Category: Blog

Whether you have owned a restaurant for ten days or ten years, you will know that the job is a hard one and that there is always room for improvement. In truth, different owners are unique and this means that one restaurant can run very differently to another and still see success. However, there are three key things that you need to do regardless of your style. As long as you get these three factors right, there is no reason why you can’t become a great owner.

Be Close to Staff – In any restaurant, the staff are the function that keeps it all ticking over. Even though you own the business and pay the staff, they are the ones running the show. Nowadays, it is easy for people to switch jobs in a flash so don’t lose them through ignorance. After learning the market, make sure you pay them as they would expect before then training them sufficiently. Although they might not admit it, all assistant chefs are dreaming of being head chefs whilst waiters want to become a manager one day. With this in mind, you can help them and improve their skill set by cross training.

At first, you need to ensure that they are fully trained in their chosen area. When the time is right, allow them to spread their wings a little and train in different areas. Not only will this boost their confidence, this can be very useful if someone phones in sick or leaves unexpectedly. Suddenly, you have staff trained in all different areas.

Choose Your Role – Before you go off deciding everybody’s role, spend some time defining your own. When you do this, you allow room for growth and the business becomes scalable because you will be ready to pass the reigns over whenever necessary. If you’re completely new to the restaurant business, be hands-on and willing to learn. Once you know everything about your restaurant, you can look at the bigger picture while your staff concentrate on the finer details and day-to-day running.

Value Your Customers – Without customers, you have no business. Even with the best decor, service, and food, you are still nothing without customers so you need to show every one of them that you appreciate their visit. Sadly, many people believe this is only achieved through compliments but all feedback is valuable. Whether you talk to them in person or ask for feedback online, see what they have to say because you might just see a suggestion that changes your business for the better.

In a recent interview, a world-famous chef once said that he doesn’t even listen to positive feedback. Although it is nice to hear, it is the negative feedback that allows improvement to be made. If a customer speaks negatively, work out what went wrong and find a way to fix it. Once you have learned a lesson or made a change, invite them back to see the improvement. Nowadays, every customer is important and it takes skill to turn a negative customer into a long-term repeat customer. If you achieve this skill, you will be in business for a long time.

Conclusion – As you may have noticed, we just covered the three vital factors of your business – your staff, your customers, and yourself. If you pay attention to these three tips, you will be well on the way to success!

Over the past decade, Twitter has gone from strength to strength and it now stands as a superb marketing platform for all types of businesses. For restaurants especially, the site is fantastic because you can upload your menu, advertise special offers, communicate with customers, advertise your food with colorful images, and more. Today, we are going to discuss the main features that you should be looking to use in 2017!

Profile – Before we go any further, you need your bio and profile picture to be as good as can be. Remember, the picture is often the first thing people see so use your logo. In terms of your bio, this should contain a brief introduction of what you offer, business hours, items on the menu, and your tagline and logo once again.

Follow Carefully – As well as your profile, you also need to be cautious with who you follow because people will keep an eye on this list. Rather than clogging up your feed and affiliating your business with nonsense accounts, follow only those necessary and treat it like the business account it is. If you need advice in this area, Twitter Analytics gives great recommendations for who to follow in your niche.

Lists – On Twitter, ‘Lists’ is actually a severely underused feature but we are looking to change this fact. On your account, you are allowed around 1,000 lists with 5,000 accounts in each and they can be great for interacting with bloggers and various vendors to create a buzz around your restaurant. In addition to this, they will help you to keep abreast of all latest products and services.

Direct Messaging – If you have a Twitter account already, we can almost guarantee that you disabled Direct Messaging and you wouldn’t be alone because this is something many businesses do. However, leaving it open will allow angry customers to send you a message directly rather than leaving a tweet on your profile for the whole world to see so it is definitely something to consider!

Moments – If you are looking to boost engagement on your page, the new Moments feature is a great starting point. As a tool for content curation, you can share numerous tweets regarding an event, product launch, trend, or whatever you want to bring to your follower’s attention.

Twitter Ads – In recent years, Twitter advertising has improved somewhat and it now allows for targeted campaigns so you can reach out to the people who are most likely to visit your restaurant. In addition to searching for the right Twitter users, you can also search using hashtags so look out for the hashtags being used by current customers. Over time, you could use these to find new customers!

Coupon Marketing – When you choose to go with coupon-based marketing, you know that there are going to be various benefits to experience. As well as offering customers personalized rewards, you will obtain vital information about customers moving forward and the system almost feeds on itself. Using Twitter, you can offer exclusivity to customers to improve the visibility of your brand and boost the loyalty in your customer base. Eventually, the likes and shares will lead to success.

Trending – On the homepage of Twitter, you have probably seen the trending topics section but have you ever used these for your business? As well as breaking news, trending topics can also be planned events through one or multiple channels. If you have enough followers (you can team up with another company, if not), you can try to get a particular hashtag into the trending topics and the awareness of your brand will skyrocket in a matter of hours.

Engagement – With Twitter engagement, many businesses make the mistake of constantly advertising a product or a service but this soon gets frustrating to watch. According to the 80/20 rule, 80% of all your conversations should be simple interaction with followers whereas 20% contribute to the programs and goals of the brand. Essentially, this ensures that customers feel as though their opinions are being taken into account and their kind words are appreciated.

Customer Service – In years gone by, customers would have to talk to you in person or send a letter when they have praise or an issue. With Twitter, it has given them a new platform because they see a response much quicker. Therefore, allow your brand to get a great reputation for responding to customer service issues and all watching will respect your efforts.

Pictures – Ever wondered why Instagram is so popular? As a species, humans react well to photos and they instantly grab our attention. As a business, you need to utilize this information and add images to your posts. According to a recent study, tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than those that don’t. Furthermore, interaction is also stronger with images so upload these along with videos even if it is something taken quickly on a smartphone; these can be just as effective as professional shots.

Influencers – On Twitter, you will find ‘influencers’ who are people with a significant following. Along with celebrities, the list has grown to include bloggers, vloggers, and many others in recent years. Once you have found the ones in your niche, reach out to them every once in a while to see if they want to visit your restaurant and get involved with helping your brand. Considering they have potentially hundreds of thousands of followers all trusting their word, this could be a good strategy this year.

Twitter Analytics – How are you supposed to progress if you don’t analyze the success of previous posts? With Twitter Analytics, you can see how many impressions and clicks your posts receive which allows you to learn the most successful posts as well as posting times throughout the day.

As you can see, Twitter is pivotal in a marketing strategy and these thirteen tips will have you progressing this year. As long as you pay attention to this advice, there is no reason why your brand can’t increase in popularity in the months ahead.

Three in five new restaurants will fail within 36 months. That’s a sobering statistic, and there’s a reason for it. The hospitality industry is one of the toughest to do business in and succeed at. The biggest reason most new restaurants fail to get off the ground is the lack of funds or the inability to maintain control over their costs.

How can you ensure this doesn’t happen to you if you want to open a restaurant?

When it comes to your costs, you need to plan ahead and consider everything – be it minor or major. For example, floor space can cost run anywhere from $100 to $800 square foot, dependent on your needs. Your plumbing, electrical and mechanical needs can run anywhere from $70,000 to $100,000 – same for equipment. Make sure your budget includes furniture.

It’s imperative to watch your spending when you decide to open a restaurant. You want to stand out but not at the price that you run yourself out of business. What are some things to consider in your budget?

Used vs. New Equipment

Believe it or not, you should be more concerned with getting the right equipment for your restaurant instead of new equipment. Restaurants that are going out of business will often have equipment you can buy for cheap. Consider second-hand options or doing some shopping on the Internet. Never buy something you don’t need right away.

Decorations

Like your business equipment, don’t get fixated on décors. You can always create a memorable experience on a low budget. All you need is a couple of impactful elements that can speak volumes to your customers. Consider paint colors or soft lighting. Add an area where guests can sign their names. Little inexpensive things go a long way in making a big impact.

Don’t buy anything fancy until your restaurant is a bit more stable.

Technology

You need to purchase a restaurant point-of-sale system, which can handle the receipts, payments, inventory, etc. Be sure to find a system that includes bookkeeping or can be integrated with one. Be sure you consider what technology your staff may need to take orders. Do they really need iPads? If you want to go hi-tech, go for second-hand models or older models.

Marketing

When you need to keep your marketing costs low, the Internet is your ticket. There are all kinds of social media sites that can help spread the word about your business for free or low price. However, you must be actively involved with the social media account to reach your target audience and increase the base. While email marketing isn’t as nice as social media, it’s still a very effective online marketing technique to reach your audience.

Most restaurateurs fail to adequately and properly plan for the unexpected costs of their business. It is imperative you plan for everything – every contingency possible – to ensure your business succeeds in this high-stake hospitality industry. However, even if you fail to remember it all, you should still pursue your dream of owning a restaurant business.

It’s not uncommon for a business to be in the red for the first five to 10 years of the business before they see real profits coming in. It takes hard work and dedication to make a restaurant business successful. It also takes you looking realistically at your budget – where should you spend and where should you be saving?

Where are some areas you can save some money in?

Technology

Yes, your business will need technology if it is to survive and thrive, but it’s also the one area of the company that extra spending takes place. Ask yourself if your business really needs all the high-tech equipment you see advertised. Can your business survive using older tech equipment? If you can get away with the less expensive models, save yourself the cash and do it.

Marketing

In the past, your company may have needed the help of a marketing firm to spread the word about your restaurant. Today, the Internet is a restaurateur’s best friend. You’ve got all kinds of social media platforms that you can use – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make an impact with your social media marketing campaign.

If you don’t feel you have the time to handle the day-to-day dealings of running a social media business (and chances are you won’t), hire a freelancer to contend with it for you. Freelancers are much cheaper than a firm.

Music

Many restaurants and retail stores have background music playing for their customers to enjoy while eating. Bear in mind that playing music in a restaurant comes with a cost. Since you are a commercial entity, you’ll need to pay a rights to music fee. This fee is a minimal cost compared to others you’ll deal with in the business, but it is one most restaurant entrepreneurs overlook and shouldn’t.

Utilities

All restaurant owners know they have to pay utilities, but they don’t ever consider the actual cost of using them. In fact, the cost may catch some owners off guard. Before you sign a contract, consider looking at the utility situation. If a prior business was located there, did they pay off their bill? Some utilities will force you to pay another entity’s debt before establishing the location in your name.

It’s unfortunate but does happen.

Nowadays, the restaurant industry is more competitive than ever before and this is causing numerous problems. With so much choice available for the consumer, restaurants are finding it hard to get noticed. However, there are some steps that you can take to overcome the largest problems and we have some fantastic tips today!

Issue #1: Customer Service – When people visit restaurants, they do so because they want to experience food that they can’t cook at home and we will look deeper into the menu in just a second. However, it isn’t just the food that people want to experience because the customer service is just as important. Regardless of how good your food may be, most visitors include the customer service in their decision of whether to return so this should be a focal point of your business.

As we know, repeat customers are essential for restaurants because there are only a certain amount of people to whom you can appeal. Once all the locals have visited your restaurant, you are essentially out of ideas. Therefore, a sustainable restaurant will focus on repeat business and customer service is a huge factor within this. From busboys to the managers, everybody should be looking out for the visitor and they need to have an enjoyable experience.

In truth, every step is important from the moment they walk in. If they aren’t greeted, don’t know your name, aren’t helped with questions, and aren’t even smiled at once, they will remember and could even tarnish your reputation with an online review. Remember, a bad review can outdo several good ones so do your best to keep all customers happy. Of course, some customers will be tricky to handle but you must try your best and keep the smile on your face at all times.

Issue #2: USP – Why should customers spend their evening and hard-earned money with you as opposed to any other restaurant in town? If you can’t answer this, how can anybody else? Unfortunately, customer service or even the menu doesn’t necessarily qualify as a USP as such as these are just a case of meeting expectations. In order to exceed them in some way, you need something that sets you apart.

Is it the classic 50s music you play while they eat? Do you source all of your ingredients locally? Do all customers get a little gift bag when they leave even if it is only a mint and some other cheap items? Whatever it may be, this will be the bit that has people returning. If it was just ‘food’, people can get that anywhere so what is it about your restaurant that is so special? As soon as you have this, you will be remembered. Why? Because you create an emotional connection with your guests and next time, they might bring more friends and family!

Issue #3: Menu – Ultimately, these three factors at the beginning are a trifecta of factors that make up the foundation of your restaurant. If either one of these is faulty, repeat customers are hard to come by. So far, we have been skirting around the menu a little so let’s address it now properly. In terms of common issues, sometimes restaurants have their menu too small or even too large. Additionally, you could be too expensive, too confusing with your theme, or too frugal with your portion sizes.

When creating a menu, you need to choose a number of dishes that you can do well without compromising the quality. When there are too many items, everything becomes a little rushed and the chef is overwhelmed at what they have to cook. For example, having hundreds of items might not seem a lot but what happens if every single person orders a different dish? Furthermore, you need to consider the amount of ingredients required to fulfil a large menu.

This being said, you also don’t want to limit the choice of your customers because they will only come once or twice before they run out of dishes they wish to try. Therefore, there needs to be a balance between these two factors. As well as providing a good amount of choice, the chef needs to be able to cook all orders to a very good standard. To help, we also have some smaller tips that may help with your menu;

• Avoid using the dollar sign
• Review your menu once or twice a year
• Be ready to adapt if something doesn’t sell
• Keep copies of your menu clean in the dining room
• Use photos and creative text to sell for you
• Keep the most profitable dishes in their own section

Finally, we also recommend making your menu available on your website and social media sites because people are more likely to visit if they can check out your food first!

Issue #4: Marketing – Earlier, we discussed the amount of competition in every location so how do you plan to stand out without good marketing? We aren’t saying that you should be spending extortionate amounts of money on marketing, but you can still utilize social media, a responsive website, email lists, and even a loyalty program for customers. In addition to being cheap, these are all incredibly effective.

Over time, you should be looking to create your brand including the same logo and graphics across all platforms. In truth, being creative is far more effective than spending lots of money so be unique and capture the imagination of potential customers.

Issue #5: Management – Although this isn’t in the main three, management is still important to any restaurant because you are the one in control. Each day, there are many things that need to be assessed to ensure profitability including;

• The most profitable menu items
• The cost of each menu item
• Labor costs compared to ingredients and every other cost
• The items that could be removed due to lack of sales
• The amount of customers who walk through the door each day
• The profit (or loss) you see each week
• The loss that comes from inventory

As you can see, these are quite basic but could prove very important if you are to succeed. If you manage to review the figures listed, act upon what they are suggesting, and then see even more success, this is great news for the longevity of the businesses!

Issue #6: Capital – Ultimately, the biggest problem here is probably the lack of capital that restaurant owners seem to have these days. If you are still in the planning stages of your restaurant and only have enough money for three months, we highly suggest waiting a little longer because this time will go very quickly. If you get off to a slow start, you are getting yourself into debt very early on and it becomes harder and harder to recover as many people find out each year. If possible, it is recommended that you have capital for at least one year before you open.

Issue #7: Staff – Finally, your staff will be one of the most important cogs in the day-to-day wheel because they are the face of the business. If you make mistakes in hiring, you end up wasting a good amount of money on the hiring process as well as the training that took place to get them up to scratch. This, coupled with the fact that the food industry tends to have a very high labor turnover rate, means that you need to be extra careful with hiring the right characters.

If you place focus on staff, you will become more efficient as time goes on and this leads to a happier experience for your diners. Although hiring can be an expensive process, this doesn’t mean that you should be hanging on to the wrong staff. Let’s face it, some people aren’t cut out for working in the busy atmosphere of a restaurant and this is absolutely fine. Once you have the right team, you can train them well and they could potentially become management one day and this is something to keep in mind. If they have the potential to join the management team in the future, keep hold of them!

Conclusion – There we have it, the most common issues seen by restaurants. As long as you take our tips on board, you should now have some solutions to make your restaurant venture a success both now and long into the future!

When running a restaurant, you will have goals and margins you need to hit over the coming weeks, months, and years. When all is said and done, most of this comes down to money and increasing your revenue. When you increase revenue, you increase your profit (depending on costs) and this allows you more funds for marketing or just improving your business as a whole. On a more basic level, more revenue allows you to keep trading for a longer period of time.

Nowadays, we are aware that some marketing techniques are just too expensive. If you are a small business, you might not be able to afford TV ads and huge billboards but these aren’t necessary as long as you are clever. Below, we have compiled a list of the 12 best tips we have seen through the years. If you want to be successful in 2017, follow this advice and you won’t go far wrong!

Snapchat Geofilters – Driven primarily by millennials, these filters are like overlays that show location or even branding. With this, pictures will be sent between friends and they show where they are located. For example, your customers could snap a picture of their meal before sending it to friends with the overlay. Not only does the meal look appetizing, all who receive the meal will know where to buy it from.

Direct Mail – Whilst technology brings huge benefits, you should never forget the roots of marketing because there is still something to be said for direct mail. Considering it can be extremely affordable, it is superb for restaurants because it is the locals you want to convert into regular customers. If you add coupons to the mail, you will have the attention of the community and this can only be a good thing.

Influencer Marketing – On every social media platform, we have what we call ‘influencers’ and these are people will a huge following. Since they have so much support, their followers trust what is being said and they have a certain influence over the market (hence the name). As a restaurant, you will be in a great position if you can have the influencer talking about your brand. Because the followers trust the word of the influencer, you will gain credibility if they enter your restaurant.

Sometimes, people say that this is hard to do but it can all begin with a simple message. When contacting them, say that you love their blog and that you think they will enjoy your food. From here, you can make arrangements if they show an interest; of course, the influencer needs to be in the food niche.

Delivery – Sure, you might not have the manpower to deliver yourself but there are now superb services that act as the middleman. If your locals enjoy your food, there are services that will deliver to homes and businesses on your behalf. Although they will receive a cut, these are customers you wouldn’t have otherwise had. If you can afford it, having someone visiting local homes and businesses can be a good move because you are actively marketing your brand.

Social Media – Every day, we spend millions of hours on social media but you cannot just expect people to visit your restaurant after one little post. Instead, you need to be creative by starting competitions or providing genuinely interesting content. If you move away from the pure advertising posts, you will capture the imagination of your followers. Furthermore, the funny or clever posts will also see more shares and then people will be interested in your brand. When you just post about your business, everyone gets bored (even you!) so be creative.

Coupon Drops – For landlords, they are always looking to add more value to their tenants because this allows them to justify the price. Therefore, get in contact and offer them a coupon drop program. As long as they live locally, you can regularly drop coupons and special offers and all those inside the building can benefit.

Text Marketing – Nowadays, we have our mobile phones permanently attached to our bodies in some way or another. If you utilize text messaging, you can persuade your existing customers to come back. As long as you don’t spam their mobile phones, you can be helpful with great offers and rewards.

Email Marketing – Despite now being considered an ‘old’ piece of technology, people still check their emails nearly every day so this is a great location to drop some advertising. Once again, you can send special offers or email-only deals for all the customers who have provided their email address.

Radio – Although you can benefit from paying for a radio spot, you will benefit even more from a long-term relationship with a station. Therefore, why not get in touch and see what you can do together? As well as sponsoring their events, you could create a combined Facebook contest, live on-air promotions, live broadcasting, ad vans, and more. In recent times, radio has received a lot of negativity but it is something we still listen to in cars and offices regularly.

Special Events – With some restaurants, the regulars stop coming because every night is exactly the same and you can’t blame them for this. If you want to recapture the attention of your locals, hold special events where certain demographics receive a cheaper dinner. For example, we recently saw one restaurant doing a ‘Daddy/Daughter night’ where all dads and daughters received a discount from their meals. Additionally, you could do ‘End of Week Friday’, ‘Wine Wednesday’, or whatever you fancy!

Give Back – If you operate within a community, the locals will love it when you give something back. As an example, you could run an event for a local charity or even for a local school. Online, you can advertise this event and you suddenly become a leader in the community.

Watch the Competition – Finally, we never advise copying the competition in your niche but you can certainly watch what they are doing. As well as their menu, you can also assess their marketing techniques and special offers; they could be advertising on a local website and seeing success!

There we have it, some simple steps for increasing your revenue. If you combine a few of these tips, you could start seeing more customers very soon and, with any hope, they will become long-term visitors to boost revenue!

It’s become harder and harder for a new restaurant to look unique – to get the attention of consumers. After all, there are a plethora of restaurants with fine dining and amazing good for them to compete with. But, did you know that all that ambiance and good food may not be enough to win people over and get them to come back?

In fact, it’s the service a restaurant provides that lures people back in. Your earn customer loyalty by providing them with amazing customer service, being attentive to the details and giving them a personal touch. This is what leads to repeat business.

It’s important to offer good service to your customers, but why not strive for outstanding service instead?

Now, you may think that providing customers with outstanding service is going to cost you a lot of money. It doesn’t and shouldn’t have to. All it means is your staff going the extra mile with the tasks they’re already doing.

Have Your FoH Manager Check On Customers

Most waiters and waitresses check on their customers, but a FoH manager checking in on them when customers get their main course is a demonstration of amazing service. This simple service act shows customers that your FoH manager cares about them and their experience. It shows the customers that if they have a problem, the manager is willing to step in and help.

Reduce Your Customers’ Wait Time

If a customer makes a reservation for a particular time at your restaurant, it means they want to eat at your restaurant. Take it as a form of flattery. Be sure to exceed their expectations by preparing for their arrival in advance. If the party has to wait, even though they made the reservation, make sure they’re offered complimentary drinks or food. Have the restaurant manager apologize for the wait and why the wait is happening.

When the customers have an understanding of what’s going on and that a solution is being offered to pass the time, they’re more likely to be less hostile about it.

It’s the little things you do that, when properly carried out, makes a world of difference for a customer. They’ll remember it just as much as they will the food.

Your Restaurant’s Ambiance Plays A Role In Customer Service

Believe it or not, the kind of ambiance your restaurant has plays a huge role in customer service as well. Be sure you have the right type of music playing. You may have a crowd of people that drown out the music, but it’s what sets the tone in the restaurant. Don’t turn up the music just to get patrons to hear it, but do turn it down if people are asking for it to be lowered.

Another important aspect is the lighting. While lighting will differ from one restaurant to the next, the key is to allow customers to see each other and their food but create a mood that makes them want to stay and eat. Be aware that a lack of good lighting makes it hard for people to read a menu, which can cause some patrons to get up and leave.

Create A Personalized Experience

You want your customers to feel like they got a personalized experience from your establishment. When it comes to the management, you don’t want something to come out rehearsed. Talk with customers directly, asking for their names and repeating it when you see them again. It’s the little things like these that make a customer feel like they are important.

You also want the wait staff to engage with your customer. These relationships can foster customer loyalty while also boosting the chance of a good tip for their hard work and service.

For many years Cameo China has been working extra hard to gain your trust. We truly believe in one simple philosophy: Do what you say.

This simple four word Mission statement is easy to say, but takes a lot of hard work to achieve. Every day we tell our customers that the items they would like to purchase are in stock at our warehouse in Toronto. We dedicate our efforts to preparing and shipping orders with the shortest delay possible. The entire Cameo team will set aside their regular tasks to help fulfill this promise. We do this because, as a company, we said we would.

The results of this dedication and hard work have been calculated. Cameo China has achieved a 99.9% Fill-order-rate* within 3 to 5 business days. Simply put – we do what we say. We receive process and ship your order with an efficiency unheard of in the foodservice industry. Why do we work so hard? The answer is right in front of us. We do it for you, our loyal and valued customers. You told us that you need products immediately at any time of the year. A simple request that we are proud to say we have satisfied 99.9% of the time.

Trust Cameo to continue to deliver high quality, durable and economical dinnerware to you. We did what we said we would do!

From the entire Cameo team, thank you for your support.

( * Refers to Canadian operations only )

This past year in 2016, the Cameo team had one objective – simply put; “At Cameo. We do what we say”. Goals of this nature are easy to say, but their success requires a lot of hard, consistent effort.

We are proud to focus our effort on our goals to provide reliable, high-quality customer service, to every customer, every day. Cameo produces and markets high-quality, durable and affordable commercial-grade dinnerware throughout Canada. Our commitment to customer service and efficient, timely delivery are the keys to our continued success. Again in 2016 we maintained a fill-order rate of 99.9% in 3 to 5 business days.

In 2017 Cameo will endeavour to maintain our dedication to our core philosophies.

All our distributor partners and valued customers can rely on our attention to your needs every day. When an extra effort is required, you can count on us to ensure your satisfaction.

All of our efforts would be wasted without your loyal support and your continued interest in our products. We promise to continue to strive to improve Cameo in every thing we do.

Our mission continues:

AT CAMEO. WE DO WHAT WE SAY