Day 64 – The Puzzle – Documenting Your Journey

Twice in the past 24 hours I’ve repeated this statement “stop using social media as todays money mailer and a place to puke your menu pics. Instead tell your story and become the reality show your community is craving.”

I want you to do me a favor so that you can understand what I’m talking about.  Look up the 3 local restaurants near you right now and go to their Facebook.  

Chart how many posts they made since May 10th and then how many were selling something, not selling something, solid community posts or telling their unique story.

DEFINITIONS

– Selling = Post about WHY to come eat and drink there.

– Not Selling = Happy Memorial Day & NOT SELLING “come celebrate with us”

– SOLID = Community oriented post (ex. one of the posts on Restaurant #1 was a little league team celebrating their big win).

– Telling Your Story = Exactly what it sounds like

The picture above is mine, on the back of a piece of mail that arrived today.

Restaurant #1

– # Of Posts = 32

– Selling = 22

– Not Selling = 6

– Strong Non Selling Post = 4

– Telling Their Story = 0

Restaurant #2

– # Of Posts = 14

– Selling = 12

– Not Selling = 1

– Strong Non Selling Post = 1

– Telling Their Story = 0

Restaurant #3

– # Of Posts = 16

– Selling = 15

– Not Selling = 1

– Strong Non Selling Post = 0

– Telling Their Story = 0

I’m not going to go any deeper than the numbers above.  If you can’t see the opportunity that exists and how BAD your competition is then that’s your fault. 

Day 63 – The Puzzle – The $15 Small Pizza And WHY I Keep Going There

Friday night was pretty normal for me this week, I left the gym and headed home.  On the way home I did what I do most Fridays, swing by Strongs Brick Oven Pizza in Union Kentucky.  On this night I was rolling solo since my wife was out of town with my daughter and my son was at kick boxing.  I think that’s why the dollar amount of this pizza stuck out, it was simply a personal size pizza just for me, my bill came out to $15.85 or aprox $14.85 before tax.

Think about, $15 for a small 10 inch pizza, seems kind of high right?  After all a small pizza is selling between $7-10 at most places. 

But this is the important part, the price was a non factor.  I asked myself, what if it was $20…I’d still buy it.

WHY?  Because the pizza I was picking up was a ONE OF A KIND creation by the pizza geniuses there.  I get the Almost Famous Hot & Spicy.  It’s got bacon, a spicy sauce, peppers and then the dump crumbled up bbq chips on top.  IT’S UNREAL!  It’s so damn good, and it’s the ONLY place I can get this pizza.

It’s kind of like Doc Style wings at Barleycorns, no one else was them.

So why is this the subject of this blog?  Because all of you are trying really hard to get people to spend money with you and more importantly you’re trying to get MORE money when they do visit.  So when you offer a product like this pizza that no one else has, price is removed.  It’s my favorite pizza, so whether it cost me $10, $15, $20 or $25 I’D BUY IT!  

Now I will say, when we start talking about $25-35, it’s going to have me thinking.  But honestly, it’s so damn good 🙂

OK, but you’re thinking “Matt, what’s TJ’s LinkedIn message have to do with this?”

TJ pays attention and he’s heard me rail on this exact pizza restaurant for being bad at marketing.  As I think about it, I can’t say a whole lot that’s good about their email, text and social media.  In fact, they don’t even email or text me.  And I’d be willing to be a large sum of money that don’t have me in any type of marketing database.  They do exactly the opposite of what I believe it, which leads me back to TJ’s question.

WHY am I still eating there?

It’s 100% due to the location of the restaurant, not the pizza or anything else.  

I’d had this pizza at their Newport location a few times per year, and LOVED IT.  That’s how I knew about it when they opened up a mile from my house and that’s why I’ve eaten in hundreds of times since they opened here.  BUT I never went out of my way to visit the Newport location, even though they had my favorite pizza.  WHY?  Out of sight, out of mind.  They were an after thought and we only visited when we were in Newport for another reason.  

But now, I drive by it MANY TIMES per day.  I’m typing this on a Sunday, and I’ve drove by it twice on the way to run this morning and twice on my way to dinner tonight.  If this restaurant was located a few miles in one direction or the other my visit frequency would be 75% less.  

They are getting my business due to their restaurant being in my line of sight 40-50 times per week, and they happen to have my favorite pizza.  Stack on top of that great customer service and a clean restaurant and it’s a dangerous combination.  BUT remove from that the Union location and I’m a 2 times per year customer vs 40-50!  

TJ, your answer is PROXIMITY!  

And to hammer this point home even more, 9 out of 10 friends of mine from the region tell me when I drag them along “I love this place, but never come.”  I ask why and the answer is always the same, out of sight…out of mind!

But imagine if they were running marketing like I preach, oh SNAP, they’d be dangerous.

Imagine the possibilities….

If they were running marketing campaigns with a 3 mile radius to gather data

If they had servers asking for data.

If they had a tech stack when I called into order my pizza that got my info.

IF they had my info and used it how many more visits they could drive, the catering they could sell me, the appetizers they could sell, the desserts they could sell….

TJ, you’ve got me on my soap box and for that reason this is also topic of episode 630 of Restaurant Marketing Secrets, CLICK HERE to listen!

Day 62 – The Puzzle – Handling Customer Complaints Online For Your Restaurant…STAND YOUR GROUND!

SCREAM THIS WITH ME…

WE MUST PROTECT HIS HOUSE!

You and only you can be the gate keeper for your brand, so do exactly what Michelle did here.

Before you read any farther into this blog, CLICK HERE and read the post Michelle made to defend her restaurant, Case & Bucks, from some online shade.  It’s absolute gold and once you read it you’ll have the context you need for the rest of the blog.

Ok, now back to the action.

DAMN, didn’t she freaking DOMINATE that post!  

First, let’s get this out of the way and I’ll warn you, this will go against everything you’ve ever thought.

HOPE & PRAY for some negative posts like this monthly.  WHAT!?  Are you crazy Matt, well yes a little 🙂

Let me explain, here are my 5 reasons you want this stuff in your life:

#1 – If you don’t get hate, then you’re not taking enough action.

#2 – Hate and people throwing shade will EXCITE you and bring out that fire (like it did with Michelle).

#3 – It will force you to take action and put on paper how you REALLY feel.  Because I know none of you really “FEEL” how your social media looks.

#4 – It will prove to you how awesome you are because you’ll get 10x the love than the hate garnered.

#5 – And last but not least, it will show you the power of using social media to tell your story. Then HOPEFULLY it will get you away from posting lame ass food pictures every day and instead get you on team MP and using the written word and videos from your heart.  The power of properly crafted content NOT around your food will draw in more and more people and help you finally market your restaurant correctly. 

Great job Michelle, now that I know what you have in the tank I’m going to be on the lookout for some more heartfelt content to connect you, your brand, your team and your food with your community.

The Puzzle – Day 61 – Opening A New Restaurant? Bring Locals On the Journey Like Bri And Jonathon Did

How should you market opening a new restaurant is a question I get all the time.  

My advise is ALWAYS bring the community along for the ride.  Show them them the construction, the craziness that is building out a new restaurant.  

You can do this pretty easily with a smart phone and Facebook live.  

OR you can go next level like Bri and Jonathon of Wooden Paddle did.  WOW is all I had to say when I watched this.  

I really don’t have much to tell you, I think you’ll get your biggest bang for your buck by simply watching their video and thinking “how can I do this.”

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

FYI there’s NOTHING holding you back from doing videos like this EVERY WEEK even if you’ve been open for 30 years.  It’s freaking free to create your own reality show online, JUST DO IT!

Day 60 – The Puzzle – Time Is On Your Side

Forget the picture above for a minute and read below before you look up.

We all have bad days.

We all have bad weeks.

We all CAN have bad months, if we allow bad weeks to add up and bring us down.

And I suppose we can have a bad year with what I mentioned above and with life events that wreak havoc. 

But right now I want you to focus on the big picture.  Whether we are talking about the sales in your business, the traction in your marketing or your weight loss journey, NOTHING worth doing happens fast and easy. 

Now LOOK UP!  Look at the picture and no it’s not an eye test but now that I look at it I’m getting dizzy 🙂

Each row is 1 year, 52 dots, 1 for each week (at least it should be, but I could have designed it wrong).

There are 15 rows, each representing a year. 

The rows are black, blue and orange to point out a 3 year increment.

FIRST = I like viewing any goal in a 3 year increment.  After reading the book Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold in 2019 I realized that was the right path for me.  WHY?  A lot can happen in 5 years, and don’t get me started on 10 or 15!  So when I look at a path to finishing a goal I know can picture what it looks like in 3 years.  Especially once you get 6 months to a year into it., you’re like “ok, 2 more of these”.  Today I’m going to run a hill twice, it’s 4.5 miles total.  When I get back up the hill after round one I’m always like “ok, 1 more time.”  I view looking at 3 year plans the same way.

SECOND = Each dot is 1 week to show you have insignificant a bad week, heck a back 5-10 weeks, REALLY IS!  Look how small of a sample size a few weeks is in 1 year, then 3 years and then 15 years!

THIRD & FINAL POINT = 15 years!  As an adult and entrepreneur I think we all have to be able to DREAM!  And I don’t know about you, but no dream I want is reachable in 3 years.  A goal, yes.  A DREAM, NO!!!!  So as I sit here at 48 years and say “I want this” I know it’s a big lift.  I know it’s a long road, but I also know I have a lot of DOTS that I can screw up on in route to this dream.  There are 52 weeks in a year, 156 weeks in 3 years and 780 weeks in 15 years.

So when I have a bad week I start to think, WHO GIVES A SHIT, it’s .0012 of the time it’s going to take me to get to my dream, it’s really really insignificant. 

FYI, go by the book Vivid Vision and READ IT ASAP!

Day 33 – The Puzzle – Bad Restaurant Reviews & Negative Comments On Social Media

Bad reviews for your restaurant, how do you handle them?

Hate online and on social media, how do you handle it?

Facebook groups where anyone and everyone can throw shade your way, how do you handle it?

Let’s face it, we all get it and we all are going to continue to get it.  If you’re taking ANY ACTION in life critics are coming your way.  And on top of that, none of us are perfect every day, so guess what we actually WILL GIVE BAD service and products.  

So here is the secret, you must have this mentality as it relates to the actual review…DON’T CARE!  STILL DON’T CARE!

And when I say that, I’m not saying you’re going to ignore the review and what you can learn from it.  I’m saying you can’t let it affect you AT ALL. It can’t make your mind wonder. It can’t make you question your team.  It can’t make you have stomach pains.  You have to accept that every day, you’re going to either make a mistake and get a bad review, or made someone mad who gives you a bad review.  It’s a simple fact.

Let’s take the review up top for example.  This customer bought your pizza through a 3rd party delivery service.  They said it wasn’t edible.  If this was my restaurant how would I handle this?

1st – I’d comment something like the following ” CUSTOMERS first name, I’m sorry.  This really stinks and I’m as upset as you are, we 100% take responsibility for this and want to fix it.  I have a few questions about this order that I’d love your help with, if you could call me at 888-888-8889 (your cell phone #).  Thats my cell phone and I’m the owner.  3rd Party services are something we are evaluating to see if it’s a great idea for our restaurant, since we can’t control the time they pick it up and the delivery time sine they are not our employee.  Also, you mention “thinner than usual” which leads me to believe you’ve dined with us before and I want to know more about your past experiences since this is the only review I see from you.  Please call my cell # above so I can make sure your next pizza is taken care of and we can rebuild your trust in our company.

– For this reply you are simply trying to tell your story and make them 100% right.  75% of people will not call you, they will not reply. BUT a lof of customers looking to try you for the first time will look at your response and be blown away.  

2nd – You need to get with 5 friends and order your pizza from Uber Eats (specific to this instance).  Have you tried our product through these 3rd party apps? And not from your own account, your employees will see that.  From other people’s accounts, this will allow you to mystery shop your restaurant and understand if there’s an issue you need to address in your restaurants operations.  

3rd – Keep a chart of your bad reviews and add this it.  You need to see if there are any trends, anything to approach your team about.  

4th -Don’t raise a red flag on this to your team.  Imagine if you scream this from the mountain tops to your team and it’s 1 out of 100 instances. Is it worth putting doubt in their mind?  Now if your chart from point 3 above shows a trend, of course you’re going to IDS this (Identify, Discuss, Solve).

And then YOU’RE DONE!  Don’t beat yourself up, worry about what others think, etc.  Move on. Bad reviews, orders gone wrong and hate are all part of the game.  And yes, I understand it’s tough to stomach, but we all must get used to it. 

In episode 588 of my podcast, Restaurant Marketing Secrets, I discuss this exact topic…HAVE A LISTEN, CLICK HERE!

Thanks

Matt