In recent conversations with restaurant marketing leaders, I’ve heard mostly familiar themes when discussing their marketing strategies. There are those smaller concepts that have had some success with a “Name Your Own Price” promotion and other one-off efforts to drive sales that have gotten quite a bit of media attention. But most restaurateurs I spoke to were sticking to more traditional strategies, with the occasional “toe in the water” when it comes to trying less tried-and-true methods of increasing market share.
The most common among the marketing strategies that some restaurant leaders shared with me are discounts or limited time promotions. Jean Smoke, director of marketing for unit 550% 2B’s TacoTime concept, told me that her concept has a “limited-time addition to their world-famous line of Crisp Burritos, a Crisp Pork Burrito at a discounted price of $ 1.99”. They found that this offer is attracting their current Crisp Burrito fans as well as new customers for an exciting new item. Frank Day, president and CEO of RockBottom Restaurant and Brewery, said his concept “has generated traffic and created some excitement among consumers by running a variety of promotional specials, some supported by the media, but mostly promoted within from the four walls of its restaurants”. Marc Geman, president and CEO of Spicy Pickle, a deli and sandwich concept with 40% of 2 million units, said his brand will “introduce a Picklenomics menu featuring a custom section as well as half sandwiches with soup or salad “. a drink and chips that will combine their high-quality product with favorable prices.”
In similar lines of discount marketing, Pops for Champagne in Chicago offers a low-fare promotion. “From 3 to 7 pm on weekdays, guests receive 37% off any food they order,” Tom Verhey, owner of the country’s oldest champagne bar, shared with me. Dan Beem, president of Cold Stone Creamery, was pleased with the results his concept had when they brought their new ice cream muffins to market at an introductory price. “The response was so good that our stores were barely able to keep the cupcakes on the shelves and our sales skyrocketed as a result.” Paul Damico, president of the Tex-Mex concept, Moe’s Southwest Grill, said the goal of his $4.99 Joey Jr. Bundle was twofold. “First, we wanted to offer our guests the right size portion. Second, we wanted to give our guests a meal option for less than $5. This strategy was successful and we plan to continue to expand our menu in a similar way during these tough economic times.” . times.” In response to Subway’s $5 promotion, Jeff Warfield, president and CEO of Submarina, a California-based deli concept, launched a $5 meal that includes 6-inch sandwiches, soft drinks, and fries. “Our 6-inch sub has as much meat as a 12-inch Subway, and we use fresh bread,” Warfield said.
Fewer restaurant concepts had a lot to share with me in terms of marketing strategies beyond offering discounted prices and limited-time promotions. One avenue that some mentioned was to improve their online presence. TacoTime recently revamped its website to offer more interactivity to its customer base. They will have some online promotions coming soon, including a “look alike” contest. They and Cold Stone Creamery are also looking to build their online presence through increasingly popular social marketing methods like Facebook and Twitter. Josh Richman, CEO of Happi House, said: “Our most specific strategy is the establishment of an email club for our guests. Every new address collected online or at the restaurant receives a free meal for joining, a free offer on his birthday and monthly promotional message”. Happi House can track message views, redemptions printed, which deals are most successful, and who your most loyal members are.
Other restaurant concepts are focusing on staying relevant to their customer base. For example, Submarina and Spicy Pickle are marketing the healthy aspects of their menu offerings, not just the nutritional information, but also the absence of enzyme/preservative/filler content in their ingredients. Pops for Champagne is appealing to the generosity of its guests with its Toast on Tuesday promotion. Guests are encouraged to find something to celebrate and visit Pops to toast that with specially priced glasses of champagne. Pops will donate $1 from each cup to the Chicago Job Council, an organization that helps people living in poverty find career opportunities. According to Megan Winters, marketing manager for North Carolina’s Port City Java, they are “making environmental, economic and social differences through their Fairganic coffees.” In response to the growing receptivity to “green” efforts, Port City Java uses only organic beans grown in a way that has low environmental impact.
While most restaurant concepts have made some type of marketing strategy adjustment in response to the market, there are some I spoke to who feel they are positioned in such a way that they will simply continue to do what they currently do. Jeffery Bank, CEO of New York-based Alicart Restaurant Group, had this to say about one of their concepts: “Carmine’s has been around for over 19 years and is the original concept for family-style Italian. It’s extremely value-oriented. .. is a perfect brand in this economy and that’s why our sales go up, not down.” In this case “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” seems to be working.
While there are variations on the theme, there is no doubt that current conditions demand that restaurant concepts ensure that their marketing strategies are effective and sustainable until the market improves.