Marketing Lessons: What The Restaurant Business Can Teach All Aspiring Entrepreneurs!
Most (if not all of you), -us-, have eaten in some type of restaurant before, correct?
And whether it’s upscale and or your standard, independently owned, Mom & pop style.
One thing is for sure, the restaurant business, is extremely challenging, on a lot of levels, is it not?
The owners face more than their fair share of challenges, do they not?
So it pretty much stands to reason, if the owners manage to overcome their particular challenges, there are plenty of potentially valuable and profitable lessons, they can teach all (or most!) aspiring entrepreneurs.
Would you not agree? Great, so let’s have a closer look under the hood and see what potentially profitable marketing lessons can and definitely should be learned.
So Who Else Wants To Learn Some Potentially Profitable Marketing Lessons From The Mom And Pop Restaurant Business?
First of all, while it may not seem painfully obvious, most independently owned, Mom & pop restaurant owners, have an awful lot of, ongoing, upfront expenses.
And some of them are major. For example. Of course, this is the giant overview look from at least 30,000 feet. 😀 But their ongoing labor costs (of all kinds!), are one of their two major expenses.
They have commercial leases and or monthly rent they need to pay, correct? They have the hard costs of all the goods they sell.
They have constant issues, with waste,food spoilage and ongoing employee and or associate thefts of various kind, do they not? 😀
They need various forms of Insurance, ongoing costs to purchase much needed equipment. From time to time, they have to spend money on newer equipment upgrades.Right?
Not All Marketing Strategies Instantly Lead To Profitability!
Or they repair current equipment. Food and labor costs constantly tend to fluctuate. Is anybody officially having fun yet?
They have ongoing marketing and or promotional costs, in order to get patrons, initially coming to and back to the restaurant, do they not? They also have various administrative costs, such as bookkeepers and or CPA’s (Certified Public Accountants), lawyers, and ongoing costs for the various licenses, they must -by law- keep up to date etc.
They have higher utility costs in both the brutally hot summers and brutally cold winters etc.
Some Must Learn Marketing Lessons Are Truly Universal!
With all this said, imagine this, with all of these ongoing upfront costs, which continuously fluctuate over time. Can you imagine an extremely resourced challenged, Mom & pop family style restaurant, doing the following.
Picture this; they have their entire facility, filled to maximum legal capacity. And the patrons are ordering both deserts and the more expensive, main course meals.
The higher end alcoholic beverage sales are way up too! So far so good, correct? 😀 And to -totally- top things off, they have an extremely anxious crowd, both in the lobby and waiting outside, to be seated.
So where’s the potential downside you ask? Correct?
Even Your Highly Developed Entrepreneurial Skills Can’t Overcome Bad Business Decisions!
Here’s the rub. Imagine, as each patron -ultimately- finished their meal, deserts and drinks and their table finally gets cleared.
The waiter and waitresses, can not begin seating and serving the new patrons, because each time the dishes were brought to the kitchen, they were either piled in the sink, left uncleaned or thrown out altogether! Say what?
Stop and let this mishap sink in for just a minute! Does this sound even remotely plausible? Probably not, right? Two major questions beg asking.
1.) Major potential question # one: Why in the world, aren’t those dishes, immediately being washed? Right? So they can be used over and over again? Hopefully for many years to come!
(Extremely important note: Entrepreneur, you’ll see the total relevance of these two critically important questions, in just a little bit. So please hang on.
Some Times Extremely Practical Marketing Tips Can Lead To Some Of Your Biggest Breakthroughs!
2.) Major potential question # two: Next, why in the world, would any semi cash strapped restaurant owner, continuously throw away, perfectly good plates and utensils?
Only to be forced, to have to constantly go buy new ones? And thus, continually drive up their cost of doing business!
Not too smart correct? Absolutely. No arguments from me. But by the same token. Why would any, semi cash strapped, and resourced challenged entrepreneurs, constantly settle for one and done transactions with their customers, patients and or clients?
When they can and definitely should be systematically creating some form of ongoing marketing leverage, by either offering their customers, some type of market tested upsell and or, extremely time sensitive ‘bounce back’ offer (s!)
And even further, why would any resourced challenged entrepreneur, simply give up completely, on an inactive customer altogether, and or simply allow a temporarily disgruntled customer, to become a permanent ex customer and or patient!
Whose constantly all over social media, making their discontent known, to whomever will listen to them!
Some Marketing Lessons Are Simply Far Too Expensive! (Don’t You Agree?)
Because in order to create another brand new first time customer/client, it typically costs 500% more!
So just like the restaurateur, simply throwing dishes and other vitally necessary utensils away, after a one time use.
Entrepreneur, if you’re not currently doing everything within your power, to hang on to your current customer/client base. In essence, you’re doing and repeating, the exact same mistake.
Hopefully now, you much better understand and truly appreciate, one of the most vitally important and potentially profitable marketing lessons, you can and definitely must learn, from the Mom & pop restaurant business. Any questions?
P.S. Now as is customary during this part of our show. Please share your extremely valuable comments (in the comments section below)
that you can apply to your business, product or service in the next 30 days or less!
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