As the official information says ‘Offers are a great way to drive new people to your business and to engage your customers. They also encourage people to talk about your Page when your offers are shared between friends’. The offer below shows a typical offer, this time for a free coffee. Set up is very simple, and at this stage there is no charge by Facebook. More at the Facebook Offers Page.
The service is in the testing phase and will hopefully be widely available soon. Is this just one more discount service, or will it be of genuine value for your business?
This is not a pretty picture – a scrawny plant battling to survive in front of a busy cafe. It’s also serving as the local ashtray and garbage bin.
BUT what if the cafe added some bags of compost, a few buckets of water and some hardy geraniums or colourful shrubs? Plus some rosemary, parsley, thyme and other herbs? And is there space for a lemon tree? Something to lift the spirits instead of depressing them. Something customers will admire, instead of frown about…
Take advantage of the new Timeline design to boost Facebook activity. There’s now much more emphasis on photos and images – it’s time to share dozens of happy photos, not just one or two.
They don’t just have to be customers and lovely plates of food. People are also interested in what’s happening ‘behind the scenes’ – show off the equipment, chefs at work, renovations, staff training etc. Lots more information on using the new changes in the Online Marketing Department.
If you have customers who park their bikes out the front, you know they can be very loyal, and want the best coffee! Then there are the riders in full lycra kit with special shoes and bikes that cost as much as a car – another breed altogether!
I see plenty of bike riders at local favourite Ruby’s Diner, and here’s a very interesting video that tells us more about this small but valuable demographic. Make friends with them…
If you can make time to visit Fine Food Queensland make sure you also make time to join this year’s exciting FREE seminar program. Valuable information and education sessions for chefs, managers, business owners and F&B staff of cafes, restaurants, caterers, hotels and clubs.
12 Seminars over 3 days – topics include:
Kitchen Cost Control, Menu Makeover, and How to Attract More Customers in Tough Times
Cutting Water, Gas and Electricity Costs, plus Business Design Makeover
Smart Recruitment in 2012, plus Wages, Employment & OH&S Update
Catering Profit Tactics, and How to Use Gourmet & Regional Produce
Smart Pub Food, and How to be a Clever Digital Manager
Pinterest is a great (free) service for collecting photos and design ideas. As you browse the web, just click a little ‘bookmarklet’ that can be installed on your browser, and the photo is automatically added to your Pinterest collection. Here’s a quick video to show Pinterest in action, in this case collecting photos of Food Trucks.
Swapping ideas about opening a cafe or restaurant can be the most exhilarating. It can also lead to disaster. Thousands of new venues open, only to close the doors within a couple of years defeated by the daily challenges and grind.
A full day Starting a Cafe or Restaurant Workshop on Saturday 3rd March with industry expert Ken Burgin and a panel of successful operators from Café Claremont, The Livingroom Malvern, Red Spice Road Restaurant and The Local Taphouse will reveal many pitfalls to be avoided, and the secrets to their success. No doubt that running a successful restaurant or cafe should be exciting, rewarding and profitable BUT before you get there, avoiding the many traps and hidden cost is critical.
Understand how to have success with staff – your biggest expense and management challenge. Learn what equipment, design and marketing strategies will ensure an efficient and compliant operation. Discover the latest trends and important licensing, legal and purchasing issues and preparation for due diligence if you are buying a business. Finally, understanding cost control and financial management – how can you ensure your investment is viable – is essential.
OK, bear with me here as I fit together different parts of a story… Food writer Dianne Jacob writes an interesting blog about ‘the business of food writing’. She had a great post recently called First Write the Blog, then Write the Cookbook “People who want to write a cookbook contact me all the time. [...]
I’m not alone in enjoying Gary Vaynerchuk’s forthright and insightful comments on marketing. Here he takes on the Oprah Winfrey team for doing old-fashioned ‘push marketing’ – trying to ram stories down the throat of the customer, via Twitter. It just doesn’t work any more! Ring any bells for anyone?
Hi there - Ken Burgin here. This is where I share ideas and inspiration about the 'state of the industry'. Check back regularly for updates about restaurant, cafe, club, bar, hotel management and marketing. The mission of Profitable Hospitality is to make your business more profitable, popular, efficient and enjoyable - please leave comments and share your ideas. More at Profitable Hospitality.
