By Greg McGuire
Guest Blogger

A common misconception in the food service business is that booking live music takes more time and effort than it’s worth.  The process of finding bands, paying them, and providing enough space for them to perform can be a distraction at best and a downright money loser at worst, or so the theory goes.

Yet many establishments have proven time and again over the years that bringing in local bands is a great way to connect with local customers, and if done right, live music can become a lucrative marketing technique for any restaurant.

Denver based Smashburger, an emerging fast casual chain, has shown just how effective tapping into the local music scene can be for a new restaurant.  The company’s Rock Your City program encourages local bands to submit their videos via YouTube prior to the grand opening of a new location.  Smashburger then selects the best applicants and posts their videos to the company website so that fans can vote on the best one.  The winners get to play at the new location on opening day in exchange for free burgers, plus a local radio broadcast.

Free burgers may not draw the next U2, but Rock Your City events definitely do draw crowds of young people coming out to see their favorite bands.  And because Smashburger engages this audience beforehand by encouraging votes for the winning gig, they ensure a dedicated and reliable local audience on opening day.

Boosting engagement among younger customers is a goal any restaurant would like to accomplish.  If you’ve got the space and an inclination for live music, keep these tips in mind before you rock out your own establishment:

Take advantage of the band’s existing marketing efforts. A good band plays good music, obviously.  But in an age of social media and the internet, any band even remotely serious about their prospects will have at least a preliminary marketing effort online.  And since both you and the band want people to show up for their gig in your restaurant, this is a great opportunity for you to advertise to the band’s fans through their existing marketing infrastructure.

Have the band post a link to your website on their site, their Facebook, and their Twitter account, and get them to email their fan list about the gig with some more information about your business.

Let your customers tell you who they want to hear. Smashburger’s strategy of taking submissions then allowing fans to vote for the winning gig is the perfect way to get the most mileage out of a live music gig before the band ever steps foot on the stage.  Besides, you don’t want to trust your personal music tastes, which may or may not jibe with those of your customers.

Incorporate live music into your own marketing efforts. Include links to YouTube clips of the bands that are going to perform in your establishment on your website.  Post live music schedules throughout your restaurant and email your customers when their favorite bands have a gig.  If you’ve got a newer band playing, promote drink specials to get people in the door, where (hopefully) they’ll turn into new fans.

Live music is a great way to connect with your customers and turn them into regulars.  It doesn’t take nearly as much work as you might think, and the payoff in new business can make it more than a worthwhile endeavor.

Greg McGuire blogs about the foodservice industry at The Back Burner, which is written by the employees of Tundra Specialties, a company specializing in restaurant equipment and food service supplies. 

By David Scott Peters

As I explained in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this series of restaurant marketing ideas, you can’t wait for your customers to find you. You have to go to them. This next idea, Part 4 in the series, covers a traditional public relations idea of working with your local media. As an independent restaurant owner, you have to flex your local muscle and become friends with the local media. It will reap rewards for your business as they think of you the next time they need to do a free live remote, or have an opening for a guest, or need their holiday luncheon catered. You never know where the business will come from, but it usually starts with relationships. Read to find out more.

Freebies

Objective:

• Create awareness
• Implement trial
• Increase participation

Basic Idea: Work with local radio stations to give away catered office parties on air once every two weeks on a Friday in order to promote store’s catering abilities. Make sure the demographics of the radio station you choose align with your target customer.

Discuss the opportunity with the promotional director of the radio station. If desired, the number of office party freebies could tie-in with such things as the radio station’s call letters, the 12 days of Christmas, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day and more. The products could also be considered part of a “trade” for additional advertising for the business.

How to Implement: Approach radio stations with the office giveaway concept and offer to execute it during ratings periods which occur several times during the year. Consider your food costs when working with radio stations on office giveaways.

Other Considerations: Provide the morning and late-night DJs of local radio stations with drinks and baked goods and to the lunch time DJs, supply free deli sandwiches, pizza, etc., on a sporadic or regular basis depending upon the costs per DJ.

Whether you implement these ideas yourself, or hire a public relations agency to do it for you, I hope the ideas I have shared with you get you started on your guerilla marketing adventures.

Just remember, have your restaurant in order first, then GET OUT! You’ll be amazed at the kind of immediate response you can generate by getting out from inside your four walls.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, coach, trainer and speaker, specializing in systems for independent restaurant owners. He is the nationally acclaimed restaurant coach whose unique “SMART Systems” approach to boosting profits has earned him the title of, “The man who can walk into any restaurant in America and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door – Guaranteed!” Visit www.TheRestaurantExpert.com for more. Learn more tips, tricks and secrets in David’s free five-part e-course, “How to Explode Your Restaurant Profits NOW!” Simply sign up to receive the e-course at TheRestaurantExpert.com.

By David Scott Peters

This series of marketing ideas for restaurants is all about getting out of your restaurant. You can take to the streets and give people a reason to come in as I described in Part 1 of this series. You can go to the people around you and show them what they’re missing not coming in as I outlined in Part 2 of this series, and you can take your inside outside. Read on for Part 3 on how to generate more restaurant business fast. 

Music to My Ears

Objective:

• Boost weekend business
• Increase community goodwill

Basic Idea: Have local musicians playing inside or outside store location. (For the purpose of this article, think outside.)

How to Implement: Once the performance is scheduled, the key is to advertise to area customers at least two to three weeks in advance.

In suburban locations, weekends (Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons) can be a good time, particularly if your store is in a busy shopping area. It can draw attention to your store and possibly bring in new customers.

In a downtown location, space permitting, on a bright and sunny day you can have musicians immediately outside the store’s location, especially during lunch in order to provide a lighthearted and fun environment for customers and local area employees.

The cost for musicians, whether you hire professionals/paid musicians, will depend mainly on the local market conditions. The best resource for contacting professionals is your local area radio station DJs or the phone book.

Another option is to use gratis (free) musicians from the local community universities, high schools or community organizations who are interested in having an audience for their music and are happy to play in exchange for that opportunity. A major benefit for gratis musicians is that they will bring supporters, parents, friends, etc., to your location during their performance.

Music Type: Use your imagination. Pick music related to your customer base.

Other entertainment options include a mime or a clown for children, which are very successful in attracting attention and bringing in new customers. But do keep your target market in mind. This is not likely to be a huge success for a fine dining establishment. It’s an idea better suited to the family-friendly variety of restaurants.

Support Materials: Upon scheduling a performance, advertising to the potential customers, is key. Give yourself plenty of time to print flyers, banners, etc., in order to get the word out to the community.

Check back for Part 4 in this series of restaurant marketing ideas.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, coach, trainer and speaker, specializing in systems for independent restaurant owners. He is the nationally acclaimed restaurant coach whose unique “SMART Systems” approach to boosting profits has earned him the title of, “The man who can walk into any restaurant in America and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door – Guaranteed!” Visit www.TheRestaurantExpert.com for more. Learn more tips, tricks and secrets in David’s free five-part e-course, “How to Explode Your Restaurant Profits NOW!” Simply sign up to receive the e-course at TheRestaurantExpert.com.

By David Scott Peters

As I said in “How to Generate Business for Your Restaurant FAST – Part 1″, one of the best ways to generate business for your restaurant is to get our there. Here is another restaurant marketing idea to generate business for your restaurant fast.

Best Thing Around Handout

Objective:

• Create awareness
• Generate trial
• Increase group sales or frequency of visit
• Spawn community goodwill

Basic Idea: This handout will include a free item, appetizer or dessert on your menu and talk about how it’s the best thing around. Feature an item that you want to be known for and that you do extremely well.

These handouts can be handed out to receptionists as well as office managers for local area businesses or out on a busy street corner. Customize the best thing around handout with your store address, hours, phone, fax number and artwork. Don’t forget to add expiration dates and any exclusions. And before you go giving away your highest-priced menu item, make sure you aren’t couponing yourself out of business with this one. 

How to Implement: Anytime is a great time to create awareness. You will need to pay for customizing and printing any artwork.

Check back soon for How to Generate Business for Your Restaurant FAST – Part 3.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, coach, trainer and speaker, specializing in systems for independent restaurant owners. He is the nationally acclaimed restaurant coach whose unique “SMART Systems” approach to boosting profits has earned him the title of, “The man who can walk into any restaurant in America and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door – Guaranteed!” Visit www.TheRestaurantExpert.com for more. Learn more tips, tricks and secrets in David’s free five-part e-course, “How to Explode Your Restaurant Profits NOW!” Simply sign up to receive the e-course at TheRestaurantExpert.com.

By David Scott Peters

Listen Closely: GET OUT!

That’s right, I said GET OUT!

What I mean is get out from inside your four walls and drum up business the old-fashioned way, one customer at a time, face to face. It’s time for guerilla marketing at its finest.

If your restaurant is clean, your food is great, your service is great and all the little details are in line and you want to generate more sales… GET OUT! GO GET THE BUSINESS!

To help you, I’ve outlined a few ways for you to get out there. These are ideas you can easily implement that I pulled directly off of my member site.

Superhero Special

Objective:

• Increase awareness
• Implement trial
• Increase group sales
• Generate frequency of visit

Basic Idea: You’re the Superhero and all those office workers need you to rescue them from their hunger! Create a flier promoting your super-fast and dependable delivery service. Explain how you can come to the rescue for their next lunch meeting, whether it’s in-office or at your restaurant. The flier can be used as a bag stuffer in lunch hour take-out, or given to office receptionists and office managers of local area businesses. Find some Superhero Special artwork and be sure to adapt it to include store address, telephone and fax number, as well as the person to contact.

How to Implement: There is no specific time to do this, any time you can increase group sales of local office buildings in the area is a good time. The costs associated are minimal compared to the return. All you need to pay for is the artwork and printing.

Check back soon for a new idea to generate for business for your restaurant FAST.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, coach, trainer and speaker, specializing in systems for independent restaurant owners. He is the nationally acclaimed restaurant coach whose unique “SMART Systems” approach to boosting profits has earned him the title of, “The man who can walk into any restaurant in America and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door – Guaranteed!” Visit www.TheRestaurantExpert.com for more. Learn more tips, tricks and secrets in David’s free five-part e-course, “How to Explode Your Restaurant Profits NOW!” Simply sign up to receive the e-course at TheRestaurantExpert.com.