Top 10 Changes for Restaurants After COVID-19

Top 10 Changes for Restaurants
Top 10 Changes for Restaurants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big changes for restaurants after COVID-19

I thought it was time to look into the crystal ball.  After scouring news articles for 60 days, several themes arose from the ashes of the pandemic to reveal the top-10 changes for restaurants after the crisis ends.

  1. Chains will rule – 7 of 10 restaurants are owned by individual operators according to the National Restaurant Association, most of whom are independent. Unfortunately, those independents have been the majority of closures and if 10-15% of all restaurants permanently close during the pandemic, then only healthy chains will be left.

Prior to the Pandemic, the outlook by the National Restaurant Association was reported here for context. https://www.restaurant.org/research/restaurant-statistics/restaurant-industry-facts-at-a-glance

Outdoor Dining

2) Growth will rebound – Chains will increase unit growth to fill the void left by closed restaurant locations. New independents will arise out of the ashes. The new wave of restauranteurs will have learned from the recent crisis and will focus on sustainability of operations by leaning hard into delivery, take-home, contactless payment, and other enabling technology.

3) Ghost kitchens – new and existing concepts will cooperate together to develop ghost kitchens where multiple cuisines live in harmony to satisfy the appetite of urban dweller and the virtual food court will become a thing.

Starbird’s is working on virtual brands for what they call a cloud kitchen strategy.  Details: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/emerging-concepts/ceos-5-takeaways-what-works-post-pandemic?utm_campaign=20200601&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jolt

4) Cleanliness is next to Godliness –  Serve-Safe and other entities who train restaurant employees to prepare and handle food will proliferate and the constant disinfecting of communal surfaces such as counters, door handles, tables, chairs, and condiments will become the expected norm. The reopening guide by the NRA will be followed by all and probably expanded by many. https://go.restaurant.org/covid19-reopening-guide

5) Off-premise will continue to grow – Now that consumers are getting used to ordering food digitally and internal and external delivery is expected, the trend may slow after the pandemic ends but the trend for facilitating delivery, take-out, meal kits and the like will proliferate.

6) Digital Rules – Every restaurant, whether they be independent, or part of a chain will provide as many e-commerce channels for guests to order food as possible. Wing Stop, Domino’s, and Chipotle are doing well during the pandemic because they were positioned to survive in a crisis.  All restaurateurs who don’t learn that they need to embrace digital orders and provide ways for customers to get the food where they want it and when they want it will fail. Perhaps this should be #1 on the list for the top-10 changes we will see in the restaurant industry.

7) Shrinking dining rooms – Because of the shift to off-premise dining, new restaurants in all categories will reduce the square feet of their dining areas. Existing locations will remove tables and chairs to always be prepared for social distancing.

8) Marketing mix shift – Whereas TV was a big part of the advertising mix for national chains and larger regional chains, the shift to off-premise will force restaurant brands to lean much more heavily into digital advertising channels. The shift will occur because restaurants will more easily track conversions from online visibility to online orders as a key metric. The brands that do continue to use to TV will determine how to make Outcome-Based TV buying work.

9) Marketing Messaging – All restaurants will need to understand their consumer and know the new customer journey better than ever before. Every brand will also need to nail their brand proposition because if they don’t, all ads after the pandemic ends will be about digital ordering and delivery.  Digital channels may be a convenient benefit, but if every restaurant offers the standard digital channels, those digital channels will not be unique to anyone.

10) Counter Culture – There will also be creative and innovative individuals and organizations that will buck the status quo. Whether they embrace video dining, reinvent food halls, or return to a cash-only payment model, we will see successful attempts to do everything they can to not be trapped by the previous 9 changes.

In conclusion, the top-10 changes for restaurants may be different from this list but you can bet many of the themes will occur because they are happening now.

Photo Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider

https://www.itbpartners.com/doug-reifschneider/

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

Who can Keep Up with Marketing Technology?

According to a recent study by Chief Outsiders, a national marketing strategy consulting firm, 88% of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) see the difficulty in staying ahead of Marketing Technology.

Why?

According to Forrester, technology has not just impacted business, it has disrupted it. So much so that CNBC reported that the average life span of an S&P 500 company is about 20 years. It was 60 years in the 1950s according to Credit Suisse. 1

The way technology is evolving, imagine what that figure might be in 20 years.

All you have to do is look at Moore’s law to understand why technology is moving so fast.

What is Moore’s Law & How Does It Impact Marketing Technology?

In 1965, Gordon E. Moore, the co-founder of Intel, made this observation that became Moore’s Law.

Moore’s Law refers to Moore’s perception that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years, though the cost of computers is halved. In addition, Moore’s Law states that we can expect the speed and capability of our computers to increase every couple of years.  Plus, we will pay less for them too. Another tenet of Moore’s Law asserts that this growth is exponential.2

Marketing Technology is influenced by Moore's Law
Moore’s Law tenet is that the number of computer chips on a single board grows exponentially.

Source: Moore’s Law graph3

It is hard for a human to keep up with exponential growth. And marketers are human.  This is why marketers are having trouble keeping up with marketing technology.

Why specifically do CMOs think it will be hard to stay ahead of technology?

Because many CMOs haven’t kept up with marketing technology to-date.  And the exponential growth that is expected to continue will be mind-boggling.

The Marketing Menu Changed!

For example, as recently as the 1990s, marketers had a finite list of advertising and promotional tactics at their disposal.  The tactics to increase sales, improve brand awareness, and grow market share were low tech too.

  • Television (local, spot and cable)
  • Radio (Local & national)
  • Print (Direct mail, FSI’s, newspaper -remember those?)
  • Out of Home (Billboards, transit benches, and shelters, taxi’s, etc.)
  • Promotion (sports teams, schools, etc.)
  • Yellow pages if a local or multi-location business

Today, with the addition of  OTT (Over the Top) TV, banner ads, advertising on social media, and other digital options, the choices on where to place advertising dollars are staggering.

MARTech = Marketing Technology

The modern CMO is faced with options in Martech and Adtech.  Yes, those are real terms used within the marketing world. In 2011, we had about 150 MarTech choices.  By 2019, there were over 7,000 choices.

Marketing Technology growth since 2011
In 2011, there were about 150+ Martech vendors. By 2019, there were over 7000!

 

To put in perspective, RedHat published the following tech stack that is aligned with the customer journey. One brand using this technique would interact with over 30 Martech vendors.

Who can keep up with that, let alone stay ahead of it?

Marketing Technology used for customer journey
Illustrates 30 MarTech companies have to work with to manage the customer journey.

Source: 4

Technology has disrupted business in many ways.  According to Forrester, the primary reason technology has disrupted business is based on three issues:

  • Empowered consumers
  • Blurred lines between digital and physical
  • Disruptive business models powered by data and tech

In their reports titled “Winning In The Age Of The Customer,” and “The Customer-Obsessed Enterprise” Forrester suggests that companies that are not just customer-focused, but customer-obsessed, achieve higher revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.

Enter the COVID-19 pandemic

To put into perspective how important technology to business is, consider how different brands in food service were impacted by the pandemic.

 

As reported in QSR magazine for Domino’s “What’s happened in the first four weeks of Q2 (March 23 to April 19) has been more enlightening. Domino’s witnessed U.S. company comps jump 10.6 percent. Franchises are up 6.9 percent. Blended, it’s a 7.1 percent year-over-year same-store number.”

Chipotle’s digital sales grew 80.8% and accounted for 26.3% of sales for the quarter leading into the pandemic. Source:   https://ir.chipotle.com/2020-04-21-Chipotle-Announces-First-Quarter-2020-Results

The first 3 examples are from brands that were already focusing on their digital capabilities.  Wing Stop was one of the first restaurant brands to offer chatbot ordering on social media platforms. And Domino’s has become the de facto leader in the pizza segment when it comes to technology.

The key takeaway for restaurants is that the pandemic created a new set of consumer desires and demands and the brands (often chain with marketing teams) already knowledgeable and leading in technology won. This plays out in retail too.  If you’re a retailer and you didn’t have an eCommerce platform prior to March 13, you’re probably hurting bad, or closed.

The pandemic forced many brands to accelerate their use and adoption of technology to meet the new consumer needs.

Conclusion

The bottom line when it comes to brick & mortar businesses is that marketing technology is part of the customer experience and great technology can create a great frictionless user experience. Bad technology can do the opposite. The pandemic forced business owners to embrace eCommerce, digital ordering, and contactless payments and transactions faster than ever before. Consequently, brick & mortar brands must:

  1. Own all the consumer touchpoints
  2. Own customer data
  3. Connect offline to online for a true omnidirectional view of your customers

It’s not easy to keep up with technology. The effects of social distancing and working from home simply made every business pivot or adapt to less touch and more connection via technology.

If Forrester is right, the technology we marketers use to reach intended customers needs to pivot and more companies need to become customer-obsessed to succeed.

Staying ahead of that trend will be very difficult, very difficult indeed.

 

Head shot of Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider

Doug Reifschneider is a 30+ year marketing veteran in the foodservice industry.  He currently works with Chief Outsiders as a fractional CMO.

https://www.itbpartners.com/doug-reifschneider/

Sources:

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/technology-killing-off-corporations-average-lifespan-of-company-under-20-years.html
  2. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mooreslaw.asp#nearly-60-years-old-still-strong
  3. https://hackernoon.com/moores-law-is-alive-and-well-adc010ea7a63?source=rss——-1
  4. https://cdn.chiefmartec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/red-hat-martech-stackie.jpg
  5. Source: Winning In The Age Of The Customer Forrester report
  6. Source: The Customer-Obsessed Enterprise Forrester report

 

UNITE: “WEE WILL…” EXPERIDIGM Enable “E”cosystems; by Mark Grace

Overview

We humans and “E”cosystems (Es) must unite as WeE to preserve and foster the ability to joyfully experience a natural and healthy life. “Es” sustain We with natural air, water, soil, and healthy food, but “Es” are dying from human poisons/pollution and intentional “T”yrant taking. WeE must unite and build meaningful WeE experidigm group rights to ensure WeE ability to survive and pursue healthy experiences. Learn how to create lasting WeE experidigm group rights. Unite and joyfully WeE experidigm together. Live healthy and experience Amness joy. Use Part 4 as a Field Guide to help WeE and “E” successfully survive and experidigm together.

Description

The future of humanity depends on the human ability to better live together and do activities together – I call this experidigming. Our future does not depend on how well we work together in business. We are pretty good at that now. We are poor at living together with and supporting all living entities in ecosystems (“Es”). Over 7.8 billion people are consuming “Es” at an unprecedented rate. Left unmanaged and unchecked, people may consume all “E.” Our future depends on how well We humans respect, steward, and support all living entities in “E.” This book describes how to have We humans and “E” living entities experidigm together as WeE, building a sustaining and thriving relationship for all within the WeE experidigms. One fact is certain – humans cannot survive without the life giving power of “E” to deliver clean air, water, alive soil, and trillions of living entities that share healthy food with humans. WeE experidigm groups can protect, sustain, and foster “E” while defending WeE using experidigm group rights. We and “E” must unite as WeE to sustain life and create the necessary balance of life to sustain daily living. Join a local WeE experidigm group to do activities and receive joy. This book describes how to UNITE and participate in the joyful experience of We and “E” combined WeE.

About The Author

Mark Grace

Described as a rainmaker and innovation leader, Mark Grace lives by the adage, “Aim higher, achieve more!” For Grace, “There will be setbacks, but the good side just points upward and you go upward to better. You might not see better right away, but better is there if you keep looking and seeking. You can avoid, deflect, and ignore the bad people who try and stop your growth.” As an inventor, Grace has received over 18 patents, many trademarks and has been honored with international technology awards. He is the author of a series of personal and corporate “how to grow” opportunity books: 1) Elements of Visual Talking, 2) Soaring to Awesome-Turd Throwers Beware, 3) Choosing Up, 4) Avoid Takers, 5) NEXT: “I Am…” Experidigmer 6) MORE: “We Am…” Experidigmers, 7) GO: “We Will…” Experidigm, and 8) UNITE: “WeE Will…” Experidigm. Grace earned his MBA from Washington University and Chemistry degree from St. Louis University. He is the founder of the growth advisory firm, Beyondvia Technologies. Beyondvia.com offers practical better ways to liberate individuals and organizations to grow and evolve their visions and value. Grace regularly advises global organizations and contributes to leading journals across a myriad of industries. Experidigm.com is the signup gateway to participating in Applied Experidigm Zones (AEZ) and building personal experidigms.

Contact:

Plant a Pine Tree!

Do you know the best time to plant a pine tree?

TWENTY YEARS AGO!!

Do you know the best time to plan your exit strategy??

The first day you stick the key into the front door of your new office!

Franklin Covey said, “Start with the end in view!”

I know in the excitement of launching a new venture and all the chaos that ultimately ensues, an exit strategy is the LAST thing on an aspiring business tycoon wants to consider.  The problem is that once it is pushed to the back burner, it tends to stay there for the next 30-40 years!

So let’s compromise!  If you are 55 years old and own a business, it is time to start giving serious consideration regarding what your ultimate destination will be.  An “Exit Strategy” is about selling the business off and a “Succession Plan” is about passing it down to the next generation, but both demand serious consideration well before you are ready to step away.

Two realities must align at the same time to maximize the value of a business: The owner must be mentally and emotionally prepared to walk away from a business they birthed and nurtured for the last 30-40 years AND the business must be structured to operate without the daily oversight of the owner and generating the highest level of profitability possible. Invariably, the business owners get to the finish line before the business is ready to command its highest multiple!

Now a good M&A guy can recast your financials to take out the country club membership and the spouse’s Cadillac, but if profits have been leaking out of the business, there just isn’t enough lipstick to make that pig win the blue ribbon!

The reason a 10-year runway is advised is to be able to make any necessary corrections in the business and run at that higher level for at least 3 to 5 years prior to going to market to demonstrate sustainable profitability.

As Dr. Ortego used to say, “The VALUE of a thing is the PRICE it will bring!”

Plan NOW to MAXimize Your Exit!!

 

Ralph Watson

Ralph Watson has a varied and extensive career spanning 45 years of increasingly responsible positions in both sales and operations in a very diverse mix of industry specialties, including food processing, textile and apparel, financial services, and professional management consulting.

Ralph served as a Senior Executive Analyst with a number of international consulting companies focused on the family-owned, privately held market where he distinguished himself as one of the top analysts in a highly competitive field.  In early 2014, he personally coached 10 businesses in Europe.

Ralph C. Watson, Jr.   404-520-1030

Thank you for visiting our blog.

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Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

 

Employee Engagement – Why Is It So Critical Now?

Today’s employees are facing unprecedented levels of stress both personally and professionally.

Employee Engagement

In many companies, employees face uncertainty and perhaps a furlough, layoff, or pay reduction due to the economic impact of the pandemic. In other companies, where the demand for their service or product suddenly increased (PPE products, telemedicine software, or video conferencing) employees find themselves overwhelmed with excessive hours week after week, perhaps in addition to now having to home school their children. And then there are the essential employees that have been asked to risk their own health to meet the new societal demands brought on by the pandemic.

Every day, we are reminded of the toll the pandemic is playing on employees. You can hear it in employees’ conversations and see it play out live on Zoom conference meetings. The daily news is filled with employees’ reactions to their company’s actions in response to the pandemic. Some companies like Amazon and Google made national news as employees expressed concerns to the press.

How employers treat their employees and how employees perceive their company during this challenging time will have a long-term impact on employee engagement levels for years to come. We saw proof of this in the years that followed the 2009 financial crisis. During that crisis, many companies failed to demonstrate compassion and their actions did not facilitate trust. As companies focused on the economic downturn, they failed to take steps to keep their employees engaged. As a result, many companies experienced decreased productivity, reduced customer satisfaction, and higher levels of attrition for years after 2009. Similarly, their brand was impacted for years to come as potential new hires used social media and networking to uncover past employees’ perceptions of their employers.

Organizations that take steps now to prevent a long-term disengaged workforce will reap benefits not only in the short-term but for years to come after the pandemic is history. Even as companies work hard today to contain costs, there are a number of simple, low-cost actions all employers can take to keep their workforce engaged.

High Impact, Low-Cost Employee Engagement Actions

Ensure alignment of the leadership team. Senior leaders set the tone and are responsible for making sure all managers model the tone and deliver consistent messaging.

Constant, transparent communication with employees is key, especially in trying times. Companies can keep employees informed through various channels, including corporate-wide virtual meetings, manager 1:1 meetings, and electronic updates.

Develop a culture and expectation that all managers check-in with their employees on a regular basis. By checking in with employees and listening, managers will develop an understanding of each employee’s concerns, needs, and goals.

Establish and communicate the go-forward vision for the company so employees can understand and support the vision.

Create an informal or formal mechanism to take the pulse of employees. Then ensure senior management receives this important feedback and as needed, takes actions in response to the feedback.

Regardless of the specific impact the pandemic is having on your business, the key to successfully and rapidly getting back on track at the back end of the pandemic will in a large part depend upon your workforce. By focusing on these employee engagement best practices, employers will foster a culture where employees are motivated to help the company achieve its goals. An inspired workforce will work hard to achieve productivity and sales goals. A disengaged workforce will complain to customers and resign when the job market picks up. Given the strong link between an engaged, motivated workforce, and corporate success, there has never been a better time for companies to focus on employee engagement.

 

Anne Gildea-Olt

Anne Gildea-Olt is the managing member of Strategic HRM Solutions, LLC., an HR consulting firm committed to helping companies successfully navigate change, accelerate growth, and deliver proactive innovative human capital solutions.

Anne@gohrmsolutions.com https://strategichrmsolutionsllc.godaddysites.com

Thank you for visiting our blog.

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

May Members Meeting via ZOOM

Jim Weber is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.  Kevin Garrett is our Main Speaker, Doug Reifschneider is the Spotlight Speaker

Kevin Garrett is a nationally recognized LPL Financial Advisor, and Partner in one of the largest financial planning consortiums in the country.

 

Kevin Garrett – Integrated Financial Group

Kevin and his team focus his extensive planning strategies around pursuing his clients’ goals and dreams for themselves and their families before and during retirement. He specializes in assisting women who are dealing with challenges in their lives, as well as the unique needs of sports and entertainment professionals.

 

Kevin is involved in the local community, most recently as a member of the International Rotary’s Dunwoody Chapter, Committee Chairman with the North Fulton County March of Dimes, as well as being on Advisory Boards for the St. Jude Golf for the Kids Invitational and the Fulton County school system. Kevin is a member of the Atlanta Athletic Club where he has been active on the club’s committees. He also coaches his son’s league basketball team. He lives in the Atlanta area with his life and business partner, Lesley, and their 2 sons and daughter.

SOUND ADVICE, COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES

Read more

 

 

Register by Clicking Here

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/988485706?pwd=M1RKQ1QxM1RpZXkrUWpGS2wvL2VpQT09

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The 7-R’s of Resiliency

Doug Reifschneider

Building portco resiliency right now 

The current COVID-19 crisis is already changing the economy in extraordinary and unexpected ways. But there are steps private equity firms can help their portfolio companies make to help weather the storm, and recover when the clouds lift, according to Doug Reifschneider, a CMO with Chief Outsiders.

 The world’s best epidemiologists only have models to predict the full depth and breadth of the COVID-19 pandemic, but companies are already feeling the weight of the economic fallout. They’re scrambling to find the best way to respond, and in many cases, survive, all the while being rightly concerned for the health of their families and communities. It’s not easy, and this is no time to pretend otherwise.

Some enterprises might be dusting off contingency plans for downturns or large-scale threats, but this moment requires more than that. It demands a resiliency program, one that’s clear-eyed and proactive. If the outlook is too bleak or too rosy, the result can be the same dangerous inertia. But Doug Reifschneider, a CMO with Chief Outsiders, has a series of initiatives that can counter that.

Building off his extensive experience in the retail and restaurant industries, Reifschneider has devised what he calls the “7 Rs of Resiliency Programs.” It’s a checklist that can help frame and direct the efforts to respond to COVID-19. “It’s based on a mental framework from the US Marines that is centered on three steps in coping with a crisis: improvise, adapt and overcome,” says Reifschneider. “Plenty of people are improvising at this point, but it’s time to look at more constructive ways to adapt and plan for recovery.”

Private equity firms would do well to look within each company of their portfolio and help guide them in executing each one of these steps.

Review costs. “Most people are already doing this, as they’d have to be asleep at the wheel if they weren’t,” says Reifschneider. Still, beyond canceling recurring services that are simply irrelevant, like window washing, it can involve hard calls about labor and supplies. A lot of restaurants, retail brick & mortar and even brand HQ’s are furloughing employees and the current stimulus will help alleviate that pain, but those cuts need to be executed without crippling the resiliency program.

Reassign tasks. Sometimes the best thing a company can do is focus on what it can give back. In the short term, that can be repurposing the business for strictly philanthropic purposes. He cites one restaurant that used its parking lot for a Red Cross Blood Drive. “It doesn’t address the bottom line, but it establishes the business as a partner in the community,” says Reifschneider.

Rethink offerings. For restaurants that never considered takeout or delivery options, this is the time to launch those. For retailers, this can involve more online ordering and curbside pick-up. But creativity is key here. Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chao was centered around its all-you-can-eat in-house dining experience. “So they became a butcher shop, offering their unique cuts of meat so folks could cook them at home,” says Reifschneider. “It’s a savvy way to redeploy inventory and keep sales from cratering completely.”

Another example is the company Wow Bao, that created a special licensing deal to allow other restaurants to produce and sell its dumplings by selling the ingredients and a few pieces of equipment to do so.

Reconsider sacred cows.  As businesses rethink their offerings, they can run smack into certain “sacred cows” that seem to be integral to their identity. That high-end eatery may balk at delivery options since that fish dish might be ruined in the thirty or forty-five minutes it takes to deliver it. “This is no time for those kinds of pretensions,” warns Reifschneider. “Find a way to make a meal pack, which are popular now, or focus on offerings that can be delivered successfully.” Several restaurants have created pop-up drive-throughs, with no more than a tent and a landlord’s blessing. And the likes of Home Depot have shifted to curbside pick-ups even as it prided itself on counseling customers in the store.

Reschedule Initiatives. Retailers and restaurants that had planned remodeling projects could move those up, but only if they have the resources to do so. “It would take only the best-capitalized businesses to embark on such remodeling projects, but if they can, it’s worth doing,” says Reifschneider. “Instead of closing for that week in August to remodel, do that now.” Of course, such initiatives can still be hindered by government directives that limit non-essential work.

Reconnect. Communication matters more than ever. “We may be keeping our distance physically, but we’ve never been more social,” says Reifschneider. “We have regular Zoom happy hours and contact clients regularly.” B2B companies will have closer relationships since they sell directly to their clients, but B2C companies shouldn’t go quiet either. They need to reach out every few days, so long as they are mindful of tone and content.

Reifschneider cites a recent study by Edelman that surveyed over 12,000 people across 12 countries on brand trust in the wake of COVID-19, which finds that 71% of respondents would lose trust in a company forever if that company is seen as putting profits before people right now.

 

“Every enterprise should take that 71% seriously, and make sure their communications are exclusively about how they’re helping their communities, their customers and their employees cope with the situation,” says Reifschneider. “Striking a tone of generosity and support is crucial.”

Ready the relaunch. There is no reliable guidance for when any company will return to normalcy. However, Reifschneider notes this shouldn’t prevent companies from planning the steps for a reopening. Employees will need to be retrained with new procedures for interacting with customers, and in the restaurant business, there are likely to be new protocols for food prep and increased sanitation. Dining rooms and showroom floors will get dusty during the shutdown, so time needs to be allocated for a deep clean. “This also might be a great time to retrain employees in customer service, stocking shelves, or getting CPUs in line,” says Reifschneider.

However, no one should take any of these steps in a vacuum. Each needs to be tailored to the market reality facing a given enterprise. “At Chief Outsiders, we vet all assumptions, with hands-on research initiatives that capture how customers and peers are thinking and acting,” says Reifschneider. “And we do this even when the market is stable and growing, let alone during a crisis that can change everything overnight.”

So perhaps the first step in any resiliency plan is for a business to get its bearings, and understand exactly where it stands at the moment. It might be all the more important to listen before speaking, to ask, and use that feedback to gauge what to do next. The best private equity firms will already have open channels with their portfolio companies and that level of candor and sense of collaboration should be extended to all stakeholders.

In times like this, humility might be a secret weapon, provided it doesn’t stop a company from acting. Fortune may still favor the bold in times like these, but only if the bold is informed and willing to help.

Doug Reifschneider
Doug Reifschneider

https://www.itbpartners.com/doug-reifschneider/

Thank you for visiting our blog.

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

Complimentary Offer For Coaching, Consulting, and Mentoring During Pandemic

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

This is a difficult, even unprecedented time.  There is great uncertainty, and many are fearful.  Some are suffering through this alone. Thankfully, this pandemic comes at a time when our technology makes forced isolation bearable.

In difficult times the American Spirit shines brightest because we face our challenges together.  Given the strength of our relationships, the value we place on one another, I am confident that we will overcome this scourge.  We may be bruised, but we will emerge stronger.

 

From a personal perspective, I believe my life’s mission is to help however I can.  My goal is to focus on what I can control and avoid dwelling on issues beyond my control.

I know that my core strength is helping people navigate the new normal for employment and career management. In many respects, this was the genesis of ITB PARTNERS.

I want you to know that I am here to help you. In fact, I am happy to offer my services free of charge to help you through this difficult time.

There are many things we can discuss, but I may be most helpful in the following areas:

  1. Navigating the quarantine.
  2. Developing a Personal Recovery Plan.
  3. Maintaining relationships with your customers, clients, and network.
  4. Viable Job Search Strategies.
  5. Key considerations to anticipate from the recovery.
  6. Significant trends to consider in your planning.
  7. Evaluating options and setting priorities.
  8. How to start a business.

Ultimately, I’m available to talk with you even if to bounce around some ideas or offer introductions from my vast network.

So, here’s my offer:

If you would like a free 30-minute consultation, email Jim.Weber@itbpartners.com  with this subject: “I Want  to Schedule a Free Consultation.”   I will respond back with my calendar tool to schedule a telephone or video call.

I hope you find this useful and will schedule a call.  If nothing else, I would enjoy an update from you to know how you are coping.

Best wishes for your continued health and safety.

Thank you for visiting our blog.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox.  Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.

Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read.  Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.

Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners

 

Buying Local: How Multi-Unit CEOs Can Win at Marketing in Anytown, U.S.A.

There was a time, generations ago, when buyers didn’t venture too far from their home to satisfy their basic needs. Today, most consumers don’t think twice about using a few keystrokes to get the necessities shipped from some distant warehouse to their front door.

Despite this phase shift, “buying local” remains a relevant concept and even a source of pride for communities that rally around the brick-and-mortar businesses that still dot the landscape.

So, in the face of Amazonian-sized efforts to get consumers to do otherwise, how can you, as a multi-unit CEO, provide the necessary marketing support to your local units to keep the lifeblood flowing?

Local store marketing, or LSM, though not easy, isn’t really that hard. Once you commit to a strategy, the actual motions can be exceedingly easy. Nonetheless, LSM requires patience, commitment and resources; and execution can be time-consuming and tedious. And unlike online marketing, where data flows in both directions, many LSM efforts are still measured by feet (the human kind), and not 0s and 1s.

So, how do we define LSM, and what are some key considerations to foster success?

LSM – A Definition

First, let’s consider the following examples:
• A local restaurant drops off a catering menu to your office.
• You notice that a little league baseball team is sponsored by the local hardware store.
• You encounter three dry cleaners within a mile of where you live, each with a sign that promotes their price or extra benefits.

Of these, which would you consider to be LSM? If you answered “all,” you would be correct. Whether you know it as guerilla marketing, shoe-leather marketing, neighborhood marketing or even just plain old “local marketing,” all of these fit the definition of LSM – marketing and advertising for a small business location to augment other national or regional marketing, IF the small business is part of a larger brick-and-mortar chain.

Lather, Rinse and Repeat

To be effective, LSM has to be executed every week, all the time. Sponsoring a little league team once, or replying to online reviews twice per year, or buying an ad in the local shopper twice is what we at Chief Outsiders call “Random Acts of Marketing” – those sporadic and non-strategic one-offs that do little to move the needle.

To be truly successful, LSM needs to be a fixture of every local store’s marketing plan – in the words of Vince Lombardi, “it is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing.” The best way to make this happen is to commit resources to it as part of your overall marketing mix. Since it typically comprises but a small percentage of your chain’s overall marketing budget, it is built for endurance – not speed – so you need to be patient with the outcome.

Site Awareness is as Important as Brand Awareness

I’ll share a true story about an experience I had when I was at Firehouse Subs. The story takes place several years ago, when online reviews weren’t yet a big thing, and mobile didn’t have the pervasive influence that it does today.
It was at a time when Firehouse Subs had about 300-400 restaurants, and we determined that, without the air cover of regional or national advertising, we had to do something to jump-start sales and get franchisees engaged.
One way we did this was by conducting “Founder’s Tours.” The co-founders, COO and many of the rest of the HQ staff went on bi-weekly road trips, known as Founder’s Tours. On one trip, we pulled up to a restaurant in central Florida and clamored out of the bus. There were 12 of us on the bus that day and when we arrived at the restaurant at around 9:30 a.m., we were given a map of neighborhoods and businesses to visit and bags filled with catering menus, courtesy cards, cookies, and chips. Of course, one person had to remain behind to be the sign waver.

That’s right – the sign waver. That’s because the two primary LRM tactics we were modeling for the franchisee were:
1. Neighborhood canvassing to get to know your neighbors
2. Sign waving to draw attention to the location

Shows example of sign waving
Sign waving in the rain

While I waved a large sign with a Firehouse Subs logo on it, six teams of two people each went into the trade area and visited as many other local businesses as they could in about two hours. When everyone returned to the restaurant, we debriefed.

Here’s what we learned:
• Each team covered a distance of about ¾ – 1 mile from the restaurant
• Most businesses were happy to receive the “free” goodie bag
• About 75 percent had heard of Firehouse Subs (Brand awareness, yes!)
Over half of those visited did not know of the specific location of this restaurant

I’ll let that last bullet point sink in for a moment. Over 50 percent of the people we talked to within a mile of the restaurant had no idea they were less than a mile from the restaurant. Had this been a new location, site awareness would have been expected to be low. Unfortunately, the business had been open and operating for more than 4 years at the time of the Founder’s Tour visit.

That’s when we realized that brand awareness is one thing, and site awareness is another. Having brand awareness without site awareness is worthless.
How can a small business let potential customers in their trade area know where it is located?

Be active in the community, get to know your neighbors — and be visible.

In other words, commit to local marketing for your locations, and be found.

About the Author

Doug Reifschneider is a dynamic marketing leader with 30+ years of experience in the restaurant industry and a demonstrated history of driving growth through the creation and delivery of unique, creative brand strategies enhancing customer affinity and market position.

Contact Doug at:   reif78@gmail.com

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