SellMoreMeals

 I'm in the process of moving the blog to WordPress. So eventually it will be phased out here. So please book mark or grab the RSS feed the new blog on word press.

Here's the link.

Google is replacing their Locations application with Google Places.

If you are a restaurant owner/manager you owe it to yourself to take the opportunity and get familiarized with this new tool. It can prove very powerful in helping your restaurant come up on local searches.

And as consumers become more and more connected with their iPads and iPhones and all the other web enabled portable devices you want to be where those consumers are.



What's more you can use this tool to see how people are finding you online and so tweak your website or blog so that it moves higher up the search engine rankings.

And remember, we at SellMoreMeals.com are here to assist you in reaching out to and rewarding your faithful guests as well as gain new ones.

This past week I had the opportunity to dine at a small family Thai restaurant with a friend, Sila Thai Restaurant (FoodSpotting link).

It is a new restaurant and I had heard good things from others who "had" to tell me about it after they ate there.

So I had to try it out myself.

There wasn't a whole lot of space but they did a nice job of decorating without going too overboard with that cheap Americanized Oriental feel, if you know what I mean. Which is to say that the single dining area was tastefully decorated. Tables were all set simply but with enough care to set the restaurant apart from the chains which often leave me feeling more like cattle being led to the trough.

As it happened this day, there was just one of other couple in Sila Thai and one waitress.

When we entered we were immediately greeted by a young woman who happily told us to pick a spot anywhere. Which we did, but she did something very important by greeting us quickly and with such a positive attitude. She put us at ease. When a customer walks into a new place a good many feel a sense of being out of place and in unfamiliar territory. So nervousness can be a factor and when the restaurant is practically empty that just multiplies whatever feeling with which the customer walks through the door. And I have to admit when I first walked in the emptiness of the restaurant wasn't lost on me and the question why popped into my mind as it was around the dinner hour. But the young woman's actions quickly but me at ease, plus I remembered that this was a new restaurant.

Once we were seated and comfortable she gave us menus and proceeded to wait upon us.

Throughout the meal she engaged me and my friend in friendly banter and even joked with me when she brought my meal. I watched her do the same with the other table of customers who were regulars from what I could tell from the overheard conversations. I got the sense that the guests were also there for the relationship that was being built with the waitress and for the food. The chef was fabulous at blending wonderful spices and flavors.

I left knowing I would return because I was made to feel welcome. She did all she could to make sure that everything was to our tastes and kept our glasses full. Of course you may say this is because we were the only people there. Well, yeah we were. But I don't think that would have mattered whether we were one of two tables or one of six. Sshe had the mindset to serve. And that will bring me back.

In fact I left the restaurant wanting to set up a Fan Page on my Facebook account. And that is the feeling with which you want your guests to leave your restaurant. That is branding at it's best.

When that happens they will spread the word and you can fan that flame with our proven marketing tool at www.SellMoreMeals.com.

Here's a couple of news articles that deal with marketing and branding by restaurants that I think it's worth reading and thinking about.

What Better Spokespeople Than the Employees?

To further reinforce this message, Donatos will feature its own associates as brand messengers. Nearly 80 associates participated in TV commercial casting events in the Ohio cities of Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus. A total of 15 were chosen as finalists to participate in the new creative campaign, which officially rolled out.

 
Employees are exceptional sources for promoting one's brand but don't forget the importance of the guests importance to do that. Imagine commercials with real guests. Even better imagine those guests spreading the word on a daily basis. That's a powerful medium.

Here's another interesting article: Drop the Cell Phone and Connect Over Coffee

The bakery café chain introduced its Connect at the Corner promotion this week, offering free cups of coffee through Facebook and distributing free coffee mugs in its communities.

"We just wanted to find a way to help our guests reconnect with each other, with friends, and also give ourselves a chance to reconnect with them, too, personally," says Diana Hovey, senior vice president of marketing for Corner Bakery.

"There's a big difference between texting a smiley face to someone and actually sharing a cup of coffee across the table with them."

I like how they are utilizing Facebook to market this plan. Remember, we at SellMoreMeals.com are here to help you reach your guests and expand those you serve with our proven marketing program.

Sing it, baby!

Hey,

I posted a new blog entry to my blogger blog and thought I would point you over there.

Here's a taste, The Email Subject for your restaurant campaign:

It's one of the most important parts of your eMail Campaign.
In fact some may argue that it is the most critical part of your eMail campaign.
The world is changing at a speed that would make a top blanch. A marvel of all this change, all this information coming at us so fast is how we adapt to it. Human beings are incredible creatures of adaptation. We are the king of the hill when it comes to this area of expertise and we learn to search, gather, and eliminate information that clutters up our already busy time.

 

I just read a blog post by Aaron D. Allen. If you own or manage a restaurant I highly suggest your read it through. It's a bit long but very much worth the read. He covers issues from how social media can immediately impact you to how complacency and arrogance can affect your view of customers.

What Le Bernadin Can Teach Us About Bad Service

One of America’s Top 50 Restaurants turns away customers seeking a $55 lunch over a $3 cup of Starbucks tea and in so doing offers many lessons in what not to do.

In his section titled, "So, what can a top 50 restaurant teach us about bad service?", he has a list of eight things you should pay close attention too.

I just posted an article over on blogger titled:

When you think about customer service, what do you hear?

I think you'll find it worth reading.

Good way to start the computer time.

Here's a couple of links to some items that are well worth your reading time in the quest for success in the restaurant biz. They are the kind of times that give you some good thought food.

The first article is from the Restaurant News Resource:

Convenience still top order for younger diners

Over half of younger adults rank a restaurant's proximity to their workplace as very important/important when selecting where to dine (62% of 25-34s and 55% of 18-24s, versus 41% of all respondents). The ability to order online ahead of time is also essential to young, time-strapped consumers (31% of 25-34s and 24% of 18-24s, versus 19% overall). The younger demographics also rank extended hours (i.e. late-night) and speed of service highly in their restaurant selection processes.

That's something worth thinking about as you seek to market to your area. Those age groups are greatly attached to all things electronic.

This second post is from a blog on The New York Times and it's a wonderful read:

The Four Basic Elements of Dining (and Umami, too)

The first paragraph caught my attention right away as I couldn't agree more:

“If someone likes a restaurant, just enjoys being in that space, say no more, the game has been won.” That’s a chef talking, a highly acclaimed young New York City gastro-turk.

The four elements which Bush Buschel lists as key to any restaurant's success (or failure) are:

 

I was sitting at a table full of food and foodies, and the discussion was all about, well, you know. You are listening to it. I steered the conversation in this direction in an attempt — as I prepare to open my own restaurant — to prioritize the Four Basic Elements (in alphabetical order): ambience, food, price, service.

 
He goes on to note that there is one more element and that is Umami.

Umami is the fifth flavor in food, the untranslatable Japanese word that means “delicious” or “pungent” or “essence” or “gimme more.”

 
That fifth element I would propose is not so much and element as the sum of those four elements properly attuned with a the right dash of "human element."

Those four elements are so special because of the fingerprints (ie the human element) upon them which is the seasoning if you will. Once combined, you have Umami.

And that is what keeps us coming back for more. Well, that and a bit of convenience as well ;-)