RESTAURANT STRATEGY

#92 - Should You Spend $500 on Facebook Ads? This week's episode is sponsored by: CRAVER Get a beautiful, branded app for your restaurant with CRAVER. This isn’t just some cookie cutter software… it will be an extension of your brand in your customer’s pockets. You will own your customer’s data, own the process by which they engage with you, and have direct access to their orders, commission free!...

#91 - 10 Metrics All Restaurants Should Track This week's episode is sponsored by: CRAVER Get a beautiful, branded app for your restaurant with CRAVER. This isn’t just some cookie cutter software… it will be an extension of your brand in your customer’s pockets. You will own your customer’s data, own the process by which they engage with you, and have direct access to their orders, commission free...

#90 - When the Pandemic Hits the Holidays This week's (SHORT) episode is a passionate rant about what's happening right now in America... the second wave of the pandemic is slamming up against restaurants in what is usually the most profitable time of the year. I told you this was coming, and if you didn't believe me then I hope you'll believe me now... you have to pivot NOW, diversify your revenu...

#89 - INTERVIEW: Amin Yazdani, Founder and CEO of Craver App Amin Yazdani is the Founder and CEO of Craver, a software development company that creates branded apps for restaurants. Fully customizable with integrations with all of the major computer systems a restaurant uses like Loyalty, CRM, and POS. The success of restaurants hinges on our ability to adopt technology and use it to provide a bet...

#88 - A Blueprint for Achieving Any Goal "A goal without a plan is just a wish."  This is the final installment of a 3-episode arc all about systems and goals. We're talking about Peter Drucker once more and a framework he designed back in the 50's called "Managing by Objectives"... just 5 steps that will help you make any goal a reality.    IMPORTANT LINKS: The Practive of Management by Peter Dru...

#87 - Setting S.M.A.R.T Goals In 1954 Peter Drucker coined the term S.M.A.R.T. Objectives . It's an acronym meant to help remind you of the best way to make your goals clear and actionable. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Acheivable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. On today's show I'm going to show you how to apply Drucker's philosphy to your own business. IMPORTANT LINKS: The Practive of Management...

#86 - Goals-Oriented vs. Systems-Oriented Losing 10 pounds is a GOAL, but without a plan you have no hope of getting there. In order to succeed at anything in life, you need a SYSTEM. Changing your eating habits, scheduling time to workout, drinking enough water, getting more sleep. Those are the routines you put into place to make sure you achieve your goal.  Goals are great, but without a system...

#85 - Q & A Session: Round 2 A few weeks back I did a Q&A episode and it's been one of my most popular to date. Not only have there been a ton of downloads, but a bunch of you have reached out with follow-up questions... and new questions... and ideas about the future. I love it. So I decided to do another one. Today we're tackling six burning questions from listeners like you:  #1) What e...

#84 - INTERVIEW: Robert Maynard, Co-Founder of Famous Toastery In this week's episode I chat with Robert Maynard CEO & Co-Founder of Famous Toastery, a chain of successful breakfast spots based out of North Carolina. Passionate, energized, opinionated... and extremely knowledgable. I hope you get a lot from this wide-ranging conversation.  Connect with Robert on LinkedIn Check out the Famous T...

#83 - Preparing for the Second Wave Last week the Governor of New York identified 20 hot spots where virus infection rates were spiking. He and his team took rapid action to curb the spread and shut down a bunch of zip codes across the state. 9 of them were here in NYC, including where I live here in Brooklyn. So I can tell you first hand what it looks like and feels like to see non-essential busi...

#82 - Q & A Session: Your Questions Answered! I get questions all the time from clients, listeners, colleagues, friends, and people I went to high school with. And there's been a spike these past few months, so I'm sharing some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy this one!  #1)  I understand now that I need to diversify my revenue streams. How do I get started with rolling out retail products?  ...

#81 - Two Years into the Future What will dining look like in September, 2022? How will this pandemic change the way patrons dine out, and the way we run our restaurants? Chef Adam Liaw wrote a terrific article about a vision he has of the future.  You can read it by  CLICKING HERE Check out Adam Liaw's KILLER Instagram feed by CLICKING HERE Explore the Tock Reservation Ticketing System by CLICKIN...

#80 - INTERVIEW: James Whitelock, Host of The Marketing Rules Podcast On this week's epsiode, I'm thrilled to be joined by James Whitelock, Managing Director of Think In Circles, a UK-based Marketing agency, as well as the host of the Marketing Rules Podcast. Less of an interview and more of a conversation about all things marketing - especially how brands can make themselves more appealing to bot...

#79 - Admitting You Have a Problem I'm hosting a Live Online Workshop on Sunday, October 4th called E-MAIL STRATEGY. As you might have guessed, it's all about how to build a comprehensive plan for your e-mail communications. That workshop is all about how to build an integrated system that will help drive revenue... But first I want to convince you of WHY it's important. On today's episode I'm goi...

#78 - Positioning and Repositioning Back on Episodes #60, 61, and 62 we talked all about how to position a brand, understanding the importance of differentiating yourself in the market. We review the concept and talk about the best ways to go about that, but then turn our attention to the idea of repositioning. Once the market becomes saturated, the questions becomes: How do you find a new way to...

#77 - INTERVIEW: Kelly Cooper, Director of Growth Marketing at Moz Back on Episode #16 we did an SEO Crash Course, a quick bird's eye view of the subject. But it's important enough that I wanted to return to the subject. So I went out and found an expert: Kelly Cooper, Director of Growth Marketing at Moz. Tune in to get answers to the follwing:  What is SEO? Why is it important?  How exactly does...

#76 - Ten Things to Take With You Into the New Normal What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger. Those of us that can weather this storm will come out better on the other side. We will have learned more about ourselves, our business, and our market. But if you don't bring these lessons with you into the "new normal" you'll have missed out on a valuable learning experience. Here are the 10... act...

#75 - Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Marketing Plan That Works This is a big one... I'm sharing my Marketing Plan outline and walking your through all 8 sections: Strategic Summary The Challenge A Situation Analysis Market Segmentation Marketing Strategy (aka the Marketing Mix) Communications Strategy Projections Conclusion Best of all, there's a freebie that goes along with this episode - a com...

#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...