High Touch and High Tech Helping Independent Restaurants Succeed
“Sorry, we are closed.” Everyone has seen this all-too-familiar sign hung in the darkened windows of your favorite local eatery. Although this time, it’s not just until tomorrow morning’s kitchen prep, now — it’s for good! Personally when it comes to dining out, I prefer independently owned eateries. Why? For starters, I think the food is just better than the standard fare at most chain restaurants. But it’s more than that: The atmosphere is typically warmer and more personable than you find in the cold, cookie-cutter chains. Unfortunately, these wonderful independent restaurants, built on the backs of hard-working entrepreneurs are struggling in today’s economy. Approximately 59 percent of new restaurants fail within their first three years. Surprisingly the rates climb even higher for more established eateries with nearly 70 percent closing their doors after ten years. Yet despite the odds, there are many independent restauranteurs who are not just surviving, they’re thriving. What’s their secret? It’s a combination of high touch and high tech. Here are some examples to help you succeed. * Tech-Savvy Marketing – Millions of people in the U.S. today are tied to their mobile devices. So smart restauranteurs are using mobile marketing to reach their customers in a timely and cost-effective manner. My husband gets text messages from one of his favorite restaurants alerting him of the daily special, a discount or a special event. The initial investment to start a mobile marketing campaign is minimal, but it does take time to collect patron’s cell numbers. Remember, you need to obtain permission from customers before including them in a text messaging campaign. But it’s an excellent way to stay connected to your customers. * Compelling Internet Presence – Recently I was traveling in Hawaii, and I picked up the usual tourist magazines to find great places to eat. Because I don’t like tourist traps, I turned to the web for more information. I was surprised to find many of the restaurants had no website at all, or if they did, their sites failed to provide helpful information about their menus, hours and special offerings. One of the restaurants even had inaccurate information which I learned when I arrived for breakfast and found they were now only open for lunch and dinner. Whether you like it or not, your restaurant is popping up on the web via local review sites and restaurant directories. If you aren’t controlling the your web presence, you could very well be losing business. * Get Social and Create a Buzz – One of the first things I do when I decide to try a new restaurant is check out their Facebook page. I like to get a sense of the restaurant’s personality so to speak. Social media is a smart way to build buzz about your restaurant. Not only can you stay engaged with your current customers, but your regulars can help you spread the word by sharing your messages. A restaurant in my neighborhood posts a special word each day. If you mention the word when you go in, you receive a special discount or a free goodie. * Sweat the Small Stuff– I think one of the key factors in a restaurant’s success is the face that welcomes you every time you walk in the door. Let’s face it...
read moreFocus Forward Survival Skills: Character, Perseverance and Determination
“The time you could spend wondering ‘Why me?’ is the time you could have spent working your tail off to get better,” — Austin Hatch, two time plane crash survivor. If you’re a basketball fan, you’ve probably heard of Austin Hatch. He is a two-time plane crash survivor who is the only remaining survivor of his immediate family. His mother, father, stepmother and two siblings were killed in the two crashes. The second crash in 2011, left him clinging for life. Now, I think I’m a pretty strong solider, but after two plane crashes, and losing my entire family, I’d be tempted to throw myself a little pity party. Yet this high-school basketball star thought only of getting his life back and back on the basketball court. “It really comes down to character,” he said. “Just being able to persevere in the midst of tragedy, in the midst of adversity,” Hatch told Maria Shriver in an interview on the Today Show recently. He attributes his survival skills to his late father who died in the second crash. Hatch’s dream is coming true. He is now playing in his first season for the University of Michigan, the school which he had verbally committed to a scholarship just two weeks prior to the second crash. His focus and determination is allowing him to build the life and success he desires rather than dwelling on the past. Character. Perseverance. Determination. Never giving up. Key characteristics it takes to build a successful life and a successful business. A noticeable difference in attitude. Forward thinking and a focus on the positive — what can be done, instead of what won’t work or what happened in the past. So if your business is struggling or you feel it’s headed for a crash landing. Think of Hatch’s story and focus forward. ...
read moreWant to Increase Your Small Business Sales? Hit the Road.
If you are looking for ways to expand your business, consider adding a mobile component. Obviously it has to fit with your business model, but here are three ideas to think about: pick up, delivery and on-location sales. * Pick-Up: If you provide a service at your business, such as hair styling or pet grooming, offer a client pick-up service. This would be especially beneficial if you have elderly clients. Or say you do dry-cleaning or product repair, offer to pick-up those items to save your customers a trip. * Delivery: Same idea as pick-up for the types of businesses above, only the other way around. Delivery would also be a great way to expand your food business. Deliver your coffee service or bakery treats or lunch items. Don’t forget to leave a full menu when you deliver the goods. * On-Locations Sales: Take a sampling of your merchandise to local events like street fairs or farmer’s markets and set up a mini-retail outlet. Or if you run a service business like chiropractic or massage, offer mini adjustments or massages. Not only will this increase your sales, it will also provide great exposure for your business in your local community. Small business owner Josh Allen of Companion Baking, aka, The Bread Guy, has expanded his business with multiple mobile strategies. Tag along with him for more great ideas you can use for your...
read moreBBB Warns Businesses About Fake Package Delivery Emails
If you get packages delivered to your business regularly, then this could be an easy scam to fall victim to. Scammers are sending emails posing as the United States Postal Services alerting you about an undelivered package. The email advises you that because they have been unable to deliver your package you should download the attached confirmation form and take it to your local post office to claim your parcel. But watch out! When you click to download the form, nothing is there except a nasty virus that will phish for your banking and financial information stored on your computer. As a reminder, here are some tips to avoid getting scammed. * Don’t Assume. Scammers are great at making their emails look legitimate, but don’t fail into their trap. Never click on a link in an email unless you are absolutely sure you know who has sent it. * Professionalism. Check the email for improper grammar and spelling errors. Many of these scams originate in foreign countries so mistakes are common. * Take Your Time. Many scammers make you feel as though you have to act quickly. Don’t feel pressured. Take time to do your research to make sure the email me legitimate. Pick up the phone and call the post office before responding to an email. The U.S. Post Office isn’t the only entity being affected. The Canadian post office is as well. And I’ve previously written about a similar IRS email scam. As they say, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. ...
read moreAre You Guilty of Stereotyping in Your Small Business?
When you think of diversity in the workplace you typically think of race and gender, but in reality workplace diversity is actually much broader. Consider your co-workers they differ in a variety of ways such as age, marital status and family responsibilities. All of these differences can lead to stereotyping which may result in workplace tension. Is stereotyping harmful in the workplace? Quite simply, the answer is “Yes.” Stereotyping, or in other words placing labels on people, results from making general assumptions about an individual with little or no personal knowledge about them. For example, we’ve all heard the spacey blond jokes which is a play on the assumption that all blonds are dumb — but of course, we know that isn’t true. As Dolly Parton says, “I’m not blond and I’m not dumb.” Unfortunately, in the workplace it’s no laughing matter. What happens when you make these assumptions is you subconsciously start to look for things to confirm your beliefs……and overtime you might pick up on one or two isolated incidents that cause you justify or confirm your assumptions. So you close your mind about the individual which damages your ability to really work well with that person. Below are some of the common stereotypes which can impact the workplace. * Single vs. Married: Single people feel as though they are seen in one of two ways. First, they are often thought to be frivolous and more interested in their social life than they are their work. Plus, many say they feel stigmatized by their single status as being damaged goods because they aren’t married. Secondly, some say their married co-workers think they should be able to work longer hours because they don’t have any outside responsibilities. However, on the flip side singles often say they can focus more on their work because they are single and can use it to their advantage to get ahead. While others view their married counterparts as having an advantage because they have a partner to help with outside responsibilities. * Children vs. No Children. While this typically impacts women more than men, it isn’t just a female issue. But a lot of women say they are made to feel guilty at work because of how they have to juggle their work and childcare responsibilities while at the same time they are made to feel guilty because they’re working and not at home with their children. Employees who don’t have children sometimes feel resentful when they have to cover for co-workers who frequently are absent because of child-related emergencies. Today, about 2/3′s of working women have young children at home so many employers are finding ways to manage this fairly. * Baby Boomer vs. Generation Y: As the population ages, more people are choosing to work much longer in their careers. The Baby Boomer generation hasn’t grown up with technology as the Generation Y workers. So there is a tension between the tried and true ways of doing business versus the technological solutions of today. This generational gap can create serious friction in the work place. But instead of immediately stereotyping the individual, you should get to know the other person and appreciate each others strengths. Learn from each other. * Women — Married and Marginalized. Although over half the working population...
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