Tweet

Marketing: What Would You Do

Written by: Jay Hamilton-Roth

Article Overview: Let's say that you opened a new restaurant in town. The restaurant gets some "buzz" and some positive reviews in the local media. It's packed every night. People call days ahead to reserve a table. Your restaurant is clearly the "next hot thing". How do (or should) you market your success?

Marketing: What Would You Do

Right now, it's hard to imagine that there will be a time that you'll wish for customers to sit at your unused tables. You need to recognize that you're the current fad, and that unless you take action now, you'll simply be "that new place that people used to eat at."

It's possible that people that eat at your restaurant will simply feel at home in your ambiance and love the ever-increasing quality of food. They'll come back regularly and share their latest "find" with their friends (and so on).

With a little effort now, you can greatly increase your chances for long-term success by asking everyone that calls for the first time: "Where are you from?" and "How did you hear about us?" Record their answers. After they visit, offer them a chance to be on your VIP customer list (for free); get their contact information (including email) to tell them about upcoming special events.

Without this information, you're in a vacuum. Fast-forward six months. The phone isn't ringing as much. Tables are going unused. How can you find people who would enjoy your restaurant?

How did you hear about us? If the answer was a mention in a specific media (magazine, newspaper, radio, television), then you know what your target market pays attention to.

Where are you from? If people are coming from specific geographic areas, then you can target that location in your marketing / advertising.

Where have you been? If you're keeping track of frequent guests and notice a drop-off, send a "missing you" message. You want to find out if there is something that you can do to re-attract them.

Ironically, the best time to market yourself is when you're "hot" - you're repeating the "buzz" that people are already hearing. You're investing in your future by creating a clear message of who you are now. You're not guessing where to market yourself initially - your existing clients have already told you what matters to them.

To create long-term staying power, you need to leverage your short-term success into long-term smart planning.

Related Articles
  Geek Marketing 101
  Future Marketing kicks out the ancient marketing
  Real Estate Marketing Strategies - Tips for Creating Success
  Is PR Marketing? Is Marketing PR?
  How to fix sputtering marketing

Article Tags: target



Related Forum Posts
Re: What is your Business? - We are running a Online Marketing Firm and we have some good clients to which we are offering a complete Digital Marketing strategy like Search, Mobile Marketing, Branding and Design. I think in Online Marketing company online presence can be a wining factor for the success of the company.
Re: Let’s talk about the ways of marketing your products, servic - I agree with some of the others who responded it depends on what your selling... but to answer your questions here are some of the methods I use. Forum Marketing Yahoo Answers (I need to use more of) SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Bum Marketing or Article marketing P-P-C (Pay Per Click) Marketing Online Directories Hope this helps.
Re: Should Evan add a "Social Media Marketing" category to the f - Hi, Online Marketing would be a great title, and having sub categories would make it even better, there would plenty of categories to choose from, Social Media, SEO, Article Marketing and yes even Affiliate Marketing to name just a few, great looking site btw Jeff, take care, Carol
Kevin's Case Study #11 - A New Forum Category? - Hi Everyone, 2009 is a new year and I'd like to create a new forum category to jazz things up! In the past, there's been some interest voiced about adding a "Social Media Marketing", "Online Marketing", "Internet Marketing" or "Online Promotion" category. I'll implement [u:1g2tv6tf]ONE[/u:1g2tv6tf] of those new categories, but can someone first tell me what the difference would be between the existing "Marketing" section and one of those new options mentioned above? Thanks
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Starting a Business with Bad Personal Credit

Quick Tips on Buying a Business

How to Improve Your Time Management

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.