Jose Luis Riesco - Restaurant Marketing Strategies: Dramatically Improve Your Restaurant Profits While Spending Less Money

Copyright 2010 Jose Luis Riesco

Riesco Consulting Inc.

http://www.myrestaurantmarketing.com

2010. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical. Any unauthorized use, sharing, reproduction, or distribution without prior written notification of the author, Jose Luis Riesco (Riesco Consulting Inc.), is strictly prohibited.

ISBN 13: 978-0-9819351-1-9

Table of Contents

Legal Disclaimer

The information contained in this material (including but not limited to any manuals, cds, dvds, online audio or video recordings, mp3s or other content in any format) is based on sources and information reasonably believed to be accurate as of the time it was recorded or created. However, this material deals with topics that are constantly changing and are subject to ongoing changes related to technology and the marketplace, as well as legal and related compliance issues. Therefore, the completeness and accuracy of the materials cannot be guaranteed. These materials do not constitute legal, financial, tax, accounting or related advice.

The end user of this information should understand that the contents of this program and the associated materials are a general guideline and do not represent licensed or certified advice and, when appropriate, the user should consult their own legal, accounting or other advisors.

Results may vary. Any case studies, examples, illustrations or other historical data are not intended to guarantee, or to imply that the user will achieve similar results.

The information provided in this book is sold and provided on an as is basis without any express or implied warranties, of any kind whether warranties for a particular purpose or other warranty except as may be specifically set forth in the materials. In particular, the seller of the book and associated materials does not warrant that any 0f the information will produce a particular economic result or that it will be successful in creating particular marketing or sales results. Those results are your responsibiliy as the end user of the product. In particular, seller shall not be liable to user, its agents or representatives or any other party for any damages or losses incurred, including, but not limited to, direct or indirect, consequential, incidental or other results, in excess of the purchase price of the product or services. The laws of your country, state, province or other jurisdiction may affect these limitations and as such, may be applied in a unique manner to a particular user.

Thanks for reading all this legalese!

Note:

All the hyperlinks contained in this book are valid and working at the time of publication.

However, as you already know, the Internet is a moving target and some web sites may have changed or updated their links by the time you read this book.

In order to keep the links useful, Ive created a page in my website where I will keep all the links updated and working. It will also facilitate for you to access these resources by just clicking on the links without having to type the URL in your browser.

Please visit: www.myrestaurantmarketing.com/book/links.html for a complete list of all the links mentioned in the book.

If you find that some links are not working or if you find some errors, mistakes or omissions in the book, I would really appreciate if you could email me at with your valuable feedback.

Thank you very much for your help and understanding.

Sincerely,

Jose L Riesco

Why do I need yet another Restaurant Marketing Book?

S o youve just opened your restaurant. Congratulations! But you are overwhelmed with all the responsibilities and challenges that come with a new business. Now you only need to fill it with customers and count the money if only this was easy!

Or perhaps you have had your restaurant running for a few months or years now. You know all you need to know about how to run the kitchen, deal with the distributors, keep your books and your P&L updated, and manage the front of the house all while you keep your customers happy.

Chef, Sous-Chefs, Cooks and Helpers, Host, Runners, Busboys and Waiters all follow your directions and the customers seem happy but you wonder why the restaurant, YOUR restaurant is not always packed?

How come some days for no apparent reason you see many empty tables?

Why do some restaurants in the area seem to be always filled with people waiting in line or making reservations (some time months in advance), while your place that offers great food at good prices is not that popular?

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business and many business owners, especially restaurant owners, underestimate the impact that marketing can bring to your business (I should know, I used to own a restaurant myself and marketing wasnt in the top of my list of important things to take care of). They either dont do much about it, or they just follow the same old, ineffective and expensive ways to market their business: ads in daily or weekly local papers, offer some coupons and place ads in the Yellow Pages.

Of course, good food, excellent service and fair prices are all key components of the restaurant business, but clients (well call them clients and not customers from now on, I will explain later) are finicky consumers.

They have busy lives, they dont know your restaurant, or if they do they soon forget about you, about your business. They are not loyal (at least until you make them, I will tell you how), they eat in many places; just like children, they have short memory spans; they get distracted by other places, brand-new places, fancy places, or just convenient places to eat.

The offer is very large and competition is fierce. You need to have something special that can attract them to your place, to your restaurant. This is what we call in marketing the USP or Unique Selling Proposition. (I will tell you how you can develop your own customized USP in Chapter 2).

Why should a client go to your place and not to somebody elses? This is one of the key questions that we will work on later when, together, we create YOUR marketing plan.

A restaurant is a business. It is a great business. It is a social business and it makes people happy. It is probably one of the best businesses that you can own; but, in the end, it needs to be run as a business. It needs to be profitable, make both the client and yourself happy, and use the same rules and principles than the big boys use in corporate America and all over the world.

Marketing, Sales and Operations are three cornerstones of your business, and all of them need to be effective and run smoothly for your restaurant to be successful.

You are not only the Restaurant owner; you are also the CEO of a company. And you owe to yourself, your staff, and to your clients to run the company the most efficient and profitable way that you can.

You need to strive for excellence and you should apply and follow the same rules than other successful businesses do.

I used to own a restaurant and learned that the hard way. I was never satisfied with my knowledge of the best marketing techniques to make my business better. I didnt like the results that I was getting using the same marketing tools as my competitors. I spent many years reading marketing books and researching techniques that could make a difference.