AboutJeffrey Summers Expertise I am the Founder & Owner of Restaurant Coaching Solutions, Inc. We have experience on any topic related to the restaurant & hospitality industry - from Menu R&D, Menu Engineering, Marketing Strategies, New Store Openings, P&L Analysis, Lease Negotiations, Staffing, Policies & Procedures, Building & Design, Site Location, Branding, PR & Promotions, Multi-Unit Development, and any other area effecting the operation of your business. Check us out on the web for more information at www.RestaurantCoachingSolutions.com or call us toll free at 877-535-2324.
Experience I am the Founder & Owner of Restaurant Coaching Solutions, Inc. We have experience on any topic related to the restaurant & hospitality industry - from Menu R&D, Menu Engineering, Marketing Strategies, New Store Openings, P&L Analysis, Lease Negotiations, Staffing, Policies & Procedures, Building & Design, Site Location, Branding, PR & Promotions, Multi-Unit Development, and any other area effecting the operation of your business. Check us out on the web for more information at www.RestaurantCoachingSolutions.com or call us toll free at 877-535-2324.
Organizations The National Restaurant Association Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association's mission is to represent, educate and promote a rapidly growing industry that is comprised of 925,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets employing 12.5 million people. The Society of Hospitality Management The Society for Hospitality Management is an education and professional development association and organization serving the hospitality industry. The SHM is a network of hospitality professionals committed to the education, training, and professional development of employees at all levels in the industry. Through training and educational programs, products, and services, industry professionals grow personally and professionally and in the process improve the performance of the properties and companies they serve. The Gerson Lehrman Leisure & Lodging Council The Gerson Lehrman Group Councils are global networks of executives, physicians, scientists, engineers, attorneys, and other professionals who deliver expertise and decision-making assistance to businesses, governments and investment leaders from around the world. The Professional Business Coaches Alliance The Professional Business Coaches Alliance is a knowledge sharing and peer coaching organization that concentrates on the delivery of effective business coaching - with an emphasis on usable strategies and tools - for the small business owner. The International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education Founded in 1946, the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education is the global advocate of hospitality and tourism education for schools, colleges, and universities offering programs in hotel and restaurant management, foodservice management and culinary arts.
Publications My articles and opinion pieces have been featured on several industry websites, magazines, blogs and forums including: Building Better Restaurants.com RestaurantOwner.com RestaurantEdge.com FoodService.com Ezinearticles.com RestaurantReport.com Restaurant Startup & Growth Magazine American Express' Briefing Newsletter Nation's Restaurant News and tons more!
Education/Credentials I hold degrees in Economics, English, Culinary Arts and industry certifications in Hospitality Management and Restaurant & Catering Management.
Past/Present Clients Here's a list of some of the teams Jeffrey has coached! Hardee's Super X Drug Stores Connie's Pizza Burger King Chili's Long John Silver's The Purple Sage Bistro Applebee's Shoney's T.G.I. Friday's Century 21 House of Realty La Dolce Vita Pastries & Catering Wal Mart 5 Seasons Sports Clubs Wendy's Bennigan's Riverside Publishing Godfather's Pizza Ovations Dining & Entertainment Romaine's Stew's Microbrewery & Eatery Xerox Food Service Double D's Sourdough Pizza and literally hundreds of other Independent Operations.
Question Hi Jeffrey,
Two and a half months ago we opened a southern barbeque restaurant here in Canada. Weekends we are packed to the gills but weekdays (mostly Mon-Wed) we are only about a 1/4 full. People are loving the food and service and when I drive by other restaurants during weekday dinner hours they look to be doing the same volume of business. My question is should we be satisfied with this or try to have special promo nights on those days or coupons? Thanks in advance.
Ryan
Answer Why is that your only two options?
1. Mon - Wed are your slowest nights of the week everywhere.
2. Coupons and promos don't work if you want to have long-term success. If you are trying to be different then they destroy everything you do to build up your differentiation - and your Brand - by making you just another couponing commodity. You've also told your market that you were over priced to begin with and you lose credibility for your restaurant. You will also cannibalize your Thurs-Sun sales because guests will now come with a coupon and stop paying full price. I cannot tell you how much I hate coupons and discounts as either a strategy to grow a business (you can't possibly grow your business by shrinking your margins) or to "save" some business.
3. Volume is built one guest at a time. You need a good marketing strategy for your business and then execute with long term thinking - not next week thinking. Start building better guest loyalty and start growing relationships with existing guests. Word-of-mouth is the most important aspect of growing a successful restaurant. If you do not work toward achieving that, you will not survive.
4. I would need to see and know more about your operation to see what opportunities exist for you to leverage in order to grow your business but I know it costs up to 5 - 10 times as much to bring in a new guest than to take care of an existing loyal one. Work on frequency and higher check averages first.
5. Create a marketing communication strategy that revolves around the channels your guest want to communicate in. This will help your guest talk to you and let you know what they want and how to give it to them.
6. Map your guest experience "touchpoints" to see where you can add value that no one else can. Look at all other ways of adding value to the guest experience that no one else can.
7. Read my blog at www.RestaurantCoachingSolutions.com/blog or join my restaurant marketing website at www.RestaurantMarketing101.com for more ideas and strategies that will help you build long term success.
