RESTAURANT STRATEGY

#74 - The Devil is in the Details   This week’s episode is all about the details… the little things that we can do to make an impression on our guests. Because even though we have all different kinds of marketing tools at our disposal, word-of-mouth is still the most powerful tool out there. And word-of-mouth is something our guests do for us.   But we can’t leave it all to them… we can’t just ser...

#73 - 7 Mindset Shifts to Overhaul Your Business After 20 years in the industry, there are tons of little tips and tricks I've learned... like how to design website, how to layout a menu, how to hire and train good staff, and how to properly fold a napkin. Those are things that make me better at my job, things I love to pass along.  But then there are the mindset shifts that have helped shape the...

#72 - INTERVIEW with Jake Grim, Founder of the QR Menu System Table Rock Industries has been a supporter of the Restaurant Strategy Podcast, and over the past few months I've gotten to know the companies founder - a guy by the name of Jake Grim. At just 21 years old, he's bringing a fresh perspective and a whole lot of energy to his cause of helping restaurant owners navigate this challenging time...

#71 - How to Spot Shifting Foods Trends in a Post-Covid World Covid-19 has upended our world, and reordered the daily routines for billions of people. In order to make predictions about the future, Economists and Social Scientists often look at changing Macro Trends. To be sure this global pandemic has reordered life for many of us. On this week's episode we're going to look at five different area...

#70 - Reinventing the Wheel On this week’s episode we’re going to talk all about reinvention. Why to do it, what it might look like, and how to take those tentative first steps toward redesigning a profitable business. I share a bunch of different suggestions to help spark ideas, which all go back to this idea of diversifying your revenue streams. Think about all the different ways you can make mo...

#69 - How Marketers Use Storytelling to Sell When I say, “Tell me a little bit about yourself,” how do you respond? Do you say, "Well I’m 5’10”, about 180 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair?" Of course not! In fact if someone did that in an interview, you’d be like… who is this psychopath. When someone says, “Tell me a little bit about yourself” you respond with a brief bio. If it’s an intervie...

#68 - All About the Freebies and Spreadsheets Over the past year I've heard from a bunch of you and the common thread I always seem to hear is how much you love the freebies and giveaways. So I've tried hard to make more of them - workbooks that correspond with a given episode, or cheatsheets, or spreadsheets. Since the start of the year I've tried to provide more resources for you. Anything to he...

#67 - The Surprising Truth About Creativity and 4 Steps to Harness It Creativity is a renewable resource. It’s one of the few things in this world where the more you mine, the more that appears. Best of all, it’s not reserved for the chosen few… rather it's something we all have at our disposal. Today, I want to talk all about what creativity is, where it comes from, how we can tap into it to grow...

#66 - Treading Water vs. Swimming to Shore When it comes to water safety, the data is clear: there are two skills children need to master before they get into a pool. The first is how to swim, obviously. And the other is how to tread water. Those are the two things that can substantially increase their chance of surviving in the off chance that they fall in.  But when it comes to business, too man...

#65 - 10  New Marketing Books for Your Nightstand Back on Episode #15 I shared my original Top Ten List, and it went so well that I'm going to share ten more. Below you'll find links to all 20 titles so you can purchase them for yourself on Amazon... most (if not all) of the titles are available in book form, as well as on Kindle and Audible. Happy Reading!!! THE ORIGINAL LIST Purple Cow by Seth G...

#64 - Run the Numbers! In theory, running a business is a somewhat simple affair. You make a thing and then charge people more for that thing than it cost you to produce it. This is what it means to run a profitable business.   And of course, that’s what all of us want, right? To build a business that is inherently profitable…   And yet, for years now in the restaurant industry, it’s been death by...

#63 - INTERVIEW: Richard Jones, CMO of Cheetah Digital This week, I’m thrilled to be speaking with Richard Jones, CMO of Cheetah Digital. The company describes itself as a cross-channel customer engagement solution provider. They offer everything from acquisition to loyalty and have worked with some of the world’s biggest brands including American Express, Hilton, Walgreens, and Williams-Sonoma. O...

#62 - The Problem with "Better" Why should I eat at your restaurant instead of the one down the street?   Because you’re "better"?   Better in what way? And says who? And when did they decide that? And what criteria did they use to make their decision?   Using "better" as an argument to attract customers is a trap that a  lot of marketers fall into and I want to show you specific ways to avoid it....

#61 - First, Last, Best, Most, Only On last week's episode we began discussing the idea of Positioning... a key concept that marketers use to introduce consumers to a new idea or product. On today's episode we're going to build on that by exploring these 5 words:  First, Last, Best, Most, Only. What do they have in common? They're words used to position a brand at the edges. It's about going to th...

#60 - The Power of Positioning Humans are remarkably bad at remembering new information. It's why eyewitness testimony is so unreliable. Usually repetition is required to make an impression. In an attempt to shortcut the system, marketers have used a concept called "positioning" to embed themselves into the minds of prospective consumers. And companies use it on you every single day, all day long....

#59 - The Future of Restaurants in Three Phases What does the future of our industry look like? This is something I'm been thinking about a lot uring this crisis, and I'm sure I'm not alone. The way I see it, there are three distinct phases:  Our immediate future -- meaning today, tomorrow, next week -- and the question is how do we continue to get creative during the shutdown? The near future --...

#58 - The Four P's of Marketing If you go to school to study Marketing, you’ll likely learn about this in your very first lecture on your very first day. The Four P’s of Marketing are the foundation for just about everything we do… and that’s true for every kind of business out there. Often referred to as the Marketing Mix, it’s a crucial tool to help us understand how best to serve our audience....

#57 - How to Find, Hire, and Work With a GREAT Food Photographer On this week's episode we're talking all about ways to up your content game. One key way to do that is by hiring a professional to come in and shoot your food. I've been a food photographer here in NYC for the past 8 years and so I'm using everything I've learned to help you find a great creative to help you promote your restaurant....

#56 - Pivoting Your Business to Ensure Longterm Success Restaurants all over the country are being forced to do one of two things right now... shut down indefinitely, or pivot to a new model. I believe our ability to stay creative and nimble is going to determine who succeeds in the long term. In that vein I'm sharing 10 ideas from things I've seen myself. Take these ideas and use them... bend the...

#55 - Exactly What We Need... Stories to Inspire If you find yourself overwhelmed by the news these days, then this is the podcast episode for you. For the past few weeks we’ve been inundated with scary numbers and stories about how the world is falling apart… but I’ll remind you that I’m still here and you’re still here and thousands of other listeners are out there as well. And while our industr...

#54 - What's on the Other Side of This Crisis? It's March, 2020. If you’re listening in real time your anxiety level is probably at an 11. All major sports have suspended play, Broadway shows have gone dark, schools across the country are closing, and now restaurants and bars have been ordered to close except for takeout and delivery service. Of course we’re talking about the Coronavirus — Covid-1...

#53 - How We Use Stories to Sell Humans are storytellers. For thousands of years we've used stories to communicate things to each other. It's ingrained in us, and woven through just about every aspect of what we do… most especially in how we conduct commerce. By that I mean, how we TRANSACT… how merchants sell things, and how consumers make decisions about what products to buy.   So then how exact...

#52 - INTERVIEW: Saleem Khatri, CEO of Lavu Inc. I'm fascinated with how technology and hospitality are intersecting, and baffled at how slow our industry is to adopt new ways of doing things. I put out a call to listeners, asking for anyone who wanted to discuss the subject on the show. Well, I'm thrilled to say that Saleem Khatri answered that call. He is the CEO of Lavu, which as many of you kn...

#51 - Eleven Ways to Capture E-Mail Addresses As many of you know, I'm offering a pre-sale special for 2 summer workshops. The first is called KILLER CONTENT, all about capturing great food photography. But the second is E-MAIL STRATEGY FOR RESTAURANTS. Think of this week's episode as an "on ramp" of sorts, where I'm teasing out the kind of information you'll get by enrolling in one of the courses...

#50 - The REALLY BIG Recap Episode Fifty episodes feels like a milestone worth celebrating and so that's what we're doing this week. A bunch of listeners have been with us since the very beginning, but the majority of the Restaurant Strategy audience has found us just recently over the past few months... and so I want to recap everything we've discussed so far to provide a strong base of knowledge...