#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 both consumers and employees. Interestingly enough, many of the same things that attract customers also attract passionate workers.  IMPORTANT LINKS: CLICK HERE to learn more about James and the work he does with Think In Circles! CLICK HERE to listen to The Marketing Rules Podcast CLICK HERE to find The Marketing Rules Podcast on Apple Podcast CLICK HERE to connect with James Whitelock on LinkedIn And of course, remember that the E-MAIL STRATEGY WORKSHOP is right around the corner. Join me for a Live Online Session on Sunday October 4th. A handful of spots are still available. For less than a hundred bucks, I promise to show you everything I know that works  in e-mail marketing! Click Here to reserve your spot in the E-Mail Strategy Live Online Workshop (It's 50% OFF right now!!!)

#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 going to try to do just that.  Click Here to reserve your spot in the E-Mail Strategy Live Online Workshop (It's 50% OFF right now!!!)

#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 differentiate yourself?  The key is to change your focus, meaning what you draw the consumer's attention to.  To illustrate the point, I use Subway Sandwich Shops as an example. They are the #1 fast food restaurant in the world by market share, and they have successfully repositioned themselves twice so far. It's an incredible feat and one we can learn from. Of course, the company is struggling these days... sales have slipped in each of the past 5 years, and it begs the question: How might the successfully reposition themselves again?  I try to answer that question with an idea of my own. It's certainly not the only idea out there, and perhaps not even the best. Just a brainstorm if you will. And I hope it'll give you an idea of how you might do this for your restaurant.  P.S. - Click Here to reserve your spot in the E-Mail Strategy Live Online Workshop (It's 50% OFF right now!!!)

#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 SEO work? What are some "low effort, high impact" things I can do to start winning the Google game? IMPORTANT LINKS: Google's Page Speed Insights Google's Mobile Friendly Optimization Moz - Check Your Local Online Presence Tool Moz - Local Moz - Keyword Explorer Moz - Homepage (to see all of the services they offer) I hope this episode helps you get your SEO strategy off the ground. Reach out with any questions. Already Kelly and I are planning a Round Two later this fall.  chip@chipklose.com P.S. - Click Here to get the ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need

#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... actually 11... things I hope you keep close.  10 Takeaways from This Pandemic Remember: It’s all about serving an audience.  Reinvention and repositioning are not only possible... but perhaps required You need to diversify your revenue streams Everything is negotiable.  Stay nimble. We’re all in this together. Build a reliable system for keeping in touch with your customers.  No one has all the answers. Don't stop innovating and improving. We decide what we want our business to be.  No more than ever, you need to know your "why."   P.S. - Click Here to get the ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need

#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 comprehensive outline that explains what each section is and how to successfully complete the Marketing Plan. This episode is packed with information, as is the PDF outline. To download that guide, click the link below:  CLICK HERE TO GET THE MARKETING PLAN OUTLINE THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR: The Table Rock QR Menu System (CLICK HERE) Happy listening,Chip Klose (Host of the Restaurant Strategy Podcast) P.S. - The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE

#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 serve a great meal and then HOPE they tell their friends and colleagues. No, we have to tip the scales in our direction. Okay, so how do we do that? We give them things to talk about.  Now that begs the question… what kinds of things get talked about?  That's the question I'm going to invite you to answer for yourself. To give you a bit of inspiration, I'm going to share some of my favorite little details from meals I';ve had over the years. Restaurants featured on this episode:  The French Laundry (Yountville, CA) Olmsted (Brooklyn, NY) Bestia (Losa Angleles, CA) Carmines (New York, NY) Le Violon d'Ingres (Paris, FR) Frenchette (New York, NY) Legacy Records (New York, NY) Levain Bakery (New York, NY) Fluke (Newport, RI) Marc Forgione (New York, NY) Lincoln (New York, NY) ...and a few more surprises! THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR: The Table Rock QR Menu System (CLICK HERE) The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE

#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 direction of my career. These are seven top-level strategic shifts that can make a profound difference in your business. They are:  MINDSET SHIFT #1In life, there are things that happen to us… and then there are the stories we tell ourselves about those events. MINDSET SHIFT #2Shift your focus from PRODUCT to PATRON.  MINDSET SHIFT #3Our guests not here to solve our problems; we are here to solve theirs. MINDSET SHIFT #4Don’t just be Goals-Oriented; be Systems-Oriented as well MINDSET SHIFT #5Oxygen Mask Metaphor - build the budget backwards and be willing to change MINDSET SHIFT #6What are the stories only you can tell?  MINDSET #7We don’t sell food; we sell an experience. THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR: The Table Rock QR Menu System (CLICK HERE) The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE

#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. He grew up on the family farm in Gettysburg, PA and has been involved in his mother's restaurant since he started walking. He understands hospitality and agriculture all too well, and brings a unique point of view to our ongoing conversation about pivoting in the age of Covid-19.  THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR: The Table Rock QR Menu System (CLICK HERE) The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE

#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 areas to better understand how Covid-19 has reordered daily life:  Technological Trends Economic Trends Regulatory Trends Sociocultural Trends Demographic Trends THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR: The Table Rock QR Menu System (CLICK HERE) The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE