Marketing 101: Pick the Low Hanging Fruit

There’s an old saying that says “Most business owners would rather buy a new motor than fix the hole in the boat.” And this certainly rings true when it comes to foodservice operators and neighborhood or local store marketing. We are literally surrounded by potential new customers, but too often we get blinders on and fail to see, leverage and maximize the neighborhood patronage potential just outside our four walls.

So tomorrow, take a drive & note the pockets of population within a 1-3 mile radius of your business, full of people who could be diners at your restaurant (with their friends, families and co-workers). Take a manager with you, take photos of the businesses or schools with your phone to remind you of where they are, and think of all the potential business residing or working within these buildings or businesses:

• Schools
• Houses of worship
• Apartment complexes
• Shopping Centers
• Office Complexes
• Residential areas
• Community organizations
• Construction sites
• Factories and Plants
• Hospitals
• Military Bases
• Daycare centers
• Senior Centers
• Competition
• Radio stations
• Auto Repair Shops
• Car Dealerships
• Small Businesses

Add to the list after you and your managers drive around and note all these pockets of population. Now determine if you know the 1) key decision-makers at each of these organizations or 2) athletic or activities directors at the local schools that could send more business your way from the people who live, work, learn or play within their four walls. Every week, contact four more businesses in your surrounding neighborhoods and brainstorm ways to bring their employees and customers into your restaurant. Every customer that patronizes you causes a Double Win:  First, you get their business, and second, the competition doesn’t.

Think of it this way: OWN OUR MILE. Make sure that every day you’re doing all you can to get the businesses, schools, neighborhoods and congregations surrounding your restaurant in a one mile radius to be doing business with YOUR restaurant.

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