Employees should be encouraged to pass on information that they learn about customers. Many great restaurant marketing ideas will come from your employees because they are the people who are in direct contact with the customer. Do whatever you can to encourage this flow of information. Also, be sure to acknowledge the employees for their contributions. Employees get great satisfaction when you implement their ideas and suggestions.

You need to get out and talk with customers yourself. That's the best way to stay in touch with customers. You also need to regularly review Guest Satisfaction Surveys and Comment Cards to ensure that you are giving outstanding food and service to your guests. You also need to track all marketing activities. This is the only way that you can determine what is working and what is not working. Train your employees to ask the customers where they heard about your restaurant.

Match your restaurant marketing activities to the demographics of your customers. Once you know who your customers are, you need to choose marketing media that will reach like-people in your geographic market area.

You can select from one or more of 62 demographic groups based on income, age, housing, education and other demographic or lifestyle criteria to locate potential customers within your market area. You can pinpoint customers and/or businesses within a one-three-five mile radius around your restaurant.

The ProfitMAX "Sales Acceleration" Software allows the independent restaurant to get marketing data that has only been available to national chains or Fortune 500-level companies. This is a remarkable restaurant marketing advantage when you combine the marketing data with the flexibility of the ProfitMAX Marketing System. This gives the restaurant operator the highest Return-On-Investment than any marketing can accomplish because it is very targeted, local and effective.

A lot of restaurants run ads in local papers and/or on the radio, never really knowing who they are reaching. Your restaurant marketing must focus on sending a very specific message only to people who are in the trade area of the restaurant. That's why marketing is so effective.