April 2011

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9 Awesome Ways to Use QR Codes For Your Restaurant

April 28, 2011 in Creative Marketing, Innovation by Jon Sooy | 1 comment

In an earlier post, I discussed QR Codes. I explained what they are and how they work. If you haven’t yet discovered QR Codes or are wondering how you might use them to market your restaurant, here are some ideas:

  1. Take-Out Menus: Print a QR Code on table tents, front door posters or anywhere it’s appropriate. Customers scan the code and are redirected to a digital version of your menu. A hotlink that enables them to call you is included for convenience.
  2. Recipes: Put a small QR Code on your menu next to different dishes. Smartphone users can then scan the code and be taken to the recipe. An alternative is where the user could be taken to a video of your chef preparing the dish.
  3. Coupons: Place QR Codes within your ads, direct mail pieces or anywhere you can imagine and link the code to a coupon.
  4. Facebook: Simply link the code to your Facebook Fan Page and get more followers! To entice them, offer a discount or coupon for clicking the ‘Like Us’ button.
  5. Nutritional Information: Place a QR Code on your menu or on a table tent that links to your nutritional information summary. You could also do individual codes for each menu item.
  6. Interviews: Link to a video of an interview with important characters within your company. This might be a CEO, Executive Chef, Chief Marketing Officer, or even the employee of the month!
  7. Specials: Does your restaurant frequently have specials? Link a code to a virtual ‘Daily Special’ chalk board!
  8. Restaurant Info: Link to basic information about your restaurant: address, phone number or perhaps even the restaurant’s history.
  9. Surveys: Put a QR Code on your receipts and get instant feedback on your customer’s dining experience.

I’m sure more great uses for QR Codes are out there. What ideas do you have? We’d love to hear them!

Jon Sooy
VP Sales and Marketing

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World Famous

April 20, 2011 in Creative Marketing by Naomi Catalina | No comments

Recently, while in an image branding forum for designers I came across a recommendation for a book called World Famous by David Tyreman. The tagline on the book is “How to give your business a kick-ass brand identity.” Nice, I wanted to read more. I read the book in about three days after receiving it from Amazon.

Tyreman begins the book with a quote that has done its job and stuck with me: “There are masses of people just waiting to do business with you once they are so inspired.” Inspiring your target audience is the key concept of this book. It should drive every marketing decision a company makes. However before you can inspire your audience you need to know who they are. Tyreman offers up step-by-step exercises to find out who your audience is, and what will inspire them to want to take part in your brand.

As far as inspiring your audience, Tyreman uses Polo Ralph Lauren to demonstrate this being perfectly executed. Ralph Lauren sells clothes, but what they really sell is a sophisticated, luxury lifestyle. On its website, Ralph Lauren states “Ralph Lauren has always stood for providing quality products, creating worlds and inviting people to take part in our dream.” Inviting people to take part in our dream. This makes Ralph Lauren an expert of lifestyle branding.

I recommend this book to anyone looking to start a business, or re-brand their current business. It is full of examples and exercises to effectively help you understand how to reach your target audience and inspire them to do business with you.

Naomi Catalina
Designer at Large

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Boosting Morale – Part Two

April 13, 2011 in Company Culture by Laura Thurston | No comments

Stop what you are doing right now. No, really. Take a few minutes, stand up and walk around your office. Do you see shoulders slouched? Hands on foreheads? The look of gloom on faces? These and many more are signs of stress at work.

This is the second in my series demonstrating the affordable and easy-to-implement solutions which are producing very positive results. A relaxed co-worker pays more attention to detail, is more productive and is less likely to crack under the pressure.

#2 – RESISTANCE BANDS

Implemented in December 2010
Cost to company: Less than $50
We provided GP employees with their own resistance band and showed them basic stretching exercises they can do right at their desks. They are encouraged to stretch multiple times during the day, or anytime they notice the tension creeping in. It is great to walk around and see the different colored bands stretching away the stress.

So go get some bands and help your staff relieve their stress!!!

Laura Thurston
CPO – Chief People Officer

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Reflections

April 6, 2011 in Innovation by Gail ORoke | No comments

Many of us glance momentarily in the mirror once or twice a day to make sure we are presentable. We don’t look closely at the details that make up our image. For everyone except 15-year-old girls (I know of what I speak; I have one of those at home) this occasional cursory glance is perfectly sufficient. However, what is true about our personal appearance is not true when it comes to the details of our business’ image.

The inner workings of a company can become too familiar to the very people who are responsible for ensuring that the organization remains perpetually attractive to the marketplace. What are you doing to keep fresh eyes on your organization? There are a number of ways guaranteed to keep from growing complacent. One of the surest is to join an executive group with an advisory board model.

This involves a real commitment and investment (both in time and dollars), but for C-level Executives there is no better way to hold your feet to the fire than by joining an executive group such as The Alliance of CEO’s (www.allianceofceos.com), Young President’s Organization (www.ypo.org), Vistage (www.vistage.com) or one of the many other options available.

These groups are typically made up of roughly a dozen executives from non-competing industries. With a professional moderator, members have monthly meetings where an “outside view” can look at your ideas or analyze specific business challenges. These meetings are not for the faint of heart. A dozen fresh pair of eyes, coupled with brutal honesty from peers is more fearsome to some executives than a bad hair day coupled with a prominent blemish is to a high school student. However, the results from this scrutiny can be revolutionary to your organization, and over time the face of your company that you see in the mirror can be stunning to both you and your customers.

Gail O’Roke, CDC
Vice President, East Bay Division

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