Barry Chandler's Blog (310)

Everybody loves to read something nice. That goes double when the something nice is about your business. “Had a great time Friday night!” “The new sound system rocks!” “Your toilet paper is the softest!” It’s all good.

But what happens when a customer (gasp!) has a complaint? Be it food quality or customer service, the always-right patron will occasionally have a beef with some aspect of their experience.

In the world of social media that dissatisfaction will most often…

If you build it, they will come. Don’t jump to conclusions! Good service and food are essential, but a sound promotional plan should be the base on which to establish your restaurant. If your business is already running, you may want to make sure you are promoting to the best of your ability. If you’re a new business, putting together a smart promotional plan should be the start. Remember, food and service doesn’t always mean success.

Analyze Your Situation

Your…

Today, smart restaurant marketers focus on building relationships and creating meaningful interactions by engaging audiences through multiple channels. Your ability to understand the consumer and stay in tune with current trends ensures that you stay in front of the right people in order to build a strong following, and stay relevant in an ever-changing marketplace. This infographic shows the Top Restaurant Marketing Trends of 2013 to help you target consumers in smart and influential…

Sports bars are amidst a very unique market. Promoting and marketing one allows for unique, informal, and outside the box ways of doing so. They can tend to come a dime a dozen so setting yours apart from others is very crucial. These methods can show that you mean business, and failure to do so can mean the end of yours.

Support Local Teams

Show you customers that you are on their side. Fans want a place that feels like home where they can feel comfortable rooting for…

You might have the best food in town, but if customers don’t order it, your restaurant is doomed. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your menu is the best it can be. Taking a few simple steps to plan, organize, and design your menu can make a world of difference to your restaurant’s success. Here are 20 ideas that can help you take your restaurant menu to the next level.

1. Organize your menu logically.

Don’t make your customers perform a…

Upselling is an important part of any bar or restaurant’s marketing and sales strategy and an obvious way to boost revenue. However, there’s a delicate balance between offering helpful suggestions to your customers and becoming an annoyance.

Every bar and restaurant strives to ensure its guests have the most enjoyable and comfortable dining experience possible, and therefore, the last thing service staff should do is overly push them to order extra things they may not want. But, on…

You know what’s better than celebrating Cinco de Mayo? Celebrating it on the weekend! The party gods have smiled on us this year, allowing our favorite dia de la fiesta to fall on a Sunday… this Sunday… so let’s get this party started! You don’t have to be a Mexican restaurant to offer something special to your guests for Cinco de Mayo, so grab those sombreros, mix the margaritas and check out our five favorite ways to rock the 5^th of May!…

In the past few years, as social media has boomed, most major companies have chosen to connect to their customers through these types of mediums. This has become an important tool for learning about what customers truly want and as a way to engage with them as never before. However, as effective as social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, can be in improving relations with customers, they could just as easily hurt them. This means that maintaining strong security on your social…

These days, more and more diners are turning to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets to quickly find information about nearby restaurants, bars and reservations. But did you know that the majority of restaurant websites are not designed or optimized for mobile use? According to Google research, over 60 percent of people using mobile devices return to Google in order to find…

So, your bar or restaurant is doing well, but you keep hearing the relentless buzzword “social media.” You are eager to jump on this social media train – but where do you start? Facebook and …

These days nearly everyone is on Facebook, and if you want to run a successful business your business has to be on Facebook as well. Many business owners can see this as just another chore, but having a successful Facebook presence can increase revenue as well as your customer base. If done right, using Facebook for bar marketing can be easy, and profitable.

The Do’s

1. Do put all your relevant business information on your Facebook…

Loyal customers love to keep up-to-date with their favorite establishments. Restaurants have the unique opportunity to communicate with their customers via newsletters. They show your customer base that care about your employees and customers to go above and beyond when it comes to communications.

First and foremost – decide whether you should implement a hard copy, email version, or both! You can repurpose content across multiple platforms. Have in-house copies for customers to snag…

Creating a unique signature cocktail that sells takes the right mix of creativity, ingredients and craftsmanship.

Mixologists are continually striving to put a new spin on popular cocktails that will make them a stand-out crowd pleaser on the menu. So what are some of today’s top bars and restaurants shaking or stirring up at the bar?

According to a recent National Restaurant Association’s…

Sometimes it is best to stick to what you know. Why change what’s worked for you for so long? However, sometimes making some changes can be beneficial for business and increase profits. Here are twelve improvements to consider:

Update your surroundings.

Is the vinyl on your booths and barstools well-worn or ripped? Have you updated your decor since your grand opening? Investing in updating your bar or restaurant’s appearance can make a huge difference that will pay…

From artisan craft cocktails to shareable plates and mobile apps, let’s explore some of the top trends that bars and restaurant owners should be paying attention to this year according to industry experts.

Food

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) surveyed more…

In 2012 alone, more than 770 million smartphones were shipped. That number is projected to increase by 30% in 2013. It seems as if almost everyone from your 10-year-old niece to your 70-year-old grandma knows the ins and outs of operating a smartphone. With that being said, one of the most enticing aspects of having a smart phone is the use of applications. As of October 2012, Android had more than 700,000 apps and as of Jan. 2013, Apple had 775,000. Keeping these astounding figures in mind,…

What’s This Pinterest Business?

Pinterest is an excellent platform to leverage whether you are seeking an innovative way to increase profits for your bar or restaurant or you simply want to keep up-to-date on social media trends. Incorporating what appears to be the fastest-growing social media site into your marketing strategy is an effective tool to add to your arsenal.

With more than…

Bars and restaurants everywhere are continuing to go digital — including iPad menus at the table. But how big is this trend and will it eventually replace paper menus in every bar or restaurant? Many believe they will but perhaps not so quickly…

According to the 2013 Restaurant Industry Forecast by the National Restaurant Association, in-house iPad menus are one…

Along with factors related to location, concept and marketing, one of the keys to determining a restaurant or bar’s success is the quality of its staff. How well a kitchen and dining room functions on a daily basis impacts just about everything the business is trying to accomplish.

Since that process starts with the management team, it’s probably a good idea that those hires are some of your strongest assets. Hiring a solid manager means targeting specific strengths that will give the…