RESTAURANT STRATEGY

#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

#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 money in your business.  THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR: The Table Rock QR Menu System (CLICK HERE) The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE

#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 interview you might talk about where you went to school or the last company you worked for. If you’re meeting someone at a party, you might talk about where you grew up or what you do for a living. We don’t recite facts and figures; we tell a story. Stories bring things to life. They help the listener better understand because the experience becomes relatable. We hear about someone who wins the lottery and we can’t help but put ourselves into those shoes. We hear a song and recognize the emotions they’re describing. We watch a movie and feel something because we empathize with the characters on the screen. Very little of what we do isn’t touched by storytelling. And this is especially true when it comes to running a business. In fact, I believe there are 5 different ways we use stories to market our restaurants: Stories that communicate a brand’s mission… their WHY Stories that spark conversation Stories that validate price Stories that bring deeper appreciation for the product or the brand Stories as mythology. I share a bunch of case studies and examples to illustrate each of these areas, and guide you through some ways to identify stories in your own restaurant. This is the companion piece to episode #53. I hope you enjoy.  Of course, I'll also remind you that I'm still selling... The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE

#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 help make your lives easier. So on today's episode I'm recapping ALL of the resources I've shared and including all of the links below. Happy listening The ONLY Restaurant Budget Template You'll Ever Need - CLICK HERE The Marketing Worksheet (Ep #1) - CLICK HERE The Marketing Pillars Workbook (Ep #2-6) - CLICK HERE The Marketing Ideas Cheatsheet (Ep #13) - CLICK HERE Photo Guide (Ep #22) - CLICK HERE Marathon Workbook (Ep #37) - CLICK HERE True Fans Workbook (Ep #40) - CLICK HERE The V-Day Checklist (Ep #45) - CLICK HERE The Elevator Pitch Cheatsheet (Ep #47) - CLICK HERE The Pivot Cheatsheet (Ep #56) - CLICK HERE Creative Solutions Workbook (Ep #67) - CLICK HERE The Marketing Calendar Template (Ep #42) - CLICK HERE

#67 - The Surprising Truth About Creativity and 4 Steps to Harness It Creativity is a renewable resource. It’s one of the few things in this world where the more you mine, the more that appears. Best of all, it’s not reserved for the chosen few… rather it's something we all have at our disposal. Today, I want to talk all about what creativity is, where it comes from, how we can tap into it to grow our businesses, and the best way to inspire your team to do the same.  I share a simple 4-step process you can use to start putting these ideas into practice, plus there's a free workbook to help you get going.  CLICK HERE to download the CREATIVE SOLUTIONS WORKBOOK