RESTAURANT STRATEGY

Second Marketing Pillar - AUDIENCE Welcome to the second in a 5-episode arc where we're talking about the Five Pillars of Marketing. This is our opportunity to give ourselves a strong foundation before we begin building a complex marketing strategy. These five episodes are a version of an exercise I do with my consulting clients. They are a series of questions... assignments, really... that help us begin to understand what the product is and who it's for. Today we're discussing the Second Marketing Pillar which is AUDIENCE. It's all about figuring out who your restaurant is for. This week we're going to identify your Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA), and learn how to use that to attract more customers. If you want to download the Marketing Pillars Workbook you can do that by CLICKING HERE. CONTINUING EDUCATION: This week I'm linking to an article written by Justin Bariso that first appeared in Inc.com. It's all about the different types of empathy, and ways to cultivate it in your personal and professional life. It ties back in directly to what we're discussing here, and will factor in heavily to our work in the future. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

First Marketing Pillar - IDENTITY This is the first episode in a 5-episode arc where we're talking about something I call the Five Pillars of Marketing. Before we can begin talking about building a marketing strategy, we first have to give ourselves a strong foundation. These five episodes are a version of an exercise I do with my consulting clients. It's the best way I know to get all of us on the same page. They are a series of questions... assignments, really... that help us begin to understand what the product is and who it's for. The First Pillar is IDENTITY, and it's all about articulating exactly what your product is. It's a restaurant, so yes you serve food... but that isn't necessarily what you're selling. I walk you through a series of different categories that help you bring some specificity to your work. It's all about understanding exactly what kind of experience you're offering your guest. If all we wanted out of a restaurant was food then there'd be no need for sports bars or date spots... In a sports bar you're there for the camaraderie, the energy. At a date spot, you're there for the romance. I challenge you to start thinking about your business in those terms. Yes, you serve food, but really... what kind of experience are you selling. If you want to download the Marketing Pillars Workbook you can do that by CLICKING HERE. CONTINUING EDUCATION: This week I'm linking to a 2005 TED Talk by Psychologist Barry Schwartz titled “The Paradox of Choice." It’s a lecture I discovered years ago -- long before I started working in marketing -- but I recently went back and realized how timely it was. It's a riff on his book by the same name, and especially these days when we’re offered so many different choices, I think it's important to think about the cost. Watch the lecture (only 20 minutes); I think you’ll find it has a lot to do with our work here.  CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

EPISODE #1: What is Marketing? ** Download the 3-Step Marketing Worksheet HERE ** Since this is a podcast all about marketing, I thought we would start off by first agreeing on a definition for marketing. And so that's what this episode is all about... articulating a clear way to talk about a subject that people tend to overcomplicate. For me it's not about fancy jargon or academic explanations. It's simpler than that. And so I'm sharing my approach. What is Marketing?  I can sum it up in three questions... What's your product? Who's it for? How can you reach them? In this, the very first episode of Restaurant Strategy, we start building a foundation for the rest of the work we'll do. I know many of you out there are small business owners, putting in countless hours trying to build a profitable restaurant. And so you have limited time. I get it! So do I. Each episode is purposefully short and ends with a short exercise - something you can do right away to start implementing the ideas we talk about here on the show. QUESTIONS? E-mail me directly at chip@chipklose.com ** Download the 3-Step Marketing Worksheet HERE ** CONTINUING EDUCATION: Purple Cow by Seth Godin