Vine Solutions Presents: Every Day Value, The Restaurant Accounting and Operations Blog » Restaurant Marketing

Is your Restaurant on Twitter yet?

Vine Admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:34:05 +0000

You may have thought it was just a fad, but the fact is that Twitter seems to be a new media source that is going to be around for awhile. However, for the restaurant business, this may be a good thing. Twitter has found a new way to provide customer interaction and has provided a new outlet for marketing and promotional opportunities. Restaurants such as 1300 on Fillmore, and Yoshi’s have taken advantage of sharing their special events and menus while everyday gaining a larger follower base.

How do you use it?:

Sign up for a free account: Pick your username carefully as that is how your customers will be able to identify and search for you.
Update your profile to include a link to your website and a brief overview of your restaurant’s concept.
Tweet (Post) relevant information that your customers would appreciate including menu specials, promotions and special events.
Start following other food industry Tweeters. Not only will this provide you with ideas and information to tweet about, but you can also re-tweet (RT) important news and resources for your customers.
Sign up for a URL shortener, like bit.ly so you can post other links to websites and stories. This also helps track how many people clicked on your link so you can analyze what information is most used by your followers, and who is re-tweeting your original link.
Restaurants are also focusing on special twitter promotions where a secret word is tweeted and diners can use the word for an extra discount. By doing this and tracking the people who get the discount you can measure the effectiveness of your twitter page.
Add your twitter to directories such as wefollow or twellow to generate further traffic.
Put a link on your website to your twitter page.
Post updates to your twitter on a regular basis. Interact with other users. Remember, the more quality information you provide the more likely people will keep following you!

Remember that Twitter does take constant upkeep; make sure you have a dedicated ‘tweeter’ on staff. However, over time your marketing efforts should pay off, and this free service can be turned around into gaining a loyal customer base.

Vine Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and has offices in Corte Madera and Santa Monica, California. Vine Solutions, Inc., provides accounting and financial advisory services to a variety of high volume independent restaurants and regional chains. For more information, e-mail Vine Solutions at info@vinesolutions.com, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/VineSolutions or read our blog at restaurantaccountingblog.com.

Is your Restaurant Rewarding your Regulars?

Vine Admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:48:34 +0000

Unfortunately, restaurants of today cannot rely on foot traffic alone to sustain the clientele needed for a successful business. Twitter and Facebook have changed the face of restaurant marketing, and has made it obvious that restaurant operators need to become actively participatory in generating their own business. However, there are many operators out there who may not be quiet ready to delve into the world of social media marketing. If this is the case for you, don’t worry, there are other options for marketing your restaurant. Now may be the ideal time to look into creating a Member Rewards Program to gain a strong repeat client base while also rewarding those customers who may soon become your ‘regulars.’

Much like the airline industry has learned, giving rewards to your loyal clientele base can become big payoff for you business. Open Table, the online restaurant reservation system, has also started their own Dining Rewards program to generate repeat customers to using their booking services. Registered members earn points for every reservation made and honored through their system. Once enough points are earned, members are rewarded with an Open Table Dining Cheque that is good at any of their client’s restaurants.

Single unit Restaurants can also take advantage of this type of program. Accademia di Vino, a wine bar in New York City, offers a Member Rewards Program where a point is given for every dollar spent. Points can then be used for rewards on their next visit, or if a total of 250 points are accrued, members are given a credit of $25 on their account.

If you have not yet visited the idea of a Member Rewards Program, now may be the perfect time to do so. People are looking for the great deals that will help them save money while still enjoying the eateries that they love.

Get Involved! Share our Strength’s Great American Dine Out

Vine Admin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:17:46 +0000

Great American Dine Out

Being in the restaurant industry we are constantly surrounded by food, and we forget that food, to some, is a scarce resource. Not just abroad, but here in America, 12 million children will worry about having enough food by the end of this year. As a restaurateur, you can be an active participant in helping to change this statistic.

Share our Strength is a national organization who is working to make sure that no child grows up hungry in America. Last year, more than 4,000 restaurants, 15 sponsors and millions of customers participated, from coffee shops to fine dining establishments. Offering a range of events, including Taste of the Nation and Great American Dine Out, Share our Strength has raised over $245 million and provided support for over 1,000 nonprofits working to end hunger.

Elissa Phillips, the Director of Southern CA Operations for Vine Solutions has been involved with Share our Strength for six years, for the past three years as the co-chair for the Taste of the Nation, Los Angeles event. We encourage all of our partners, friends and clients to get involved and support this charitable cause.

The 2009 Great American Dine Out is one of Share our Strength’s events. This event is taking place on September, 20-26. During this week, be sure to dine at participating restaurants to help support the campaign. If you are interested in participating, you can help in various ways from donating a set percentage of sales to creating special menus or promotions. To find our more information as to how you can get involved, view the Share our Strength website.