2002 wasn’t a fantastic yr for many restaurants. The September eleventh attack on the dual Towers really damage sales.
But as an alternative to make excuses, Jeff Mohler on the Marblehead Grille and Chowder Home in Easton, PA decided to take the offensive. He started focusing on Neighborhood Marketing and advertising part way from the very first quarter in the 12 months. 2nd quarter success confirmed a 24.4% raise more than the prior calendar year (after all discount rates), and 3rd Quarter final results confirmed ongoing progress with 36.2%. But Jeff was locating it quite challenging to seek out time to manage his marketing as his volume improved. Inside the third quarter, Jeff put in and started working with an automated internet marketing software application.
In Q4 Jeff confirmed a 59.3% improve over Oct of your earlier year. The ultimate final result: Enterprise was up 32% with the 12 months, owing to Community marketing and program that permitted Jeff to manage his new advertising.
RESTAURANT Marketing and advertising Benefits JOURNAL – Because January one, 2002
Background 2001:
Just before the tragedy on September eleven, points had been coasting alongside properly in 2001 on target for your 5% improve. Because of the influence of nine/eleven,the 12 months finished with merely a 1.4% income maximize.
JANUARY 2002:
I made a decision to take the plunge into Direct Reaction. I discovered a bucket of a few year previous Entry Blanks from our 3rd Anniversary Contest in March 1999, named out about a hundred and fifty January birthdays, created and despatched a card supplying a “No cost A single-pound Lobster Supper” to Individuals one hundred fifty persons. We also commenced handing out guest Details Forms (GIFs) to assemble facts from our visitors. By the top in the thirty day period we had redeemed 28 cards bringing in 90 visitors, designed $ 2,335.twenty five in product sales, collected info totaling 1800 new people for our database and posted a revenue lessen of 4.five%, for January.
FEBRUARY & MARCH 2002:
Matters started to boost slowly and gradually and by the end of the 1st Quarter we experienced labored our way back into a four.4% revenue maximize Together with the database surpassing 5,000 folks’s birthdays and anniversaries.
APRIL – JUNE 2002:

The 2nd Quarter actually turned the convincing time for me as we sent out 600, 900 and 1,000 Birthday playing cards, redeemed virtually one,000 (near 40%) and generated $forty eight,000 in income following bargains, a 24.four% maximize. We also included Anniversary Playing cards to our mailing beginning in June with about five hundred cards being mailed for that month, 182 redeemed and created more than $seven,five hundred in added sales. The visitor-for every- card quantity was lessen than birthdays. I guess folks invite pals to help you rejoice birthdays but do the anniversary thing predominantly as couples.
JULY- SEPTEMBER 2002:
Knowledge management grew to become far more complex as we handed 12,000 entries. Excel and Mail Merge had been handling the get the job done and spitting out labels. The cards, now numbering about 300 each week had to be labeled, stamped with the how to develop writing skills in students expiration date along with a stamp – a great deal of operate, but worth it. I'd read about a variety of program plans and ordered a (application) bundle….. It arrived in mid-July as we have been within the throes of Small League Championship baseball, expending Pretty much three months around the highway.
The neat factors with regard to the restaurant advertising and marketing program are: one) printing the handle, beginning day and expiration day all over the cards at once (you can actually do the postage at the same time also, but I haven’t absent that considerably), in addition 2) a chance to log redemptions and monitor customer use. I felt this to be really practical as we shift forward and need to complete additional complex monitoring and establishing of distinct Visitor Lists.
The 3rd Quarter boomed and mostly in my absencewhich felt superior. A 56.eight% income boost moved us to 27.3% immediately after three quarters. I was ecstatic and slowly but surely being persuaded this Direct Reaction was excellent stuff – controllable, measurable and worthwhile.

Oct – DECEMBER 2002:
The 4th Quarter caused some advertising creativity during the sense that we did not want much too Lots of individuals redeeming cards in December, typically our largest income thirty day period in the year. We stopped mailing cards from December eight – 26, but nonetheless ended the thirty day period up 24.four%, a pleasant quantity but a large fall from Oct and November. We ended the calendar year up 31%.