Day 156 – The Puzzle – Look, Don’t Ask. Most Answers Are A Click Away

Part of my job as the leader of our company is to make my team better. To teach them how to become better for our company, and maybe their next job.  

Sometimes, these “tips” might seem like I’m being a jackass, but I’m honestly just trying to make us all more efficient.  

This might sound odd to say “to make them better at their next job,” but it’s the truth.  I think back to Tim Tebow when he as the star QB at Florida.  Urban Meyer used him to win National Championships and did not prepare him for the NFL.  He could have easily fixed Tim’s throwing motion in college, still won national championships, and made Tim an outstanding NFL QB.  But for whatever reason, that did not happen, and Tim was out of the NFL within a few years. 

Something I see a lot is people needing to take the extra simple step to piece together a project.  As in asking simple questions, they could easily find on their own.  These things may seem trivial, but it’s the truth.  Time is money, and if, instead of taking those steps, you ask questions that take a back and forth, then you create more work for everyone. 

In 2024, this is even more important.  I’d challenge that almost every answer we could need is at our fingertips with Google and Open AI.  

Just today I had a team member coordinating something for me when they asked one of these questions.  My reply was, “Google.”  Then, to add a cherry on top, I did a quick Google search, and with three letters being typed, the answer was revealed.

If you want to become ultra-valuable in your job, remove work from others and make conversations easier and seamless.  

Day 154 – The Puzzle – I Guess Late Is Better Than Never For This Business Replying To My Online Review

This is from a review I left two months ago after getting my oil changed.  I ONLY did it because the young lady helping me asked me to AFTER she confirmed I was thrilled with the service I got.  She said, “Great, it would mean a lot to me and my job performance ratings if you left a 5-star review on Google and mentioned me by name. My name is Kylie.”  It was easy to remember since my niece’s name is Kylie.  

So, a few minutes later, when I had a chance, I left the review. 

Then, yesterday, I got an email notification that someone had replied to my review.  When I looked, I recalled the experience.  I was not only amazed it took two months to answer but also by the fact that they copied and pasted a response even though I was particular.  

First, let’s talk about online marketing related to social media.  Review sites like this, I consider a form of social media.  And the first word in Social Media is (insert drum roll) SOCIAL!  

The idea behind social media is to be SOCIAL!

That means you respond to every post comment, every share that you can see, and every review that customers leave.  

Could you put it this way?  If you approached me in a restaurant and said, “Matt, how was your meal?”  And I replied, “Awesome!” 

Would you keep walking and not respond to me?  

OF COURSE NOT, THEN STOP DOING IT ONLINE!

First of all, this reply should have happened TWO MONTHS AGO!  Secondly, they should have engaged me in a specific manner instead of copy and paste.  


If we want to win in the game of marketing, it’s time to wake up and do it right!

Day 153 – The Puzzle – It’s Time

As I thought about where I was at this point in my life, I couldn’t help but think I lucky I was.

I am healthy in mind, body, and spirit.  

I have an amazing wife.  A best friend for the past 29 years.

I have great kids and family who all support me and deal with my nuances.  

I have a team of 70 or so who follow my every whim in business, a team of “employees” who are ready to go to battle to help me fulfill my vision.  

So with that, I need to get my shit together. I need to figure out how I can give back to every one of these people what they need from me.  Today, I embark on a new journey, one where I look even deeper in the mirror to understand where I need to spend my time and effort. 

I have a weekly to-do list that I need to pay more attention to, but it only includes something for some.  I will put the finishing touches on it and publish it this week so that the WORLD can hold me accountable.

Day 152 – The Puzzle – Are You Eating What You’re Selling?

This weekend, I watched a documentary about the band Nickelback, which was eye-opening.  We all see the final product, but we rarely see what it took to get there.  The five to ten years of grinding it out in dive bars, playing to drunks, and traveling in a cramped mini-van hooked up to a Uhaul.  Most bands, athletes, movie stars, and ENTREPRENEURS have stories behind them that would shock us all. 

And to go along with those success stories are also the failures.  The people who didn’t take it seriously enough.  Who didn’t grind it out long enough!  Who quit too soon, or who didn’t go deep enough into what it takes to create something special.  

Then, as I sat on my back deck this morning to work on my to-do list, this song came on by Seal.  As I listened to it on REPEAT for maybe 30 minutes, I thought about the hours, days, weeks, and months Seal and his team probably spent listening to every note to make that song what it is. 

Then I thought…

OH SHIT MATT, ARE YOU?!

It hit me: have I stuck in the kitchen too much? Should I be looking at our product more deeply?  The answer to that question is always YES!

I realized I was the restaurant owner not paying attention to the basics, like the flower pot in front of my store filled with garbage, like below.

I think I am.  Looking around at our company and our products, I realized I’d not gone deep enough.  I’ve not eaten our cooking, or at least every item on the menu.  

So, with that, I’ve redefined what my weeks should look like.  I asked myself, what should I look at every day and every week? What are the KPIs for my efforts to make sure my team helps us get where we need to go?

FYI, click below to see a real-life example of how we all sleepwalk through out businesses some days. 

Day 151 – The Puzzle – Restaurants Email Caused Me To Do A Marketing Deep Dive On Them

This email landed in my inbox this week, and I had an idea.  

I will send this email to the majority of my team, 30 or so, and ask them to do a DEEP DIVE into this restaurant’s marketing.  

Why send it to a large group of my team?

#1 – We don’t all have the answers.  Yes, I am pretty well equipped to do this independently, but my question is, “What else can I learn?”

#2 – It’s not always about telling or showing your team.  You have to allow them to FIND IT.  Many times, what we find in a journey can teach us better than the greatest teacher.

#3 – It’s about the journey.  There’s just something about going on a scavenger hunt that awakens you.  

So, while I’m itching to open this email and start clicking around, you will have to wait.  I plan on publishing my review on Wednesday, followed by my team’s reviews on Thursday.  

Stay tuned. 

But in the meantime, if you’re a restaurant owner, do this on your own.  Take an email that you got from a competitor and CLICK AWAY.  Make a list of what you found that you think needs to be changed.  And then use that to guide your marketing.  

Day 150 – The Puzzle – Weekly Vivid Vision Update…OUR TEAM

This past week, one of our salespeople quit, and in the exit interview as I was talking with him, I realized two things:

1st – He only got the next job with what he learned from me, my dad, and his 15 months at America’s Best Restaurants.  

2nd – I screwed him!  My lack of leadership in the sales department and laid-back management style will likely lead to his failure at his new gig unless he finds a gas pedal that’s eluded him for seven of the past eight months.  

After he left my office, a lot went through my mind.  

First was, “Matt, you should have fired him 3-6 months ago based on performance.

Second, his failures at ABR are 100% YOUR fault, Matt; he’s not been managed or trained to the level he should have been. 

Third, while he only got that new job due to his experience with us, his success could have been 10 times better if I’d done more for him. 

Fourth and final, “Matt, get off your ass and do what you know is right.  Become the manager every employee and leader in your company MUST have to succeed outside of the office and at their next job.”

I know what you’re thinking: that sounds strange. Someone is talking about an employee’s “Next job.”  Well, let’s face it, most of our employees will end up somewhere else in the next 5-30 years, probably many more places.  Would I love it if we could keep everyone for the rest of my career? Yes, but that’s not realistic.  I look at it this way: if I treat them that way, they’ll also be the best they can be while I have them.

And on top of that, how freaking cool would it be to look back in 30 years and see many former employees living their best lives, knowing we helped them achieve that, no matter where they are employed.  

So, with that, it’s time to expect more.  Expect MORE out of me as a manager.  Expect more from my people (see yesterday’s blog post, Day 149).

More importantly, it’s time for me to stop letting other people’s speedometers get in my way.  Because when I allow people to move slower, it only hurts them and their future. 

To make a long story short….GET READY TO GET UNCOMFORTABLE!

Day 149 – The Puzzle – How Fast Are Your Going?

While driving home yesterday, I watched some people go much faster and much slower than me.  

Then I looked down at my speedometer and realized my car’s 12 cylinders could propel this car up to 208 mph.  And the great thing about this particular car is that it rides excellently at speeds above 150, just like at 40mph.  But, like in life, there’s a time and place for certain speeds.  And you can’t always go 208mph and expect not to encounter problems.  But the opposite is also true; if you poke along at 40mph, many issues can pop up. 

Then my mind went to another place: how fast can MY ENGINE go, and am I pushing myself enough?

I know I can do more, and every day, I look in the mirror and ask myself how and why.   

But, honestly, I’m not that worried about Matt Plapp.  I can honestly say I GET IT, and I know how to turn it on more when needed and take a step back and chill.  What I’m worried about are my friends, clients, and employees.  I see way too many people coasting along at 40mph. 

You see, the difference between 40 and 80mph in life isn’t crazy.  Once you run at 80mph, you get used to it, and 40mph seems like you’re sleeping.  And then, when you take it to 120mph, 80mph also seems much more effortless.  

Over the past five years, I’ve noticed the levels I can go to, and I’ve noticed the levels others can achieve, too. 

My biggest disappointment is watching as people accept 40mph.  They turn it on occasionally but never really take it to that 80-120 level.  And god forbid you show them 160-200, they lose their shit.  That’s when they get stressed out. Trust me, I see it daily with people around me. My speed makes people uncomfortable. 

My disappointment in these people isn’t that it affects me. It’s that they are losing out on life.  They are limiting themselves.  As you learn to climb the ladders with effort over a long period, you get more and more opportunities.  

Yes, you can make more money. 

But you also get more time.  You also learn how to do more with less and become way more efficient.  

Last but not least, you become happier because you realize that you’re unlocking the potential that no one around you is.  You know that you’re a much bigger badass at something than you were before.  And THAT is what pushes you to even higher levels.  

That’s why the quote below is on the back of my MP key chains.

P.S. if you want us to mail you a MP keychain email me at matt@mattplapp.com

Day 148 – The Puzzle – Will Your Restaurant Be Left Behind

Where does America’s Best Restaurants ABR Roadshow Air?

YOU’RE WELCOME for it not being cable TV!

Ok, let me start with this.  Cable and Network TV is DEAD!

In 2010 I had a monthly live event in Northern Kentucky titled “The Yellow Pages Are Dead,” and I got so much shit from people I knew in the industry.  The worst part was business owners agreed with me but were still asking me why they should be on Facebook and the internet vs buying their same Yellow Pages ad.

Now, flash forward to 2024, and every week, my team will have conversations with restaurant owners about “Where our show airs.”  They’ll ask, what channel?  And when we inform them of the good news, that the ABR Roadshow, our DIGITAL only “TV show” that airs on the #2 platform for video consumption in 2024, FACEBOOK, some don’t get it.  

They say, so it’s not on Cable TV?  

We ask them, “How often do you watch TV?”  

The answer is always “I don’t.”

Ok, do your customers do?  And then we will give them stats, like the graph above that CLEARLY shows TV has dropped like a boulder thrown into a lake.  And the funny part is, this graph isn’t considering AGE.  It’s simply showing raw #’s.  If you factor in the age, it would be 70% LOWER than YouTube and Social Media. 

Everyone watching TV is the oldest of your customer base.  And in the restaurant business, not the ones you need to grab.  I am very close to my parents.  They are in their 70s, and as they have gotten older, MONEY has become way more of a factor in their mindset than ever.  And on top of that, they are creatures of habit.  They go to the same restaurants every week.  And last but not least, their dining party is likelier to be the two of them than a large group.

So now that I have stated the obvious by talking about your older customers, let’s get even more apparent. 

Here we go, the statement that is going to break the internet.

YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!!!

Holy shit, news flash, right?

But in all seriousness, we hear this all the time.  And to be quite honest, I look at most restaurants’ online presence, especially their social media pages, it’s like NONE OF YOU GET IT!

EVERYONE 18-64 is easily reached on their cell phone, not their couch.

So, back to The ABR Roadshow and America’s Best Restaurants.  In 2018, when I created the idea, I saw this coming from a mile away. My favorite show on Cable about local restaurants was losing its audience. On top of that, there was 100,000 X more opportunity to reach local diners on Facebook than a national cable show. 

DID YOU KNOW that today’s best cable shows are reaching a few hundred people in your restaurant region?  Meanwhile, episodes like you see below are garnering 30-40,000 LOCAL views and affecting restaurants where they need it, IN THEIR BACKYARDS!  Heck, this episode is a week old and already at 8,300 views.  

So, as I said above…TV IS DEAD, and we all have to wake up to the future. It’s more than likely what you’re reading this blog post on 🙂

Day 147 – The Puzzle – What Print Coupons Should Do That They ARE NOT!

When I arrived home Labor Day after a 4-Day weekend in Buffalo for the National Buffalo Wing Festival, I was greeted with a STACK of mail, and of course, there was a new coupon magazine in with all the junk mail. 

This blog post is not to hate on direct mail coupons that restaurants do. It’s to talk about how they have not EVOLVED!  

Let’s discuss why you should do couponing like “CLIP MAGAZINE.”  There are three reasons to coupon for your restaurant. 

– 1st – Acquire new customers with a bribe to visit your restaurant. 

– 2nd – Reward loyal customers with a PERK!

– 3rd – Drive incremental spending with an added or increased spend on a visit. 

As I look through magazines like this, I commonly see offers that would fit into one of the three categories above.  But what I don’t see is strategy.  The restaurants have no way to control WHO gets what offers and no way to know WHO uses the offers.  

WHO

Who, is the keyword.  Marketing in 2024 is all about attention.  The best way to predictably get ATTENTION is to target your customers with marketing meant for them.  You know, like from the song “For Your Eyes Only, only for yours.”  Seriously, CLICK HERE, and take a trip down memory lane….

Ok, enough of the 80’s, back to the blog.  Your marketing plan should be built around the word WHO.  You aim to create marketing programs for your customers, not blindly aim at anyone.  Back in 2015, I surveyed three restaurants where I asked customers bringing in these coupons a few questions.  I found that 60% of the customers who used the coupons were already coming, but they knew that every month, they could get a $5 or $10 off coupon from the direct mail magazine.  So every time our client paid to distribute his coupon with Reach Magazine, he was not only spending $5,000 on the ad but giving away another $5-10,000 of profit to customers who were already coming to eat at his place 🙁

My research was clear, but it fell on deaf ears.  This client, really his business partner, was ADDICTED to this coupon magazine and the perceived cash flow that it brought it.  And you would believe me if I told you they STILL have a full-page ad in this magazine?  You can’t make this shit up, they still do.  

My issue with this strategy and how to fix it is simple.  ONLY give out promos like this when you either gain customer data or you give it to a specific customer.  

 

Coupon magazines like this should be a BRIBE to gain a customer’s name, email, phone number, and birthday in your ACQUISITION funnel.  These customers would fall into the “Welcome To The Family” message above.  You’d find them through your ad, offer them a fantastic offer, and then have them give you their contact info through a digital program like DRYVER’s opt-in programs.  

Then, once you have their information, you’d send them marketing promotions or messages based on their relationship with your restaurant.  This simple strategy would eliminate blasting everyone with every offer and giving away your profit. 

Day 146 -The Puzzle – 3 Mind Hacks

As I recorded my podcast episode 716 on this blog post I thought I was writing rap lyrics:)

“We are massively distracted, our minds are on overdrive and sometimes we need a break.”

1st – Kale Phone – 26:11 of this video CLICK HERE for My First Million Episode with George Mack

2nd – John Cena Driving Clip, click and watch

3rd – LMNT 3:1 Concept CLICK HERE

Today’s blog is only a resource from the podcast; you’ll get what you need by listening to it. 

Last but not least, click HERE to listen to the podcast where I talk about these three ideas.