We are approaching our ten year anniversary of being opened. it really has been a journey of growth with some bumps along the way but so worth it. In this type of business you really need to love it and I defineatly do. To get ideas for our ten year celebation we attended the Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Everything pizza that you can possibly imagine along with staying in Las Vegas is just such a great combination. The focus seemed to be social media and getting back to the basics in term of cooking and marketing. One of the best things about attending is just being around others who are really excited about being in the restaurant business. You can tell the focus was of growth and improvement. Most likely we will be ordering special shirts and having different events throughout the year to celebrate our tenth anniversary. Starting the implementation now is not too early since it takes time to get things coordinated. We plan to get input from both the staff and customers. Facebook has been wonderful and most likely we will ask customers what type of promotions they would like to see. Overall it has been them along with staff and our community that has kept us in business so long.
Marketing
July 03, 2011
November 27, 2009
A Slice as a Treat!
Today we had a large number of children hand in their gift certificates for a free slice. Just recently we have been getting these back in larger numbers. They were passed out last Halloween as part of our goody bags that we gave during our town's annual "Halloween on the Avenue". It is a great event that provides an opportunity for children to start trick or treating at 5:00pm along the town's main avenue. Most of the businesses set up a table in front of their store and pass out candy. Our restaurant is not located there but we set up a table and participate as well. Sami's Fine Jewelry is wonderful to work with us as we set up in front of their store. Here we are all dressed up and setting up our table.
The preparation this year was to make four hundred goody bags and we are fortunate to have enough help between our staff and twin sons. We started out a few days earlier to make the bags. Our sons dressed up for the part of passing out the candy.
This was the first year that I decided to add a gift certificate along with the goody bag that we gave. The certificate is for one free slice of pizza that would be good until the end of the year. We passed all of them out and had an enjoyable time.
Most of the certificates have been coming back this week rather than a right after Halloween. We are also noticing more new customers coming in with them and trying our pizza. This seems like it has been a great way to give children a small treat plus market our pizza in a different way.
June 22, 2009
A Memorable Way to Promote Your Business From Networking
The other week I had gone to a chamber networking event where we practiced our elevator speech to each other by sitting in groups of two and eventually changing partners. This was similar to a speed dating type of set up. During this time we also exchanged business cards. I have in the past kept a notebook where I try to keep track of business cards that I get. I have found this to be difficult in finding the best way to sort and refer to them for future use.
Now the other day my staff had told me that someone had stopped by the restaurant and left a package for me. When I opened the packaged this is what I found:
There were two notepads and two "while you were out" pads printed with the company name Print Time , four customized notepads with my full name on them, and a business card from Steve Halter. He was one of the business contacts I made from the chamber networking event. I thought the gesture of leaving the products that he made was a great idea. Two days later he called to confirm that I had received the items and mentioned that he can assist with any printing needs that I may have in the future.
This was so unique and a memorable way to follow up with networking contacts. I was very impressed and will consider using this company. Now I am also wondering how I could apply this same type of idea in following up with my contacts beyond filing business cards. I now realize being creative and thoughtful is much more memorable. Do you have any ideas on this?
June 15, 2009
Restaurants Support Local Golf Tournament
This past weekend we participated in a local fundraiser for our community. The event was the Fountain Hills Community Foundation Golf Tournament that raises funds for local charities in the area. The Fountain Hills Community Foundation provides this event annually. It was a day long event held at FireRock Country Club in Fountain Hills.
This was my first time participating in a golf event and I was amazed by the amount of preparation needed. Prior to the event there were weeks of advance planning. The other directors from the foundation had already provided such a well organized format for the tournament. They really dedicated their time to organize a memorable day.
For the event we provided raffle tickets for free pizzas along with a small item for each golf bag that was given to the golfers. The bags contained peanuts, a Slim Jim, and a $5.00 gift card to our restaurant. We decided the gift cards would be more valuable to others rather than a discounted coupon. The peanuts and Slim Jim were a last minute addition that seemed to work out well. These bags were prepared by our staff days prior to the event.
During the day of the tournament there were volunteers who assisted in various tasks. The day started early with setting up the registration table and placing all the sponsor signs on the holes. Everyone seemed to work well together and things ran smoothly.
Overall, the day went fantastic along with raising funds for the foundation. In assisting with this event I learned how much goes into preparing a large fundraiser and how there are so many committed people who give a large amount of their time for others. I was even able to have my husband be of assistance as he checked in on the volunters stationed at the contest holes.
The golf tournament went well and the golfers seemed to have a great time. There were three contest holes and the event lasted almost five hours with a continuation of a dinner reception and raffle drawings. I learned how a golf tournament works and how a groups of people working together can do so much in raising funds for others.
May 29, 2009
Get All Your Staff To Participate in a Donation
Today we have four staff members graduating from high school. We are so excited for them as most of them have been with us for a long period of time. So this year our donation to the high school was even more special.
Last year we provided blue artificial roses decorated with ribbon and a small card with the school mascot. The roses were to match the school colors and be given to each graduate. These are the same roses we give to customers during the different holidays. Once, a customer had mentioned that they would be great to get during receptions so we started to donate them to local events.
The best part was that most of our staff wanted to help decorate each rose. Usually, we start this project a week ahead and have the servers work on it during off peak times. This year I found out that the whole kitchen staff also wanted to help with them and did during their lunch breaks. We ended up making 210 roses and delivered them to the high school a few days early.
We usually donate many items during the year but I realized this one seemed to take a unique meaning as the whole staff was able to be a part of it.
May 13, 2009
Reach Out To Get Customers
Sometimes you need to find ways that your services can by of use for someone else. Potential clients may not realize that you only have to adjust your business a little to meet their needs. A year ago one of our locations was closed on Sundays. As I met different networking groups I would suggest that if they wanted to they could use our space to conduct private meetings without having to order food. This was the first time that we had done something like this but I thought why not give it a try.
The groups were very grateful and the traffic on Sundays to our restaurant seemed to generate more interest. Actually, people kept asking about what was happening on Sundays with the amount of people they would see inside. Now we are opened on Sundays and it is a great day for us. Now during the times of operation that we are not too busy we provide our facility for meetings.
Pictured above is Fempreneur Connections which was the latest group to have a networking event with us. One way you can find out about local gatherings that meet near your area is by looking at meetup. This is a website that is updated regularly and has an array of groups that conduct meetings. I have found it to be helpful for restaurants. Being in business for a few years I realized you just need to approach others and show them how your service can be of assistance to them, as you never know what new doors you may open.
May 08, 2009
Free Pasta More Customers
What is the best way to get more business? How can you actually get your product out to potential customers? These are some of the questions I go over on a weekly basis. In the restaurant business you certainly want word of mouth promotion though you also need to look at other ways to continue to become established within the community.
Just two days ago we did a promotion to provide a full entree of chicken parmigiana over spaghetti to the first fifty customers who came to our restaurants. I thought this would be a great opportunity for our pizzerias to be more exposed. As an owner of a company you are always trying to find methods to attract business and it seems like the best way is to actually let potential customers try your services. This can be especially helpful when the business is fairly new, as for our second restaurant location.
So we held the event and were actually featured on channel 15 as part of their "Smart Shopper" program. This was definitely a memorable day. Prior to opening we had prepped enough chicken to sell fifty at both locations within the first hour of opening. The staff seemed both nervous (wondering what we would do if we ran out food) and excited to test their cooking capabilities. It turned out that there were people waiting for over an hour prior to opening .The news coverage did attract a line out the door and we sold out of the free pasta within forty minutes in one of our locations.
We were busy throughout the day and the customers truly seemed to enjoy the food. The exposure was tremendous and we still have some people coming in to try our restaurant since seeing us air on television. Yes, there probably were people who just came for the free food and perhaps live to far away. There were also those who could be potential customers. As for giving away free food, Stoney deGeyter wrote an article Making Money Giving Things Away for Free that really explained this idea well.
