Date Night: small plates, happy servers and LOL

Date night: Two words that make me stupidly excited.

It means that I’ve secured a babysitter who adores my son, and I can take off for a few hours to have some fun with my husband.  And you know what “they” say about the importance of reconnecting with your spouse when there is a toddler in the house.

So a few weeks ago, we decided to head for the swimming pool to cool off…relax a bit then head over to Houlihan’s off of Shawnee Mission Parkway.  I like that I didn’t have to get formally dressed up to go there, but I also like that it was nice enough for a date night.

I like Houlihan’s menu…a lot.  They have this great selection (30+) of what they call “small plates,” and even among those they include “big small plates.” They speak my language.  I appreciate the ability to not OVER-order while still having a variety of healthier options (give me that Tuscan bean salad thing!) and smaller portions of hearty foods (a 4-oz steak!)

I like the service at Houlihan’s…a lot.  It’s all about the teamwork there. You can ask anyone for anything and they won’t act put out or annoyed.  They smile and laugh, which is a very welcome contribution to date night!  They answer questions, are prepared to make suggestions and everything comes out looking great.  Tastes good, too.

I like Houlihan’s marketing…a lot.  I find everything from their welcoming mini billboards at the front door to their coasters…very clever.  Even their promotional pieces at the tables are pretty funny, including the “Nautical by Nature” headline tried to lure me into ordering scallops.

Other observations that made me realize I like Houlihan’s a lot:

* They sent me a coupon in the mail, and it stood out in the mail because it was slick plastic…like one of those grocery store discount cards.  I got $10 off my date night dinner. AWESOME!
* Another promotion they are running is something called “H-Listed.”  Each month they feature a new artist and include exclusive tracks from them on the Houlihan’s website, houlihans.com/music.  Very cool.
* Don’t know if you know this…but if you check in at Houlihan’s on Foursquare, you can show your server and receive a free order of appetizer fries. Including the disco fries.

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Qdoba Catering – Great Customer Service Makes a Great Party

Perhaps it’s the life decisions I’ve made or my current life stage that has me endlessly keeping so many balls in the air, nonetheless I have become an enthusiast of all things that streamline or simplify life’s demands.

Case in point, I was a guest at a 1 year old’s birthday party this weekend. The house was filled with a slew of grandparents, kids and family members. People were visiting throughout the first floor, outside deck and basement of the house. Being such an important event, the mom made sure the cake was a show-stopper; the drink and food stations synched with the natural flow of people; and she used the convenient and friendly catering services of Qdoba Mexican Grill. This would be my first Qdoba experience.

Being in the kitchen, I was in plain view of watching the delivery lady interact with the mom. Not only was she professional and friendly, she asked first where she should bring the food before hauling the order through the party. After coming in through the back door, she easily pulled out the taco bar materials from the carrying cases, set everything up, filled appropriate dishes with water, lit the burners and informed the hosts what to be mindful of. It all looked too easy.

After going through the line and trying the food for the first time, I was equally impressed with the flavors, correct food temperatures and ample cheese. The taco bar was a big hit with family members of all ages – especially with the teenage boys. I believe one said he was “in heaven”. After commenting to the host about Qdoba’s catering services, I was informed they also incentivize the catering customer to return the setup materials by offering them 2 free lunches upon receipt of the materials. Now that’s logical and smart!

I have to admit, after seeing firsthand the ease of Qdoba’s catering service, friendly staff and tasty food, they are definitely in my consideration bracket for future party planning. They get it.

Catering doesn’t need to be over the top fancy. People use catering services to simplify their lives. Regardless of how busy we are, birthdays happen and we find time to celebrate. Qdoba understands this and provides good food in a simplified fashion. There’s no fuss and the “face” of Qdoba was professional, friendly and helpful. The mom of the party obviously had planned her son’s first birthday party flawlessly. She was able to enjoy the birthday moments without the stress of meal prep or possible meddling from other catering services.

For me, my prioritization of catering attributes would first be Simplified Process, followed by Food Quality, Price then Friendly Staff. How would you prioritize?

_____ Simplified Process

_____ Food Quality

_____ Price

_____ Friendly Staff

_____ Fill in the Blank

Post authored by Summit Marketing Senior Account Executive, Heather Meng

It Only Takes Seven Seconds

The other day on my routine morning Starbucks run, there were people standing in the drive thru admiring the signage. I recognized one of them as the store manager, and because I do have some marketing experience I figured the others to be brand managers. Ok, granted the first thing that popped into my head was “Oooh, she’s in trouble for scotch taping those crappy homemade signs to the drive thru menu board.” But that’s not the point to this story, but could be a topic for a future post.

The point of this story begins with the next morning, when the store manager now working the drive thru greeted me by name (just by knowing my voice — probably means I go to Starbucks too much) and said “Hi Tammy, how are you doing today?”

“How are you doing today?” Five simple words that I hadn’t given much thought to before this moment. As I pulled around to the window to get my usual Grande Nonfat Latte, the manager greeted me again and said, “You know Tammy, when I saw you outside yesterday morning, my bosses were telling me I shouldn’t ask people how they are doing, because it will save seven seconds in the drive thru. Can you believe that, they don’t want me to greet people. So, is it OK if I still ask you how you are doing?”

My first thought was, “She really shouldn’t be telling me this,” but later as I reflected on it, it got me thinking. Why do I go to Starbucks in the first place? Why do I choose this specific Starbucks when I pass two other Starbucks and at least three other coffee shops on my way into work each day? None of the other locations are any more or less convenient than the one I frequent. None have better or worse pricing. The product is pretty much the same at all of them. So what is it that makes me choose Starbucks, and more specifically this location?

I thought about this while finishing my drive into work. I like the fact that the baristas know me by name. I like the fact that they know my drink order without asking. I like that they ask me about my family. I like that they have taken the time to get to know me a little. Then it hit me. I go to this specific Starbucks because I have a relationship with the people who work there. I go because I want them to ask me “How are you doing today?”

Here’s where the deeper point of the story comes in. Customer service is about relationships. It’s about taking the time to get to know your customers. It’s about treating them the way you would like to be treated.

An old boss of mine used to say, “It’s much harder to fire a friend, than it is someone you don’t care about.” I think this same theory holds true for me for most of my customer interactions. I am much more like to frequent a place that treats me like a friend than a place that is only concerned about the financial transaction.

So Starbucks, please keep asking me how I’m doing every morning. It only takes seven seconds to keep me happy.

Post authored by Summit Marketing VP of Creative Services, Tammy Nigus

Now Hiring! Creative Director and Production Artist Positions Available

Summit Marketing is now hiring a Creative Director and Production Artist to join our team! These positions will have the opportunity to work on national accounts such as Tide Dry Cleaners, Applebee’s and The Salvation Army. You can apply for these positions by visiting our Careers page.

Ideal Creative Director:

The ideal Creative Director candidate is highly conceptual and comfortable working in a fast-paced agency environment. This individual should be an excellent communicator who knows how to bring words and images together to develop concepts that are not only aesthetically pleasing and powerful, but also help our clients realize their business/communications objectives. If you understand how to strike that delicate balance between creating art and developing communications that help generate interest, action and consumer response, then you are the Creative Director we are looking for.

Ideal Production Artist:

The ideal Production Artist candidate is technically proficient in all Adobe CS products and comfortable working in a fast-paced agency environment. This individual will be responsible for completing final files, working from various art director digital layouts. They must ensure the highest quality assurance of each document, knowing our client’s legal specifics as well as industry standard printing practices in detail. Additionally, the individual must collaborate with creative, account and IT teams to produce HTML emails, landing pages, websites and other digital assets for marketing campaigns.

Restaurants and Their Online Presence White Paper Now Publicly Available

Right now, there are people online with one goal in mind: Take down restaurant brands or extort them for free and/or discounted meals.

Summit Marketing recently made publicly available our latest white paper, “Ready or Not, Restaurants MUST Proactively Manage Their Online Brand Reputation.” The paper emphasizes how important it is for restaurants to proactively manage their online reputations. In our ever-connected world, consumers are relying, more than ever, on the advice of strangers. They’re turning to review sites, such as Yelp, Angie’s List and Citysearch to help them answer the question of, “Where should we go to eat?”

In fact, 72% of consumers trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation.

The presence and influence of online review sites is growing. Some sites display both positive and negative reviews. There is also an increase, however, of review sites built exclusively for displaying negative reviews. The most disturbing thing about these sites is they do not validate the accuracy of their content or the claims made.

Cyber extortionists are also turning to other social media platforms – like Twitter and Facebook – to carry out their shakedowns of restaurants. Public perception of a brand is dramatically influenced by conversations and information shared online.

Just because I “Like” you does not mean I am “like” everyone else

These days every brand wants to be “Liked” on Facebook. The same could be said for most of the other social media sites. Don’t get me wrong, gathering “Likes” or being followed on Twitter is good. It’s just that marketing should not stop there. I, as a consumer, have only raised my hand. You now need to speak to me on a level that shows you like me, too.

Most marketing companies once knew this. Maybe they still do. Maybe they forgot. Maybe the client has taken the strategy in-house. However you look at it, marketing used to involve strategy. There were focus groups. There were versions. There were day-part segments. All designed to help the marketer better target their message, to speak to the customer on a relational level and to move a person to action.

I recently “Liked”, followed and signed up for emails – basically everything short of giving my blood type to a national restaurant chain. I visit the brand every third or fourth week for Sunday brunch, and even check-in on Foursquare upon arrival. I am on their radar. I continue, however, to receive emails promoting their late night offers and after-work happy hours. Trust me, I would love to go. I love the brand. Late night is not when I can go, nor is it when I have ever gone. They should, and likely do, know this about me! So, what gives?

My observation – With all the digital data out there for a marketer to gather, is anyone really doing anything with it in the social/digital realm? Has social media become simply marketing to the masses? Please, don’t let that happen to your brand.

Here are four ways to create easy success in your social marketing efforts:

1. Listen, listen and then listen again.  There are many social conversation monitoring programs available. Use one of them. “Listen” to the conversations happening around your brand. It’s critical. Five minutes in the morning and five minutes before you go home can get and keep you up-to-speed. The more time you can invest, the more informed your marketing will be. Set up alerts and notifications when certain activity occurs. Listen to your customer so you can communicate to them about things that matter TO THEM.

2. Join the fun.  You need to download, sign up, like and follow your own brand. Then do the same for your competition. How can you understand the dynamics of a social community if you are not engaging within a few yourself?

3. Be your brand and share it.  Engage with employees online and encourage employees to be social ambassadors of your brand. You’ll likely generate some very original and creative ideas to improve culture, profitability and marketplace opportunities.

4. Gather data creatively! Data is key to showing your customers you “Like” them back. Put a link on Facebook to “tell us about our new entrée.” Tweet about your new store opening with a link to download a grand opening ticket. Invite your Foursquare mayor to tell you why he/she comes every other day to your restaurant. Text an offer but let the guest choose how to redeem. Have the guest text back 1 for lunch, 2 for dinner and 3 for late night. You will then know a specific and important preference for that specific customer.

Once you have the data, use it. Speak to your customers in ways that acknowledge the relationship information you’ve gathered. Start small and watch your successes add up. Be thoughtful and authentic. Listen to the conversations that will naturally follow. Be an active part of those conversations. Then, take the next step and the next. You will soon find yourself appreciating – as a business – what you and I already know as consumers. Being “Liked” is about so much more than a mouse click and a passing thought.

Good luck and don’t hesitate connecting with us for a little brainstorming.

Post authored by Summit Marketing Account Manager, Stan Thorne

The Price-Per-Gallon Tipping Point Is Approaching. Is Your Restaurant Marketing Prepared?

“Experts Warn Of Oil Crisis” Greg Gordon, of McClatchy Newspapers, authored that headline and associated article just yesterday. Shocking? Perhaps not, but this is certainly a reflection — once again — of the rising price of gasoline and associated consumer emotions and reactions.

In fact, you won’t have to look far for other similar proclamations. There’s little doubt where the price of fuel is trending. Up! There’s also little doubt that higher fuel prices will have an impact on restaurants and other optional out-of-home purchases. It’s real. So where is the tipping point as it relates to price-per-gallon and dramatic restaurant purchase behavior change? And, what can you do now to insulate your business? The latest research from Summit Marketing — to be published August 21st — answers those questions, & more.

Don’t miss this important and most up-to-date research report. Register now, and be one of the first to receive it.

Taking Cues From Casual Dining Concepts, Quick-Service Restaurants Are Constantly Reinventing

Authored by Greg Ferguson, Summit Marketing

I freely admit it, I enjoy fast food!  A Sonic foot-long chili cheese dog, a Chick-fil-A sandwich and peach milkshake, or tacos and seasoned curly fries from Jack in the Box ­– it all tastes great.

But the other riders in my car, whether they’re friends or family, don’t always agree. While I want the big breakfast, they want something healthy like oatmeal.  When they want a Chicken Apple Cranberry salad, I want a Whopper and onion rings.  Luckily, QSR’s understand the need to appeal to more than the typical fast food consumer.  Both oatmeal and a Big Breakfast can be found at McDonald’s; and both a Chicken Apple Cranberry salad and a Whopper can be found at Burger King.

First observation:  There is a menu option for every demographic and psychographic in your car.  Fast food locations understand the power of satisfying their traditional consumer while offering options that reach new consumers.

This was clearly demonstrated on a recent outing with extended family and friends. We stopped in for a quick bite at a QSR location.  When we reached the table, I noticed that it was a true smorgasbord.  There were light meals, kids meals, healthy meals and the traditional fast food. There were even wraps and frappes.  Options, more options, and even more options seem to be the rule of thumb at QSR’s.

What can you add to your current offerings that would reach a different audience segment?  Our current “7 Moms Conversation” research indicates moms are looking for smaller menu portions as well as fresh, local ingredients.  What can you do to drive additional sales with your key mom segments?  More importantly, how are you getting the word out and driving traffic around “new offerings”?

Second observation: Along with numerous meal options, fast food restaurants are now offering multiple dessert options in various sizes. Dessert menus used to include only apple pie or an ice cream cone.  Now they include cookies, pies, ice cream, brownies and more.  They are looking for their equivalent of that “perfect check” often pursued by fine and casual dine restaurants.  Borrowing the “perfect check” concept, QSR’s are increasing check size and provide more reasons for guests to show loyalty and advocacy.  Including smaller size items that appeal to those consumers who “just want a bite of something sweet” are also satisfying guest interest in “healthier” options.  Starbucks Petites, Mini Blizzards at DQ, mini sundaes at Chick-fil-A and the list goes on.

What additional strategies could QSR’s implement to create more “perfect ticket” customers?  Could staff members make periodic rounds to offer dessert or coffee samples at the tables, once guests are dining?

Some consumers don’t buy dessert while initially ordering because it will melt or become stale while they are eating.  What about a dessert or drinks/refills-only line at the counter, so it’s easy to make that purchase at the end of a meal?  Or offering dessert via a handheld credit card option so guests aren’t required to go back to the counter?

Final observation: Value options are now the norm.  One additional strategy QSR’s have developed is offering “value menu” options to drive traffic. As I said at the outset, I like fast food. A colleague asked the other day why fast food instead of lunch at a fast casual restaurant like Panera or Chipotle since the cost is the same. But in my case, that’s not true. The “Why Pay More” menu at Taco Bell offers me a taco, chips and drink for $2.69.  A McDouble and fries are only $2.17 at McDonald’s.  Again, QSR’s have determined what a certain market segment is looking for and have designed options to target and secure that audience.

What I haven’t seen are value options based on smaller portions.  As referenced earlier, our most recent “7 Moms Conversation” research indicates moms are looking for smaller portions at a good value.  What value items could be offered to target this segment? Are there healthy options in a smaller portion size that could be added to your value menu?

As in any industry, understanding your consumers and their buying preferences/habits should drive both your offerings and marketing. But you can’t stop there. Determining secondary target segments to expand sales is vital to growth. Data and insights drive innovation.  What does your data tell you?

Would any of the ideas above make a difference? Might they be worth considering?  Let us know what you’ve seen most recently – in restaurant promotions – that has caught your attention?  Also, watch for our upcoming “Food & Fuel” Research Report.  It will be packed with fresh insights to help you drive trial and loyalty!

Restaurants MUST Proactively Manage Online Reputations: New White Paper Now Available

Online Brand Reputations

Right now, there are people online with one goal in mind: Take down restaurant brands or extort them for free and/or discounted meals.

Summit Marketing released a white paper that emphasizes how important it is for restaurants to proactively manage their online reputations. In our ever-connected world, consumers are relying, more than ever, on the advice of strangers. They’re turning to review sites, such as Yelp, Angie’s List and Citysearch to help them answer the question of, “Where should we go to eat?”

In fact, 72% of consumers trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation.

The presence and influence of online review sites is growing. Some sites display both positive and negative reviews. There is also an increase, however, of review sites built exclusively for displaying negative reviews. The most disturbing thing about these sites is they do not validate the accuracy of their content or the claims made.

Cyber extortionists are also turning to other social media platforms – like Twitter and Facebook – to carry out their shakedowns of restaurants. Public perception of a brand is dramatically influenced by conversations and information shared online.

Unfortunate Fact: Restaurants need an online brand reputation strategy.

Our new White Paper, “Ready or Not, Restaurants MUST Proactively Manage Their Online Brand Reputations” provides restaurant owners/operators and marketers an in-depth plan for managing their online reputation.

Visit our Intelligent Insights page to download your free copy of this informative and enlightening white paper.

Are fast food and fast casual restaurants becoming one and the same?

It seems that fast casual is the dining style of choice for today’s lifestyles. It’s quick and easy. You can pick up or dine in the facility. There’s a wide variety of cuisine selects in this restaurant, etc. I’ve noticed the trends and perhaps so have you…now the fast food restaurants are up-scaling their menu items.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I dined inside a Taco Bell. This Taco Bell had chairs arranged in a conversational, casual setting. The tables had mints and wet wipes on them. I was stunned. Is this really Taco Bell? How long has this been going on? It had been years since I actually ate inside a Taco Bell.

Sure enough, this Technomic article states, “Within the LSR segment fast-casual restaurants continue to gain market share while fast-food restaurants are working overtime to upscale their menu and concept positioning–not only to keep pace, but to compete directly with fast-casual leaders.”

The article shows findings regarding Consumer Disparity; Lunch Patronage; Menu Incidence; Health & Wellness; and Global Inspiration. You can read more here: Differences are blurring between fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, says Technomic