Featured Blog Posts – April 2012 Archive (30)

In this digital age, most businesses have managed to stay afloat with a potential growth on the horizon despite economic struggles. Social media has played a huge role in marketing and businesses have grasped this concept to continually expand their brand. Restaurants are no exceptions. Just like any growing…

I was reminded how insular the foodservice equipment and supplies industry can be when I went to a recent meeting. While attending the SFM’s workshop for vendors, I noticed that all talk centered around the procurement of comestibles. Supply chain management for the foodservice contract management firms revolves around their food buys. The purchasing by these largest of end-users pay scant attention, if any, to E&S specifications.

Although this is a mostly proper strategy for…

The following survey covers 10 critical imperatives to help emerging chains (and especially multitasking executives) determine how much purchasing is costing their business. This quick evaluation may help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, so you can make an informed decision about purchasing and the resources required to support profitable growth.



Your Survey Key: (1 - 5 )…

Since it is impossible for hospitality owners and operators to be on premises during all business hours, it is extremely important for the assistant managers to communicate current policies and procedures through daily logs and pre-shift meetings.

Communication is of utmost importance for superb hospitality service which involves preparation, awareness, organization and execution. Restaurants are always in a state of flux, so the best way to keep continuity is for assistant…

You probably have heard all about the benefits about using social media for your restaurant and all the different types, but do you actually know how to use it effectively? Connection to these sites allows restaurants to have almost 24 hour access to their customers and what's even better is that it's free advertising. When was the last time Facebook asked someone to pay to post how good their Starbucks frappacino was? However, if a restaurant wants to be successful in creating a social…

Reported by foodem.com, the online wholesale food marketplace-

Building and growing a business definitely takes time and a great deal of effort. Aside from getting a business off the ground, attracting new and keeping existing customers…

I’m working on a longterm project for a fast-growing concept, with operations already scattered over four states and more to open this year.  It’s an exciting time for this company: the concept’s been refined to enable fast growth, the capital’s in hand, and performance is strong.

One of the essential controls which was recently reinforced…

Sometimes, when you’ve been in your role for a while, it doesn’t seem like anything changes.  Work may become mundane or, perhaps, less challenging, especially when you have seen few prospective opportunities.  And, then…



Everything changes.  



A leader resigns.  A co-worker is…

A recent study showed that men are more creative when drinking beer. Whether this is true or not, the study may lead to bars and restaurants being more bold in advertising their happy hours. Indeed, restaurants and bars are increasingly turning to social media and mobile campaigns to promote happy hour specials. They may advertise on their websites or their Facebook pages, or they may push messaging via cell phones.

Happy hour advertising may seem like a great way to draw in…

Reported by foodem.com, the online wholesale food marketplace-

Each time you open your internet browser it seems as if there is a new company on the rise. It may be a “tech” company, a new restaurant, an e-commerce…

Every week, restaurants come to us to discuss having us take over their marketing initiatives. When they do so, this is a two way interview. Obviously the restaurant wants to see what we are all about, and if we are suitable for their needs. We however also want to interview the restaurant, learn about them, what they have been doing with their marketing, where they…

Here's a visual outline of the recent changes - many new opportunities to use images to promote your business...

Recently I sat in my therapist’s office all ready to bark at the moon and lay blame for all my issues on my mother, the kid that aimed at me in dodge ball and possibly Nixon. But the session turned into a warm and fuzzy remembrance of the man who turned my life around.

In high school we had a…

If you are anything like me, you like to dig into things. The more I look into, the more I learn. The more I learn, the better job my firm can do for our restaurant partners.



One thing I always find curious when I'm digging around the internet, is when I see a restaurant's social media property, where they have a fairly large group of fans or followers.…

Awhile back I wrote a blog post with tips on getting hired (or not), of which this is a continuation on this series for those in the process of job hunting.  The next post in this series will be: Is Your Resume getting to First Base in the Hospitality Business?

Many…

And now…I will shed some light on a—not so little—secret of organizational life.

There are some over-eager beavers, who deftly scramble up the political and positional ladder seemingly salivating at the prospect of power. Their mastery of corporate gamesman/woman-ship does not guarantee that they are the “sharpest knives in the drawer.” All too often, my experience has shown that if you were to strip away their job title, many lack the influence or substance for making critical…

Groupon and the other deal sites had a great 2011.

The total “deal” volume grew a whopping 140%! So that should mean a big lift for restaurants, especially independent restaurants, that sell a majority of daily deals, right?

Unfortunately, the data reveals that visits actually fell while money was siphoned out of the restaurant industry. …

Your restaurant is well established on Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp, but what about the onslaught of newly-popular social media outlets? Pinterest, Foodspotting, foursquare, and FohBoh all cater to food or restaurants. Pinterest and Foodspotting both revolve around pictures, which we all know is a strong way to sell your restaurant’s fresh, beautiful delicacies. Brands are already marketing through these lesser-known venues, so don’t be the last one on board!…

For the past few years, we’ve heard industry leaders and visionaries telling us that social media was going to change the way businesses interacted with their customers, and vice versa.  Notably, most of these leaders were not from the retail, restaurant, food manufacturing, or consumer products industries, but from the various internet communities and social media hubs.  We all listened as people like Mark…