HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR RESTAURANT FOR FREE

Are your promoting your restaurant? Did you know you can reach millions of people for free with just a little investment in time?

Chris from Food Strategy attended a seminar on social media. Here is what she discovered.
You can buy attention (advertising)
You can beg for attention from the media (PR)
You can bug people one at a time to get attention (Sales)
OR: you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishng it online for free. (David Meerman Scott)

Social media conjours up mixed feelings. Whatever way you look at it Facebook, Twitter and blogs are here to stay. You no longer have control over what people are saying about you or your business.  So you might as well jump in and voice your own opinions.
Restaurants (and any business) can be a part of the social media phenomenon. In the previous week, Chris was at the National Sales Conference of the Stoddart group and got talking about social media.  As a result Stoddart and their brands (stainless steel and catering equipment) are now online with Facebook and Twitter.
Be warned, you must have a purpose and you must be willing to engage in active conversation that isn't sanitised. 
Food Strategy has a purpose: to hear what the food industry is talking about. Food Strategy wants to fine tune it's services to suit the customer needs. The needs of NOW.  Food Strategy wants to raise it's profile in the industry by talking about design solutions and asking questions.
Did you know:

• The Australian Taxation Office is on Twitter.
• The Queensland Police Service is on Facebook and You Tube.
• Telstra is on Twitter.

Some businesses are using Facebook as their web page and sole internet strategy. Remember you have to be interactive with social media.  This is a communication tool and your customers want to be heard and answered.
Facebook - Some Facts:

• 7.7 million users in Australia; 44% male, 56% female
• Facebook accounts for 29% of all time spent online by Australians
• Oct 09: Australian users spent 27.2 hours online - 7.55 of which were spent on Facebook
• Oct 09: Australian users uploaded 80 million pictures, wrote 32 million ‘wall posts’ + 45 million ‘status updates’.
• Australia leads the world in time spent on social media sites. 

These stats are growing. So how do you market your restaurant? It's simple - just get started.

Log into http://www.facebook.com/ and create your personal profile eg: Joe Blogs.  You can't create a business profile unless you have a personal profile to link it to.  You can use your exisitng Facebook personal profile or create another dummy one to protect your privacy a little more.

Now create your business page profile  Eg: "Food Strategy".

Make sure you go to http://www.facebook.com/username   to claim your User Name.  This means we can now use the short link www.Facebook.com/FoodStrategy in all our marketing.  We don't have to use those long link URLs that make no sense.

Make sure you create your business as a 'business' page or Facebook may delete you.  It would be ashame to alienate your followers with a deleted page just when you are starting to get traffic.

Now get started creating your business profile and inviting people to 'like' your page.   Add photos and specials.

Claim your location in Facebook as an official geographical place.  Everytime a customer walks into your restaurant, ask them to 'check in' at your place to raise the activity of your Facebook page. These 'check ins' can be a great tool for promotion.  Eg: if a customer 'checks in' 5 times they get a coffee free.  Use your imagination.

All of this can push feeds and links to Twitter, blogs and your website to increase traffic and sales.

Use the Facebook analytics to monitor the stats. See how much activity you are really getting.

Read the help files - they are really easy.

Remember that more people are switching to smart phones which enables them to have a computer in their pocket. Many phone companies are also offering free unlimited download deals to social media sites.  It's a great incentive for you to really talk to your customers to hear what they want and what they think.

You can now find Food Strategy at these locations:

Download our brochure here with all the links: BROCHURE

Or find each link here:

http://www.foodstrategy.com.au/ - full web site.

www.Facebook.com/FoodStrategy - interactive profile, chat and pics. Go to our page and 'like'. Then have a look at who we follow to get examples.

www.Twitter.com/FoodStrategy  - real time chat

www.YouTube.com/FoodStrategy - videos of interest to our team or industry

www.Flickr.com/FoodStrategy - latest upload of pics 

http://www.foodservicedesign.blogspot.com/ - follow our blog stories

news@foodstrategy.com.au  send an email to request our newsletter.

Choose the format that suits you. 
If you like to write a lot then keep a blog.  If you like to chat often - use Twitter.  If you want to communicate and have a visual profile then play with Facebook.

Now, if you want to talk about working in 'The Cloud' - that's a whole different blog!!

If you want to learn more; contact the experts below or download their seminar information. 

Mel Kettle http://www.melkettle.com.au/  Slides at: http://www.slideshare.net/melkettle
Simon Dell http://www.twocentsgroup.com.au/  Slides at http://www.slideshare.net/simondell
Cat Matson www.twitter.com/catmatson  http://www.alito.com.au/

What's Hot part 2 - Back Out In Front

Back Out In Front

In the past. kitchen budgets were often cut in favour of dining spaces. But with the trend toward front-of-house ‘show’ kitchens increasing, the aesthetics of items such as refrigeration and food service equipment are as important as the design of table and chairs. What were once considered ‘storage’ fridges are now becoming display cabinets.

SKOPE Refrigeration (www.skope.co.nz), in Christchurch New Zealand, has seen a shift in the types of cabinets being ordered such as glass doors over solid doors and glass viewing panels designed to showcase fresh produce. A good example of this is a custom refrigeration cabinet recently built for a circular bar at Queenstown International Airport in New Zealand. The architect’s brief was to design a premium bar that provides customers with maximum views out over the airport. The result of a challenging design is striking and it is one of the first things visitors to Queenstown see, and the last when they leave.

Avoid A Tragedy

This blog has also been published by Food Week magazine view at http://www.foodweek.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=53&ID=6391

You have an idea!
So you want to own a restaurant? You have lots of ideas. You have a clear vision of how you will look in your successful restaurant. But be aware there are processes and time frames to achieve that vision.
Where will you be situated?
How do you want your restaurant to look and function?
How much will it cost?
Where can you get commercial catering equipment?
Who will know how to build it?
Do you need a design?
How will you communicate your idea to everyone?
There are questions to be asked that you haven’t even thought of yet. Avoid a tragedy.

Let's go back a step.
You have chosen the site and realise you need to build your restaurant but you haven’t got a lease yet. There are some steps you can take to get to a ‘happy’ lease for all 3 parties.
1. The landlord: wants to see you pay rent
2. The leasing agent: wants to see a signed lease agreement and happy customers.
3. The tenant (that’s you): wants an affordable lease that gives you security.
Everyone wants to sleep well at night.
One of my professional contacts from a renowned commercial leasing group says that agents work very hard to be the glue that brings the tenant and landlord together for a successful long term relationship.
“We want to see the tenants succeed so that the landlords are also successful. We endeavour to find a good fit on both sides”.

Before you sign on the dotted line get a qualified foodservice designer to check out the site.
Look for a designer who is qualified and has the knowledge and expertise of

• Health department regulations
• Building and plumbing standards and codes.
• Council regulations and approval requirements
• How a project is constructed from the ground up
• Above and underground construction requirements
• Catering equipment usages, demands and outputs
• Installation specifications
• Work flows, OH&S, food safety / HACCP.

 Find someone who is independent and not subsidised by another business or swayed by brands or marketing.

Here are some things a qualified foodservice designer will consider as part of the site appraisal process.

1. Check in the basement to see if there is somewhere to put a grease trap which is required in most food establishments.

 2. Check the ceiling and roof line to see if the mechanical exhaust ventilation ducting can penetrate out of the roof.

 3. Check the existing local council approved use of the site and make sure there are no conditions or restrictions in relation to the use of property.

 4. Check the electrical supply of the site to ensure your catering equipment runs at full capacity during your busy times.

 5. Check the line of property boundaries to ascertain the necessary information to make sure that your designs will comply with many local and Australian standards.

This list is just an example of the information your designer needs to provide you with effective designs to assist you to manage costs and mitigate risks during the project.

Mr Ujwal Singh owns multi Nando’s franchises. His latest is at Kelvin Grove. The property is a corner block landlocked with other tenancies to each side, residential units above and council footpaths directly in front. The design of the overall building allowed for an exhaust duct riser which would have suited most potential tenants. However in a Nando’s store, their specific exhaust canopy size quantities and capacities meant that the building duct was undersized for this franchise. It just wouldn’t work.

This site needed a unique solution: A high velocity canopy was selected. Then the shop front was designed with air intake vents to take make-up air to the face of the canopy. These simple solutions have meant that the Nando’s system was able to be designed and built within the constraints of the tenancy without cost surprises popping up during construction. Nando’s is operating successfully.

Now back to the lease.....

Now that you are more informed I suggest you have another chat to the landlord.

Landlords may factor these costs into your lease. Use your new found knowledge of the site as leverage for a cheaper rent, more space, written guarantees, landlord cash contributions.... the list of leasing opportunities goes on and on. Get a conversation going.

A good landlord should be helping you to set up for success not failure. After all it's the long term rent that he's after.

Now go ahead; sign the lease and get moving on your designs.

Finding solutions to these design issues before you start can save you thousands of dollars....even tens of thousands. I'll bet you didn't have this in your budget.

 Your 'plan' or 'design' is the communication tool you use to keep everyone on track and to understand your restaurant design IDEA as you move forward.

If you are a foodservice business that draws a crowd, the landlord will love you - it's now easier for him to lease the other surrounding sites. Your business just became the star attraction.
 
Remember: there are many facets to a successful food operation. Starting with a lease is just one of them.

Happy lease signing and designing!

Chris Green http://www.foodstrategy.com.au/
http://www.foodstrategy.com.au/

 emails welcome via link