Restaurant Cater Marketing Bay Area Consult Advert Web Design PR

Contents

-Focus Areas

-Outdoor Appeal

-Signage

-Menu Design

-Promotional Material

-Print, Radio, TV ads

-PR & Publicity

-Website Design / Internet Marketing

-Community Marketing

Restaurant, Bar & Catering Marketing & Media Consulting - How can I build my business, I can't afford any big dollar advertising? T.V., Radio, Newspaper, even Coupons & Direct Mail...they're all over a couple Thousand Dollars to do them right. Forget it! All I can do is keep the doors open and hope people see us and come in…word of mouth will have to work…

Have patience Grasshopper...a wise old Chef once said, "You don't know what you don't know...relax, we know!"

We have a friend who operates just this way. We call her place "the Field of Dreams Café" because no matter who tells her differently, she and her husband believe, "If we build it…they will come."

They provide no money for Marketing, Advertising or Promotions. They had new menus designed, but wont print them due to the expense. They decided one afternoon to start opening on Sundays, but didn't tell anyone and after four months they still only have one or two tables while the surrounding restaurants are packed. When they bought it, they moved the Business from a Successful Shopping Center in the heart of a Business District to an Historic Tourist area surrounded by Classic Residential homes. Their business has dropped from 45K per month, to 20K per month in a year & a half and they won't take anyone's advice. They just continue to believe things will get better. God bless their Faith!

So what do you do if you don't have much of a Budget and you want to grow your Business?

Generally, successful Restaurants focus on "THE NEXT" Customer. Customers already in your place should be encouraged to come back by the fabulous Food, excellent Service and Welcoming, Clean, well Organized, Professional Atmosphere you provide. But how will "THE NEXT" customer come to you if they've never heard of you, can't find you or don't know what you do? Here are the first five rules of effective Marketing in Today's Food& Beverage Service and Hospitality environment:

1. Time is Money. Why wait until tomorrow to make money today?

2. You need to have an operational Budget for Marketing, Advertising and Promotional costs the same

way you budget Food Cost and Labor Cost.

3. Identify your Market Niche, Review what your Competitors are doing, then decide on the proper tact

to take to achieve your business development goals.

4. Try to have a well-rounded multi faceted approach that targets many different markets so all your Marketing

Budget eggs are never put in just one basket.

5. If all of this is Greek to you, then Consult the Chef!

Local Owner Operators come in every size from Pizza & Delivery, Quick Serve & Deli, Coffee & Snack Counters, Salad Bars & Cafeterias to Sports Bars & Casual Restaurants, Small Plate Wine Bars & Elite Fine Dining Haute Cuisine Restaurants. Every Marketing, Advertising and Promotional need and Budget will be different also.

To start with, you must set aside some level of budget (about 10 % of Monthly Gross is a good starting place,) then, everything you do Operationally must take a Promotional, "NEXT CUSTOMER" stance; from your Image in Print to Signage, to Front Door appearance, to Dining Room décor, to your Personnel creating a “Sweet Selling” environment, all the way down to your Bathroom's cleanliness & interior design. Everything you do must present an inviting, compassionate yet professional Image, so you can excel in your target Market Niche.

So, how do I choose which Markets are appropriate to persue Advertising and Promotions for my Restaurant, Bar, Catering Business or Cafeteria style Kitchen?

First, recognize it’s a big, tough, competitive world out there. Major Fast Food Chains use Television & Radio. So do National Casual Dining Restaurant Chains. They also like Direct Mail Couponing and Print Advertising but these are usually supported by Franchisee Co-Pays (or All-Pays.) Many are trying Cooperative Partnerships with Internet and Cell phone providers to Market ads on consumer Social Websites and Personal Electronic devices. They want their Brand Name to be imprinted on your mind so anytime you're hungry you think of them first, as opposed to a local Restaurant.

So, how do you get local customers to think of you first and compete with the big Corporations?

The short answer is, the Public won't think of you first and you usually can't compete with the Big Guys…in their arena. You need to choose other formats to get your name out there in more localized Personal Appearances, Cooperative Ad Partnerships, Internet & Viral Positioning and Community Based Marketing Programs. In a Chart Form, here's what you're up against:

Location                                              # Food & Bev Businesses     # People per F&B Business
City of San Francisco                                             4,046                           199.9
Greater S.F. Peninsula                                           2,534                            278.9
San Jose & South Bay Area                                   5,024                            342.9
Oakland & East Bay Area                                      6,882                            364.7
Marin, Sonoma, Napa & North Bay Area                  4,047                            306.7
Greater San Francisco Bay Area Total                    22,533                           298.6
Greater Monterey/ Santa Cruz Co. Area                   2,085                            317.2
Greater Fresno/ San Joaquin Valley Area             4,032                          429.0
Greater Sacramento/ Central Valley Area               9,404                          349.0
Greater Los Angeles/Orange Co. Area                    34,924                           368.0
San Bernardino/ Riverside/ Desert Cities Areas        9,487                           437.2
Greater San Diego Area                                      7,617                           393.9
Greater Phoenix/Scottsdale/Valley of Sun Area       11,094                           356.5
Greater Tucson Area                                               3,537                           211.4
Greater Flagstaff & Sedona Areas                         429 / 63                    139.3 / 182.0

Figures EXCLUSIVELY compiled by CONSULT THE CHEF from various State, Local and Industry licensing and demographic entities. Targeted Statistics & Demographics for your County, City & Neighborhood available to Consulting Clients.

The right hand column represents the average amount of people from your Town you have to lure to your restaurant (as does your competition) per meal period. The higher the Number, the bigger the pool of People to draw from...these numbers are also key if you're trying to decide where to open a restaurant for available customer potential. These numbers can also be microscoped down to 2 miles surrounding your location. Yes, the numbers you compete against can be staggering, but don't let this dissuade you. You actually have many Business Opportunities and Marketing Tools at your disposal the National Corporate Chains don't!

Where the Big Guys fall down is forgetting that they are part of Communities and they need to do a much better job of interacting and becoming personal with their Customer's needs for comfortable Friendship, Nutrition, personal Service, Charity, Community involvement and local Awareness. In short they don't develop Personal Relationships with Consumers the way local Restaurant Owner Operators do. Therein, lies your advantage!

Consult the Chef has answers for every level of Budget that will open new doors to Marketing, Advertising or Promotions for your Business, regardless of size, who your Competition is and how many others are competing against you!

The Chef has proprietary tried and true methods (not detailed in our Focus areas below,) that have worked for every level of business he has worked for, from National Chain Restaurant to Mom and Pop Coffee Counter and all points in between. You'll want to hire us just for these programs, let alone all the other information he'll review and recommend.

If while you're reading about these things you realize you don't have THE BUDGET, the IDEAS & ANSWERS, the TOOLS or EQUIPMENT, or most critically, the TIME to learn about or enact these Marketing, Advertising and Promotional Solutions, then you need to call Consult The Chef to have us discuss a Consulting Solution for your Business.

Having all the Answers, Knowledge and Systems to effectively Market, Advertise and Promote your Restaurant, Bar, Catering or Institutional Kitchen, really is simple once you know how! That's why we're here, to Empower you, give you Knowledge and help you be a more profitable Food & Beverage business owner and operator!

Focus Areas of Restaurant, Bar, Catering, Marketing & Media Training - Look, I can cook, I make mean Drinks, I can Serve people and I can run my Restaurant, but I hate dealing with Advertising because I feel like they always lie to me, get me to buy things I don't need or understand and I never know until its too late what I'm actually getting or whether any of it is working…

Our goal is to Educate, Inform and Empower the Owner Operators of Restaurants, Bars, Catering Companies and Cafeteria style Kitchens, & Nightclubs across North America. Our goal is to pay for our consulting fees within one Operational Quarter from our engagement. We act on your behalf to negotiate, SAVE YOU MONEY and develop successful programs that MAKE YOU MONEY! This is why we offer so many levels of Consulting solutions. After talking to us, you sign up for the level you're comfortable with that you feel will help you understand and implement your Marketing and Media Advertising Goals most effectively.

Those who already have a great understanding of Marketing may just need some re-focusing that they can get from simply reading this site or calling us for a tip or to answer a couple of questions. FREE INSPIRATION & EMPOWERMENT!

Others want some targeted specific Knowledge for one area or they need help finishing a Promotional or Advertising project, so we'll Consult with them via Phone and Email to review, develop and help deliver their project for an hourly fee. LOW COST KNOWLEDGE!

There are those that get the basic Marketing, Advertising and Promotional concepts we outline in our Focus Sections below, they just don't have the Time to enact these things themselves, so they hire us just to Consult on a couple marketing Projects. We go on-site for 1 or 2 days at their location with follow-up Support Communication over the coming weeks. VALUE BASED TARGETED CONSULTING!

Then there are those that need entire Marketing Programs developed and rolled out to key personnel and Media sources and they need us to act as their Marketing & PR Agent as they pay attention to running their business. We Consult by visiting on-site often and regularly communicate from project inception through completion. COMPREHENSIVE, FULL SERVICE CONSULTING!

So remember, we can Customize specific Courses or Sessions or you can get one of our Value Based Consulting Packages that hits a broad variety of Services and Consultations for much less than combined individual Sessions cost. See our "Consulting Pricing" Heading Section for more information. Our job is to take care of you and your Food & Beverage Service or Food Sales Business.

Outdoor Environmental Appeal
As we said in our Operations Section, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. The first Impression you make is your Outdoor Appearance to people driving or walking by. Therefore, is the Strip or Shopping Center you’re in well landscaped or at least, well kept and clean? If you’re in the middle of a long block of storefronts, does your storefront stand out from all the others to catch driver’s eyes? Does your Outdoor Décor match your price and elegance niche? Do you have a freestanding building that is a little dingy, with overgrown shrubbery and a parking lot with potholes? Are you in a Mall or a large outdoor Center tucked far away from Parking or Foot Traffic? When was the last time you power washed your Garbage area, Parking Spaces or your Entry Walkway? Last Week? Last Month? Last Year? Last…Century?

Customers want their needs met efficiently and excellently whenever they are in the mood for whatever they want. We know this sounds painfully ambiguous but it’s true. People wanting a quick Cup of Gourmet Coffee and a Danish in the morning on the way to work need a small accessible Coffee Bar/Snack Counter location (optimally, with a Drive-Thru) where they can negotiate parking, entering and exiting quickly.

Customers wanting to get a great Soup& Sandwich combo at a local Deli or Sandwich Bar with friends, want lots of close parking, fun, bright décor and hopefully an outdoor Patio with a little green landscaping and nice outdoor furniture if possible.

Customers wanting a 2 hour Business lunch at a Casual or Family Dining Restaurant want Smart, Clean looking outer Décor and cleanly trimmed Landscaping to send a classy yet affordable message to impress clients and co-workers.

Typically (but not exclusively,) Couples (over age 35) and Families wanting a Fine Dining Dinner House or Gourmet Bar & Restaurant experience want impressions of expensive classic style or themed décor and landscaping to create an escapist dining experience. These must be immaculately kept and have choice of Valet or Self Parking.

Younger Successful Professionals who love “The Foodie” scene want cutting edge Artistic Night Clubs, Cocktail Lounges, Wine Bars and Haute Cuisine Restaurants whose exteriors scream new, young and avant-garde and…well…show-offish! It can be all Glass and Metal, all Oak Tree Stumps or Euro Finished Neon & Black lighting. Possibly Architectural Retro-Conversions of Warehouses, Garages & Basements with a real austerity based, minimalist exterior design. Every environment is different but screams arsty new trend!

Or our personal Favorite, the neighborhood Sports Bar & Grill that needs lots of close parking, Pennants of Favorite teams, lots of green fake grass outdoor carpeting (sometimes with yard or chalk lines) and of course, has the HUGE HDTV Scoreboard for a sign! (No Kidding we can really do this! Las Vegas eat your heart out!)

The Key is, the same Customer may want all of these venues, during the same week. So how do you make yourself memorable to that Customer so they'll remember to come to you when it's time?

Each venue has its own eye-grabbing exterior that that makes itself a memorable destination simply via drive-by visual appeal in its community. Customers get first impressions by how you appear externally. But as we stated above, every Bar or Restaurant’s priorities are different. Lawn based landscaping probably won’t be practical in Downtown San Francisco (all city) or Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona (all desert!) Screaming Window Painting won’t work for Casual Dining Restaurants in South Bay or East Bay Area suburban landscaped Malls or Los Angeles upscale bedroom communities.

We review your market niche, your local neighborhood environment, your local competitors and suggest Design Solutions you can get from Discount Warehouses or reputable Restaurant Designers (and help cost out bids if you like) to maximize the Public’s response your Exterior Appearance. However, you don’t always need to spend big bucks to gain appeal and identity. Foremost, don’t forget that the most important message you can send your customers is a CLEAN exterior environment. So, whether you’re trying to re-image an existing location or open a new venue from the ground up, Consult the Chef can help you with all your exterior Environmental Appeal & Design needs.

NEXT TO YOUR FOOD, THIS MIGHT BE THE SINGLE MOST INFLUENTIAL MARKETING TOOL YOU HAVE AT YOUR DISPOSAL!

Signage IN & Out

Exterior Signage (like the Sports Bar’s mentioned above) can make dramatic statements to your Community about your Class, Brand Identity, Cuisine Style and pricing Niche. These statements can be GOOD & BAD! Trying to stuff Too Much in a window says low cost neighborhood Grocery style Food & Counter Service. This is fine for an older, urban storefront Deli & Soda Shop in the middle of a City block. But that same Deli & Soda Shop in an Historic Artsy area of an upscale Tourist destination needs to be more subdued and have area appropriate themed signage and decor.

Exterior Signage is also part of your Brand Identity. It’s shape, size and design must fit your Image, your Building/Storefront, and last but not least, your City’s building and signage codes and parameters. Informational Signage must also be well thought out. Smaller lettered signs facing streets and not next to a door, are probably useless because drivers won’t slow down to read them and there’s not enough foot traffic to justify the cost. I know this seems obvious to most, but you’d be surprised at what we’ve seen.

The same holds true for Interior signage. We’ve sampled attractive Chalkboard & Dry-Erase style signs for Deli’s in San Francisco’s East Bay and Fresh Fish Counters along the San Diego Embarcadero and Malibu & Venice Beaches in Los Angeles. Some of these are extremely low cost looking shack style Food Counters but have fairly pricy Menus. One in particular doesn’t have anything under $10.00 on the Menu and tops out at a $25.00 plate. The Chalkboard works, but has high, daily maintenance depending on Daily Market Price.

Fine Dining Bars and Restaurants need very little in-house advertising or menu signage, but absolutely need Foyer and RESTROOM DIRECTION SIGNAGE. A well-placed “Banquets and Catering” sign near your seating podium or Daily Specials sign can reap huge benefits and profits, even in the highest end Fine Dining Restaurants.

Themed Bars & Restaurants need specialty signage to fit a fun concept, historical era or geographical theme. This involves everything from themed Menu designs to Sales based interior signage, to Informational and Directional signs (i.e. Restrooms.) Some signs are art and ambience enhancers. Some, like electronic crawl (news ticker) style signs offer specials, event and promotional information. Some signs are provided by vendors to encourage sales of proprietary products. You can also get sign add-ons to promote premium or higher profit brands.

We review your Bar & Restaurant’s style, theme, services, selling and informational signage and make recommendations to designers, sign makers or self-made sign solutions, as they are appropriate. Again every Restaurant’s needs are different and can only be properly assessed through an on-site visit. Interior signage has far more to do with increasing per person check and spending average as well as getting Diners to try other Catering, Banquet, Party or Retail services than “Next Customer” focus. However, lack of attractive, appropriately designed Interior Signage can absolutely cost you a returning Customer and future customers if a bad experience causes people to tell others.

Menus In-House, To Go & Catering
In-House Menus need to be far more explanatory than Catering Menus. To-go Menus should be almost as explanatory as In-House Menus, but also have an advertising function to them. Theme, market niche, price point and service style all work in concert with size, page number, readability, paper style, print & color to produce effective sales and consumer awareness of all of your goods and services. Then, of course, there’s on-line ordering and delivery menus, which require their own set of specialized design parameters.

But remember, no matter if you’re in The San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, the Arizona Desert or are any Bar, Restaurant or Caterer across the Nation, every good Menu is supposed to create questions and/or drive inquiries, so your staff ultimately needs to know your menu completely to support those questions and convert the Menu’s appeal into Sales.

This is foremost in Catering Menus. You should have a design emblematic of your Culinary Theme, your Service Style, your Price Points and your Benefit to the Customer compared to other Caterers. This is YOUR BRAND! What you don’t need is every package style or option or ancillary charge completely spelled out. You want people to call! Then, the Catering Director or Key employee needs to take over to close the deal. The Chef has over 10 years personal owner & directorship of Catering operations to some of the world’s most elite clients. We know how to drive sales from well-designed Menus.

To-Go Menus should be mini versions of In-house Menus but also be Business Cards and Sales Brochures at the same time. As such, paper style, print style for legibility and design layout are critical to the menu’s conversion for sales success. These aren’t just food lists, but Keys to your Branding and Public Image that need attention to detail.

Website Menus (mostly, at this point) are more like ad pieces to inform potential customers of your Culinary Style, Theme Ambience, available Services, Chef or Community reputation in addition to Specials, Promotions and Events. Those websites which provide reservation style, pre-ordering options, pick-up and delivery requests (paid on-line or on-site,) are usually, for more experienced customers of a Restaurant and therefore don’t need extensive explanation as to ingredients and preparation styles. You can read more about Internet Menus & Marketing in our Website Design Subsection Below.

In-House Menus are far less generic and have to be designed, worded, displayed and distributed in unique style to every Bar & Restaurant. Coffee & Snack counters may want Menu Boards. We know Fast Food & Quick Serve Drive-thru’s have Indoor & Outdoor back- lighted and/or electronic Menu Signs. Delis & Cafeterias may want both Boards and Printed Menus that double as To-Go Menus. Family Diners often choose one page, laminated colorful Menus. Casual Dining Restaurants can sometimes offer so many choices that their Menus resemble small phone directories. Some of the Chef’s Gourmet Dinner houses offered 12 entrée, One Page Parchment paper Menus printed daily (in Leather Bound Folders) depending on his daily selections. Some Steak, Prime Rib or Lobster houses have no Menus at all, due to the popularity of their specialty and servers verbally offer 4 or 5 other daily specials.

We will review every Food & Beverage Service & Hospitality Industry business’ needs for Menu development. Despite everything we described above, we also know that Budget is a critical issue as well. We have a network of Graphic designers for every level of job. Your Menus, whether for In-House, Catering, To-Go or Website, must reflect your current needs but be designed for twice-yearly change (at least) and ongoing future development. A good menu is not a destination to land upon; it’s the beginning of a long and rich story with regularly changing plot twists and turns!

We will review your staff’s ability to interact and support your menu as well as the Public Image your Brand attracts and then convert potential customers into loyal, regular, spending customers for a lifetime. We really offer strength and knowledge in this field and have resources for every budget to achieve success.

And remember, the Chef can also review, customize, design or add recipes to your Menu to improve quality and/or profitability. Go to our Recipes & Menus Section to view our incredible signature recipe catalog and see if there’s a dish you’d like to see on your Menu.

Promotions & Collateral Material
Historically, this has previously been another Graphic Design issue to enhance your Menu with more targeted, specialty Food or Beverage Items to promote Special Pricing or feature High Profit items. Just like the Menu issues however, these printed Promotions always require extra Service staff involvement to achieve success. Whether in Table Tent form, Menu within a Menu, Package Labeling, Bag Stuffers, Direct Mail Response pieces or Receipt Coupons (just to name the most popular) the printed material only supports the work of a good sales savvy employee or staff, not the opposite!

Today however, Promotions and supporting Collateral Material are often Internet driven with printable “Online only” offers, Gift or Swipe cards. Cross-Industry promotions (National Restaurant Chains and NASCAR or Theme Parks, etc.) allow visitors at one venue to save on prices at another. Cell phones are the latest venue to also be infiltrated by huge companies via pop-up messages similar to Websites.

The Chef spent 10 years cross promoting Fortune 500 companies with Franchised and Owner Operated Bars, Restaurants & Resorts throughout the Phoenix & Scottsdale, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Areas in addition to the Tucson & Sedona areas in Arizona, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz and Reno/Lake Tahoe areas in California and Nevada. We have been on both sides of this issue; both Bar & Restauranteur and Promotion fulfillment. Some of the most effective Promotions are enacted face to face, simply building relationships, not always with bells and whistles and fancy, costly ad pieces.

Now, some of this stuff is Proprietary Creative Product that we can’t share on our website, but the key to cross promotion is mutual benefit to both parties at as little cost outlay as possible. Even the best small business Promotion needs effective publicity, excellently produced collateral material and full commitment by ownership to train staff to excite, inform and entice the public to respond by spending repeatedly. If this is what you want for your Restaurant Chain, Franchise, Owner Operated Bar or Restaurant, Quick serve Deli style Counter, Cafeteria style Kitchen or Catering Company then Call Consult the Chef for some fabulous, effective Marketing Promotions and Customized Collateral Materials to insure a growth in Sales and Profits. We will review, recommend and produce an appropriate Promotion for your Business’ size and budget.

Media Marketing & Advertising - Print, Radio & TV

Long the domain of National Chains and high volume Restaurants, Media advertising does offer some value for certain Small to Medium sized Bars and Restaurants. However, the more immediate issue for Owner Operators is Cost Tolerance and Marketing Budget Allotment and the potential Return on Marketing/Advertising dollar Investment (ROI).

Newspapers, Magazines, Phone Books, On-Line Advertising, Television, Cable TV, Radio - all involve computing the potential exposure to the largest audience that has the most likelihood to convert into sales. The cost on this form of Media Advertising is high because these big companies usually pay whatever price the Newspapers & Networks ask for. This usually makes this type of advertising Cost Prohibitive for smaller Foodservice Businesses, specifically as it relates to Radio & TV.

Large Chains and Franchises have budgets that allow them to do what is called Image & Brand Awareness Advertising on Radio and TV that simply engrains the Company’s name (or Brand). Then, they use Newspaper and Direct Mail to follow up with offers of Special Coupon Deals or New Product Line Discounts. This part is called Direct Response Advertising because it gives the consumer a specific reason to respond. This dual Marketing approach is great for huge Budgets, but not so great for smaller Owner Operators. However, for some Owner Operators, Radio or TV may still make sense.

Some Specialized Restaurants that exist in and around certain Industry Neighborhoods may want to Advertise in those Industry Publications or on Industry Entertainment shows. We would absolutely recommend that a good-sized Sports Bar within a mile of a Major Sports Stadium investigate Sponsorship of a TV or Radio Broadcast or (at least) on the Station the Team(s) broadcasts on. It may be worth it to spend 70% of their Budget because the identity, target market niche and likelihood to convert Sports fans on their way to (or from) the Stadium into paying customers at a Sports Bar is high.

There are also industries that it seems Direct Mail, Print Advertising and Couponing is a pre-requisite, like Pizza & Asian Delivery. With some Franchises, this is a cooperative effort partially supported by the Parent Franchise. Some independent Restaurants choose to shoulder this expense on their own. Again, it depends on whether your sales volume can accommodate the budget it takes to continually afford this type of advertising. These Restaurant styles usually have lower food cost/higher profit margins so a 15% to 20% Marketing Budget is very realistic and sustainable; it’s simply the cost of doing Business.

For the Small to Medium sized Bar and Restaurant, Media Marketing must be reviewed in relation to Sales Volume, Volume Growth Potential from Ad dollars spent and/or Controllable Profitable Income (CPI) after expenses. If your total Marketing Budget is 12% of Gross Sales but a Cable TV campaign will take 80% of that total 12% Budget and all that affords you is Phone Book advertising, we would advise you to rethink that campaign. A refocused Radio (Typically lower cost) or Community Marketing Campaign may have higher conversion capability and cost far less. You need to develop a comprehensive program that lets you participate in many different Marketing arenas.

Consult the Chef will review your Sales Volume, Profit Percentages to establish an effective Budget for your Bar, Restaurant, Cafeteria, Hotel or Catering Company. From there we’ll also review your Market niche, Location and Business environment to determine the most effective form of media advertising to persue…OR NOT TO! Media Costs vary widely from The Bay area to Los Angeles, Las Vegas to San Diego or Sacramento & Fresno to Phoenix & Tucson. Sometimes, costs even vary from zip code to zip code. Our extensive experience in this field will help maximize your Marketing dollars.

Public Relations and Publicity
The Chef (Chef Steven Howard) had great success building his Private Chef and Elite Gourmet Catering Business in the Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona Market via Free Publicity from Personal Appearances for local Charities, Community Events, Television News and Cooking shows. He was able to move to the forefront of Southwestern Elite Gourmet Chefs & Caterers and changed the paradigm of Banquets and Catering to “must have – Live Cooking Chefs” as the industry standard for Weddings, Luncheons and Galas. These industry changes were forced by his “Live” appearances on Local TV & Radio. The Competition had to change to keep up. Some of these appearances were booked by the Chef himself and some through relationships built with Publicists.

Chef Steven also created a “Healthy Menu” for his In-Home Family Meals that featured well-rounded 3 course meals using his Signature “Steam-téed” method of Fat Free Caramelization Cooking that adds incredible rich flavor without Butter or Oil fat additives. Several Local Newspapers, Lifestyle Magazines and On-line Bloggers picked this up. These articles played their part in “Your Personal Chef’s” growth as well.

Consult the Chef Has access to wonderful Publicists, Connections and Ideas for getting the word out to Press for Reviews, New Restaurant Concepts, Openings, Culinary News, and anything that would be Educational or Charitable to the Community you serve. Much of this can be self-created without the help of Professional Public Relations. We can help create these publicity worthy ideas as part of a Full Business Review, on-site Marketing Consultation or Individual Consulting Session. It’s all part of the comprehensive Marketing Program we strive to build for your Franchise, Bar, Restaurant, Deli, Delivery, Cafeteria or Catering operation.

Website Design & Viral Marketing

Every Individual Franchise, Bar, Restaurant and Catering Company wanting to grow their Business MUST HAVE A WEBSITE…even a Hot Dog Cart! It truly has become more necessary than even a Phonebook Listing! Here’s why:

If you’ve done your job with Outdoor Appeal Marketing, neighborhood locals are apt to find you via drive-by "sight" location, even if they don’t remember your name. Those traveling more than two miles to get to you for the first time, may not know your name to ask for your number from the phone book or information. Plus, if they’ve been in once before, they should have printed material you’ve given them (again, assuming your Menu Marketing is properly executed) to re-contact you. Virtually 95% of the working public has access to computers at home or especially AT WORK!

If they Google or Yahoo Search your business type, town, zip code or have a partial name and you don’t have a Website…they’ll never find you! If you do…they will find you. You can do the Math!

The Question then becomes, How fully immersed is it appropriate for your Business to be in the Electronic Media Market? Again, we return to Cost vs. Benefit for your entire Marketing Budget to determine how comprehensive your Website should be. It differs for every style of Foodservice Business.

Big Delivery Chains and Franchises who have fairly common menus do a reasonably good business with On-Line Sales conversion as part of their website. Enter “extra cheese and mushrooms” here or “Alfredo Sauce” in exchange for “Pesto” there. These aren’t tough computer programs and everyone basically knows what most Pizza Menus offer. Add a 100 character Description Box and every customer can have their favorite items custom Ordered, Paid for and Delivered without ever speaking with a Human Being. This is very popular with Offices and Groups ordering for Pizza Friday or a Kid’s Saturday Pool Party.

For Catering & Banquet Companies, THEIR WEBSITE IS THEIR STOREFRONT! They need to go heavy on Menu, Services, Client Referrals, Testimonials, Pictures, etc. However, the key here is that it needs to be worded and displayed to give some information, but not details because they want to drive Phone Calls. This is a business that requires interaction with a Party Planner, Head Chef or Catering Director. Those People actually close the Deal…Not the website. The website needs to be designed to inform and entice but not to sell. There are simply too many intangibles that require organization and personal customer service.

Many Coffee Houses, Sandwich & Taco Shops, Burger & Deli Counters, Casual, Mexican & Italian Family Restaurants or Bars & Dinner Houses may want to go with more Static (Informational only) websites merely as a location & information style Marketing tool. As mentioned above, people have to be able to find you, especially if they’ve been recommended by a friend who didn’t remember your name or location correctly. These style Websites can be designed from the ground up for Very Low Cost (probably around $1000.00…maybe less.) Even at $1500.00, that’s $120 per month for all your Business’ Services and Information with Color Pictures described and displayed the way you want it. All you really can get from the phone directories is Bold Print for that cost and people just don’t use them that much anymore.

This however brings us to “The Perfect Food Search” and the enormous benefit of “Viral Marketing.”

Viral Marketing is an extremely name appropriate description of sending and growing information exponentially across the Internet via Social Networking Websites. Social Networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Del.icio.us, Technorati, Ning just to name a few, allow people from all over the country (and in some cases, globe) to speak about new ideas and as one person goes from one group of Internet friends to another, the information gets spread like a flu bug across the nation.

How does that benefit a neighborhood Bar, Restaurant or Catering Company?

Enter “The Perfect Food Search.” Beverages like the Martini, Margarita, Micro-Brewed Beer & Ale are items that are huge Reputation Builders if they are really Excellent!. The Perfect Chili, Barbecued Ribs or Meat, Salsas, Pies and Pastries, Jellies & Jams, Hamburgers, Corned Beef, Pizza slices, Gourmet Pancakes or Waffles, Southern Fried Chicken and yes...even Hot Dogs, are family favorites that are now the subjects of Cooking Series and Specials on Food Network & Television across America. These are the Specialties of Owner Operated Venues, not the Big Guy Chains or Franchises!

Television’s exploitation of the “Perfect Food Search” has created what is now called “Destination Eating and Drinking” that has now become incredibly popular for Weekend Vacationers and local “Foodies.” Heck, California’s Wine Country of Napa, Sonoma, Monterey, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Livermore Valley, Santa Inez Valley, Central Valley, Almaden Valley, Central Coast and North Coast Wineries have developed a multi-Billion Dollar Wine, Foodservice & Hospitality Industry from this very Concept.

So if a local Owner Operator thinks they have a Specialty that needs to get some publicity, there are various Viral Marketing opportunities Consult the Chef can help them with to take advantage of local, regional and national information sites that Destination Diners visit in order to search for their “Perfect Food.” They can follow your Owner or Chef’s Career, read Reviews you’ve received, attend an On-Site Promotion or Charitable Event you are sponsoring or maybe come to a “Cook-Off” or Fund Raising Contest you’re entering. How do you think our Food Television friends found out about these featured Bars & Restaurants in the first place?

Consult the Chef has excellent experience and historical success with this Electronic Website Design and Marketing. After all, YOU ARE VISITING THIS WEBSITE, AREN’T YOU? Give us a call and we’ll review your current Website and Electronic and Viral Marketing situation and make several recommendations based on your Cost vs. Benefit ratio, total Marketing Budget and Bar or Restaurant style. Everything is always customized to your needs via individual Consulting concepts or Comprehensive Business Reviews. Let us know how we can serve you.

Business Associations, Charitable & Community Marketing

It is always wise to have a Finger on the Pulse of Local, Regional and National trends and the general health of your Food & Beverage & Hospitality Industry. This also holds true of your immediate Merchant’s Association, Chamber of Commerce and Church, Charitable and Civic Organizations. Knowing your Community’s Business & Consumer environments are just as important as knowing your Industry’s trends and environments. Remember, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! Time to bulk-up!!!

Yes, you have to pick and choose your battles, and Real involvement in these Organizations, means Real time commitment. We preview this very issue in our Time Management Heading Subsection. What is true is that you only get out what you put in. If all you do is Hit & Run for a one-time cheap score, that will be recognized and people will not respond to you. If you commit to every Month or every Week attendance to these groups, you build relationships and people start recognizing you and your efforts. Plus, the more you put in, the more educated you get about the overall business environment in your Neighborhood, Community, Town, State and National Industry. This Knowledge Empowers you to make better Business and Financial decisions.

The by-product of this is that you develop a trusted, “good-guy” Image that people are attracted to. They will want you to host meetings and events. They will want you to participate in their efforts. The reality of this is, take all of it you can get! Even if there is an initial cost outlay, if you can host these Association & Organizational Events it will mean business for you. But, most importantly, it will develop Business Relationships for you to Market in the Future. Remember... “the Next Customer?”

Church-goers want to patronize Businesses they know support their faith and there’s a face they recognize when they walk in to your Restaurant. The same holds true for Business people who participate in Associations; there’s a mutual respect for someone who shares their ethics and expertise areas that others can feel chummey and at home with. Charity Organizers and Attendees appreciate people who give of their time for their cause, etc. And remember, everyone likes to think “they have a friend in the Restaurant Business.”

You can go to our Consulting Pricing Heading Section to read more about Our Charity, "Dinners with Father" that you can help us participate in.

These Business Association & Community Marketing Programs are the Most Cost Effective, Easy Implementation, High Return on Investment Strategies that CONSULT THE CHEF can recommend. They actually have multiple Phases that can grow and maximize Return on Investment greater than any other Marketing Solution we Cover in this website.

We have Proprietary Programs specifically for Local Business Marketing, Church, Family & Sports Organization Marketing and Charity & Fundraising Marketing in addition to Programs that involve Cross Marketing of the different Concepts. We will Lay these programs out and help you implement them at any level of involvement you like.

Again, we are available to Consult on an Individual Marketing Project basis or as part of a lower cost Comprehensive Business Consulting Review. If you need Marketing help and don’t have the KNOWLEDGE, a BIG BUDGET or TIME to enact these powerful programs, then you need to call us now! WE CAN HELP!!!!!

These and other Sales and Profit building Consulting Solutions are described further in our New Revenue Heading Section. Read more about how Consult the Chef exclusive proprietary solutions can help you grow sales and profits in these difficult times. We have the KNOWLEDGE that will give you the POWER to improve your Business now and into the future!

Remember, we can also Customize specific courses or Sessions or you can get one of our Value Based Consulting Packages that hits a broad variety of Services and Consultations for much less than combined individual sessions cost.

Go to our Consulting Packages Heading Section to check our Individual Issue(s) Hourly Consultations, Internet or On-site Consulting Project Consultations or Full Business review Packages to determine what Consulting Solution fits you best.

Or take our 15 Question yes/No answer Management Effectiveness Survey and score your current Food & Beverage Business management needs.