Use your online presence to get more restaurant visits

As restaurants compete for customers in a crowded marketplace, how can your business stand out from the competition? Getting attention for your restaurant is the name of the game. After all, you won’t fill those seats if they haven’t heard of you. Whether you have a solid marketing strategy or you’re giving the old one […]

Attract more families to your restaurant

Despite the struggle restaurateurs have faced in recent years, fast casual restaurants are a growing segment of the market, and families are a large part of their business. Even though restaurant traffic is down overall by four per cent, fast-casual traffic has seen an increase of 9 per cent in the last three years. In […]

The increasing importance of loyalty programs

Loyalty programs have become a vital tool for many restaurant operations. They’re nothing new in the foodservice space, but they are certainly evolving as a differentiator in a crowded industry. Not only providing an incentive for customers to come back and spend more money but also making it easier for them to do so in […]

Developing staff engagement for a positive guest experience

By Doug Radkey Engaged and motivated employees are at the heart of positive restaurant experiences. Working at a restaurant or any hospitality-related business needs to be more than just another paycheck. Restaurant operators need to remember that money is not a motivator – it is a satisfier. When employees are satisfied and engaged, everyone wins. […]

Why the latest social media trends may not benefit your business

By Sean Beckingham Social media applications today have a very similar story to the smartphones they find themselves downloaded onto: You finally learn how use it, you get used to its features and then three months later, a shiny newer version comes out with features both new and old. Meanwhile, popular photo sharing application Instagram […]

What new restaurants need to know about Instagram

By Kate Engineer For a new restaurant getting set to open, once you have the business name and logo developed, your next step should be signing up for an Instagram account to secure your name and begin connecting to your community. Here are some common questions about Instagram answered so you can get started on […]

Five engagement tips for kids at your restaurant

By Jasmine Kafka Going out for dinner with the family is a treat—especially for the kids! How your servers interact with these young guests can make or break whether they return. After 15 years studying, testing and producing kids’ engagement activities, we’ve learned a thing or two on encouraging repeat patronage, especially for families with […]

Three steps to get, retain and develop your customers

By Matt Rolfe The purpose of the majority of marketing and promotions activity is to drive people into your business. It is a way to get customers inside your four walls rather than those of your competitors. Based on all of the activity to drive people into your location I encourage you to ask yourself […]

Making the case for family engagement in restaurants

By Jasmine Kafka The family segment comprises roughly 50 per cent of restaurant revenues in casual dining, with an average cheque 83 per cent higher than couples or seniors (based on The NPD Group CREST Study, 2010). Leading industry consultants forecast that family dining visits will increase this year, as the economy improves and restaurants […]

Four marketing strategies to help you increase family dining occasions

By Jasmine Kafka How can restaurants that cater to families gain a competitive edge in today’s fierce market? The NPD Group’s latest study examined a number of unique restaurant visits as opposed to the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner segments. NDP’s CREST report found 18 unique visit situations, of which family visits accounted for 20 […]