The debate about coupons as a tool for restaurant marketing will rage forever. Some say they are not necessary and give away bottom-line profits unnessasarily. Other entrepreneurs say it is a great way to introduce new guests to the restaurant and to feature new menu items.

The fact is both sides of this raging industry battle are right and wrong. Using coupons and incentives can be a waste of resources if used improperly and too frequently. On the other hand, if used to highlight or feature a segment of your menu, they can change a frequent diner’s habits and encourage more adventuresome trials of your menu.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts when considering coupon campaigns;

• Don’t use a coupon to reward a frequent diner’s existing habit. Why offer $5 off next weeks visit? They would be there anyway!
• Do reward a diner for becoming involved in your marketing. For instance, a free dessert or appetizer for bringing in a new guest is a good incentive.
• Don’t try to drive new traffic to your restaurant with an insignificant coupon. Few people are motivated by a $10 off coupon to try a restaurant for the first time. When is the last time you were motivated by a coupon to try something new?
• Do use a coupon to fill weak sales periods in your day. For instance, offering a free espresso with the purchase of a slice of pie from 2 to 5 PM daily may help build those hours and encourage expanded visits.
• Don’t measure your results solely in the number of coupons returned. Sometimes the mere offering is enough to draw attention to something new. An example may be a series of new pasta dishes coupled with a coupon for a free fried ravioli appetizer. Customer’s attention is drawn to the higher margin pasta selections and may produce sales in the long term, even though the temporary coupon was never used.
• Do work the math on every coupon campaign. Look at your goals and the cost to attain them. Is there a less expensive way to reach the same results?

If you use the coupon as an incentive too frequently, it almost becomes a permanent discount that a customer begins to expect. Over a long period of time, guests may wait to visit only when the incentive is offered. Coupons are just one arrow in your quiver of marketing tools.

The Restaurant Ebook has over 100 ways to market your restaurant and increase sales. Here are a couple that are easy and inexpensive.

• When you want to get the word out to your potential customers in a neighborhood, try working with the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts. Have printed door hangers made announcing your promotion or opening. Offer a local Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop a donation for passing them out within your demographic target area. A little community participation coupled with a promotion serves two purposes.
• Besides a restaurant, one of the most frequented businesses in most residential areas is the local cleaners. Try partnering with them to exchange coupons or promotions. It will work for both of you. Other partnership opportunities can be hardware stores, car washes, hair salons, barber shops and even insurance agents.
• When considering partnerships, direct mail is another opportunity for businesses to join together and save money. The cost of postage in today’s world may be prohibitive for the lone operator. However, if the costs were split two or three ways, this valuable tool may be lees expensive than running an ad in the local news paper. More effective too!
• Guest cards. Restaurants pay a lot of money to get a new guest in the door. Why not pay your existing customers those advertising dollars. A simple card printed with an invitation to get 10% off their next visit if they bring a new customer with them can be an effective way to build relationships.
• Customers all have childhood memories or travel highlights of food they have eaten that sticks in their mind. Pick a slow night of the week and designate it “Customer Favorites” night.  Specials for the evening will be chosen from suggestions customers offer you. Always get the customers contact information to call them when you plan their feature. Many will bring guests. Another relationship building tactic.

For long term success in the restaurant business, establishing a “feel good” contact with guests is important. Any successful restaurateur will tell you the the best form of advertising is word of mouth from regular diners.

Larry Edger, Author

The Restaurant Ebook 

The restaurant industry continues to debate the value of celebrity chefs with their reality shows and entertaining “cooking” shows. Most of us know the public’s perception of these fictional programs is based on the entertainment value as opposed to the real cooking element presented. I am sure I am not the only restaurateur that has laughed as Emeril flubs another dish as they go to break for a million dollar commercial. Personally, I am not convinced these TV personalities have much of an impact on the food business other than their own ability to sell products and advertising.

One thing is clear. Just because they can brand their name and open restaurants across the country, that doesn’t mean success is guaranteed. The customer still has expectations that must be met for an extended restaurant life. No one truly believes the fantasy of Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen or the business mess of Rocco’s. Few of these stars have escaped the pad locks that decorate their closed ventures. Ramsay has three closures in the last six months. Under the marketing conditions in the coming year, there will be many more celebs packing it in.

The difference between the celebrity restaurants and the “real” operations that open up is the amount of initial publicity. Robert Irvine, recently deposed from the Food Network, has been planning two restaurants in the St. Petersburg, Florida luxury district downtown for many months. The publicity has been non-stop for six months since the announcement. No independent food operation garners such attention. We do it the old fashion way - one customer at a time.

The basic elements for long term survival must be employed by any venture. You have to create a real connection with the customer. The connection cannot be based on  short lived hype or legend. It must offer an experience that guest will savor, send and save. They will savor the experience by meeting their expectations. Customers will send the experience on to friends and family by word of mouth. Finally they save the visit in their mind for many return visits. If your restaurant doesn’t capture the guest with a connection, no amount of publicity will salvage your ultimate fate.

Larry Edger, Author

The Restaurant Ebook

Restaurateurs come from many backgrounds. Most never had formal training or experience with marketing. Commonly I see the term advertising used interchangeably with the word marketing. Advertising is just a small part of marketing.

One of the key errors I made in the early years of operating restaurants was that I thought media advertising was the way to get new business and keep old customers. I followed what I saw the competition doing. Newspapers, magazines and other publications were full of restaurant ads. I just thought you had to do that!

When business wasn’t growing as fast as it should, my old business skills reverted to basic marketing techniques to build a plan. We needed to find out why customers were coming in our doors for the first time. We found that very few were motivated by ads. Most came because of a referral from a neighbor, friend or family. Even more surprising was the extremely high cost to acquire new business through traditional advertising. One new customer may cost as much as $75 to obtain! We might as well have sent a $75 check to random people just to try our restaurant! Not very smart.

By applying techniques of basic marketing we determined;

• Who our potential customers were.
• Methods to communicate directly with them.
• What motivated them to act.
• What made them want to return.

It sounds like heavy business school stuff and typical “consultant” drivel you read every day. Really it was simple, just ask! Managers, owners and servers need to communicate with new customers as they come in the door. First time visitors like the interaction and are more than open about why they are there. You can create a little form used by employees to fill out after visiting with guests. Record their responses to the questions above. After a few days a pattern will emerge.

There are many aspects and components to the marketing function. The Restaurant Ebook details exactly how to go about creating a marketing plan and executing each step. The size of your operation is insignificant. A small coffee bar and a 300 seat theme restaurant must do the same thing to keep growing and maintaining a customer base.

Rarely is advertising successful economically for the independent restaurateur. Advertising cannot produce the results a well thought out marketing plan can produce, usually for less than the cost of traditional ad media.

Larry Edger, Author

The Restaurant Ebook