From time to time I have a few people comment that we should have more specific tactics listed on our site. Well to be honest, we have clients that pay us to come up with specific tactics that I don’t feel comfortable always posting. Also, some tactics are more germane to one restaurant brand over others.

But, having said that…

Here’s a simple tactic that you can use for any church, with whom you have made a connection. (Remember, you MUST make connections to be able to use our LSM tactics!)

The deal is- any and all church members who produce a church bulletin will receive 10 or 15% off their meal immediately, under these conditions..

They must give you the bulletin (you use it to track, just like a coupon, have your server staple your receipt to it),
They must use it within one week (or two) of the date of the bulletin (expiration date- just like a coupon),
And, alcohol cannot be discounted.

Have faith! It will work.

PS: If your establishment serves alcohol, be respectful and careful of religions that do not advocate alcohol.

If you are like most restaurants, the majority of your employees are between the ages of 17 and 22. Most probably, they could each put you in touch with, or are personally a part of, fundraising opportunities for your restaurant.

Here’s an idea- Hold a staff meeting. Pass out flyers that explain your proposal…..

You will give a 2.5% bonus for any fundraiser, paid directly in cash, to the employee who offers you the lead on the fundraiser. Make it clear to your employees that they are not selling the idea, they are only finding out who makes the decision and handing out a prepared flyer that explains our fundraising night program and instructs the decision maker to call you for details and scheduling.

So, if you have a fundraising day for the High School band and you bring in 2,000 dollars, your employee would receive a cool $50.00 in cash, just for the lead. This leaves you plenty of margin to donate 10-15% to the organzation.

30 employees = 30 salespeople.

Nobody ever said you have to do this stuff alone.

Here’s a good start:

http://twitter.trafficvault.com

I have no affiliation to this, other than to say I entered my email and have found it useful.

Just wanted to pass it along!

Last Thursday, I happened to arrive early for a meeting with a commercial printer. This happens to be a very large printer and I was trying to get some advice on putting a creative local, combined mailer project together for one of my clients. It’s a great tactic that involves sharing an envelope with 9 other local businesses and my client rides along for free.

While waiting in the boardroom, a man and woman walked in and sat down. They introduced themselves as part of an advertising agency based in Columbus, Ohio. They were going to sit in on the meeting and try to offer constructive advice on the project. They were friends of the printer.

After the meeting was over (and I politely listened to their goofy advice), I placed the order for my client and was headed for the door. Just then, the female rep. from the ad agency asked a rather pointed question.

“Local Store Marketing seems like a gimmick, how do you really think it stacks up against a high powered, well financed ad campaign from a firm like ours?”

Unfortunately, the poor woman didn’t know I had fielded this question many times. As a good friend and great franchise attorney pal of mine likes to say- “She doesn’t know what she doesn’t know.”

My answer went something like this:

“One has to understand the clear difference between Mass Marketing and Micro Marketing (the textbook, college name for Local Store Marketing).

Mass marketing establishes a brand and position and implies the same marketing mix for all consumers. Most of the traditional image advertising and brand building tends to focus on cuteness, cleverness and trying to win awards.

Local Store Marketing is born from the desire of the store owner: the store owner wants to distinguish himself from colleagues, he wants a local market. He wants specific customized actions tailored exactly for his community.

Local Store Marketing is the translation of marketing from the national level to local consumer needs.

Local marketing is the use of tactical instruments like assortment, logistics and promotion, at the store level.

Hence,

Local marketing is the customization of marketing mix variables to the store level based on consumer, competitor, and store characteristics.”

At that point, the conversation was over. LSM 1, Ad Agency 0.

When setting up a new Local Store Marketing program, nothing brings a blank stare quicker than when I first ask my clients if they conduct fundraisers.

Most of them know they should conduct fundraisers, but I find that few have sustained success with them. And that’s a shame because fundraising is a true LSM activity. It embodies networking, community benefit and low cost/high return.

Other than beating the bushes and chasing down school principals, here are a couple of quick ideas-

Create a tent card that outlines your fundraising program and place them on all your tables in the restaurant. Have a snazzy headline like ” Raise Dough for your Organization with Mario’s Pizza Fundraising Night!”

The other technique is to pre-print some fundraising letters that clearly explain the program and send them out to 100-200 targeted organizations.

If you need help or more advice on fundraising – let me know!