• Get more NEW customers.
• Increase the frequency of your existing customers.
• Raise the guest check average by increasing the value of each customer transaction.
• Increase the group size of your guests.
• To create additional selling outlets

The restaurant marketing program focuses on all five ways to increase your sales. The area that I would like to discuss right now is #4, "Increase the group size of your party."

Earlier we discussed the difference between a $200.00 guest check and a $10.00 guest check. I asked you to think about the different ways that you could "ADD-VALUE" to the $200.00 dining experience. What have you thought about? Keep those thoughts in mind while we discuss demographic information, your initial marketing campaign, and some of the reasons that people run large dollar guest checks.

As discussed previously, it is important that you pinpoint exactly where your customers live and work. The best way to do this is to do a Trade Area Survey. To accomplish this, put up a big bulletin board with a map of the city in the foyer of the restaurant, and as your customers are leaving ask them where they were immediately before coming to the restaurant. Most people will be coming from home or work. You indicate from home with a red pin; from work with a blue pin and from anywhere else with a yellow pin. Then also ask them to put a different color pin on the map to indicate where they work and where they live if they were not there immediately before coming to your restaurant.

You will find that the vast majority of your customers will come from a very specific area. It is not always where you think it is. After you have completed the Trade Area Survey, you will know where you need to concentrate all of your marketing efforts.