Restaurant Masterminds

Do you get caught up in the excitement of the “chase”?

Late last week I had the chance to sit down with a local restaurant owner who has been in business for nearly 15 years, he invited me to his restaurant for a chance to pick my brain on marketing his restaurant, normally I do not do this, but since he has been a friend of my Father’s I granted him this favor.

It took me only 15 minutes into our conversation to find out what was his real issue was when it comes to marketing his restaurant. Like so many other restaurant owners, “Sam” was more interested in trying to obtain new customers that he was simply overlooking and taking for granted his current customers.

Every consultant will always tell you that it is so much easier to keep an existing guest than what it costs to get a new one. However, so many restaurant owners get caught up in the “excitement of the chase” or the pursuit of new customers that they completely forget about the current guests they already have. Are you guilty of getting caught up in the “excitement of the chase”?

During our meeting I explained to “Sam” the value of my data base and how I’ve been able to grow my business over 300% simply by investing in my current guests. Would you like to grow your business by 300%?

Here’s some ideas that I shared with “Sam” and you do can easily implement these ideas and begin to watch your business grow, even in tough economic times.

*You must learn who your best customers are – Create a loyalty program so that you can now begin to track who comes in and how much they spend with you. I use a program called RepeatRewards, (www.RepeatRewards.com), they are a data management/loyalty company who manages my data base of over 20,000 members. Simply put, they are my # 1 marketing tool for getting guests to come back again and again.

*Implement customer satisfaction surveys – Once you’ve created a data base of your top guests, now it’s time to get their opinion of what they like and dislike about your restaurant. Remember, you are not your guest, so just because you like a particular menu item doesn’t mean your guests like it and at the end of the day, your guests are the ones who write your paycheck. Give your guests what THEY WANT, not what you want.

*Reward your top guests – This is huge! Guests who are satisfied with your service and food become extremely loyal to your business. You need to reward these guests with special offers and discounts (hence the loyalty program). Give them extra incentives to refer their friends and family members to your restaurant. They truly are the BEST method of advertising that you’ll ever find.

*Testimonials – Now that we have identified who are top guests are, it’s time to get written testimonials from ALL of the them, notice the word ALL, not just one, two or three, I’m talking about 100’s of testimonials (if you visit my website, www.iLoveeljardin.com you’ll see I have over 500 testimonials from my guests). You’ll want guests that tells their story of how great your restaurant is…always remember, what others say about you is ten times more powerful than what you say about yourself. Once you’ve obtained these testimonials, now we can begin to cold market to new customers and let them do the talking for you.

*Always follow up – We now have referral guests coming through our doors, now take the time to follow up with your new guests and your old guest who referred the new guests with personal hand written “Thank You” notes. The system will start over and over again until you reach the 20,000 member mark like I have.

My conversation with “Sam” lasted about an hour, but the advice I gave him will last him months on end…Are you tired of getting caught up in the “excitement of the chase”? Would you like to have the same conversation I had with “Sam”? Would you like to increase your sales by 300%? If you answered yes to any of these questions simply email me at ben@restaurantmasterminds.com and we’ll help you get started to creating the restaurant you’ve always dreamed of.

Until next time,

Cheers,

Ben Martinez
Restaurant Masterminds

In the past self-discipline has been a weakness of mine, and as a result today I find myself lacking the ability to do a number of things which I would like – e.g. to play the game of golf at a higher level or consistently work out in my home gym. But I have improved, and I can say that it is self-discipline that kept me going today to write this article. Believe me, I would have loved to been lying on the couch right now with a cold beer watching the World Series or Monday night football, but this desire to help others has slowly been instilled in me and my sense of purpose.

If you struggle with self-discipline, the good news is that it can be developed. For example, it is only in the past two years that I have trained myself to write weekly articles and produce weekly marketing videos, all while still running my restaurant. I have created a self discipline to accomplish my goals before I journey off to the “playground”.
Self-discipline involves acting according to what you think instead of how you feel in the moment. Often it involves sacrificing the pleasure and thrill of the moment for what matters most in life. Therefore it is self-discipline that drives you to:

• Work on a marketing idea after the initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away
• Go to the gym when all you want to do is lie on the couch and watch TV
• Wake early or stay up late to work on marketing ideas for your restaurant
• Say “no” when tempted to break your diet or have a cocktail with “employees”
• Only check your email or facebook page a few of times per day at particular times

What are your weaknesses in your restaurant? Are you disciplined enough to reach the highest levels of success? The reason I am writing this article tonight is because I received a phone call today from a fellow restaurateur whom I met about three years ago while dining out at her restaurant in my hometown. After speaking with her for nearly an hour on the phone I quickly realized her and her husband lacked self discipline. Many of the ideas that we spoke about over the past year have been done half heartedly because “something” of other importance always took precedence, when in reality it was their self discipline that was doing them in for their failure in their restaurant.

The good news is that she called before the bottom completely fell out from underneath them. With my guidance, coaching and the ability to now hold them accountable for their actions, I believe we can turn their restaurant around and make it the profit center that they always dreamed it would be.

Discipline is about having the courage to train our minds, bodies and souls to gain a particular skill. It might be running a marathon, quitting smoking, drinking in excess, losing weight, remaining faithful in our relationships, spending more time with the kids, working smarter at business. The venues change but the strategy’s the same. It takes discipline!

I think this is why are Restaurant Mastermind Members are so successful, they are disciplined about achieving their goals during our meetings. They set a plan of action and then they are held accountable not only by their coaches, but most importantly by their peers. Do you need a kick start or need to be re-energized before the upcoming Holiday Season? If so, you may want to attend our upcoming meeting in Scottsdale, AZ. and really learn the meaning of discipline from Independent Restaurant owners across North America, their just like you….the biggest difference is they have self discipline.

Ben Martinez
Restaurant Masterminds