There are many ways that you can dramatically increase your sales, but the only real way to determine the success of a marketing promotion is by measuring how many profit dollars it brings into your restaurant. "Profit dollars are the only thing that you can take to the bank."

The effectiveness of marketing promotions can be measured by four specific goals. Number one - Build and maintain customer loyalty. Your customers must receive the finest food and service that your restaurant can provide and you must communicate frequently with your customers on a personal level. Number two - Bring new customers into your restaurant. Recognize first time customers. Create "Magic Moments" for all the guests and keep them for life. Number three - Increase the frequency of the visits from your current and new guests through structured marketing. Number four - Maximize the amount of money each guest spends and ensure that they have an outstanding dining experience.

It is important that you deliver a quality - consistent product to your guest each and every time and to do something that will make them recognize that your restaurant is superior to your competition.

TWO MARKETING PRINCIPLES YOU MUST LIVE BY

1ST - The Size Of Your Market Area - You must own your zip codes
2ND - The Importance Of Building Positive Customer Relationships

The First Marketing Principle: When you look at the community around you it may seem as if your market is unlimited, but for most restaurants your market area generally extends to about a five-mile radius around your restaurant. The one-mile radius around your restaurant should receive 50% of your time and resources; up to 3 miles should receive an additional 30%; up to five miles an additional 16-18% and the outer limits a maximum of 2-4%.

The Second Marketing Principle: The real key to your success is dependent upon the relationship that you build with every one of your customers. How your customers "feel" about your restaurant services determines the strength of their patronage. The keys to creating fierce customer loyalty are to provide the highest quality food, outstanding customer service and personalized marketing. With proper planning and action, your restaurant will be the "Restaurant of First Choice" in your market area.

Zip Code Saturation Door Hangers is a low cost way to reach your best potential customers. We have talked about owning your zip codes. What does this mean? It means that every single customer, home, apartment or business within your market area needs to recognize you as the place to buy signature menu items. It means that you are going to have a marketing program that will focus on every one of these opportunities, every home, every apartment and every business. It means they can count on the fact that once a customer has visited your restaurant or tasted your product that you continue to market to them so they will continue to patronize your restaurant on an increased frequency basis.

Here's how you make it work for you:

1. Identify your market area. This is done primarily through detailed mapping and gathering customer demographics. You will "saturate market" the homes of potential customers with door hangers around your restaurant and as they patronize you, enroll them in your "VIP" Club to gather their names and reward their loyalty. Work hard to build a customer database including at a minimum, their email address. We know that the customer groups that will show you the best return are within three miles around your restaurant.

Let me emphasize that next to email, door hanging is by far the most effective and inexpensive way that you can distribute marketing materials. But it is important that you set up procedures and processes so that the individuals who receive your materials actually want to receive them and don't perceive it as "garbage." If you do door hanging promotions correctly, very few people will be upset with the marketing materials from your restaurant. The materials that you are hanging on the door needs to have a professional appearance using full color pictures and text.

Your goal is do a quality job and to distribute as many marketing pieces as you can by visiting as many homes and businesses as you can. Place promotional materials in the right place so it is not offensive to the people who receive it. The best place to put the marketing material is on or around the door handle so that it isn't blown away by the wind and easy to get by the recipient. With businesses, you will personally deliver them to the owner/manager.

Door hanging needs to be planned in every market segment around your restaurant. This is referred to as "saturation marketing." It goes to everyone, except your current customers. You need to use a map and systematically cover all of the zip codes in the 1 to 3 mile radius around your restaurant. Pay your marketing individuals or drivers based on their results; it is important that they have their initials or personal symbol on each marketing piece that they distribute. Once the customer redeems their marketing piece, the commissions are paid. Each marketing piece needs to have an expiration date identified. A week, 10 days or even two weeks in some cases is adequate time to reward these employees. The drivers can make a significant amount of extra money working at this type of marketing.

Now you tabulate the redemptions from targeted areas. You can change the promotional incentive to see which campaigns work best. Record your evaluation of each event in a calendar format. This will help jog memories when you make marketing decisions in the future.

2. If you deliver, you already have a list of customers. Use this information and your "VIP" Club to send email or direct mail with maximum profitability. Send Mailings to your current customers who respond the most, who spend the most money and give you the most bottom-line profits. Send mailings or deliver directly to New Move-Ins to increase and refresh your customer base. Give current customers a special mailing on their birthdays. Track all your customers, including what promotions they respond to and how much they spend. Send different offers to different segments of customers. You can send a postcard out for less than 50 cents. That's only $6.00 a year to keep "in touch" with your customers.

Tracking each customer by computer is the foundation of the "neighborhood" marketing techniques. Knowing what each customer does in response to your marketing is part of building a relationship. Organize to give customers their demonstrated preferences. The customers are within "communication reach" of your business by regular mail or email; actively or passively.

Marketing Time Frames:

First 30 days: Begin marketing using your database. Send out Bounce-Backs, Birthday Offers, and other Special Offers. Be aware that simple targeted offers show the best returns. You must establish an on-going marketing program that delivers a consistent message and builds customer loyalty.

If guests have not returned to your restaurant within 60 days: Send out Thank-You notes, Birthday Offers and Value-Added Marketing Offers. Send a "We Miss You" offer. These customers may be ordering from your competitor and you want them back.

After 90 days: Send out a more generous offer. If these customers have not bought from you for 90 days, then you can be assured that they are looking elsewhere to dine. When a customer does buy from you for a period of time and then stops, you need to market to get them back. This is called marketing to "lost" or "lazy" customers and the goal is to get them back into your restaurant at least once a month.

After 120 days: Send out an absolutely "FREE" offer with no strings attached.

Focus and organization are the keys to strategic and tactical marketing.