Nearly all of the clients I have are owners of franchised restaurants - and = one thing they nearly always have in common is that they have limited `marketing dollars’ above and beyond the % they already pay to corporate to market the brand-name. That said, they do have SOME dollars and the decisions as to whether to sponsor a youth team, local charity golf tournament, do limited in-store marketing via bouncebacks, or buy billboards - are important image and marketing decisions.
When choosing to spend those limited dollars, it’s probably best to `do both’ - local image building and REAL marketing such as billboards. One of the `advantages’ that comes from using my services - doing what I call the MarketView — is that the owner knows the CUSTOMER BASE SIZE and type of user - of every individual unit in a market. And, based on that information - the owner knows which units are best and worst in converting their total customer base into `heavy’ users (some chains define this as the once a week customer, others, the once a month customer). Accordingly, the owner then has some direction from the research on how to spend those precious and limited local marketing dollars.
Much more on Customer Base Estimates in future posts - or - find out more at my squidoo website www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys.
TODAY’S RESTAURANT LINKS
Are Fast Food Building Restrictions Constitutional?
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71377 Michael Ackley does a satire piece about how `gray’ the law becomes when thinking of `fast food restaurants’. A quick two minute read you don’t want to miss.
The Rise of the Breakfast Segment
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jGpPSjXCwpcs-JKUmPG3Gy5sht8QD92BG2380 Excellent article on how chains are increasingly looking at breakfast items as the way to more sales. Denny’s new containers and IHOP’s increase in take out over the past year is examined; as well as the reasons the FF chains have been successful in stealing the business from the sit-down breakfast eateries. Notes that some chains are thinking of offering breakfast items all day long. Finally gets into new offerings from FF restaurants including Carl’s Jr new product: “that features two eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese between grilled sourdough bread.”
Forget The Free Food and Drink Refills
http://www.startribune.com/business/26188614.html?location_refer=Most%20Emailed:Homepage:12 This story covers the many ways that restaurant owners are mitigating the increase in prices for foods and the increasing reluctance of patrons to eat out often. Here’s a quote from the 3 minute article:
The real problem, they argue, is that many large chains overbuilt at a time when Americans were starting to pull back on restaurant spending….Now, unable to raise prices to match rising wholesale food costs, so-called “menu makeovers” have become increasingly common
America’s WORST Restaurants For Kids Revealed
http://www.emediaworld.com/press_release/release_detail.php?id=120323 WOW - amazing article that GRADES each chain for offerings and other attributes related to healthy eating. Getting A’s were Chick-Fil-A, Subway and Wendy’s - Getting F’s were Applebees, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster and T.G. I. Friday’s. A 3 minute, must read article.
