Eating out is one of our nation?s biggest pastimes. It is convenient and gives us the opportunity to enjoy a meal without having to prepare it, serve it or wash the dishes! No matter where you look in your neighborhood, it is a surefire bet that you will find some type of eatery beckoning you to step in and grab a bite!
I decided to look in the yellow pages of my telephone book under ?restaurants? just to scan through the listings. I was literally blown away by the hundreds of restaurants citing their cuisine, contact information, what forms of payment they honor, if they offer specialty dishes (ie. vegetarian), whether they are dine in or take out, hours of operation and in some instances a map on how to get there.
After looking at the top 20 most ?clicked on? restaurant websites in my online city guide, I was not surprised to found that 15 out of 20 were pizzerias and 4 out of 20 were franchises. Amazingly, only 3 out of the 15 listed pizzerias were a franchise. This small survey spoke volumes about the dining preferences of local consumers. People are looking for a dining experience in a relaxed atmosphere. It is apparent that many smaller restaurants cater to the coziness, intimacy and that ?eating experience? many people are hungry for.
Here are 7 key things that most customers look for when selecting some place to dine:
1. Cuisine (ethnic, fast-food, buffet)
2. Prices (affordability)
3. Location (mall, strip center, free standing and easy to find)
4. Atmosphere (cleanliness, casual, sporty, romantic)
5. Ease of parking (Is there ample parking and are the parking spaces easy to get into)
6. Customer Service (how do you serve your patrons; how do you handle complaints; can you accommodate customers with special needs, such as handicap accessibility)
7. Hours of operation
Although many small restaurants do not have the big advertising budgets like some large franchises do, you must be smart with the budget that you have to work with and capitalize on your assets! Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your restaurant, and then incorporate the necessary changes to spotlight your benefits and positive features that a dining patron is looking for. As you can tell from my online search, only ?one fourth? of the top twenty most visited restaurant websites were larger franchises.
Keep these seven key ingredients in mind when you focus on your marketing plan and your customers will continue coming back "for" more, "with" more! You?ll be amazed how many referrals you?ll get with an outstanding report card from your existing customers.
Kym Gordon Moore is a creative marketing strategist for Moore 2 It Productions and coordinates cost effective, creative marketing packages for budget conscious new authors and new small business owners. moore2itproductions.com She is the author of the eBook, ?Alphabet Soup: 5 Main Ingredients for Turning Words into a Bowl of Hot Topics!? Many of her articles, essays, short stories and poems appeared in a variety of magazines, newspapers, ezines and anthologies. kymgmoore.com
Help Yourself And/or Your Employees: Modular Office Furniture
It is a simple fact of life?very few people actually like their jobs. Most people feel a little twinge of depression on Sunday evening when just the thought of Monday morning is looming over them. Depending on where you work, that twinge of depression could actually be a hint to take on some medication. The [...]
It is a simple fact of life?very few people actually like their jobs. Most people feel a little twinge of depression on Sunday evening when just the thought of Monday morning is looming over them. Depending on where you work, that twinge of depression could actually be a hint to take on some medication. The truth is that there are some great jobs out there, but the general population does not possess them, and common sense will tell you that if someone can like their working environment, they may not question calling in sick every other day. I understand that space can be of the utmost importance in small spaces, but if you are a business owner and decide that you want your office to be more up to date, friendly, and successful?go modular.
First, you should know that all modular office furniture is not created equal. The whole point of purchasing modular furniture is to be able to rearrange the furniture as needed. So, if you get a whim to redecorate you can change an office?s entire look by rearranging the desks. Sometimes, you will find modular furniture that is on the lower end, but it?s made solely for the purpose of being modular. For instance, you can get a modular desk or office system at places like Office Depot, Staples, or the Internet. They come in all shapes, colors and sizes. A great modular desk is the Hansen Cherry and Galaxy Modular Desk system that comes in a dark finish and is only $289. However, if you are looking for the modular cubicles, they are going to be much more expensive, but you have to look at it as buying four desks that fit into one.
chairs
Decorating Tips Springtime Any Time
0 comments:
Post a Comment