Maintaining an Advantage Over Rivals

Maintaining an Advantage Over Rivals

The United States of America's "destination capital" is located in Florida. Florida is a popular tourist destination year-round due to its abundance of famous theme parks and attractions. Another place to go is Murray's Grille, which is located in the northeastern part of the state, some forty miles north of Jacksonville. Because of our out-of-the-way location, we often go unnoticed by potential clients. That makes us a restaurant that people go to," remarks Larry Murray, who, with his son Scott, owns the popular eatery.

Despite its location in the sleepy Florida town of Yulee, Murray's Grille has become a frequent haunt for locals and visitors alike, with some traveling thirty to forty miles only to eat there. Famous for its American cuisine, including steaks, seafood, and mouth-watering bar-b-que, this restaurant, which seats 200 people, is designed to look like an old farm house. Word of mouth, augmented with some radio and newspaper ads, has helped us grow our business since we launched five years ago. Our company's growth has been consistent thus far. However, this place is seeing some changes. There isn't any major competition here just yet, but our community is expanding rapidly. Several additional large chains, including a Super Wal-Mart, are in the building. Chain eateries are probably not far behind, says the older Murray.

The Murrays have been trying to come up with a marketing strategy that will help them grow their customer base and encourage repeat business from existing customers since they think now is the best time to do it. " I was intrigued by the offer of a free marketing analysis from The Restaurant Marketing Group and thought, 'What's the harm?'" My restaurant and its demographics were the exclusive focus of the analysis. Sales and profitability at Murray's Grille have been on the rise thanks to the analysis and the new marketing strategy. Our quality of service has been elevated to an even higher degree, and it's working. Murray says, "Our servers were briefed on our new VIP club. Within the first month, over 1,000 people joined." Guests were invited to join the club. All year long, in addition to birthday and anniversary greetings, we will deliver our unique offers to the people who entered. Birthdays are the most common reason to go out to eat, and everyone has one. All of this represents a rise in sales.

We also provided a reward for everyone who was kind enough to fill out the survey. We started compiling the names, emails, and addresses of our devoted clients right away. Afterwards, we forwarded them bounce-back deals. With the first month's data in hand, Murray's launched a monthly campaign to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. They began to observe a consistent influx of those offers returning within a few days of their first mailer. A thirty-person celebration was reserved by one of the first couples to take advantage of their anniversary deal. 

And that's why it's so important to bring in new business, Murray chimes in. RMG showed us how to track down our first-time customers, treat them like royalty, encourage their rapid return, and turn them into regulars. Not only that, but Murray has created a plethora of other marketing initiatives with the support of a weekly coaching phone interview with Larry. The employee challenge is the one that I'm most looking forward to. Each employee can sign their name on a set of printed business cards that feature a space at the bottom. 

A 20% discount on any menu item is printed on the card's reverse side. This problem involves every single employee, from the dishwashers to the cooks, the hostesses, and the waiters. As a gesture of goodwill, we ask that people distribute business cards to others they know. The employee whose name is printed on the card receives a cash bonus equal to five percent of the total amount of the customer's meal when the cards are redeemed. The employee who earns the most money during our month-long competition will also receive the five percent bonus that is put into a separate bucket. Investing a small amount of money might yield significant rewards at times. Murray elaborates by saying, "This marketing campaign is a real winner!" based on the enthusiasm of our personnel.

The business is also making use of New Move-Ins, which involve sending out welcome letters to new residents of the region along with an incentive. "We want to welcome these people to our neighborhood and help them establish Murray's Grille as their restaurant of choice, where they will dine often." We just contacted all of our fellow chamber members via email and issued them a letter with a special offer they can pass on to their clients and workers. "It's such a basic idea," Murray explains. 

I was able to pinpoint the problematic areas of my restaurant with the use of RMG's foodservice marketing. It was only until the survey that I learned about these issues. My staff and I have become closer, and our management has shown much more appreciation for each other because of this. We have achieved a great deal in a relatively short time. The Murrays are cognizant of the fact that consumers in any particular market have a finite amount of disposable income. Taking customers away from your rivals is the only surefire strategy to increase your share. In order to achieve this, Murray's Grille is constructing a solid database and creating effective marketing strategies. It was a smart move to be ahead of the curve.