Marketing for a food business...

[TravLs1]

Wondering what you guys think would be a good marketing strategy for a hoagie shop. We currently have two locations that have been in business for over 50 years, but now we are venturing out of the area. About 20 miles or down the road to a much larger area. At this point, we really do not do much marketing for the other two shops. They are pretty well known and stay busy enough without it. However, in the new location there will be many people who have never heard of us. What would be the best way to reach these people.

I figure our tarket market during the daytime (10-5) will be the people at work mainly. There are many big companies and office buildings in the area. For this, I was going to deliever menus to these places and see if they will put them out or give them to people.

Then, to get the shoppers I would make flyers and put them on cars around the town.

So here is what I have come up with so far:


Getting menus to office buildings and other businesses
Putting flyers on cars in the area
Placing an ad in the local newspaper or other news sheets
Billboard sign if available
Coupons to get customers in




Any other suggestions or any helpful information is greatly appreciated. Thanks!


-Travis

[Blessed]

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you need to do already - some other ideas, especially since you are dealing with an office crowd...

Accept faxed/phoned/emailed in orders
Offer free delivery (within a reasonable range)
Offer "catering" for business lunches and etc... - you don't need to necessarily serve the meal but have packages put together that provide sandwiches, drinks, cookies and chips for 20 people, 50 people, etc...
Magnets are good too - they stick to file cabinets
and finally - get a sandwich board for the sidewalk in front of your shop (if your city ordinances allow it...) have a logo, etc... on the top and then write a "daily special" on it below.

Also, just another thought... do you do breakfast? Offering coffee, juice, milk and donuts, muffins, bagels, breakfast sandwiches, etc... in the morning might be a good way to expand your business - just make sure you open early, like at 6 so that you are there when the early birds get to work.

[TravLs1]

It sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you need to do already - some other ideas, especially since you are dealing with an office crowd...

Accept faxed/phoned/emailed in orders
Offer free delivery (within a reasonable range)
Offer "catering" for business lunches and etc... - you don't need to necessarily serve the meal but have packages put together that provide sandwiches, drinks, cookies and chips for 20 people, 50 people, etc...
Magnets are good too - they stick to file cabinets
and finally - get a sandwich board for the sidewalk in front of your shop (if your city ordinances allow it...) have a logo, etc... on the top and then write a "daily special" on it below.

Also, just another thought... do you do breakfast? Offering coffee, juice, milk and donuts, muffins, bagels, breakfast sandwiches, etc... in the morning might be a good way to expand your business - just make sure you open early, like at 6 so that you are there when the early birds get to work.

Thank you for the response. Many of the things you listed we already do at our other locations. Such as accepting phone orders, and doing free deliveries. We only do deliveries for $20 or more. Most of are deliveries right now are in the $40-$120 range.

We have thought about magnets. I can see where that would be a good idea for office buildings. We also do have daily specials. We are going to start a family special for the evening family crowd now too.

We do not do breakfast. However, I have thought about have coffee all day long.

We are not your typical sandwhich shop. Everything is fresh. We slice most of our own meats and lettuce. Our bread, well that is what sets up apart from everyone else, it is baked fresh everyday from scratch. There are not to many that do that! Also, our prices are much lower than competetors and our hoagies are much better.

[Paul Elliott]

TravLs, I have just posted a topic at http://www.small-business-forum.net/traditional-marketing/409-tip-8-learn-think-like-your-customer.html that I've used with excellent success with restaurant clients.

I've done a number of other things, but I'll have to get back later.

Paul

[KristineS]

One thing I would recommend against is putting flyers on cars. People tend to find it annoying and most people will simply throw the flyer away. I think there are much better methods you can use that would get a better response.

Coupons are a great idea, as is having delivery service and allowing people to phone or e-mail in orders. You should also have a menu that is designed to fax well so you can quickly fax it to people if they call and ask. Even better would be having your menu on a web site people could access and download easily. Do you guys have a web site?

[vangogh]

Travis it does sound you like you have a good plan to start. Liek Kristine I'm not really big on the flier on windshield thing. Speaking more as a windshield owner here than a business putting out fliers.

I agree with all of Blessed's points. I was going to suggest some of the same, especially the free delivery to businesses in the area. I'll ask if you have a website too. You could put up something as simple as a PDF of your menu and or get a little more complex and take orders directly through the site.

It sounds like you offer a good hoagie and are looking toward the nearby businesses for most of your business. Once a few people from each business in the area know you exist you should do well from the word of mouth. The key is getting the first few people in to have something to eat.

What if you went into some of the businesses and offered to cater their next meeting for free or at a large discount. Most would likely take you up on the offer. That would at least get people to try your food and you'd deliver it with a healthy supply of menus. I wouldn't necessarily make that offer to every business in the area, but you could try it on a few at a time.

[Paul Elliott]

What if you went into some of the businesses and offered to cater their next meeting for free or at a large discount. Most would likely take you up on the offer. That would at least get people to try your food and you'd deliver it with a healthy supply of menus. I wouldn't necessarily make that offer to every business in the area, but you could try it on a few at a time.

Depending on your location and your customers' traffic pattern, you can do this and ALWAYS give everyone at the catered meeting a compelling coupon. Not a $1 off but $5-$10 off! Remember that your goal is to get them to come in to your shop. You have to keep in mind that your profit is on their repeated business. Give them compelling reasons to try our your food and service!

I'll post a case study about a restaurant that gave away food for 60 days! It was amazingly successful!

Make the coupons for each such catered meeting on a different color of paper or a different style, so you can track the results. With the convenience of computer printers, you can even personalize it for the employees of a particular company.

By all means date EVERY offer you make but be liberal, e.g., 1 to 6 months depending on the situation. This gives a sense of urgency and absolves you of having to honor something 5 years later.

More later.

Paul

[TravLs1]

Thanks for all the input! The windshield thing I really didnt like either, but it was really the only way I could think of to get directly to the people shopping.

What if I gave coupons to the people through flyers on cars? What is the best way to give coupons? Newspaper? What other ways besides billboard and newspaper could I use to reach the people in the area shopping and such?

No, at this time there is not a website. I will make one soon. Just a simple website with pictures, some info, and a menu.

[Paul Elliott]

Thanks for all the input! The windshield thing I really didnt like either, but it was really the only way I could think of to get directly to the people shopping.

I don't favor fliers either--environmental concerns of many, litter, not to mention that many municipalities have ordinances against them.

Where are your shops? Shopping centers? Strip malls?

"Your list is everything!" (From the 88 below)

Start acquiring your list TODAY! I have a postcard sized "InfoCard" for restaurants to collect customer contact information. If you want the DOC file, PM me with your email address. You print it "4-up" on 8 1/2 X 11 card stock from Office Depot, etc., cut them and start collecting info right away.

It costs you 5-6 times more time, energy, effort, and money to sell a sandwich to someone you've never met as it does to sell that same sandwich to someone who's already bought one! LEVERAGE YOUR #1 ASSET! Your list!

More later.

Paul

[Blessed]

It should be pretty cheap to buy a list of just the businesses within a 10 or 20 mile radius of your shop - do a 6x9 postcard with some menu items on one side and 1/2 price lunch special or free sandwich with a drink purchase or some other good coupon on it as well - mail it to contacts within those offices - secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionists and etc... that would be a better option than fliers on windshields and probably more effective than that or than newspaper advertising. It could well be cheaper than newspaper advertising either. If you can't find good printing prices give me a shout - I'm a broker & I've got connections :)

If you still want to do newspaper advertising I would look for a weekly type paper or shopper type magazine to advertise with.

I also like Paul's catering idea

Also - do punch cards - buy 9 sandwiches get the 10th free kind of thing.

[Blessed]

Oh, and for the record... when I worked in an office & bought food at the local sandwich shop I hated buy one get one free coupons... they weren't practical for me. I was buying my lunch and anyone I was with was buying their lunch a 50% off coupon was used & appreciated the others were a pain in the neck.

[TravLs1]

Thanks Bleesed. I do like the post card idea.

I wouldn't do buy one get one free, I would do a certain % off. I also thought about the buy x get one free thing.

I will probably looking to give 10% coupons out. Our hoagies are not as expensive as others. Such as Subway, Quiznos etc. Our highest price hoagie right now is $5.55 for a large Smothered Steak, and our hoagies are not small. Most large sandwhiches other places are $5-$6 just a regular. Thats on frozen bread and not as full as ours. Since we are not a franchise we can be cheaper. We do not have those ridiculous fees.

[Blessed]

just something to think about... on a percentage off coupon for a low-cost item - 10% seems like nothing - especially if it's a new food place you are unfamiliar with... to get people to really use the coupons, and try your place out, I would go with a 25% off coupon - just set the expiration date no more than 6 weeks out. Or do two coupons on your postcard - one for 25 or 50% off that expires in 4 weeks and one for 10% off that expires in 3 or 6 months.

Put some kind of code on any coupon you run so that you can gauge where your response is coming from. Also have a name/address/email address place for people to fill out and leave with you - also have a sign-up sheet at the store and on your website (when you get it built) send a "special" coupon around the holidays to the people from your list thanking them for their business - make sure the discount or the buy this get that offer is a good one and people feel appreciated. It helps build loyalty.

[Paul Elliott]

Travis, where are your shops? What are the population and traffic patterns around each?

[TravLs1]

The shops are located in Butler, Pa. In the 2000 cecus there was a population of 15,121 people. The per capita income is around $16k. Yes, it is a pretty crappy town, but you would not know by the business we recieve.

Now, were are looking to place a shop in Cranberry Township. As of 2000 the population was 23,625 people, with the per capita $27,349. The median income for a household was $66,588. However, in the last eight years the town has just exploded with new retail and residential builds.

Here is a little information on the town:



Cranberry Township is one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States in both population and business.[2] While many residential communities are being built, even more so are retail stores. One of the busiest business centers is at the Cranberry Mall. A few of the stores at the mall include a Giant Eagle, Hallmark Cards, and a Carmike Cinemas theater. Cranberry Township is also home to the Thorn Hill Industrial Park, where many businesses are headquartered, including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review — whose NewsWorks warehouse prints that paper as well as the USA Today for the Pittsburgh area — and, until 2007, clothing company American Eagle Outfitters's headquarters was located in the nearby municipality of Marshall Township (The company has now relocated its headquarters to the South Side in the city of Pittsburgh). In 2005, Wellington Energy, a sub-division of Wellington Power Corporation located in Lawrenceville, opened in Cranberry and is continuing to grow as a leader in Electric & Gas Meter AMR Deployment and Project Management. Additionally, Parkvale Bank has a thriving branch in the Cranberry Mall.

In many years past, Cranberry Township had no post office of its own, so residents and businesses located there shared ZIP codes with many surrounding cities and towns (such as nearby Mars and Evans City). Subsequently, their mailing addresses were quite confusing, with many people proclaiming the need for their own ZIP code. Cranberry Township finally secured its own post office in 1994 after demand on the other post offices serving the region became exceedingly heavy.

On 20 March 2007, Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it would move its headquarters from Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and build a $140 million research facility in Cranberry Township that would employ over 3000 people.

[Paul Elliott]

I figure our tarket market during the daytime (10-5) will be the people at work mainly. There are many big companies and office buildings in the area. For this, I was going to deliever menus to these places and see if they will put them out or give them to people.

Will you only be open until 5 p.m.?

Consider offering a "Pick & Go" for workers headed home.


So here is what I have come up with so far:


Getting menus to office buildings and other businesses
Putting flyers on cars in the area
Placing an ad in the local newspaper or other news sheets
Billboard sign if available
Coupons to get customers in


Menus in office buildings -- DO but check with the manager to be sure you don't violate any solicitation rules. Give the manager several Free Hoagie coupons just to "grease" the deal.

Fliers -- DON'T

Print coupons -- DO but it depends. Better in seasonal sections such as Back-To-School inserts. Do you have any "local shopper" papers? They may work better. Test, test, test ... everything!

Billboard -- DO but initially do it only at your place of business e.g., in your parking lot or on the street in front of your shop.

Coupons -- DO and do a lot. Make some of them compelling like FREE Hoagie. Do 2-for-1 or buy-1-get-1-free. 10% off? . . . most people won't bother. It's usually a waste of paper and ink.

Your object is to get the customers into your shop, . . . THEN, you can give them reasons to come back. Discard the thinking that you must view every customer as a profit or loss with each visit.

I can easily show you how anyone who buys a sandwich will easily be worth $500 in profit to you over that person's purchasing life with you--the Lifetime Value. I know, you likely won't believe that, but it's true. If you were to agree, how much would you be willing to spend to get that customer in your door for that 1st purchase? Likely a lot more than you spend now. ;)

More later.

Paul

[Paul Elliott]

The shops are located in Butler, Pa. In the 2000 cecus there was a population of 15,121 people. The per capita income is around $16k. Yes, it is a pretty crappy town, but you would not know by the business we recieve.

That's all relative. You can still become wealthy serving those people well. Don't write off the area, use it as a springboard as it seems you are doing.


Now, were are looking to place a shop in Cranberry Township. As of 2000 the population was 23,625 people, with the per capita $27,349. The median income for a household was $66,588. However, in the last eight years the town has just exploded with new retail and residential builds.

Great news!


On 20 March 2007, Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it would move its headquarters from Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and build a $140 million research facility in Cranberry Township that would employ over 3000 people.

Here is a gold mine! Don't get a shovel, get a track hoe! :D

Once an anchor company such as WE moves in, a bunch of others will follow!

Paul

[Paul Elliott]

Travis, this previous thread may be of interest.

http://www.small-business-forum.net/traditional-marketing/236-use-other-businesses-fishbowl-drawings-build-your-lists.html

Paul

[Blessed]

Travis - one other thing I thought of - before you print your menu and prices figure out how your rent in the new place is going to affect your bottom line. You are moving to a premium location - your expenses will increase, even though you are not a franchise and you may need to up your prices some to reflect that.

It's a good idea to do all of that homework before you have your printed materials done, that way you don't have to reprint everything and raise your prices just 3 or 6 months after opening. You are better off to change the price of your $5.55 sandwich to $6 now and make sure you will cover the increased overhead expenses than to realize that you aren't covering expenses and then raise the rates a short time after you are open.

[Michael Worthington]

Thank you for this thread!

I just took over the small sandwich
shop located at the local airstrip here in
South MS.

Right now we're relying on the business
from the skydivers who come out on
weekends to jump.

When the weather is bad, like it's been the
last 3 weeks, the jumpers don't come out
and business suffers because of it.

I've been racking my brain for ideas of
how to get more of the local people to
come in to the shop so I'm not shut down
when the skydivers can't jump.

All the ideas posted here are excellent,
except as already noted...the flyers on
the windshield thing! :)

You people are great!

Michael

[vangogh]

I would assume the air strip is still open even when the weather is bad. Can you find a way to serve the pilots and any one else working at the air strip? It would probably mean delivering to them instead of them coming to you.

Are there any other businesses in the area? Something with in driving distance for delivery?

[Michael Worthington]

I would assume the air strip is still open even when the weather is bad. Can you find a way to serve the pilots and any one else working at the air strip? It would probably mean delivering to them instead of them coming to you.

Are there any other businesses in the area? Something with in driving distance for delivery?

No, it's just a small airport that's leased from the city by the man who operates the drop zone for the skydivers. The airport itself is closed through the week. There's no full time shop or commercial air traffic through there at all.

There are a few businesses in town a couple of miles away, and the delivery service is something I've seriously considered.

In good weather, we sell in the neighborhood of $300-$500 a day, and the only overhead other than stock is the electric bill which runs a little under $100 a month. I don't have to pay any rent so that helps.

My problem is bad weather that keeps the skydivers from showing up.

I've figured out how much it costs me to make each item on the menu, and set my prices accordingly, so my profit is averaging 300%. If I can get more local traffic, we can do well...even on two days a week.

We're a small town of only a couple thousand population but traffic from other, bigger towns goes past all the time.

One of my main short term goals is to get a flashing sign to put up next to the highway to let people know I'm there. In the meantime, I've worked out deals with some of the other business owners to let me put up copies of our menu in their stores in return for an ad for their business on our bulletin board.

We're also planning seasonal specials for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas that will hopefully boost business to an extent.

Thanks to this thread, I'm also going to be sure my cell phone number is on the flyer and let people know they can call ahead and order, then just pick up and go!

The discount coupons are something I have thought about too. The discussion here has reinforced the idea for me.

Michael

PS. My apologies for hijacking the thread. I originally only meant to comment on the quality of the information being given.

[vangogh]

No worries for hijacking the thread. I have a hunch any ideas we come up with to help you will help Travis as well.

It sounds like you do have some plans for reaching into new markets. It sounds like you're located somewhere that people would come to assuming they knew they could even if you're a bit off the beaten path. The sign for the highway makes sense. I have no idea how well those do or don't work (I suspect location plays a big role), but I can't see how it would hurt at all.

One thought is could you find a way to make more money on the nice weather days to carry you over through the rainy days? If you could up the $300-$500 so it's $500-$800 that certainly helps.

I think delivery could be a good idea, especially if you find people aren't coming to you given the location. You'll have to get the menus out.

What about a rainy day coupon? Anytime it's raining you could offer a larger than usual discount to get people in on your slow days.

Is the place large enough to host events of any kind? I'm guessing it's not and I'm not really sure what kind of event would make sense, but the thought popped into my head so figured I'd share.

[Steve B]

I think the windshield thing would definitely work in your case. The cost is so cheap, you are likely to get a very positive return on it. It would just be up to you to decide how you feel about annoying many people and using a lot of paper that might not get thrown away properly. Many will be annoyed, but at long as you don't do it repeatedly I don't think they would avoid your shop as a result.

[Blessed]

I really like the rainy day coupon idea - that is a good one.

And would probably work good for Travis' shop too - especially with free delivery factored into the deal. When you work in an office building and it's nice outside you want to go out and you don't mind walking to the local sandwich shop to get a bite to eat, but when it's really cold, raining or really hot people tend to stay in more and a place that offers free delivery is who gets the business - depending on the culture within the office they might even get the business for everyone who is buying lunch that day.

Great idea Vangogh!

[TravLs1]

Travis - one other thing I thought of - before you print your menu and prices figure out how your rent in the new place is going to affect your bottom line. You are moving to a premium location - your expenses will increase, even though you are not a franchise and you may need to up your prices some to reflect that.

It's a good idea to do all of that homework before you have your printed materials done, that way you don't have to reprint everything and raise your prices just 3 or 6 months after opening. You are better off to change the price of your $5.55 sandwich to $6 now and make sure you will cover the increased overhead expenses than to realize that you aren't covering expenses and then raise the rates a short time after you are open.

I have pretty much done my homework on expenses and startup cost. Pricing in that area is anywhere from $25-$30 sqft. We are looking for 1000-1500 sqft.

I do plan on raising the prices a tad. About $.10 or so.

[Michael Worthington]

No worries for hijacking the thread. I have a hunch any ideas we come up with to help you will help Travis as well.

It sounds like you do have some plans for reaching into new markets. It sounds like you're located somewhere that people would come to assuming they knew they could even if you're a bit off the beaten path. The sign for the highway makes sense. I have no idea how well those do or don't work (I suspect location plays a big role), but I can't see how it would hurt at all.

One thought is could you find a way to make more money on the nice weather days to carry you over through the rainy days? If you could up the $300-$500 so it's $500-$800 that certainly helps.

I think delivery could be a good idea, especially if you find people aren't coming to you given the location. You'll have to get the menus out.

What about a rainy day coupon? Anytime it's raining you could offer a larger than usual discount to get people in on your slow days.

Is the place large enough to host events of any kind? I'm guessing it's not and I'm not really sure what kind of event would make sense, but the thought popped into my head so figured I'd share.



I definitely want to expand beyond the "captive audience" I have now. I've attached a rough drawing of the layout of the place. As you can see, the place is not easily viewable from the road, so a lot of people don't even know I'm there.

The "rainy day" coupon sounds like a great idea. I'll definitely give it a try.

Yes, I do have enough room to host an event of some kind. There's enough room to park 100 or so cars, although I don't have that much seating. Most people would have to stand, but depending on what was happening, that probably wouldn't be an issue.

I need to approach the owner of the dropzone to partner on a skydiving event of some kind too.

There should be some way to stage a "Fall Festival" type event and get people involved in it...maybe have drawings, and some type of games where they win food prizes. I don't know if that's too ambitious for the size of the place or not. It's just something else I've been brainstorming.

I may try the flyers on the windshield, as I know it does get some people to at least check out an offer. I won't completely throw the idea away at least.

There's a lot of good advice been given here. I'm going to make use of all of it.

Thanks guys! You're all top notch!

Michael

[TravLs1]

Paul: We will be open until 10pm. I am just anticipating that most of out 10-5 business will be the lunch rush from the working crowd. 10-10 will be the hours of business.

[Blessed]

I have pretty much done my homework on expenses and startup cost. Pricing in that area is anywhere from $25-$30 sqft. We are looking for 1000-1500 sqft.

I do plan on raising the prices a tad. About $.10 or so.

Good! I figured you had but thought it was worth mentioning :D

[Paul Elliott]

Paul: We will be open until 10pm. I am just anticipating that most of out 10-5 business will be the lunch rush from the working crowd. 10-10 will be the hours of business.

Good, Travis. With good marketing you can fill the seats from 5-10, too.

Paul

[Paul Elliott]

I have pretty much done my homework on expenses and startup cost. Pricing in that area is anywhere from $25-$30 sqft. We are looking for 1000-1500 sqft.

I do plan on raising the prices a tad. About $.10 or so.

Travis, don't fail to be aggressive with your pricing. AVOID dropping into the commodity zone with commodity pricing. Commodity? Where the lowest price gets the business. You want other customers than those simply looking for the lowest price.

If you do get in the commodity zone, some fool will come along and underprice his or her product without realizing he or she is losing money. You will, then, have to respond by lowering yours. That process may leave your business mortally wounded. Even though the fools will all have gone out of business, they will have injured you.

Your market position should be that you have a better product, service, whatever, and therefore don't get into the price wars.

Of course, none of this means you shouldn't have very competitive prices. Just don't let lowest pricing be your USP.

Your USP (unique selling proposition) will help define your status above the commodity shops.

Do you have a USP yet?

Paul

[TravLs1]

Yes, I think I have a USP. If I understand correctly. It would be the fact that our bread is made from scratch everyday, offering white and wheat. Our menu is very large with over twenty freshly prepared hoagies. Our french fries are second to none with an extremely large serving.

Am I understanding what a USP is correctly?

I understand what you are saying about pricing. At the same time though, I dont want to go in with price fixing type prices where I am the same as everyone else if I dont need to be.

I could raise prices by quite a bit, but it would be hard to do. The other two shops are very profitable. One not have any rent and one with fairly low rent. I would hate to raise prices by a good margin for those shops if not needed. That is why I was thinking $.10, maybe a little more.

[Paul Elliott]

Welcome to the SBF, Michael! Great to see you over here!

Folks, let me introduce my good friend, Michael Worthington. He's a great Internet Marketer with a lot of helpful "how to" videos who's now offline, too!


I definitely want to expand beyond the "captive audience" I have now. I've attached a rough drawing of the layout of the place. As you can see, the place is not easily viewable from the road, so a lot of people don't even know I'm there.

Are the skydiving activities, planes, cars parked at the facility, etc., visible from the highway?

Do many planes fly in from elsewhere on dive days? If so, paint your promotion on your roof, too.

"Your list is eveything!" (From the "88" free e-course below)

Are you collecting the names and contact information of each of your customers? If not, start today. If you want a form I've used in a DOC file, Private Message me.


The "rainy day" coupon sounds like a great idea. I'll definitely give it a try.

Ideally, you would probably want to have a restaurant full of customers from opening at 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. 6 days a week, along with an active take-out and delivery/catering business. Right? ;) :cool:

With it costing you 5-6 times more time, energy, effort, and money to sell a meal to someone you've never met than to sell that same meal to someone who has already been to your restaurant, wouldn't you do well to focus on getting every person in the area into your restaurant for the first time? You should be working with the goal of getting every person in your market area into your restaurant into the building at least once!

Sit down, buckle up securely , and pay close attention to the pre-launch instructions-- :D

Your object is to get customers into your facility the first time, right?

Forget trying to profit on every seat every time and think in terms of the Livetime Value of your customers. IOW, how much will they spend with you over their lifetimes in your area.

Think along these lines . . . .

Give away food on bad weather weekend days (define them with precision) along with a great coupon for their next visit on a good weather day! Still sell your drinks and chips; only give away the food.

In case your seat belt wasn't firmly buckled and you find yourself on the floor or in the ditch--you didn't pull the ejection handle, did you?--get up and continue thinking about the concept before you reject it.

Remind me to post a case study that beautifully illustrates this.

You can become known around the area as the bad weather equals free food place. Don't say that in so many words just allow it to be said about you.

OK, won't consider free food, huh? Allow yourself to continue thinking . . . How about 50% off the total bill on such days?

Will your highway sign be easily visible for traffic going both ways?


Yes, I do have enough room to host an event of some kind. There's enough room to park 100 or so cars, although I don't have that much seating. Most people would have to stand, but depending on what was happening, that probably wouldn't be an issue.

How about a large tent for the attendees to wait under. Pass out insect repellant wipes during the mosquito season.


I need to approach the owner of the dropzone to partner on a skydiving event of some kind too.

Would the skydiving operator or the town be open to some type local festival?


There should be some way to stage a "Fall Festival" type event and get people involved in it...maybe have drawings, and some type of games where they win food prizes. I don't know if that's too ambitious for the size of the place or not. It's just something else I've been brainstorming.

Is there already a local festival you can join as a co-promoter?


I may try the flyers on the windshield, as I know it does get some people to at least check out an offer. I won't completely throw the idea away at least.

See the previous discussions of why not to. If fliers are accepted and done by others, you might consider it. You will have less litter if you personally hand them out to people. Make your offer a killer deal--50% off or 2-4-1. Be sure to put a limiting date on them.

Keep up your excellent work!

Paul

[Paul Elliott]

Yes, I think I have a USP. If I understand correctly. It would be the fact that our bread is made from scratch everyday, offering white and wheat. Our menu is very large with over twenty freshly prepared hoagies. Our french fries are second to none with an extremely large serving.

Am I understanding what a USP is correctly?

Partly, but it needs a more comprehensive focus.

This is such an important pillar to any marketing plan, I am preparing a lengthy discussion of the USP and will post it on my blog posting a link here.

Paul