Three Menu Hacks Designed to Dramatically Increase Your Restaurant Sales

If you haven’t given your menu much attention in a while, you might be missing out on some very easy extra revenue. We lay out three simple restaurant hacks for you to copy that could dramatically increase your restaurant sales in the next year.

With all the buzz of technology in digital restaurant marketing, it’s understandable that the traditional, bread and butter of restaurant marketing can fall by the wayside. We’ve gone back to basics to find the three most effective changes you can make to your menu right now, to maximize your restaurant sales. 

Indeed, restaurant marketing experts Placepull say that “Paying special attention to the menu can prove to be one of your best in-house tools to increasing your restaurant revenue.” Let’s have a look at three ultimate menu hacks, followed by some practical examples of how to make each one happen to dramatically increase your restaurant revenue.

1. Make Their Eyes Dance

According to a Gallup poll, diners will scan through your menu in less that two minutes. That means you need to direct, guide and seduce their eyes to where you want, and quickly. Here are some quick tips on how to get your customer to order what you want them to order, to increase your restaurant sales.

Declutter your menu. Without getting too nerdy, the number crunching scientists have decided that as humans, the more options we have, the less likely we’ll actually be able to make a choice. 

Those people in lab coats found the ideal number of dishes is seven options per food category. RJ Metrics reports that returning customers spend 300 percentmore, so simplify your menu to make sure they leave your restaurant fully satisfied. 

Pick your dish that has the highest gross profit. When you place that item on your menu, put a simple box around it. iMenuPro.com says “There's no single better way to draw attention to a high-profit menu item”. You’re now far more likely to sell your highest profit dish. 

Get some professional photos of your more profitable dishes. Brian Mennecke, an associate professor of information systems says that “You respond to the image on the display (menu) like you would respond to a plate in front of you”. That’s sure to increase the chances of an insta-buy on your best money-making meals. 

2. Play with Price

Everybody loves eating, but paying for it, well, not so much. Here are some practical ways to keep your diners thinking about filling their bellies, and not emptying their wallets. 

Get rid of your dollar signs. Cornell University found that simply removing the dollar signs increased restaurant sales. It works because it helps your customers not associate your meals with parting with their money. 

For the same reason as above, spell out your prices in words instead of numbers. 

Don’t put your prices in a column to the right, put it right next to your meal’s description. This stops your budget-wise customers from “scanning” to find the cheapest options.

If your customers are on a budget, they won’t usually pick the cheapest option, as they might assume it won’t be that satisfying. So, by slightly increasing the price of your second cheapest item, you’ll increase profits as they will naturally be attracted to that option.

3. Tell Your Customers a Story

For most people, going out to a restaurant is a special occasion, almost like a mini-holiday from everyday life. By capturing your customers’ imagination, we can help them get carried away with their little trip and spend more with you.

The proof is in the pudding, as a Cornell study showed that telling a better menu story will increase sales by 27 percent. Let’s look at how to get your customers carried away with their ordering, and increase your restaurant sales. 

Don’t just tell your customers what the food is, tell your customers where it came from. “Line caught from the pure waters of Nebraska”, or “Farm raised in the pristine meadows of Sierra Nevada” are great examples. Your customer will sense the freshness and let their belly do the ordering. Remember, storytelling is good, fibs are bad!

Use branding. If you use brand name ingredients in your food, use the brand name in your menu. This will help tell a story of trust and authenticity, with household names they know and love. 

Even the material your menu is made from is important. If you were a Michelin Star restaurant, you wouldn’t have your menu on a paper napkin. But if you were a ribs restaurant, that might actually be a good idea. The details tell the story! 

These are three very simple ideas that you can do to change your menu easily but dramatically. The best bit is once it’s done, it’s done, and it doesn’t require much updating or maintenance. Just imagine what a noticeable increase in restaurant sales would  look like for you.

Three Menu Hacks Designed to Dramatically Increase Your Restaurant Sales posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Essential Bar Management: Ordering Dynamics and Reducing Shrinkage

Among the many challenges that go into managing a bar or restaurant is dealing with shrinkage or lost product, a huge profit drainer.  According to beverage auditing companies Beverage Metrics and Stock-Taker, industry average shrinkage rates are 25 percent, and the National Restaurant Association reports that 75 percent of shrinkage is due to theft.

While many restaurants and bars focus on inventory control systems to reduce shrinkage, reconsideration of ordering processes can be even more helpful. These simple tips will help you make smarter purchases that reduce shrinkage, and ultimately generate greater profits for your establishment.

Avoid Purchasing Based on Quantity Discounts     

We know it can be difficult to resist a good deal. And while it might seem like quantity discounts increase overall profitability due to the potential of reducing your cost per ounce, factoring estimated shrinkage into the equation will directly counteract these cost reductions.           

Let’s assume a regularly priced case of vodka costs $200 and the distributor is running a two-plus case quantity discount that grants you 10 percent off each case if you purchase two or more.

Despite only needing one case, that 10-percent discount is too tempting, so you buy two cases for $360 (Two times $200 per case – Two times $20 discount per case). Instead of spending $200, you end up spending an additional $160 and getting twice as much product.

If we assume 25 percent shrinkage, $40 (25 percent x $160) of this additional product will be lost. Since the $40 loss is equal to the total discount you received in the first place, shrinkage ends up wiping out any cost benefits of the order. Top it off with the extra space and time needed to count the additional product, and that good deal suddenly feels like a rip-off.

Purchase to Reduce Sitting Inventory

Since shrinkage takes the discount out of Quantity Discounts, how can you increase profitability with smarter ordering? Focus on one key goal when making purchase decisions: reducing sitting inventory. 

If you have $40,000 in inventory and sell $10,000 of product each week, you have four week’s worth of sitting inventory on hand. By reducing your sitting inventory to $30,000, you will not only gain $10,000 back in your pocket, but you will also reduce your shrinkage by $2,500 (25 percent times $10,000). Remember that if 25 percent of any product you purchase will be lost to shrinkage, the less product you have on hand the less you lose, and therefore the greater your profits.

By only ordering product that you absolutely need, you will quickly reduce your sitting inventory levels, increase your bar’s efficiency, reduce shrinkage losses, and increase your bar’s overall profitability.

Essential Bar Management: Ordering Dynamics and Reducing Shrinkage posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Training Tips For New Restaurant Staff

One of the most challenging aspects of the foodservice industry is employee turnover.

According to a 2016 report from the U.S. bureau of labor statistics, annual staff turnover in restaurants is an astronomical 73 percent! So for every 100 workers who are hired, 73 leave within a year. And while there are ways to reduce turnover, it will likely always be a hurdle for those in the industry. As a result, training new restaurant staff is of paramount importance. Here are seven tips that will help you quickly get new workers up to speed.

Safety First

Kitchen safety should be at the top of every restauranteur’s priority list. A worker who doesn’t know proper kitchen protocol is not only a danger to himself, but he’s also a hazard to the rest of your and staff as well as your customers. So before educating your new staff on the finer details of your operation, make sure they understand all safety procedures. 

Pick the Right Trainer(s)

When it comes to running a restaurant, there are seemingly infinite responsibilities. So it’s only natural that you won’t have time to keep a new hire under your wing all day. Other workers will need to step in from time to time and flex their teaching muscles. So make sure whomever you assign to train the new employee is patient, knowledgeable, and has a great attitude. After all, the last thing you want is your new staff member to learn bad habits or be misled with incorrect information. 

Go Over Restaurant Rules

Maybe your restaurant has a specific dress code or a unique clock-in protocol. No matter what rules you operate under, it’s essential that your new workers know them. Ordinarily ignorance is not a good excuse. But if your newly hired staff member hasn’t been briefed on the way your restaurant does things, then you can’t really blame him for breaking the rules. 

Hands-On Experience

Hands on experience is the best way to evaluate a new staff member’s progress.  So when you feel new workers are starting to understand how things are done, give them an opportunity to prove themselves. Start with smaller, easier tasks before giving them more difficult ones. Assign an experienced employee to keep an eye out and make sure everything is going smoothly. That way if there is an issue, the experienced worker can step in and help resolve it.  

Review Each Lesson

Learning how a restaurant operates isn’t an overnight process. It can takes weeks or even months before new employees are up to speed. And while some lessons stick immediately, others might be forgotten along the way. That’s why it’s essential to review important lessons. The more new staff members are able to recite and replicate what they’ve learned, the less often you’ll have to review lessons with them. 

Make Sure They Master the Menu

Customers often ask servers about dishes and drinks on the menu. They might want to know how spicy something is or if there’s anything specific that the server recommends. Or even more important, maybe the patron has an allergy and needs to confirm that a certain meal doesn’t contain peanut oil. No matter what the reason is, it’s important for servers to be knowledgeable about the restaurant’s offerings. Make sure your new staff members not only become acclimated to your meals but also get a little taste of them. After all, you can read about a meal’s spice or a drink’s flavor. But experiencing it yourself is something else entirely.

Focus on Why You Do Certain Things

To outsiders, some restaurant practices can seem a bit bizarre. New workers might be confused about why you do some things but hesitate to ask why. After all, they definitely don’t want to come across as a potential problem. So if you have any policies or practices that can be seen as unorthodox, try to clarify why they are in place. It might take an extra minute or two. But new employees will appreciate your transparency and feel like they’re part of the team instead of just a cog in the foodservice machine. 

Keep in mind that server education never ends. It would be great if a couple weeks of training could last a lifetime. But the fact is that restaurant protocol is always evolving. New dishes are added to menus, and management discovers more efficient ways of handling day-to-day tasks. Make clear to new employees that training will always be an ongoing process. And that just because a server can handle a Saturday night rush does not mean he has nothing left to learn.

Training Tips For New Restaurant Staff posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

‘Joint Employment’ Decision Does Little to Clarify Legal Landscape for Chains and Franchisors

On December 28, 2018, the majority of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit mostly upheld an expansive “joint employment” standard adopted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) during the Obama administration. That standard expanded the reach of potential “employer” responsibility with respect to labor relations matters before the Board under the National Labor Relations Act, and affected restaurant owners and operators in franchise systems, joint ventures and parent-subsidiary relationships. 

But the 2-1 decision arguably did little to clarify the bounds of such potential employer responsibility. In any event, the decision may be moot because the current NLRB under the Trump administration has begun the process of issuing joint employer regulations that would be more “friendly” to employers.

Background

The background of the NLRB joint employment issue is long and convoluted. Before 2015, the Board said that an entity was not a “joint employer” of another entity’s employees for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) unless, at a minimum, it exercised “direct and immediate control” over the other entity’s employees. Under that standard, for example, franchisors and franchisees, and other separate entities that operated at arm’s length in contractual or similar business arrangements, were usually treated as “separate” employers for purposes of union organizing rules, picketing, boycotts and unfair labor practice responsibility. The only exception applied when one entity exercised “direct and immediate” control of the employees of the other entity.

That changed in 2015. In Browning-Ferris Industries, the Obama administration Board voted 3-2 along party lines to adopt a new standard. That majority decided that an entity was a joint employer of another entity’s employees if it had indirect or potential (“reserved”) control over the other entity’s employees, even if the control was not actually exercised. Under that standard, for example, a franchisor’s or a parent corporation’s indirect or potential control over another entity’s employees could make the franchisor or parent entity a responsible party as an “employer” – a “joint employer” – with respect to union organizing and labor disputes, including unfair labor practice proceedings.

In short, the Obama Board standard means that more entities are “employers” subject to Board power under the NLRA with respect to certain groups of employees and labor disputes. More “employers” means more targets for effective union organizing, more leverage of union bargaining power, and a broader scope of responsibility for unfair labor practices, liability, and injunctive relief.

For example, status as an “employer” can make the entity a target of various types of picketing, boycotts, or other protected concerted activity that would not be lawful if the entity were a “secondary” employer and if the activity were directed at it as a neutral third party to the “primary” labor dispute.

In late 2017, the Trump administration Board overruled Browning-Ferris in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors,Ltd. and Brandt Construction Co., but the action was short-lived: the Inspector General of the NLRB found that Board Member William Emanuel should have recused himself because his former law firm had represented one of the parties to the Browning-Ferris case. As a result of the Inspector General’s ruling, the Board vacated Hy-Brand, putting Browning-Ferris back in place.

In the late spring of 2018, NLRB Chairman John Ring announced that the Board would issue regulations addressing the “joint employer” issue. The proposed regulations, issued in September, would restore the pre-2015 standard, which required that the entity exercise “direct and immediate control” over the other entity’s workers before it could be considered a joint employer.

The NLRB has extended the comment period on the proposed regulations several times. At the time of this article,  comments were due January 28, 2019 and replies to comments were due February 11, 2019. The Board stated the reason for the extension as follows: “In light of the unique circumstance presented by the December 28, 2018 issuance by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit of its decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California v. NLRB … [the Board] is extending the time for submitting comments … in order to permit issues raised by that decision to be addressed.” It added, “Due to the partial government shutdown, the Office of the Federal Register is unable to publish the notice of this extension.”

While the Board’s rulemaking was taking place, Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., was seeking court review of the 2015 Board decision, resulting in the D.C. Circuit decision issued as 2018 ended.

The D.C. Circuit Decision

The panel majority, in an opinion written by Judge Patricia A. Millett and joined by Judge Robert L. Wilkins, held that because the NLRA does not define “employer,” the law should be interpreted consistent with common law. Thus, the common law of agency controls who is a “joint employer” under the NLRA. Under the common law, Judge Millett said, unexercised reserved control and indirect control are relevant factors in the joint employer inquiry, and the NLRB can weigh those factors as it wants. Thus, to the extent that the NLRB had viewed reserved and indirect control as factors in determining joint employer status, the 2015 Board decision was proper.

However, the panel majority went on to find that the 2015 Board panel majority in Browning-Ferris Industries had failed to distinguish between indirect control over essential terms and conditions of employment – which is relevant to the joint employer inquiry – and indirect control over routine matters related to contracting — which is not relevant. According to the majority opinion, the Board needed to distinguish between types of indirect control that affect employees’ “essential terms and conditions of employment,” in contrast to those that are “intrinsic to ordinary third-party contracting relationships between companies.” Thus, the majority remanded the case to the NLRB, directing it to make the proper application of the factors relevant to “essential terms and conditions of employment.”

Unfortunately for employers, labor unions and labor practitioners, the D.C. Circuit panel majority did not provide a comprehensive listing of the factors that are relevant to the joint employment inquiry. Likewise, it did not clarify whether unexercised reserved or indirect control – standing alone – would be enough for a finding of joint employer status. Judge A. Raymond Randolph, dissenting, argued that the majority opinion was both “confused and confusing,” at least in part, because it did not address this critical issue.

Judge Randolph also argued that the court should have sent the case back to the NLRB to allow the current Board majority to complete the ongoing rulemaking process related to the joint employment issue. Finally, he argued that the majority opinion misinterpreted the common law of agency.

What Now for Restaurant Franchisors, Franchisees, and Chain Owners and Operators?

The D.C. Circuit decision can be read to restrict the Board’s ability, either through case adjudication or rulemaking, to restore the pre-Browning Ferris standard, which would have required a “joint employer” to exercise direct and immediate control of employees. Applying the common law of agency, a future Board could find “joint employment” whenever the entity in question had reserved or indirect control over the employees of another entity, even if that control was never exercised. The court’s decision may provide ammunition to organized labor and its political supporters to continue or even step up their efforts to cast broad “legal nets” under the NLRA to capture franchisors, parent corporations, and joint venture partners as “joint employers” of employees of franchise or chain restaurant operations. That has long been one of their goals, with well-publicized Board litigation against McDonald’s being a prime example.

Next steps in the joint employment epic may include a request from either the Board or Browning-Ferris for en banc review by all D.C. Circuit judges. In the alternative, or after an en banc decision, the unsuccessful party could request review by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Board with its current Republican majority is likely to press forward with its joint employment rulemaking regardless of the D.C. Circuit decision.

Legislative Action is Unlikely While Congress is Divided

Status as a “joint employer” can arise under the NLRA in various contract and ownership situations in and outside of the restaurant business, potentially including contracting-out of operations, employee leasing, staffing agencies and their clients, parent corporations and subsidiaries, joint ventures, franchising, subcontracting, licensing, creditor-debtor, and trustee in control relationships in any industry unless the Board has given up jurisdiction. Any employing entity in one of these relationships may find itself caught up in a “joint employment” quandary at some point. Restaurant groups with franchise or subsidiary chain operations will want to keep a close eye on the issue as it progresses at the Board and in the courts.

‘Joint Employment’ Decision Does Little to Clarify Legal Landscape for Chains and Franchisors posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Leverage Instagram Stories for Your Restaurant

As of June 2018, Instagram had more than one billion active users, 78 million of them in the U.S. If there is one social media platform you should pay attention to, that’s definitely the one.

Beyond the simple fact that Instagram is growing at a faster pace than most other social media platforms, its design is especially compelling for visual content, and what’s more compelling than delicious dishes or handcrafted desserts Let’s explore together Instagram stories and how they can help your restaurant.  

Number of monthly active Instagram users from January 2013 to June 2018 (in millions)

What are Instagram Stories?

If you are not familiar with Instagram, Stories is a feature within the app where users can capture and post related images and video in a slideshow format. Those Stories are short-lived and will be available only for the next 24 hours, after which they disappear. Because of the temporary nature of Stories, Instagram doesn’t filter them the way they do with regular Instagram posts. It’s a great vehicle for your restaurant to connect with your followers and to be discovered by your local peeps.

How to Create Stories

Stories can be created with just a simple picture or video, but it is worth spending the time to understand all the powerful features that come with it. You can either use pictures and videos from your very own phone gallery, or you can record a new one while using the Boomerang, Hands-Free or Live settings. Once you have your visual, you can edit it using filters and add stickers. Stickers are quite versatile and offers hidden gems. With stickers, you can add a location, a hashtag or even a poll to your Story. These would open up your Stories to be discoverable in the “Explore” section of Instagram. I would recommend you try each one of the top 12 stickers and see how they can help you enhance your Stories. Some stickers are even interactive and invite your followers to engage with your Stories.

Be Creative and Provide Value

This is easier said than done, but you can get inspired by following other restaurants, big or small. See what Stories they post that captivate you – chances are that they could captivate your audience too. Some of the Stories that customers enjoy are behind-the-scenes videos of your restaurants. Record short videos of the final steps of your chef preparing his signature dish, or of your staff getting ready for a busy shift. Stories are also great ways to announce breaking news with a personal message. Another great topic for Stories could be any charitable work you are doing in your community. You’re hosting a fundraising night for the local soccer team! Shoot a video and post it! Your followers will love to see all the good you are doing, and you’ll get brownie points for it! Finally, remember that those Stories are live for only 24 hours, so every day, you can announce a new promotion only redeemable that day by your Instagram followers. That’s a great way to create a community around your restaurant.

Some Basic Rules of Thumb to Remember:

• Experiment with all the editing features Instagram offers. It will spark your imagination.

• Follow your customers and get inspired by what inspires them, understand the type of posts they like, and go from there.

• Keep your message short; that’s the essence of Instagram Stories.

• Always include your brand logo on the Story to keep it at the forefront of your followers’ minds.

• Stay true to your brand image and the quality and aesthetic you would expect from anything related to your restaurant. You wouldn’t print a menu with typos; it’s the same with Instagram Stories.

• Be real, be personal, be true to your brand.

  

The Benefits

If your content is inspiring or valuable, your followers will share your Stories with their own network of friends. Think of it as free and valuable advertising for your restaurant. Plus it won’t even be considered as advertising by the IG users, but more like referrals from good friends – and as such, the’ll be even more effective than paid advertising. Also, another cool feature in Instagram is “Explore”. If you manage to create viral content or get a decent number of followers, you could end up at the top of the Explore page. As IG users are being offered content based on their location and related to their very own interests, appearing at the top of the Explore page is considered the Holy Grail when it comes to Instagram business presence.

The Pitfalls

The challenge will be to stay consistent in the Stories you post in terms of content and frequency. While it may seem fun and easy at the beginning, it will require persistence, creativity, and drive to maintain a presence on Instagram. Many restaurants I have followed in the past started out gung-ho and were posting several Stories each day for about a month or so. Then, reality hit and they couldn’t find the time and patience to continue at that pace. Like everything we want to achieve, developing a solid IG strategy will allow you to get results. Being able to measure those results and continuously improve on them will be key to your success on IG.

Instagram is here to stay, so take the time to learn how to use it and to see how your restaurant would benefit from it.

Leverage Instagram Stories for Your Restaurant posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Seven Ways to Engage Employees (Infographic)

Running a restaurant can be a thankless job, and it’s easy to get fixated solely on creating a positive experience for your customers. While caring about your customers is undoubtedly a good thing, it can become a problem if it causes you to neglect your employee experience.

In fact, there is overwhelming evidence showing that putting the time and effort into positively engaging your employees will pay huge dividends, including fostering an environment that leads to a better customer experience. The experts at SpotOn put together this handy infographic on ways restaurant owners and managers can reach their staff. 

Seven Ways to Engage Employees (Infographic) posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Driverless Technology Could Be a Benefit to Restaurants

The restaurant industry has always been focused on making customers lives easier, from fast-food to valet parking. Now, apps like Uber Eats and GrubHub let people order food from any local restaurant, even ones that normally do not offer delivery. Restaurants have adopted to digital ordering systems that fulfill customer’s cravings and soon they will need to evolve again. Autonomous vehicles are expected to become part of the product delivery ecosystem replacing drivers. And, they will also be able to bring customers to restaurants, if the restaurants are reaching the customers in their vehicles when they are likely to be thinking about a meal. 

Autonomous vehicles are expected to become part of the product delivery ecosystem.

In the morning, busy moms and dads who are rushing to get the kids to school and had no time for breakfast can be targeted for a cup of coffee and a muffin by the local coffee shop. Screens in autonomous vehicles could be used by restaurants to geo-target potential customers as their vehicles are passing nearby. When an ad pops up on the screen urging mom or dad to come in and get 50 cents off their favorite drink, all it will take is a tap on the screen to place an order and direct the vehicle to drive to the coffee shop after school drop off. 

As another example, commuters sitting in traffic after work often think about what to do for dinner. Ads for taco Tuesday or buy-one-get-one free entrees at the new Italian restaurant, could quickly win over diners who want to avoid spending their evening chopping and doing dishes. A few taps on the screen could place the customer’s order, and that order could be sent to the kitchen when the diner checks in for his or reservation or result in the food being ready for pickup when the driverless vehicle, after receiving directions once the order is placed, arrives in the parking lot. 

Time saved during the day by the convenience of making purchases in the car will be one of the reasons consumers will be adopting self-driving technology. Restaurants of all types will need to reach consumer in new ways through in-vehicle advertising. As an autonomous vehicle is passing near a restaurant, ads for weekly specials could pop-up on the screen attracting customers to make an order for that establishment versus the competition. Another change the industry will have to make is how orders are made online.

Digital platforms on apps or restaurant websites that enable remote ordering will need to be advanced, adding a step that tells the autonomous vehicle where to drive after an order is placed. Customers who follow a dining pattern could also be reminded by their vehicle that it’s Monday, or any other particular day of the week, and ask if they’d like to make a reservation or place an order from their usual spot, promoting repeat business. 

When autonomous vehicles move out of the testing stage and become an everyday option for consumers, restaurants that have prepared in advance will be poised to benefit. In-vehicle ads and the ability to place an order from a screen in the car can help boost sales and bring in new customers. 

Driverless Technology Could Be a Benefit to Restaurants posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Modern Restaurant Concepts and The Franchise Playbook

How To Avoid An Audit

Getting audited by the IRS is something no restaurant owner wants to go through. Even though audits are relatively rare for most people, it’s important to make sure you do everything you can to ensure that it doesn’t happen to you. Luckily, there are a lot of things you can do to lessen your chances of getting audited.

Below we take a look at some of the most common causes for an IRS audit.

Failing to File on Time

Let’s start off with an easy one: Filing your taxes on time is one of simplest ways to make sure your tax return stays off the IRS radar. Not only will timely filing prevent you from owing more money in fines, it will also lessen the chances of the IRS flagging you for audit. Although tax day creeps up on all of us quicker than we may like, doing this one simple step helps avoid getting that dreaded IRS audit notice in the mail.

Mathematical Errors

Mistakes happen, but unfortunately when it comes to mistakes with your tax returns, they lead to fines and maybe even to an audit. By making sure you work with tax professionals every time you file a tax return, you can rest easier knowing that you haven’t made any mistakes. Although not every mistake leads to an audit, most do lead to some issue with the IRS, so just make sure you don’t make any kind of mistake when you file, intentional or not.

Failing to Report All of Your Income

Failing to report all of your taxable income is one of the surest ways to lead to an audit by the IRS. And, if this was something done intentionally, it may lead to even more problems than we care to get into here. Even though your tax bill may increase as you make more money, don’t ever try to hide it!

One of the most important things a restaurant owner can do to prevent an audit is to report all of the income the restaurant receives, including all tips received by wait-staff.  Both employees and employers have tip reporting obligations.  There are software point-of-sale programs that can help you with this by automating the tracking and reporting of tips that are made at the time of payment with a credit or debit card.

Making Invalid or Excessive Deductions

Another way to lead the IRS right to your front door is by making invalid or excessive deductions on your tax return. For example, if your restaurant is rapidly expanding, it may be tempting to sneak in a couple of extra deductions with the many valid ones you have in order to lower the amount of taxes that you have to pay. You might think that you’re already deducting so many that it won’t matter if there are a couple of extra ones in there. Think again. It’s the IRS’ job to make sure taxpayers don’t get away with things like this, so just stay honest and pay up – otherwise you’ll be paying a lot more down the line.

Misclassifying Your Workers

Restaurants also often get in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service by misclassifying their workers.  A business is required to withhold payroll taxes and issue W-2 forms to employees. It can be tempting to try to avoid this paperwork by instead classifying workers as independent contractors. Since contractors pay their own taxes, they also benefit by receiving a greater percentage of their gross pay than your employees receive.  However, the IRS often audits employers it thinks may be misclassifying their workers and large fines are possible.  At the state level, you could also end up liable for back wages to a misclassified employee.

As with other improper deductions, it’s the IRS’s job to catch this type of thing – making this another way to raise a red flag once your return has been filed.

A common theme throughout this list is honesty. If you just stay honest on your tax return and take care not to make any mistakes, you’ll find that the IRS won’t take any interest in you – which is exactly what you want. If you have questions about your tax return or if you have received a notice of an audit from the IRS, contact an experienced tax attorney right away. 

How To Avoid An Audit  posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

How to Survive the Surge in Restaurant Openings

With more than 600,000 restaurants in the U.S. (and more opening daily), it can seem a fool’s errand to open one. How can you beat the odds that your restaurant will thrive and not become just another failed-business statistic?

Study the Competition

Too many restaurateurs open restaurant concepts based on what they want, not what the market wants. You might want to open a cupcake shop…but there are two within a square-mile radius…and the demand for cupcakes has gone down.

Spend months analyzing which restaurants are operating in the area you want to open in. Study traffic patterns: is business booming or trickling in? Eat in these restaurants. How’s the service? What are they missing on the menu?

Knowing what you’re up against before you open your restaurant can help you better strategize your approach.

Find Your Niche

In San Diego, California, if you want to open a Mexican restaurant, it’s got to be better than the hundreds of existing restaurants in this category. Rather than trying to beat restaurants who have already established dominance in a larger niche, find your own.

A restaurant specializing in breakfast only or a meadery are examples of niches that have less competition. Tap into restaurant concept trends…but find something that will have longevity and sales potential.

Cater to a Specific Audience

The fact that veganism has had a 600 percent increase in interest in the U.S. should tell you that this is a demographic you can’t afford to ignore. In some parts of the country, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free menu items are part and parcel of the majority of a city’s restaurants. But in others, they’re a phenomenon. Providing tasty options for diners with dietary restrictions can get them to flock to you, especially if there’s little in the way of competition for these food categories.

You don’t necessarily have to focus solely on these types of cuisine, but simply offer them as an option on your menu. Also consider offering popular brands like Beyond Burger, as some vegetarians and vegans look specifically for it as a menu option.

Start Out with Everything You Need

You might think that you’ll start with the basics in terms of equipment and software for your restaurant and buy the rest later, but you’re better off starting out fully operational. That means investing in software that makes running your restaurant easier. Look for a restaurant management platform that includes easy inventory management, recipe costing, and purchasing and order management to save you time and money.

In terms of equipment, you can save a lot of money if you look for used equipment, either through restaurant supply auctions or on Craigslist. Most equipment and furniture for your restaurant doesn’t need to be new, and you can save thousands on freezers, big mixers, and dining furniture if you go used.

Planning ahead for your restaurant needs can ensure that you have what you need to make the business a success and that you’re not scrambling to find the funds to buy an important component a few months into operations.

Competition will never die down for restaurants. But it’s only those that truly spend time paying attention to the local market and restaurant trends, as well as those who find their niche who will survive.

How to Survive the Surge in Restaurant Openings posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

The Hidden Benefits of Restaurant POS Software

POS systems are the unsung heroes of the retail and restaurant industries. Though often overlooked and undervalued, these systems are the key to a smooth running and efficient operation.

Modern-day POS systems let owners effectively manage their businesses. Newer POS software boasts of speed and come with a variety of functions that allow companies to monitor the different aspects of their venture in a single dashboard.

The point-of-sale is more than just a tool that speeds up transactions and keeps the line moving; it also streamlines the key aspects of the operation (sales, payments, inventory), contributing to an overall boost in sales and faster return on investment. But apart from these apparent benefits, the POS system impacts a business and fosters its growth in many other ways.

Detailed and Accurate Reporting   

A critical feature of the modern POS that sets it apart from its traditional counterpart is storage. POS systems these days can store much more information and integrate them thru a cloud-based storage system. With unified and extensive access to information, retail and food establishments can pull up statistics and data on the fly to generate detailed and updated reports about sales, inventories, and much more.

Another essential factor that’s often overlooked is accuracy. The POS software can make calculations that are 100-percent accurate which comes in handy, especially when dealing with a massive inventory.

Efficient Use of Labor and Human Resources

Seventy percent of a business’ operating cost is their workforce, but very few companies invest in workforce management software.

Even the most basic POS system these days are equipped with timekeeping functions that can relate to the company’s payroll system. Tools like these allow easy monitoring of employee performance and effective task-delegation.

Because POS software can generate accurate reporting and be fully-integrated, it eliminates the need for performing cash register reconciliations and disparity-checks manually. This frees up staff from doing time-consuming tasks so they can devote their time and effort to customer service or other urgent duties.

Foster Customer Loyalty

The POS’ customer database may be a business’ most asset. With all the information at their fingertips, owners and managers can track customer behavior, order history, and personal details which can be used to personalize the customer experience. 

In a 2016 US poll, 60 percent of the respondents answered “yes” when asked if they would be interested in receiving emailed codes that they can use at checkout, while a recent study showed that 69 percent of customers are influenced by rewards and loyalty programs when making shopping decisions.

With a POS, businesses can automatically send out promotional offers and discounts to entice consumers with a simple tap. They can also create reward programs, which is an excellent marketing strategy as it fosters customer loyalty. When the patrons feel that they’re important, they will keep coming back.

Hassle-Free Card and Mobile Transactions

While most of the purchases in the country are still settled through credit or debit card transactions, it’s projected that in-store mobile payment users in the United States will reach 150 million before 2021.

Because POS software can handle credit card and debit card processing directly, businesses don’t have to invest in and use separate peripherals for the purchase. With POS, credit and debit card payments are faster, safer and more secure. Furthermore, POS systems can be updated or integrated with other applications or third-party software to enable mobile wallet payment options, which is a pretty good way of keeping the queue short and the customers happy.

POS software provides businesses with just about everything they need to get the job done right and fast. And because it’s scalable, the possibilities are endless. With a reliable POS system, more tasks are automated so that time and the workforce are directed towards the more profitable aspects of the business.

The Hidden Benefits of Restaurant POS Software posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Five Marketing Lessons Restaurants Can Learn from Retail Marketers

While some restaurants have been successful at incorporating their brands into customers’ increasingly digital lives, most restaurants still fall behind in their ability to leverage digital to drive customer engagement and revenue growth. Advances in data and technology have made it possible to build and maintain relevant conversations with individual customers over time across marketing channels. 

If you’re looking for an example, look no further than the retail industry. Retailers have been implementing successful digital marketing strategies for years. The explosion of online shopping made it necessary for retailers to be first movers in the digital space. Although the two industries are very different, the mechanics of effective marketing are the same. For restaurant marketers, the key is to increase repeat business and higher profits, while providing customers with convenience, relevance and rewards for their loyalty. 

Here are five lessons restaurants can learn from retail marketers.

Effective Marketing Starts with Strong Data and Customer Identification

Retailers grew up in the age of the catalog where they did not know the face of the customer due to the direct-to-consumer catalog ordering model. As online shopping gained prominence, retailers benefited from newfound access to a massive amount of customer data and insights. This paradigm has enabled retailers to understand the frequency and monetary spend of their customers and then track, analyze and measure marketing efforts like never before. For brick-and-mortar retailers, the rise of online shopping has prompted the need to obtain important customer data at point of sale, through collecting email addresses and phone numbers in-store, leveraging free ship-to-store, and sending e-receipts. 

Every business decision must be data-driven and put the customer first.

Unlike retailers, restaurants have long relied on mass advertising through promotions on a system or franchise-wide basis. With limited access to customers and until only recently, no business need to know the customer, restaurants have treated every customer the same without any individually tailored messaging. That’s changing. Restaurant marketers must invest in data and CRM technology to be one step ahead of customer needs, preferences and actions. Restaurant marketers can no longer rely only on appealing to a broad demographic, they must gain power from customer data to reach individuals.  

Omnichannel is Crucial 

Traditional restaurant marketing, such as TV spots and one-size-fits-all discounts, is just one component of the modern marketing mix. Today’s customers control when and how they interact with brands, so an omnichannel approach to marketing that reaches customers wherever they are online is crucial. Retailers have been leveraging omnichannel strategies for about a decade to recognize their customers and communicate with them in relevant and effective ways. 

Restaurants must adopt similar omnichannel strategies as new channels emerge that create direct connections with consumers. By 2020, mobile orders will become a $38 billion industry. To take advantage of these services, customers must provide an email address or phone number. This data can help marketers reach customers in their preferred channels to drive repeat visits. 

Mass marketing and advertising strategies do not put customers at the center and do not allow marketers to actually measure their efforts. Customers are motivated by different factors whether it be discounts, convenience or quality. Implementing an effective omnichannel marketing strategy is the only way restaurant marketers can learn about their customers’ preferences, deliver relevant messages that are tailored to each individual and then measure the results.

Marketing Can Help Improve Margins

Margins are a key to success for any business but especially restaurants.  The typical retailer has a 40 percent margin on products but restaurants only benefit from two-to-six percent margins based on the type of food they serve and the restaurant style. Customer retention is one area restaurants should look to improve margins. According to Bain & Company, if a marketer can increase retention by just five percent. it will increase profits by 25-95 percent.

So how can a restaurant marketer increase customer retention? 

Today, 6.6 percent of orders are placed online. Data shows that customers are leveraging location-based search to look up restaurants ‘near me.’ Restaurant marketers are overlooking key factors that drive customers to their restaurant and location.

Loyalty programs and mobile apps are a great way to leverage data to increase customer retention. A Deloitte study found that among fast food restaurants, order-ahead programs can increase visits by six percent and ticket size by 20 percent. 

Keep an Open Mind about Marketing Technology

Marketing budget investments must be a top priority and consideration for restaurants today. Incentivizing customers to choose your restaurant over another requires an investment in marketing technology. By knowing customers’ food preferences, restaurant marketers will be able to remain competitive in the space against emerging giants like Amazon. 

As of Q3 2018, 9.8 percent of retailers’ business was coming from online. As the competition for online business has grown, so has the marketing technology stack of retailers who continue to increase their spendin technology to ensure they can offer the best possible customer experience. And as marketing technology continues to evolve, the restaurant industry will follow in the retail industry’s footsteps for similar reasons.

Understand Your Customers 

Focusing on the customer should be every marketers’ top priority, no matter what industry they are in. The restaurant industry has been missing a critical component by not truly understanding who their customers are. A lack of customer knowledge has a negative effect on everything—from investments to identifying new location opportunities to anticipating the needs of customers. Every business decision must be data-driven and put the customer first. Understanding who your customer is—will be the first step to gaining new ones. Perks offered to customers can now be measured on a selective basis to understand the instrumentality of the offer on a customer by customer basis, rather than offering it chain-wide or market-wide. 

Restaurants will drive more business by truly understanding their customers and providing offers based on individual needs. Through doing so, order sizes will increase overtime as customer’s utilize mobile apps to their full potential. 

The retail industry is arguably going through its biggest disruption ever. The same level of disruption is on the horizon for the restaurant industry. To be successful, restaurants should consider these marketing lessons from retailers and evolve their approach appropriately. 

Five Marketing Lessons Restaurants Can Learn from Retail Marketers posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Value-Based Pricing to Boost Restaurant Profit

Have you ever wondered why pricing is determined the same way across almost every QSR?

The current methodology goes something like this:

Multiply Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) times three

Conduct some qualitative competitive research

… and that’s it, you have your prices.

What is so interesting about this methodology is that restaurants’ margins are extraordinarily thin, yet most restaurants do not think to approach pricing in ways that may be more valuable.

Value-based pricing uses an iterative data-driven approach

Recently, my company Gravy.ai decided to test this conventional wisdom against cold hard data to come up with what we call "value-based pricing."

The key difference between value-based pricing and the conventional cost-based pricing approach that you’ll see in virtually every QSR is that value-based pricing uses an iterative data-driven approach to understand what customers are willing to pay and then adjusts prices and create specials to maximize revenue and margins.

We tested out the value-based pricing approach at a 10-location restaurant chain in Toronto. After a quick analysis of historical price changes and customer behavior, we created data-backed suggestions that led to a six percent increase in revenue.

Below we’ll outline how we were able to help our client achieve this, the changes we made to boost revenue, how you can apply the same principles at your restaurant to discover what customers are willing to pay and to ultimately improve the edge you need in a highly competitive market.  

Key Takeaway 1: Put more emphasis on the final price rather than how much you change the original price

One of the first things that we noticed with our clients was that for certain categories of items, the absolute amount that price increased or decreased didn’t have a significant effect on sales, unless the first dollar value changed.

For example, in particular categories of menu items historical price increase from $8.05 to $8.85 didn’t negatively impact sales but increasing the price from $8.85 – $9.05 did.

If customers were doing the math, they’d realize that the original 80 cent increase was 4X more than the 20-cent increase from $8.85 to $9.05, however you must remember that most customers are making a very quick decision from a glance at your menu.

Key Takeaway 2: Smarter combos can increase cart size

Next, we took a look at which items were frequently purchased together. Understanding which items are often added on as a side and at which price-point customers are willing to upgrade to a combo, we were able to pair sides and mains to boost cheque size and keep margins high. In this example, we noticed that some side dishes under a certain dollar amount had a much higher purchase frequency in conjunction with a main.

By creating combo offers that fell into the price-range that triggered customers to perceive added value to their order, our client was able to increase cheque size without lifting a finger or raising any eyebrows.

Key Takeaway 3: Use demand and seasonality to create more impactful promotions

There are very distinct ebbs and flows of customer traffic through the day, and demand for various items differ throughout the seasons. That hearty stew may be a bestseller in December and barely move through July. At lunch there may be a line around the block, and at 3 p.m. staff are left unoccupied.

In creating promotions, zeroing in on slower times of day (think Happy Hour) and tailoring them to seasonal tastes can have a disproportionately large impact on your bottom line.

Key Takeaway 4: Have the courage to go against the grain

Through our analysis, we realized very different patterns across different locations. We concluded that customers were more price sensitive in particular geographies. We were able to take this finding and put it into action by suggesting slightly different combo prices from location to location. While this goes against conventional wisdom (“what about my brand consistency.”), our client was comfortable pushing against norms and has since seen an uptick in cart size at a couple of the more price sensitive locations without sacrificing revenue at others.

Value-Based Pricing to Boost Restaurant Profit posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Five Ways to Draw a Lunch Crowd

Attracting a regular crowd is no easy feat but attracting a lunch crowd can be even more difficult. Lunch customers are typically on a time crunch, so they’re looking for convenience and a restaurant that fits their needs. 

According to Technomic’s 2016 Lunch report, 32 percent of customers say the reason they bring lunch to work is because it saves time.  How can your restaurant draw a lunch crowd?  Save your customers time and make convenience your priority through takeout or delivery.

Award your  customers’ continued business through a loyalty program and incentives along with implementing guest surveys to obtain feedback about their experience. Taking these steps and more can help your restaurant attract the lunch crowd you desire and ultimately boost your bottom line.  

Convenience   

People usually don’t make reservations for a lunch break. However, due to time constraints they don’t always have time to wait for their food. Minimize the wait time for your customers by allowing them access to real-time wait times through your restaurant’s website or mobile app. Allowing customers to add themselves to a wait list in advance and helping them avoid a long wait time leads to a better guest experience. 

Quick service and fast casual restaurants funnel through their lunch crowds with the help of self-service kiosks. These kiosks allow for less wait-time and can help customers receive their orders quickly and efficiently. These touchscreen options are more likely to be used if they are offered in customers’ favorite restaurants.   

Keep in mind that mobile payments can be very attractive to customers. When the mobile payment option is available, over half of your customers will choose to pay this way.   

Lunch time is a luxury that your customers cannot afford to waste. Catering to your customers’ lunch needs can help increase lunch sales.  

Takeout or Delivery  

The constraints of a designated lunch time can be a challenge for diners. An hour doesn’t seem to be enough time to sit down and eat, so customers will pick up food to-go or opt to get it delivered. When it comes to customer satisfaction, the speed of delivery is the biggest factor. At least 46 percent of smartphone users use their phones once a month to order takeout or delivery from a restaurant. 

Creating a defined to-go order pick-up station in your FOH or adding curbside pickup will also allow customers to get in and out quickly. You can use your guest management system to create a pick-up station for to-go meals. With the takeout tab on your system, staff will be able to see real-order time updates without having to go into the kitchen to check, if your front of house system is integrated to your back of house. By integrating the two, your staff will be better prepared to serve guests.   

Since convenience is a priority during lunch, a takeout or delivery option can lead to more sales. Customers that order online tend to return to the restaurant from which they had food delivered.   

Limited Menu  Options 

The best way to draw a crowd during a certain time of day is to limit the availability of menu items. Offer a limited menu so that your customers know that they can only get a specific food item during lunch hours. With a kitchen display system, limiting your menu options is easy to implement. A KDS will help you route specific food to stations in the kitchen and help your cooks prep for the lunch rush.   

Another option for limited time menu items is to apply the limited time feature to prices. Pair two selections on the menu together in a “choose two” package for a set price. That way, customers feel that they are getting an exclusive offer and will come back for their next lunch break. 

Order Ahead 

Encourage your customers to conquer their lunch time by allowing them to place their orders through your website or mobile app before arriving – even for their onsite meals. With the right technology in place, you can accomplish this. Your point-of-sale will need to be integrated to a kitchen display systemthat has built-in features for customers to order their meals in advance, whether it’s through your website or app, allowing the kitchen to be prepared for incoming orders. Once the guest arrives at the restaurant, your guest management system will notify the kitchen that they’ve been seated, and your KDS will automatically fire the order. Your guests will appreciate this option when they want the experience of dining in but within a small, time frame. 

Loyalty Programs, Incentives and Guest Surveys

It’s no secret, when customers have a good experience, word spreads fast. Word-of-mouth can be the best form of advertising for restaurants. When a loyal customer base is created, restaurateurs can reward them for each of their visits to the restaurant. Having a guest management system that collects customer information in your guest book will allow for future targeted marketing efforts, as well as building loyalty. Implementing a mobile app that allows for rewards also drives engagement and loyalty. For example, Chick fil A allows customers to build up points to earn free treats, keeping their customers coming back time and time again.  

Once the guest’s experience is complete, further develop their loyalty by allowing them to provide feedback about their experience through guest surveys. Tracking customer activity and feedback can also be done through your restaurant’s guest management system. If your FOH technology is tied to your BOH technology, you can tie the operational data to the visit to understand their entire experience and then focus on making it better when they return. This operational data can provide restaurateurs insights into what appeals to the lunch crowd.   

Bring in the Lunch Crowd  

Lunch is an important time of day for working people. Customers are focused on convenience during this hectic time of day. Consider applying these methods to your restaurant operation planning to increase your lunch sales and draw that midday crowd. Even though technology is changing the way that consumers dine out, small changes to your restaurant strategy can help you overcome the challenge of drawing a lunch crowd time and time again.  

Five Ways to Draw a Lunch Crowd   posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

Six Food Delivery Packaging Trends

For rushed, time-pressed consumers, convenience is king. The food delivery and “grab and go” market is booming, with Morgan Stanley projecting that “the total U.S. food delivery market could grow to as much as $210 billion over the long term, from around $11 billion today.” This growth amplifies the need to maintain a competitive advantage, and for those in the restaurant and food industry, that means choosing the right packaging. 

Today’s packaging is multi-faceted. More than a simple shipping tool, a box protects, preserves, introduces and showcases a product. Additionally, as the number of eco-conscious consumers rise, so does the pressure for companies to reduce wasteful packaging and offer sustainable options.

And that’s not all. Trends in packaging now ask that businesses also create a satisfying and memorable unboxing user experience. To set itself apart from the competition, businesses should consider the following six essential factors.

The Look

The future is minimalistic, with trends leaning toward simplistic designs rather than those with graphic and information overkill. Simplicity is fast replacing cluttered designs as a way to communicate information instantly and efficiently.

Simplicity is fast replacing cluttered designs as a way to communicate information instantly and efficiently.

The best way to keep and attract attention is by featuring only the most relevant information on the box. Tiny print and copy overload will cloud the brand and its message. Instead, it’s best to use big fonts and bold, cheeky colors. Long gone are the consumers who enjoyed familiarity.

Now, risky styles have taken over store shelves. Upscale luxury is also no longer reserved for the elite brands. To entice everyday consumers, premium details such as soft-touch coating, spot high-gloss coating or foil stamping can give packaging that extra wow factor. 

User Experience

Whimsical and innovative packaging satisfies modern consumers’ desires for new experiences and adventures. Consumers crave daring box designs that beg to be touched. Packages that deliver enjoyable tactile and visual experiences can cement customer loyalty and engagement.

Opening a box should be comparable to lifting the lid on a display case. Everything inside should be clean and organized, free of chaos and clutter. Items should be neatly compartmentalized with dividers made of corrugated cardboard, foam inserts or crinkle paper. Other little touches such as embossed stickers, vellum sheets, ribbons and pouches convey joy and surprise, a sentiment akin to opening a birthday present.

Unboxing a product should produce an unforgettable experience that customers will want to share on social media, thus generating positive, user-generated content and word-of-mouth buzz.

Personalization

The flexibility of digital printing has led to an unprecedented amount of product personalization. Today’s printing technology allows for exclusive and inexpensive options such as short runs, promotional packs and experimental designs. For this reason, inventory can be rapidly developed to appeal to specific demographics and adapt to trends with a shorter market life. As well, one-of-a-kind creations, such as runs with popular names or mini-branded food products, generate excitement, which translates into desirable, shareable experiences. Inserts such as highly personalized coupons or personal messaging can also be printed with ease, conveying customer appreciation and adding value to their experience. 

Sustainability

In the past, sustainable packaging meant that it could be recycled. But after alarming reports surfaced about massive food waste and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, consumers are demanding accountability. Those in the food industry were particularly shocked to learn that their black, plastic meal trays were sent directly to landfills and incinerators because recycling plants’ infrared sensors were unable to spot the color black.

Unboxing a product should produce an unforgettable experience that customers will want to share on social media.

As a result, companies have had to revise their innovations with options such as high-barrier fiber-based trays and PET trays made from bottle flakes. The use of flexible packaging, such as lightweight pouches, is also growing because of its ability to extend shelf life and increase fuel efficiency in shipping operations.

Bioplastic, which is made from renewable biomass, is also a great option for dry or greasy products.

Lastly, when it comes to sustainability, retailers must be aware that using the wrong packaging may potentially increase food waste, so education is the key to preventing ill-informed decisions. 

Temperature Control

Replicating the restaurant experience with takeaway food is extremely challenging. Preserving the food’s condensation and freshness upon arrival is difficult to achieve, but several packaging systems are being developed to help maintain the desired consistency. Flameless heating systems, for instance, can fit into insulated bags and keep food warm for up to 45 minutes. As an added benefit, these systems are also completely recyclable.

When it comes to fried food, packaging with specialized air vents can be used to maintain its crispy texture. The meal kit industry has also developed packaging made from compostable jute, which keeps perishable food items cool during shipping. Smart packaging is also in development for pre-packaged food and drinks. The system, which can be controlled from the convenience of a smart device, uses temperature sensors activated by radio frequency to heat a metal induction pad. 

Edible Packaging 

Edible packaging is an important development in the fight to reduce waste and one-use packaging. As the demand increases, so are the innovations. Current options include wrappers made from seaweed, spoons made from cornstarch and plates composed of wheat bran.

Edible packaging is an important development in the fight to reduce waste and one-use packaging.

However, not all edible packaging concepts would require that customers actually chow down on their cups or plates. Instead, the new norm would consist of products such as dissolvable milk pods for coffee, or coatings that would replace today’s wasteful and non-recyclable plastic films.

Examples of these include electrostatic gel derived from fruit to coat soft foods or milk-based proteins to wrap cheese. The ideas are limitless, and scientists are working hard to develop sustainable solutions that will ensure hygiene, prevent food waste and withstand the rigors of modern distribution.  

Six Food Delivery Packaging Trends posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

A Five-Ingredient Recipe for Restaurant Crisis Management

From a foodborne illness to a kitchen fire, a restaurant crisis can happen instantly. In the restaurant industry, it is often a matter of “when” not “if” a crisis will occur. Add to that the impact of social media, which can spread news of a crisis far and wide in a blink of an eye, and you have a situation that requires restaurants to communicate quickly and effectively to manage a crisis. 

While time is of the essence, one misstep in that communication can have unintended, far-reaching consequences. Even large national companies have not been immune to making some crisis management miscues that can damage a brand.

One of the ways you can avoid communication missteps is to develop a thorough and actionable crisis management plan for your restaurant. Here are five key steps to a recipe for preparation that can help you better manage any crisis:

Step 1 – Get Your Crisis Team Together and Designate Spokespersons

National chains have corporate teams and processes that handle communications initiatives like crisis management. However, smaller chains and independent restaurants may not have dedicated communications teams or processes. Regardless of your restaurant’s size, you should begin developing a crisis communication plan by identifying key decision-makers and trusted employees who can help you assemble members of an ideal crisis team.

You might need to designate multiple spokespeople depending on the type of crisis. These spokespeople will speak on behalf of the brand during a crisis, whether it's in a social media post, on TV or to the local newspaper. Do not assume that your spokespeople have experience speaking with the media or are comfortable speaking with media. You will need to assess their degree of experience and comfort so that you can more accurately determine the level of media training each spokesperson needs. 

Step 2 – Assign Roles and Responsibilities

After you have assembled the crisis team and selected spokespeople, it is time to assign specific roles on the crisis team. Some of these roles should include:

Food safety lead

• This role, likely held by a kitchen manager, will be responsible for any food handling issues. Restaurants should ensure this role is filled by a member of the operations team, as they are most familiar with the daily processes used when preparing food.

Vendor liaison

• This role can be held by one individual, like a general manager, or by multiple people. The main responsibility of a vendor liaison role is to take ownership of the relationship between the restaurant's different vendors. If a problem occurs, like contaminated product or a recall, the vendor liaison will intervene.

Communications team

• Whether a restaurant partners with a PR firm or has an internal team, the communications team is vital in any crisis plan. Beyond overseeing the messaging and positioning across all channels, the communications team will field media inquiries and handle all social media interactions. Monitoring and ultimately controlling outbound communications from a restaurant is critical. If you do not take control of the narrative, the narrative will control you.

Attorney or legal advisor

• Every restaurant should have an attorney, or some form of legal advisor, on its crisis team. In the event of a large-scale crisis, legal measures may need to be taken.

Step 3 – Refine Your Messaging 

Taking the time to develop key messaging ahead of a potential crisis is critical to responding quickly and accurately. An effective means of doing this is to schedule a meeting involving all crisis team members and your spokespeople to discuss various crisis situations and develop specific messaging for each of these scenarios. 

Remember that your messaging should be developed with transparency in mind.  Crisis situations often require more information sharing than traditional media relations efforts.  The level of transparency you provide can mean the difference between maintaining trust in your brand and seriously damaging your restaurant’s reputation.

Step 4 – Make Sure You are Communicating Effectively with all Stakeholders

A comprehensive crisis plan should identify all the major audiences who could potentially be impacted by a crisis, as well as the best channels for reaching those audiences.  

You should also keep your finger on the pulse of how key stakeholders are reacting to a crisis by monitoring conversations surrounding the issue.  Monitoring how a crisis plays out in both traditional and social media will guide your crisis team in making any necessary adjustments in messaging or strategy.

Step 5 – Keep an Eye on Your Restaurant’s Digital Presence

In the age of social media, any crisis can escalate into a bigger issue online. This underscores the importance of including a detailed and comprehensive social media component to your crisis management plan. Your plan should include a crisis team member with designated responsibility for actively and consistently monitoring owned social channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as user-review channels like Yelp. 

An excellent staff, pleasant environment, reliable vendors and great food are all part of the recipe for creating a memorable dining experience for your customers. While these are key components for a thriving restaurant, your restaurant’s recipe for success should also include establishing a strong communication plan that will help you prepare to effectively manage any crisis.

A Five-Ingredient Recipe for Restaurant Crisis Management posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com

MRM Research Roundup: Mid-February 2019 Edition

This edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features news on the appeal of the color red  at Valentine's Day from Baldor Specialty Foods, the best cities to open a restaurant from Bid on Equipment, restaurant loyalty and  top bagel loving cities.

The Appeal of Red Produce

The experts  at Baldor Specialty Foods noted the increase in sales of red produce in the two weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.  From pink dragon fruit to baby beets, to Radicchio Rosa, sales have shown to increase from 100- 300 percentin just two weeks leading up to this special day.

• Sales on Radicchio Rosa Digorizia increased by 198 percent
• Sales on Red baby beets increased by 159 percent( peeled increasing by 333 percentand unpeeled increasing by 152 percent)
• Sales on Blood Oranges increased by 112 percent
• Sales on Passion Fruit increased 103 percent
• Sales on Red Grapefruit increased by 250 percent
• Sales on Red Watercress increased by 156 percent
• Sales on Red Romaine increased by 114 percent

Best Cities to Start a Restaurant 

The team at Bid on Equipment surveyed to find the best cities to start a restaurant. There are certainly plenty of factors to think about when it comes to opening a restaurant. Buying restaurant equipment, hiring staff, obtaining permits and marketing are only a handful of “to-dos” that aspiring restaurateurs must keep in mind before opening their doors to the public.

And perhaps the biggest factor of all is location, location, location.

So, what’s the best market to open up a restaurant? After ranking the best cities to start a restaurant, we were able to find out where restaurateurs can get the best return on their investment. To narrow down the list to the top 50, they analyzed four key factors across 236 cities including:

• Annual restaurant sales per capita
• Restaurants per capita
• Number of restaurant industry workers per capita
• Median income in each city

To learn more, read the infographic and click here. 

Good News for Restaurants

Encouraging news keeps coming for restaurant operators. Same-store sales growth was 2.0 percent during January as the industry posted its eighth consecutive month of positive growth. January matched December’s growth; the best two months for the industry in more than three years based on same-store sales growth. These insights come from TDn2K’s Black Box Intelligence™ data, based on weekly sales from over 31,000 locations representing 170+ brands and nearly $72 billion in annual sales.

 “Winter months are tricky to report on due to the noise in the data coming from weather and the potential effect of holiday shifts,” said Victor Fernandez, vice president of insights and knowledge for TDn2K. “However, it is hard not to remain optimistic about the relative strength of restaurant performance, especially when looking at sales growth over a longer time period. January’s same-store sales growth compared with January 2017 was 1.3 percent. Industry two-year sales growth has now been positive for the past four months, after more than two years of declining growth.”

New Store Openings Continue To Hurt Same-Store Traffic

The bleak headlines continue when it comes to same-store guest counts in chain restaurants. January’s same-store traffic growth was -0.7. Despite remaining negative, traffic growth shows some signs of improvement. The average same-store traffic growth over the last two months was -0.8 percent. By comparison, the average for the previous six months was -1.5 percent. A recent study by TDn2K released to its members at the Global Best Practices Conference in January, analyzed the Black Box Intelligence traffic for existing chain restaurant locations from 2013 to 2018. The study revealed that the average restaurant location lost almost one of every ten restaurant visits in the last five years. The picture is quite different when factoring in the traffic of these newly opened restaurants. Total traffic growth for chain restaurants was actually positive in the last five years. In other words, consumers are not moving away from chain restaurants; in fact the opposite is true. The stark reality is that the net growth in new restaurants opened during the period outpaced population growth. Restaurant visits are diluted over a larger base, which translates into same-store traffic falling on average. Additional studies by TDn2K revealed that despite the industry’s same-store traffic woes, best in class performing restaurant brands are driving positive traffic consistently.

Consumer Spending Expected To Continue Expanding at Moderate Pace

“In the span of just two months, we went from stock market meltdowns to government shutdowns,” commented Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors and TDn2K economist. “Yet despite all the chaos, the economy keeps moving forward. Job growth remains solid and while consumer confidence was hit hard by the Washington political games, the decline is not expected to slow household spending significantly. Ultimately, people determine their consumption levels based on their incomes. Given that the rise in wages should accelerate as the labor markets tighten further, spending on discretionary items, including restaurants, should hold up quite well.” “The only major issue overhanging the economy is the potential for a full-fledged trade war. More than likely an agreement that is more puff than pastry will be the outcome. Once that hurdle is cleared, the economy and consumer spending should expand at a moderate pace the remainder of the year.”

Sales Were Strong Throughout Entire Industry In January

Sales performance was strong across the entire industry for the last two months. All industry segments posted positive same-store sales growth in December and January, the only time this has occurred in the last three years. The best performing segment based on same-store sales during January was fine dining, undoubtedly assisted by a shift in the New Year’s Eve holiday, which fell into the first week of the year in 2019. Conversely, this segment was among the worst performers in December, as the effect of this holiday shift worked against them. Other top performing segments during January were quick service and family dining.

Weather A Factor in January

Severe winter storms were a factor in four out of the five regions of the country with the lowest same-store sales during January, ranging in sales growth from 0.1 to -0.5 percent. New England, New York-New Jersey, the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic all reported same-store sales growth worse than -5.0 percent during the third week of the month, as winter storms kept some consumers from dining out.

Staffing Challenges Continue for Restaurants

According to TDn2K analysis based on data from White Box Social Intelligence™, service is the key attribute of the restaurant experience where top performing brands in the marketplace continue to excel. However, the staffing crisis being experienced in the restaurant industry is making it close to impossible for brands other than those at the highest level of performance to deliver on the service levels they aim to provide. There are many factors contributing to these increased staffing headaches. The industry continues to expand, placing a lot of pressure on those people responsible for keeping restaurants fully staffed. Year-over-year growth in restaurant jobs was 2.4 percent in December according to TDn2K’s People Report™. The sentiment in the industry also points towards rising staffing difficulties. According to the Q4 People Report Workforce Index, 59 percent of participating brands reported that recruiting managers during that quarter was more difficult than during the third quarter. 68 percent of brands reported increased recruiting difficulty for restaurant hourly employees. Poor employee retention continues to be the other roadblock for restaurant service. People Report analysis shows turnover for both hourly employees and restaurant managers increased again in December. Turnover rates remain at historically high levels, which translates to large portions of the industry’s employee base being short-tenured, not fully trained and unengaged in their jobs. For chain restaurants trying to win the share of stomach battle, this situation is not ideal. Poor retention makes it more challenging for operators to provide guests a superior experience that keeps them coming back.     TDn2K™ (Transforming Data into Knowledge) is the parent company of People Report™, Black Box Intelligence™ and White Box Social Intelligence™. People Report provides service-sector human capital and workforce analytics for its members monthly. Black Box Intelligence provides weekly financial and market level data for the restaurant industry. White Box Social Intelligence delivers consumer insights and reveals online brand health. TDn2K membership represents 43,000 restaurant units, nearly 2.6 million employees and $72 billion in sales. They are also the producers of leading restaurant industry events including the Global Best Practices Conference held annually each January in Dallas, Texas.  

Loyalty Engages Customers, Engenders Trust, Guarantees Brand Profitability

Brand Keys research finds that consumer expectations increase annually on average 25 percent. “Trust has become the connective tissue between brands and loyalty,” said Robert Passikoff, president of Brand Keys. “Expectations for trust are up across all product/service categories and brands an average of 250+ percentyear over year. Meanwhile, customer concerns regarding privacy, security, and brand transparency have reached a tipping point.”

Top brands customers rated highly at creating emotional engagement and loyalty in the restaurant categories are:

Fast Food

1. Chick-fil-A

2. Whataburger

3. In-N-Out

4. McDonald’s

5. Hardee’s

6. Subway

7. Burger King

Fast Casual

1. Panera

2. 5 Guys Burgers & Fries

3. Au Bon Pain

4. Shake Shack

5. Arvy’s

Pizza

1. Domino’s

2. Pizza Hut

3. Papa Murphy’s

4. Little Caesars

5. Papa John’s

6. Chuck E. Cheese

Out-of-Home Coffee

1. Dunkin’

2. Starbucks

3. McDonald’s

4. Tim Hortons

Top 10 Brands That Know The Secret of Loyalty

“Brands looking for guaranteed profits, can’t do better than loyal customers,” noted Passikoff. This year’s 2019 CLEI identified 10 brands regularly #1 in their categories, some from the time the category was established. “The following brands are perennial stars.”

Discover Card – Credit Cards: 23 years

Avis – Car Rental: 20 years

Google – Search Engine: 19 years

Domino's – Pizza: 15 years

Dunkin' – Out-of-Home Coffee: 13 years

Konica Minolta – MFP Office Copiers: 12 years

Hyundai – Automobiles: 10 years

AT&T Wireless – Wireless: 10 years

Amazon.com – Online Retailer: 10 years

Amazon Kindle – E-Reader: 9 years

“Today, loyalty is a fusion of emotional engagement, trust, and an ability for a brand to engage; to meet or exceed expectations consumers hold for their Ideal product or service. The brands on top of this year’s category lists know that,” said Passikoff. “More importantly they know how.”

Loyalty’s Fiscal Bottom Lines

“Marketers relying on a definition of ‘loyalty’ and ‘engagement’ as something they’ll recognize when it impacts their brands will be disappointed,” said Passikoff. “Brand awareness is not loyalty; satisfaction is not loyalty; entertainment is not loyalty.”

In 2019, and for the foreseeable future, there are three concrete fiscal realities of loyalty and engagement that marketers should keep in mind:

• It costs 9 to 11 times more to recruit a new customer than to keep an existing one.
• An increase in loyalty of only 7 percentcan lift lifetime profits per customer by as much as 85 percent.
•  Depending upon the sector, an increase in loyalty of just 3 percentis equivalent to a 10 percentacross-the-board cost reduction program.

A complete list of the 2019 CLEI’s loyalty and engagement winners can be found here.

“Decision-making has become increasingly emotionally-driven over the past decade,” said Passikoff. “But the addition of increased expectations for brand trust has radically altered the category landscape. Neither ‘business as usual’ nor ‘more social networking’ will cut it in this new brandscape. Brands have to move loyalty to the top of their to-do lists.”

Healthy Eating and Bagel Lovers

Starting with January, ezCater tracked healthy eating habits tied to New Year’s Resolutions and revealed that salad orders grew by 10 percent nationally through the year's first three weeks, while pizza orders nosedived by 20 percent, compared to the same period in December.  

As the network that connects millions of lunch-hungry office dwellers with over 60,000 restaurants and other caterers annually, ezCater also produced some notable city-specific data:

• Indianapolis is 2019's healthy eating star thus far (salad orders up 36 percent, pizza orders down 56 percent)
• Silicon Valley (salad up 23 percent, pizza down 6 percent) and Seattle (salad up 26 percent, pizza down 27 percent) are in a tech HQ good eating grudge match
• Los Angeles is keeping up its spa cuisine image (salad up 12 percent, pizza down 37 percent)
• Boston can add better food bragging rights to its beloved Sox and Pats boasts (salad up 15 percent, pizza down 30 percent)
• Chicago has moved well past its brats 'n beers rep…at least come lunchtime (salad up 6 percent, pizza down 31 percent)

The company also set out to find the top bagel loving cities across the nation as well as how bagel orders compared nationally throughout 2018.

No surprise, New Yorkers love their bagels with NYC making up nearly 40 percentof all bagel orders on ezCater, followed by Boston and Washington, DC.

Top 10 Bagel-Loving Cities

1.     New York, NY

2.     Boston, MA

3.     Washington, DC

4.     San Jose, CA

5.     Atlanta, GA

6.     San Francisco, CA

7.     Chicago, IL

8.     Philadelphia, PA

9.     Los Angeles, CA

10.  Phoenix, AZ

The South saves their carbs for other meals – Houston, Austin, Nashville and Raleigh are among the cities that ordered the least number of bagels last year. The network that connects millions of hungry office dwellers with over 60,000 restaurants and other caterers annually also revealed the following month-to-month data:

•  Carbing-up for the winter, September through November racked-up the highest bagel orders while the lowest bagel orders occurred in January and February, presumably as people start their low-carb healthy eating resolutions.

The Impact of Missing a Shift

A study reveals that for today’s hourly workforce, missing a single shift comes at a steep cost. The new research from WorkJam — a leading digital workplace platform — found that for nearly half of employees surveyed, one missed shift means late payments on rent, utilities, and other basic necessities.

“Today’s workforce is living paycheck to paycheck,” says Steven Kramer, co-founder, president, and CEO of WorkJam. “For them, the loss of a single shift can jeopardize control over their entire livelihood.”

Titled “The Economic Impact of Missing a Single Shift,” the study is based on data collected from over 1,000 U.S.-based hourly employees and employers across the retail, hospitality, logistics, healthcare, and banking industries. It exposes the far-reaching implications of missing a single shift, including being unable to pay utilities on-time (49 percent of respondents), missing rent (27 percent of respondents), and foregoing groceries for a week (25 percent of respondents). 

According to Kramer, these findings should call attention to the impact miscommunication and erratic scheduling practices has on frontline workers. 

“It’s never been more important for employers to make communication and scheduling a priority, so that they aren’t putting their employees at risk of foregoing basic necessities,” he said. 

But improving scheduling is a tall order for industries still reliant on outdated methods. As the study revealed, 55 percent of hospitality and 57 percent of retail workers still depend on paper schedules posted in break rooms to determine their weekly shift assignments. 

“Miscommunication and scheduling inconsistencies deepen the disconnect between employers and their frontline employees,” Kramer said. “This drives down employee engagement, which can have a major impact on a company’s bottom-line.”

A consistent work schedule can empower hourly employees to control their economic well-being. By simplifying the front-end distribution and management of schedules and unexpected shift changes, digital workplace platforms such as WorkJam help managers improve staffing while aligning work shifts to the needs of their employees. 

“It’s never been more important for employers to consider investing in a digital workplace platform,” Kramer said.

To download the report, click here.

RBI Performance Expectations

Restaurant Brands International is headed for success in 2019, says GlobalData

Following Restaurant Brands International’s full year and Q4 2018 results, Lewis Towell, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, offers his view:

“2018 was a year which saw the company playing catch up with competitors, implementing all day breakfasts in Tim Hortons, rolling out delivery, and trying to expand all of its brands more aggressively using its franchising model, with Popeyes seeking expansion in areas such as the Philippines.

“The full year results suggest that the company is starting to see the benefits of these decisions. However, Tim Hortons' results continue to cause pause for thought, especially in the US. With the fast food and coffee market in the US so rich in world famous brands that are facing a lot of small, innovative brands, it takes more for larger brands to do well there. Until they deliver something unique, it is going to be difficult to turn consumers' heads. Nevertheless, Tim Hortons and Restaurant Brands International as a whole are headed in the right direction.

“The company has done well to cater to local tastes when introducing Tim Hortons abroad while maintaining products which are synonymous with the brand, such as offering tostadas for breakfast in Spain alongside its regular menu. It has also successfully began shifting its franchises toward the new normal in fast food, with kiosks, delivery and loyalty schemes all seeming to help keep sales headed in the right direction. All of this indicates that the company is headed in the direction and should continue to reap the benefits of the changes it has implemented in the first half of 2019.”

Holiday Retail Sales Fell

Holiday retail sales during 2018 grew a lower-than-expected 2.9 percent over the same period in 2017 to $707.5 billion, the National Retail Federation said today after the Commerce Department released data that had been delayed by nearly a month because of the recent government shutdown.

 “All signs during the holidays seemed to show that consumers remained confident about the economy,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “However, it appears that worries over the trade war and turmoil in the stock markets impacted consumer behavior more than we expected. There’s also a question of whether the government shutdown and resulting delay in collecting data might have made the results less reliable. It’s very disappointing that clearly avoidable actions by the government influenced consumer confidence and unnecessarily depressed December retail sales.”

The numbers, which exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants, fell short of NRF’s forecast last fall that holiday sales from November 1 through December 31 would grow between 4.3 percent and 4.8 percent to between $717.45 billion and $720.89 billion.

The total includes $146.8 billion in online and other non-store sales, which grew 11.5 percent over 2017. NRF had forecast that the online sector of retail would grow between 11 percent and 15 percent to between $151.6 billion and $157 billion.

November – the first half of the holiday season – grew 5.1 percent unadjusted year-over-year. But December was up only 0.9 percent year-over-year and down 1.5 percent seasonally adjusted from November. NRF does not count October as part of the holiday season, but much holiday shopping has shifted earlier, and October was up 5.7 percent year-over-year. As of December, the three-month moving average was up 0.7 percent over the same period a year ago.

“Today’s numbers are truly a surprise and in contradiction to the consumer spending trends we were seeing, especially after such strong October and November spending,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “The combination of financial market volatility, the government shutdown and trade tensions created a trifecta of anxiety and uncertainty impacting spending and might also have misaligned the seasonal adjustment factors used in reporting data. This is an incomplete story and we will be in a better position to judge the reliability of the results when the government revises its 2018 data in the coming months.”

NRF’s numbers are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which said today that overall December sales – including auto dealers, gas stations and restaurants – were down 1.2 percent seasonally adjusted from November but up 2.3 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

The holiday numbers come as NRF is forecasting that retail sales during 2019 will increase between 3.8 percent and 4.4 percent to more than $3.8 trillion.

Year-over-year results from key retail sectors during the November-December holiday season include:

Online and other non-store sales were up 11.5 percent at $146.8 billion.

Clothing and clothing accessory stores were up 4.2 percent at $61.7 billion.

Health and personal care stores were up 2.6 percent at $60.8 billion.

General merchandise stores were up 2.3 percent at $146.8 billion.

Grocery and beverage stores were up 1.9 percent at $130.5 billion.

Building materials and garden supply stores were up 1.6 percent at $61.5 billion.

Electronics and appliance stores were up 0.2 percent at $22.3 billion.

Furniture and home furnishings stores were unchanged at $22.6 billion.

Sporting goods stores were down 13.5 percent at $16 billion.

Travelers Eat Breakfast

A new survey from the Hyatt Place brand found that the more people spend their time away from home, the more likely it is that they will eat the proverbial “most important meal of the day.”

The survey of 1,507 respondents, which was conducted by Toluna on behalf of the Hyatt Place brand, looked at a range of breakfast habits among those who travel at least six times or more per year (frequent travelers) versus those who travel five times per year or less (infrequent travelers). The findings are as follows:

• A majority 63 percent of respondents who identify themselves as frequent travelers indicate they eat breakfast at least three or more days per week
• 45 percent of infrequent travelers indicate the same
• Nearly half (49 percent) of frequent travelers indicate they eat breakfast more often while traveling, while 40 percent of infrequent travelers indicate the same
• For those who indicated why they eat breakfast more often while traveling, frequent travelers were most likely to credit extra time as a key factor for “why,” while infrequent travelers were most likely to credit someone else making it for them as their main reason “why”
• Eating breakfast tops the list of things frequent travelers would do with an extra 30 minutes in the morning, while infrequent travelers were more likely to choose sleep
• A majority (53 percent) of all Americans, and nearly two-thirds of frequent travelers (63 percent) have chosen a hotel because of its breakfast offering
• Nearly half (49 percent) of frequent travelers describe breakfast as being made up of their favorite foods, compared to 36 percent of infrequent travelers
• One in three frequent travelers have met someone new while eating breakfast at a hotel
• Eggs/omelets are the go-to breakfast choice for Americans overall (26 percent), followed by breakfast sandwiches (15 percent) and then pancakes (eight percent)

Customer Service Frustrations

When asked to rank their top three frustrations with telephone customer service, the largest percentage of people chose being kept on hold (57 percent), followed by rude service (52 percent), and automated phone menus (51 percent).The data comes from a new survey report that explores why businesses must prioritize speed when managing their phone lines, and how they can implement improvements. Clutch conducted the survey of 501 people who called a business more than three times in the past six months.

Businesses should think both analytically and creatively about how they can reduce phone hold times. To approach the issue analytically, businesses should collect data on their hold times, asking questions such as:

• When are customers on hold the most?
• What departments receive the most calls?
• What questions do customers most commonly ask?

Some creative options for reducing hold times include calling the customer back when they are at the front of the line instead of making them wait on the phone, or offering them an option to schedule a call back for a more convenient time.

Customers Prioritize Efficiency When Calling Businesses

People most often ranked an “efficient resolution to my issue” (79 percent) as the trait they value most when calling business.

To increase efficiency, businesses can consider balancing their telephone customer service with other AI-based solutions, such as chatbots.

Shep Hyken, a customer service and experience expert, speaker, and author, said that chatbots work well for questions such as “Where’s my package?” or “I want to check my bank balance.”

“You don’t need to talk to a human to answer those questions and often, it’s more efficient to do so with a digital format,” Hyken said.

Businesses Shouldn’t Abandon Their Phone Lines

Given all the new communication options available, some businesses may be tempted to give up on their phones, directing all customers to chatbots, social media, or contact forms.

Yet, phones remain a critical customer communication channel for complex or personalized inquiries. In the past six months, people most commonly called a business to fix an issue (24 percent), ask a question (23 percent), or make an appointment (19 percent).

“How many times will you contact a business and they’ll send you a link to their FAQ page, and you say, ‘I already checked that page, or otherwise, I wouldn’t be messaging you,’” said Nathan Strum, CEO of Abby Connect, a virtual receptionist and telephone answering service provider. “It’s frustrating when people don’t think [their issue] falls into a certain category, even if in the end, it might. They want to feel heard.”

Read the full report here.

Using AI for Consumer Insights

Consumer brands have long used old-fashioned focus groups, interviews and surveys to best gauge consumer wants, desires and needs as part of processes that range from product development, to marketing and sales. As machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have emerged, there is an increasing interest in the ability to harness these solutions to save time and money, and to yield more reliable consumer insights.

Machine learning can help to analyze user-generated content (UGC), which involves the collection of data from online reviews, social media, and blogs, that provide insights on consumer needs, preferences and attitudes.

Despite the potential for better information, marketers have raised concerns over the value of UGC data because the sheer scale and quality of UGC makes it difficult to process.  While the data is accessible, identifying consumer insights requires human beings to analyze the data, which is hard to do at scale.

Two researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) decided to tackle this problem through research designed to examine the challenge of how to most efficiently use UGC to identify customer needs in ways that are more cost-efficient and accurate.

The study to be published in the February edition of the INFORMS journal Marketing Science is titled “Identifying Customer Needs from User-Generated Content,” and is authored by researchers from MIT.

They find that machine learning can improve the process for identifying customer needs, while reducing research time substantially, helping consumer marketing brands avoid delays in bringing products to market.

“As more and more people turn to the digital marketplace to research products, share their opinions, and exchange product experiences, large amounts of UGC data is available quickly and at a low incremental cost to companies,” the authors said.  “In many brand categories, UGC is extensive. 

For example, there are more than 300,000 reviews on health and personal care products on Amazon alone.  If UGC can be mined for customer needs, it has the potential to identify customer needs better than direct customer interviews.”

Other advantages of UGC data are that it is updated continuously, which enables companies to stay current with their understandings of customer needs. And unlike customer interviews, UGC data is available for research to return to further explore new insights.

To conduct their research, the study authors constructed and analyzed a custom data set which compares the customer needs for the oral-care category identified from direct interviews to the customer needs from Amazon reviews. The data set was constructed in a partnership with a marketing consulting firm to ensure the industry-standard quality of the interviews and insights.

The authors developed and evaluated a machine-learning hybrid approach to identify customer needs from UGC.  First, they use machine learning to identify relevant content and remove redundancies. The processed data is then analyzed by human beings to formulate customer needs from selected content.

“In the end, we found that UGC does at least as well as traditional methods based on a representative set of customers,” the authors said.  “We were able to process large amounts of data and narrow it to manageable samples for manual review. The manual review remains an important final part of the process, since professional analysts are best able to judge the context-dependent nature of customer needs.”

 

 

MRM Research Roundup: Mid-February 2019 Edition posted first on happyhourspecialsyum.blogspot.com