowledge. It’s an effort.
Restaurant B: The Blame Game
Restaurant B has been using our DRYVER Loyalty platform for years. They’re a pizza shop with a constant flow of customers, dine-in, online, and call-in.
They blamed the “cost-to-benefit ratio”.
When in fact it was the LACK OF EFFORT RATIO!
They’re averaging 18 enrollments per month in their loyalty program.
Yes, you read that right, 18 PER MONTH!
I could walk into any restaurant in this country and get 18 people in 24 hours. Gaining 18 per month means you’re doing everything not to grow the program.
Let me be clear: We have restaurants averaging 18 PER EVERY DAY OR TWO…
So what’s the real issue here?
It’s not the platform. Its execution.
The restaurant has failed to build a system that ensures every customer gets asked and entered into the program.
Marketing, like any aspect of your business, needs fuel. You don’t blame your car for not running if you never fill the tank. You blame the person who forgot to put the damn gas in!
Same with loyalty. Same with email. Same with social media.
No gas = No results.
Same Problem. Two Routes.
Both restaurants need to sell more food to increase profits. The path to that is simple: marketing.
You must:
Attract attention
Build a database
Retain your customers’ interest
At America’s Best Restaurants, we call these the Three Commandments of ABR.
But there’s a missing 4th Commandment that matters just as much: Effort.
If you’re not willing to put in the work or to build systems and teams that do, no strategy will succeed.
So What Do You Do?
Whether you’re Restaurant A or B, or somewhere in between, know this:
Your marketing doesn’t fail because of what you’re doing.
It fails because of what you’re not doing.
Do your employees get to guess your recipes?
Can they make the pizzas however they want?
Is washing their hands after they visit the restroom optional?
NOPE!
You have systems in place for those items, so you’d better put one in place for our loyalty program as well. Marketing can’t be an every once in a while thing; it has to be treated like every other SOP that you use to run your business. And employees MUST BE held accountable.
-MP Out
This week’s song: Human – By Rag’n’BoneMman
This week’s book: The Burger King – Jim McLAMORE was just like you at one point, one restaurant in a small town. Then he built a global chain!
