Using Your Marketing Tools Wisely

Watching an expert who advises restaurants on how to profitably set up their menus prompted me to think of passing this information on to you. In the report, he shares six tips.

First, he points out a menu that merely lists the offerings. After each offering a series of dots leads the eye over to the price. "This is a huge mistake," he says. "A listing of this nature makes it very easy for the customer to glance down the list of prices and select the cheapest offering."

Second, he notes that dollar signs next to the prices are not wise. "When you eliminate the dollar signs," he advises, "the menu presentation becomes much softer and easier to read." This gives a menu more appeal and readability.

Third, he recommends a mouth-watering description by each offering. The description informs the customer about the offering and entices the customer to order it. As a customer, I sometimes feel quite frustrated that an offering is not described. If I am interested in the offering, I am forced to ask the wait staff for a description. That person's description may or may not be accurate, to say nothing of appealing.

Fourth, he tucks the price at the end of the description. This puts the emphasis on the offering, or what the customer is buying, first and the price second, which is profitable marketing. Contrary to what most business people seem to think, customers do not think of price first. They think first of what they want and if this offering satisfies that want.

Fifth, he adds an offering to the menu that is destined not to sell because of its ridiculous price. For example, an asparagus omelet for twenty dollars seems pricey until it is placed next to a freshly prepared, live lobster bisque for one thousand dollars. Comparatively speaking, next to the lobster bisque, the asparagus omelet seems quite inexpensive, right?

Sixth, he places the most profitable offerings on the upper right hand pages of the menu. As we read, our eyes naturally focus first on the upper right hand side of the page. Because we look there first, that placement has the best opportunity to get and hold our attention. Thus, placing the most profitable offerings there will get the most attention. More attention likely leads to more sales. In this case, that leads to more profitability.

After describing these six points, the reporter replies that these are "tricks" which get the customer to buy. "These are not tricks," the expert corrects. "These are tools to more profitability. These tools encourage the customer to buy certain offerings, but the customer still has the final choice in the matter."

I agree. Using marketing tools to present your offerings in the most appealing fashion and to sell your profitable offerings is wise. Presentation does make a difference. Any chef knows that the attractiveness of the dish contributes to the customer's perception of it. Similarly, the menu presentation makes a difference in the customer's decision of what to buy.

In fact, any materials that you present to your customer affect the buying decision. Whether you operate a restaurant or not, tips from this expert can be applied to any presentation. Go back and review these tips. Then, look at your presentations to your customers. How can you use these tips to make your presentations more appealing?

How can you sell more of your profitable offerings through improved presentations?

What Subjects Do You Have of Interest?

I heard a news report a couple of days ago that “unlike upscale stores, Wal-Mart reported an increase in profits during the past month of 10%.” The reporter made a big deal about how this means that more people are shopping at Wal-Mart, even in this down economy. Since reports of increases are rare these days, this news story continued to be big news and was the lead story of every broadcast, repeated frequently throughout the day.

As the day progressed, reporters felt compelled to explain Wal-Mart’s increase and offered that it was due to more sales of groceries. Now I don't know precisely what contributed to Wal-Mart's increase in profits. I can take a guess. What I can tell you is that these reporters do not know the difference between profit and revenue. A business having an increase in profit does not mean that there was a corresponding increase in revenue. While there could be an increase in revenue leading to an increase in profits, there could just as easily be no increase in revenue. The business may have cut expenses and had profits rise. Since Wal-Mart bases much of its profitability on its distribution system, something as simple as gas prices decreasing could have significantly contributed to a rise in profits. Knowing the margin of grocery items, I strongly doubt that a rise in grocery sales raised profits to that degree.

Whatever the cause for Wal-Mart's increased profitability, take a look at how much Wal-Mart gained from sending out a press release telling the news media about it. Wal-Mart dominated the news for a twenty-four hour cycle, and the message communicated by the news was that more people are shopping at Wal-Mart. According to the implications by the media, during these economic times more shoppers are turning to Wal-Mart. As consumers get this message, they will be inclined to think, "Hey, I'd better shop there, too!"

The publicity personnel at Wal-Mart knew that reporting an increase of anything in this economy would get the news media's attention. They selected the right time to send a press release. They also selected the right subject. Furthermore, they knew that, due to Wal-Mart’s size, when they sent a release, all news media paid attention. I suspect that they also knew that most reporters don't know the difference between profits and revenues. They knew that the news media would get excited about an increase in any figures from any business, especially one of Wal-Mart’s notoriety. Thus, they sent a release.

Most small businesses do not send press releases. They do not tap into what Wal-Mart did. They do not realize that they, too, could get coverage by the press. While the press normally would not cover business increases, in this economy they do because what is happening to businesses is of interest to the public. Right now, the health of businesses is main news. While you may not have an increase in revenues or profits to report, you do have something that is of interest to the public and, therefore, the media. I’m not talking about a subject near and dear to your heart, such as making more sales, but a subject of interest to the public. That includes such subjects as the environment, the weather, and ways to live more easily and simply. Seasonally, the holidays and winter are also of interest. This is a very brief and small list. In reality, the subjects are endless.

Look around your business. What subjects do you have that are of interest to the public? Identify them, write a release, and send it to the media.

A Messy V

As I was returning to my office from an appointment this morning, a flock of geese caught my attention. I am fascinated by the migration of geese. The fact that they do migrate, the mystery that they instinctively know when to migrate, and the techniques that they use in their migration all pique my interest. This was a particularly large flock, and, like many I have watched, these geese were not flying in a crisp V formation. Instead, some were bunched up, others were moving around, and a couple of stragglers were in danger of losing the flock altogether.

Through reading, I have come to understand that geese fly in a V formation because the aerodynamics of the V allow them to fly further with less effort. In an efficient V, the leader rotates to prevent tiring. The flock that I saw this morning was not in a well-formed V; they were in a very messy one.

This messy V reminded me of a statement that I once read that everything tends toward disorganization and chaos. I have found this to be true; have you? Take a look at your business, for example. Without a focus on the organization and what needs to happen next, activity disintegrates into tasks which do not keep the business moving forward. Without a direction, the business meanders around taking in revenue but not growing. Without a plan and an effort to stay on that plan, the business lags behind.

These businesses mirror the geese in the messy V formation.

They are flying around, bunching up, and straggling behind. They are not getting where they want to go. Their efforts are not leading to growth.

To maintain organization, to have direction, and to achieve growth, a business must constantly review its current situation. In addition to recognizing what is happening, the business must compare reality to its plan. Then, the business must decide what to do next. Doing this consistently is critical to a business’s success.

I know that many businesses are not successful because they do not have a plan. They have never planned their overall business, not to mention planning their marketing. If you don’t have a marketing plan, you don’t have a direction. Plans are not busywork. They are road maps, game plans, and strategies leading your business to growth. They are tools to maintain organization and prevent chaos. Having a marketing plan is your first step toward achieving your revenue goals.

The next step is reviewing that plan and making adjustments.

Do you have a written marketing plan? How often do you review your plan?