Tweens and teens influence the decision making of their friends and families, playing a large role in their dining choices. Fifty-eight percent of teens and 54 percent of tweens report that their family decides together which full-service restaurant to visit. Tweens and teens have very distinct foodservice attitudes and behaviors, which justifies a differentiated marketing strategy that targets their specific needs and desires.

Technomic Director of Consumer Research Sara Monnette says “Our youth play an integral part in the family dining experience, often participating in decisions on where and what to eat. On the other hand, a majority of their dining behaviors derive from outside influences, most notably, friends.  Through our analysis we developed six basic socio-behavioral youth consumer segments to help evaluate the effects of these outside influences on their decision making.”

“Today’s tweens and teens are a diverse population, even within demographic and age segments,” says Ian Davidson, Senior Manager, Brand Insights at C3. “They can often be difficult for marketers to understand and engage. Brands that are successful with tweens and teens will need to demonstrate a tiered strategy to reach this powerful group of consumers.”

In order to better understand the foodservice and lifestyle attitudes of today’s youth, Technomic and C3 have released The Dining Habits of Tweens and Teens. The report provides an overview of attitudes toward national restaurant chains, food preferences, dining-out behaviors with friends and family, kids’ menu preferences, snacking behavior, convenience-store patronage, technology usage, music purchases and clothing brand preferences based on survey results from 1,500 consumers. Appendices to this report outline key lifestyle indicators of today’s youth, background of youth consumer segments, and sample demographics.

Interesting findings include:

• Teens may be suffering from fast-food or brand fatigue; new and exciting foodservice concepts are most likely to appeal to them.

• Snacking tends to decrease in frequency as youth get older, but the quantity of food eaten may increase. For example, 60 percent of 8- to 9-year-olds report that they snack every day, compared to 47 percent of those aged 10 to 12, and 38 percent of teens. Teens are slightly more likely than tweens to report snacking a lot (22 percent vs. 18 percent of tweens).

• Because the attitudes and behaviors of tweens and teens reflect specific life stages, foodservice operators and suppliers may find success by tailoring menu offerings and marketing strategies to fit these stages.  As an example, the majority of tweens report that they wish restaurants would provide a separate menu for kids their age.

To purchase or learn more about this report please visit Technomic.com.

Technomic provides clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. Its services include numerous publications and digital products, as well as proprietary studies and ongoing research on all aspects of the food industry.

C3 is an integrated brand marketing agency that brings kids into focus through research-based initiatives that ask kids what they want. C3 builds and communicates brands in cool and clever ways to millions of kids and their families nationwide, utilizing a careful mix of strategy, design and production.

Stick a fork in it.  2011 is done.  And almost every media outlet in the world has put together some type of Top Stories list.  RestaurantNews.com has been serving up online restaurant news for over 12 years, but this is the first time we’ve stepped up to the Year in  Review buffet.

Following is a list of the Top 20 stories read on RestaurantNews.com over the past year.

20) Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant Owners Receive 2011 Faces of Diversity Award
In April, the National Restaurant Association honored Ethiopian sisters Berekti and Akberet Mengistu, owner-operators of Mesob restaurant in Montclair, N.J., with its 2011 Faces of Diversity American Dream Award.  The Mengistu sisters have operated Mesob for over seven years with Berekti handling the business operations and Akberet serving as chef.

19) Seafood Specialties, Culinary Confections Ring In The New Year At The Grand Central Oyster Bar
Grand Central Oyster Bar made a surprising, last minute jump into our Top 20 with the annoucement of executive chef Sandy Ingber special New Year’s Eve menu of seafood delicacies available for lunch and dinner at the historic restaurant “below sea level” in Grand Central Terminal.

18) Outback Steakhouse Free Steak Dinner Deal a Restaurant Marketing Win
Outback Steakhouse made a move that dominated restaurant marketing news in August by giving away one million free steak dinners in its Great Aussie Steak Out promotion.  The promotion was designed to introduce Outback’s new wood-fire grill steak preparation and new menu options.  RestaurantNews.com served up a tasty review of the campaign.

17) National Restaurant Association Responds to the State of the Union Address
The National Restaurant Association responded to President Obama’s job creation speech in January, and called attention to its “America Works Here” campaign which was formed to help educate opinion leaders, policymakers, and their staff members about the breadth, depth, scope and influence of the restaurant industry on the American economy.

16) Restaurants Tossing a Summer of Salads
It was the Summer of Salads as restaurants across America offered up a super summer salad fiesta. If you’re a salad lover, then you were in for a summer of tasty green treats.  RestaurantNews.com took a look at the salad offerings of several national restaurant chains.

15) KFC Launches New 10-Piece Buckets, Helps Cash-Strapped Choirs
To launch its new 10-piece 10 Buck Sunday Bucket deal in March, Kentucky Fried Chicken offered 11 struggling choirs across the country $1,000 grants to help keep their harmonies alive.  Members of The St. Louis Children’s Choirs kicked off the program at a KFC restaurant in St. Louis.

14) IHOP Offers New Chicken and Waffles For Limited Time
In March, IHOP rolled out its Chicken and Waffles, becoming the first restaurant chain to offer the combination nationwide.  The Chicken and Waffles, a limited time promotion, included four golden all white meat chicken tenders with four light and crisp Belgian waffle quarters.

13) McDonald’s Introduces New McCafe Shakes
In February, McDonald’s announced plans to “shake things up” with the introduction of the McCafe Shake in its restaurants.  The McCafe Shakes feature the three classic milkshake flavors (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry) in a clear McCafe cup, topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

12) McDonald’s Reintroduces the Asian Salad
McDonald’s brought back its popular Asian Salad in May for a limited time.  The Asian Salad consists of greens, edamame, snow peas, red bell peppers, mandarin oranges, toasted almonds and an orange-glazed grilled or crispy white meat chicken breast filet.

11) Restaurants Serving Up Social Media Connections
Many restaurants today are still left sitting at the cutting board trying to figure out a successful recipe for social marketing, while the early adopters are reaping the rewards of a lucrative, successful social media push.  People are hungry for much more than food. They want to feel connected, and social media allows them to feel as if they are a part of the whole restaurant family.

10) Cracker Barrel and The Grascals Celebrate #1 Debut on Billboard Bluegrass Chart
In January, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and The Grascals announced the #1 debut of The Grascals & Friends – Country Classics with a Bluegrass Spin on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart.  The CD is part of Cracker Barrel’s exclusive music program.

9) Five Emerging Trends in the Foodservice Industry
In today’s competitive foodservice industry, it’s becoming increasingly important for brands to engage guests and employees in a more meaningful and personal manner.  Steve Prodger, Vice President of Food Services with Empathica, reviewed how restaurants could gain a better understanding of the ways customers want to be engaged and how that information can be used to earn lifelong, loyal clientele.

8) IHOP’s All You Can Eat Pancakes Promotion is Back
IHOP brought back its limited time All You Can Eat Pancakes promotion at the beginning of the year.  IHOP guests could order unlimited pancakes, served three at a time, for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

7) McDonald’s Offers New Fruit & Maple Oatmeal
McDonald’s kicked off the year with the introduction of its Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, made with whole grains, light cream, brown sugar, red and green apples, cranberries, and two varieties of raisins.  The breakfast item is available throughout the day at any McDonald’s location, comes with or without brown sugar, and is also available in a less sweetened version.

6) SONIC Adds Four New Premium Beef Hot Dogs to Menu
Hot dogs have been an American favorite for generations. At the beginning of the year, Every Day with Rachael Ray declared 2011 as the Year of the Hot Dog.  SONIC agreed, rolling out a new line of Premium Beef Hot Dogs with a variety of toppings.  The drive-in restaurant chain offered up a Chicago Dog, a New York Dog, an All-American Dog and the Chili Cheese Coney for $1.99 each.

5) After 119 Years, the Ice Cream Sundae Still a Restaurant Favorite
In April, the ice cream sundae celebrated its 119th birthday.  Over the years, they became a mainstay in the restaurant industry, evolving and giving birth to a new generation of restaurant sundaes including the McFlurry and the Blizzard.  RestaurantNews.com took a look at ice cream sundaes offered up by some of your favorite restaurants.

4) Burger King Offers Original Chicken Sandwich Deal for Fourth of July Weekend
Burger King’s flame-broiled Whopper may be the burger chain’s most famous menu item, but with a price point of $1.04, the Original Chicken Sandwich ruled the roost during a Fourth of July weekend promotion.  The crispy, premium white meat chicken patty topped with shredded lettuce and mayo on a bakery-style, sesame seed bun has been a menu favorite since 1979.

3) Pizza Hut Launches Ultimate Cheese Lover’s with $10.99 Any Lover’s Deal and Facebook Sweepstakes
Pizza Hut launched its Ultimate Cheese Lover’s pizza in May.  The company offered up the Ultimate Cheese Lover’s, the Pepperoni Lover’s, the Meat Lover’s, and the Veggie Lover’s for $10.99.  The pizza chain also began running its Ultimate Lover’s Lover Facebook sweepstakes, awarding a $50 Pizza Hut gift cards daily and free pizza for a year for weekly winners.

2) Golden Corral Restaurants Launch Endless Baby Back Ribs Promo
Golden Corral rolled out an abundance of new ribs products in April, including Baby Back Ribs. This array of  freshly-prepared BBQ ribs products was in addition to the buffet chain’s 150-item, every day dinner buffet, which includes slow-cooked Pot Roast, made-from-scratch Meatloaf, and grilled-to-order USDA dinner buffet Sirloin Steaks.

1) Phillips Seafood Opens Two New Airport Restaurants
In July, Phillips Seafood announced the opening of two new airport restaurant locations: Newark Liberty International as well as Harrisburg International Airport bringing the total to nine successful airport restaurant operations.  Both full service locations feature a traditional Phillips menu offering signature crab dishes, genuine Maryland style favorites and specialty drinks.  The restaurants are franchises with two leading concessionaires.

The holiday season is the perfect time of year to promote your restaurant.  Shoppers are hungry for holiday deals and special dining experiences.  An online press release can be an affordable, effective restaurant marketing tool for owners and operators this time of year.

Here are some ideas that can help your restaurant make the most of the holidays with an online press release:

Community Involvement – Are you working in the community to make the season brighter for others?  If you’re collecting food or toys for those in need, donating time or resources to local charitable events or working a fundraiser, those are all noble and newsworthy events.

Holiday Promotions – Holiday shoppers are hungry for a great meal and deal.  If you’re preparing a special holiday menu, or running a limited time offer, let current and potential guests know about it.  This is also a good opportunity to remind people of your holiday hours.

New Products – Deep fried turkeys, party platters, eggnog shakes, pumpkin pies and other holiday treats are all the rage this time of year.  Tempt their taste buds with a mouthwatering press release.

Catering Options – Catering can be an excellent sales and profit builder.  Although feeling the economic pinch, many large companies and small businesses are still spending money to show appreciation for their staffs as the year winds down.

Gift Cards – One of the most popular gift items during past holiday seasons has been restaurant gift cards, and even more of them are expected to be sold this year.  The National Restaurant Association reports that 78 percent of adults say they would like to receive restaurant gift cards or certificates on gift occasions.  Your restaurant’s gift cards should be a press release priority.

Social Media Festivities -  Facebook, Twitter and other online networking sites should, of course, play a part in your overall restaurant marketing strategy.  During the holidays, however, you have the opportunity to provide interactive holiday fun with online contests and promotions.

RestaurantNews.com’s online press release service offers an affordable restaurant marketing solution for owners and operators.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.restaurantnews.com/press-release/

For daily restaurant news updates, subscribe to the RestaurantNews.com email newsletter at http://www.restaurantnews.com/subscribe/.

About RestaurantNews.com

RestaurantNews.com has been providing the latest online restaurant news for over twelve years.  RestaurantNews.com offers press release services and exposure for restaurant owners and operators looking to grow their restaurants.  For diners, RestaurantNews.com offers current and upcoming restaurant deals, specials and promotions.

Jason’s Deli expands its community involvement efforts online by creating a national partnership with restaurant fundraising platform www.GroupRaise.com. Today, restaurants are searching for the best ways to enchant their local community, grow their brand, and bring in sales. In our current economic times, opening a restaurant’s doors to local schools, teams, and other community groups for dine and donate programs is a great way to engage local community. Jason’s Deli with the help of GroupRaise.com is taking leadership in this kind of outreach.

 

Restaurant fundraising has proven to be a much better option than coupons to bring in local customers because coupons run the risk of damaging restaurants’ brands. Fundraising customers are excited about paying full menu price for food, and are more likely to return than deal seekers from sites like Groupon. Recently named “Best Family Restaurant Chain” by Parents Magazine, Jason’s Deli has found a new way to take their restaurant fundraising to the next level with the use of online restaurant fundraising platform GroupRaise.com.

 

GroupRaise.com is a fundraising community of local non-profit groups looking to host fundraisers at local restaurants for a percentage of the sales. Jason’s Deli is using the site to post their restaurant fundraising program online along with specific days and times for groups to request events at over 100 corporate locations in 11 states. For Jason’s Deli, tapping into GroupRaise.com’s network makes their restaurants more accessible to the local community and is a huge time saver for local managers when it comes to orchestrating, planning, and tracking the success of fundraising events. GroupRaise’s goal is to be a great business partner in building authentic, sustainable community outreach for its restaurant partners. For a full list of participating locations, visit www.groupraise.com or to learn how to get your restaurants involved, email info@groupraise.com or call 1(888) 701-3267.

 

Contact:

Kevin Valdez
kevin@groupraise.com
Phone: 832-316-7676
http://www.GroupRaise.com

If you’re dining out on a budget, chances are you’ve come across Restaurant.com, a website that serves up 45,000 discounted gift certificate options a day to restaurants ranging from Gibsons to Giordano’s and 18,000 other establishments in Chicago and across the country.

The concept is simple: Restaurants provide the site with $10 to $100 gift certificates, which it sells at a discount to consumers. The company keeps proceeds from the sale. Restaurants get the business plus marketing support and customer data.

But it took two failed attempts before CEO Cary Chessick hit on his $50-million recipe for success.

Continue reading . . .

by Mark Smith

Technology has changed the way people communicate with each other. These advances have made the world a smaller place. Information in every form can be held right in your pocket and social media services are on the front line of this massive information push.

According to Packaged Facts, a leading market research publisher, 31% of frequent diners use computers to place their orders, while another 21% use their cellphones or other portable device.

But many restaurants today are still left sitting at the cutting board trying to figure out a successful recipe for social marketing, while the early adopters are reaping the rewards of a lucrative, successful social media push. It can be the icing on the cake if it is handled correctly, and it can leave a bad taste in your mouth if your social media recipe lacks the flavor it needs to spread like a nice cream cheese.

People are hungry and they are hungry for much more than food. They want to feel connected and social media allows them to feel as if they are a part of the whole restaurant family. It makes things much more personal and it does it faster than instant coffee.

Giving people what they want is just the first step to a successful social marketing recipe. The days of newspaper ads and restaurants sponsoring local sports teams as a means to advertise their name and brand are slowly crumbling and becoming stale. Keeping things fresh and spicy are a key ingredient.

Social Media Services

There are many popular social media services available today, and they each offer a different kind of customer base. Many restaurants fail to see this. Free services like Twitter and Facebook don’t simply reside on a personal computer at home, they also have apps that can be used on smart phones, allowing real time communication between friends and family members who can, and will be customers, but only if the restaurant has a social media presence.

Facebook users are typically more engaged in everything that they do. They are also always on the go and they like to tell their friends and family where they  are and what they are doing, and that includes dining out.

Users can “check-in” with their mobiles phones and all of their friends and family are instantly aware of their location. One customer can quickly grow into several instantly and that is just the appetizer.  The full course comes when a user tells all of his friends and family just how good the service and food was.

Facebook users are foodies and it only makes sense for restaurants to be serving up hot fresh content to hungry Facebook users, but none of this can happen if the restaurant chooses to deny this great source of potential.

Twitter offers the same benefits to people and restaurants that choose to use it, but Twitter is even more popular amongst Asian, Hispanic and African American cultures.

On Twitter, conversations happen quickly and they can spread like a media wild fire. If the topic of conversation happens to be the current meal, then others will be wanting to take part in the conversation and the meal. Good news travels fast and in the social media world it is instant.

Using social media to grow a restaurants customer base

Traditional advertising methods still work in the social media world, they are just applied a little differently. It is about creating a connection with the customer, and this can be done in several ways.

For example, Scottsdale restaurant owner Dean Slover hired a social media manager to implement a Twitter and Facebook campaign to build buzz about his soon to open RnR Restaurant and Bar.  The campaign was a success, and now Slover has over 3,800 Facebook fans and 640 followers on Twitter that he connects with to announce wine tastings, breakfast specials and menu announcements.

Discounts are the most common method of creating brand name and getting a potential social foodie into the door. Many successful social media campaigns will send out frequent discounts to special events, as well as current food specials. Hungry Facebook and Twitter users are notified instantly and in the restaurant industry that is extremely powerful. If these updates can be scheduled at the right times, they can catch people while they’re hungry and this can greatly influence their dining destination.

Some restaurants have learned that they can grow their Facebook base, and their marketing base, by offering freebies.  Del Taco, for example, has offered free shrimp taco and Big Fat Crispy Chicken Taco coupons to those on Facebook who ‘like’ them.  From that point on, the Facebook fan will be notified when Del Taco updates their information or offers a promotion.  Further, the Facebook fan’s friends will also likely be made aware of the connection.  Currently, over 215,600 people like Del Taco’s Facebook page.

Social media is much more than a simple discount

Discounts are just the tip of the iceberg. Social media is a free doorway to not only market food and special events, but to also ask customers directly what it is that they do or do not like.

In the Summer of 2010, Pizza Hut did just that. Using Facebook, Pizza Hut asked its customers to vote on whether or not they should keep their $10 Any Pizza deal. An amazing 98% of the people said yes. That is one example of the power of social media being used in the restaurant industry. Give hungry people what they want and they will be happy to gorge themselves on the offerings.

Other restaurants have been making things a bit more personal by giving chefs the social media spotlight. Chefs can talk freely about themselves and what inspires them to create such magnificent food. They can even go into extreme details of how the food is prepared and how it is cooked. This particular example is pre-selling at its best. By describing the way the food is created, the chef has just made that reader hungry for more and given them a direct invitation to join them for dinner. This simple yet effective social marketing technique can quickly spread and fill a restaurant.

This has been a huge success. It puts things on a much more personal level. Relationships are grown and the chef is now a friend that has the power to persuade hungry people to come in and have a bite to  eat. Ideas like this make it beneficial for social media users to follow a restaurant’s social media campaign. It makes them want to be a part of it and it creates long lasting relationships.

Social media for disaster recovery

Taco Bell recently put the power of social media to work for them during the short-lived lawsuit over the quality of their beef.  As news of the lawsuit began to gain traction, Taco Bell effectively used Facebook to give their side of the story, thank their fans and customers for supporting them and offer up a coupon for a free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco.

Problems happen in every line of business and they happen more frequently for restaurants. Social media can be used to stop potential problems quickly and effectively, but it must be handled correctly. This is where getting personal can make things much worse. Emotional responses not only look bad, but they can turn away customers faster than a rotten egg.

If the restaurant is at fault, then there is no harm in admitting it, in fact this is exactly what should be done. People make mistakes and do stupid things, but when those things create a negative online buzz, a restaurant can live or die by the keyboard.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House learned this earlier in the year when a manager made a racist comment in response to an email reservation.  The email was accidentally forwarded back to the customer, and Ruth’s suddenly found itself in the midst of an online firestorm which included a Facebook boycott page.  Ruth’s responded quickly and appropriately, terminating the manager and releasing a statement addressing the problem. 

Serving up social media connections a smart move

While many restaurants today are leveraging the huge benefits that social media brings to the table, there are still  many who are not.  The National Restaurant Association reports that eight out of ten restaurant operators believe that social media will continue to develop as an important marketing tool. 

According to C.W. Craig Reed, Convention Chair for the Association’s 2011 Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, “Social media savvy consumers dine out more often and show a higher level of engagement in the restaurant community than other consumers, so building a strong social media marketing strategy is a smart move for restaurateurs.”

Main Line Pizza, in Wayne, Pennsylvania, is rolling in the dough since it began using text message marketing a year ago.

“It has been very effective,” said co-owner Jennifer Saionz who handles the marketing for Main Line Pizza while husband Robert runs the restaurant’s day-to-day operations. “We plan to expand our use of it this year, because it is so cost effective.”

In the past, Jennifer has done direct mail, Valpak coupons, calendars and brochures to promote Main Line Pizza, but she has seen the effectiveness of those traditional advertising mediums decline as more and more Americans make their cell phones their primary means of communication.

“Direct mail wasn’t working as well as we had hoped since the cell phone became so popular,” said Jennifer Saionz. “We also thought texting would be a great way to promote our business to college kids to get them to come in.” Within three miles of Main Line Pizza are several colleges and universities, of which the largest is nearby Villanova University.

Main Line Pizza chose to work with 84444.com which operates a do-it-yourself text message marketing tool owned by Advanced Telecom Services. “I’m self-taught when it comes to computers and their system was very easy to use,” said Jennifer. “If you ever get stuck, all you have to do is hit the live help button in the upper right of the screen and they are there to help you.”

The first thing the Saionz’s had to do when they decided to utilize text message marketing was to create a database of its customers since all mobile marketing is opt-in marketing. That means that customers must give Main Line Pizza permission to send them text messages.

This was done through offering mobile coupons and discounts to their loyal customers. Customers could “Text MLPIZZA to 84444” to receive the special offer of the week. Then, once the customer has done so, Main Line Pizza is permitted to send them broadcast text messages in the future.

Main Line Pizza has promoted its keyword (MLPIZZA) and short code (84444) to its customers via window signs, menus, stickers on its pizza boxes, and even at the cash register. “Customers can text when they come in the store and get 10% off right there if they show me the text message,” said Robert Saoinz. “That really has helped build our database.”

The first coupon that Main Line Pizza did was to buy a large pizza and get a small for free. This was done to encourage business on Mondays and Tuesdays which are traditionally the slowest days of the week for the restaurant.

The restaurant also did a broadcast text message promotion for a special party platter for the Super Bowl. “We got an 11% return rate on the Super Bowl promotion,” said Robert. “That blew me away.”

To help grow its database of cell phone numbers, the restaurant is planning on giving away tickets to a Villanova basketball game next season through a sweepstakes on the text message system. “The more people we get in the database,” said Robert, “the more effective that our promotions will be.”

Main Line Pizza is also planning on implementing QR codes. When a customer scans its QR code from a smartphone, the customer will see Main Line Pizza’s current menu on the phone.

“Our new slogan is ‘we’re more than just pizza,’” said Jennifer.

Yes, you are Jennifer. You’re also getting a bigger slice of the local pizza market thanks to your text message marketing campaigns.

The family-owned Main Line Pizza restaurant is located in Wayne, Pennsylvania — a small town 10 miles west of Philadelphia. Owners Robert and Jennifer Saionz have been its owners for 18 years.

84444.com provides text message marketing solutions to businesses and organizations. It is owned by Advanced Telecom Services.

As the coupon and discount battles continue in the foodservice industry, a new survey conducted by Radius Global Market Research shows that consumers are increasingly influenced by factors in addition to price.

“While value is still the main driver of frequency of dining out and spend per visit, there are ways to offset that and preserve the bottom line,” says Chip Lister, Managing Director of Radius. “The consumers we spoke to had clear ideas about what would make them increase the number of times they ate outside their home.”

Radius surveyed U.S. consumers via its proprietary Know More Internet Panel about their dining behavior in the first three months of 2011. Respondents had advice for foodservice marketers across all categories—from QSR to Fine Dining.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they’d be willing to dine out more often if restaurants acted on their suggestions.  Highlights include:

1. Diners in all categories said that increased access to calorie counts and other nutritional information at restaurants would influence how often they visit. In the QSR and Fast Casual categories this health-oriented communication led all other consumer recommendations.
2. Between-meal and late-night snacks are popular with QSR diners—more than one in five would visit more if offerings were increased.
3. Fast Casual eaters want a wider variety of both chicken and breakfast menu items.  
4. Almost one in four Fast Casual diners said they’d likely act on promotions delivered via social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
5. In the Casual Dining category diners say they’d come more often for unique premium burgers.
6. Customers visiting Fine Dining establishments prove the toughest to motivate.  Nearly half of respondents indicated that their current habits could not be changed by anything other than price.

Don’t count out discounts.

While the influence of other factors is on the rise, the foodservice industry shouldn’t abandon discounts and coupons any time soon. Survey results indicate that coupons continue to be the primary way that consumers control spending when dining out. Respondents expect deals and coupons across all foodservice categories, including Fine Dining. And a vast majority of diners (86%) say they find ways to trim the bill each and every visit. That figure is up 10% since 2009.

“Our survey shows that consumers are becoming even more firmly entrenched in their value-based behavior,” adds Lister. “But it’s important for foodservice marketers to realize that there are additional ways beyond coupons to attract consumers such as menu innovation and social media promotions.”

Radius’s Know More study was conducted in March of 2011 and surveyed U.S. consumers about habits related to dining away from home. This survey was a follow-up to a similar survey conducted in 2009. Radius’s proprietary Know More panel represents more than 6.7 million households and 8 million consumers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Radius Global Market Research is one of the largest independent market research companies in the U.S. The company’s proprietary tools provide unique insights, effective processes and unmatched experience resulting in proven return on investment for leading global marketers in categories including: consumer products, financial services, pharmaceutical, communications, and traditional/new media.

The firm is No. 31 on the Honomichl listing of the top 50 U.S. market research organizations. Headquartered in New York, Radius employs more than 100 people in key markets throughout the U.S. The firm recently opened its Radius EMEA office in London.  More at: www.radius-global.com.

Mandi Welch has breakfast with her brother, Matt Tuttle, once a week at Panera Bread on Roosevelt Boulevard.

So when he persuaded her to sign up for Panera’s new customer reward program, “MyPanera,” she figured it to be just another ploy to keep her coming back another week.

But after she was given a complimentary pastry item of her choice immediately after activating her card, Welch said she instantly saw a value she can appreciate.

“It makes me want to come back, to know, ‘Hey, I can come in and get something for free – that I’ve been spending money toward something,’” said Welch, 34, a stay-at-home mom.

Continue reading . . .

Social media certainly has its benefits for those who love dining and drinking. From free drinks for Foursquare checkins, to Twitter notifications about happy hours, to Facebook messages about free food, there’s always something tasty happening online.

But the social web offers a lot more than just discounts and deals when it comes to drinking and dining. Restaurants and bars are giving social media users a backstage pass to the food and the people who make it. Chefs and restaurateurs are using social media to reveal how their dishes are made, generate familiarity with chefs and provide a means for diners to share feedback.

While customers go to lower end restaurants looking for value and discounts, higher-end restaurants think that “discounts cheapen the experience,” says Tom O’Keefe, a Boston-based restaurant tweeter and social media-focused marketer.

Continue reading . . .

Danny Barbarigos, owner of La Tasca Tapas Restaurant in downtown Arlington Heights, was interested when Groupon approached him to offer a coupon on the power-buying website.

“We tried some knock-off sites and sold maybe 30 or 40, so we decided to try this,” Barbarigos said.

The online venture quickly paid off when 2,500 Groupons offering $30 worth of food for $15 were sold in a short period of time. Even after a month, many of those customers are still coming in, he said.

Continue reading . . .

OpenTable Inc is a solutions-focused internet company that provides 1) an online, real-time network that matches reservation-taking restaurants with people looking to dine and 2) dynamic software to help restaurants optimize business operations. The company largely operates in the restaurant business much like a Priceline.com (PCLN) or Hotwire does in travel; they aim to fill excess capacity in restaurants that would have otherwise gone unfilled, and in the process create a win-win for both parties. OpenTable service is available throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. OpenTable also owns and operates toptable.com, a leading restaurant reservation site in the United Kingdom. The company, which went public in May 2009, holds an estimated 90% market share of online reservation services.

The process for using the service is simple, easy and, most importantly, free for users. You simply log onto opentable.com, search restaurants based on location and/or desired cuisine, and book reservations with the click of a button. Last minute anniversary plans got a whole lot easier with OpenTable, which also boasts a popular mobile app.

Continue reading . . .

 

Recently, Montrealer John Hartupee and his girlfriend headed to New York City for a foodie week-end.

“Burger King in the airport waiting for my flight to NYC. I’ll consider this my amuse-bouche for Eleven Madison Park!” he tweeted.

When he got to Eleven Madison Park (has four stars from the New York Times), they sent out extra amuse bouches under silver domes. Each had mini lamb burgers on them. “We hope these are better than the one you had at the airport,” the server smiled. Is it stalking?

Nope. It’s what Twitter-happy restaurateurs would call personalized service. If your birth date is on Facebook, don’t be alarmed if a hostess wishes you a Happy Birthday! On the other hand, if you forgot the name of the wine you liked at a restaurant, well, tweet and ask.

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Four years ago, generous benefits and opportunities for advancement convinced Leigh Swanson to use her new master’s degree in human resources to manage a Starbucks cafe. She called it one of the best workplaces she had ever experienced.

Then, in 2007, with the coffee chain in the midst of a building binge, the worst downturn since the Great Depression hit, hammering Starbucks’ bottom line. Sharp cost-cuts, the introduction of corporate efficiency tools like scheduling software and an increased emphasis on pushing product sales have helped the company return to record profitability.

They also led Swanson to quit in May. The disappearing perks and the financial fixes dampened her enthusiasm for recruiting potential new partners, as Starbucks calls its employees. “I found it really sad. I was really invested,” said Swanson, who was in charge of a Starbucks in the Florida Panhandle. “I just didn’t feel proud anymore. I wasn’t in it to manage a McDonald’s.”

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Twitter, people keep telling me, has become a vitally important tool for restaurants to keep in touch with their fans, their friends and their regulars. I follow maybe 50 different local restaurants on Twitter. 50 or 60, plus some of the bigger out-of-state operations, a few from back in Denver, and a couple chefs who have feeds of their own. I check in not religiously, but probably four or five times a week, looking specifically for restaurant news, interesting happenings, updates and what-have-you. I would maybe check a little bit more often, except for one thing.

No restaurant ever has anything interesting to say on Twitter.

Or almost never, anyway.

Until now.

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Whenever we decide to run an e-mail marketing campaign, we tend to agonize over the content and how to maximize our results. The first objective should always be, what are the results I’m trying to achieve with the campaign? Who am I targeting? These are critical questions that must be answered before you can ever hope to have a successful e-mail marketing campaign.

My wife and I own a Prime Steak House and due to the economic times have had to reposition our dinner menu, we now offer an eight item menu of dinners priced twenty-one to twenty-eight dollars and each entree includes two sides. This is a major shift from our initial a la carte menu we offered when we first opened. The word on the street is that we are a pricey restaurant and to avoid unless you bring your checkbook, or are celebrating a special occasion. Our goal is to re-educate our customers through our new menu and multiple advertising campaigns. We recently ran a campaign where we sent an offer to our top two thousand rewards customers, the offer was a buy one, get one free. The offer was for our new menu items only. The results were fantastic and I honestly feel we are on the right track towards re-educating our clientele. Direct marketing through the mail is a great way to get your message out; it brings in the best results, although the price can be prohibitive.

We are now assembling an e-mail campaign to try and expedite the process and start a viral marketing campaign. The results we are trying to achieve are to bring in all the rewards customers we have that have never visited our Steak House. We own two other restaurants that are casual and upscale casual, in total our three restaurants have over twenty three thousand rewards customers. Our goal is to tap into this massive database and make it work for us, driving in as much new business and first timers as possible, including friends and family of our rewards members.

In the past, this type of campaign would have been too costly to direct advertise to our entire database. The key is to make sure when you capture your customer’s information; you get their e-mail address. We have over ten thousand current e-mail addresses. Our objective is to take these ten thousand plus addresses and leverage them. We are going to send out an offer to our rewards customers, thanking them for their patronage during this awful summer weather we’re having and let them know the weather might keep away the tourists; but thankfully our faithful members never let us down. It is for this reason we will give every member an offer to come in and dine with us and receive the second entrée half off. We will then give our members the ability to forward this e-mail to their friends and family. If every one forwarded this e-mail to two to four friends, the results would be staggering. I’ve never launched a campaign of this magnitude; I think the potential results could push our summer business over last years. In this economy, if you can grow your business, you’re in the minority. Our goal is to maintain our relationship with our customers and create a win/win situation where everyone benefits.

Communication is the key to marketing, leveraging your database in a viral marketing campaign can unlock the results you’ve only dreamed of. What are you waiting for, put your database to work for you today. One last thing, if you unleash this potential onslaught, you’d better be staffed and be ready to handle the business. The last thing you want to do is have the results turn into a negative.

Richard Varano
Restaurant Masterminds