Why Advertise?

Banquet facilities – also called “event sites” – and related services are found in several different types of food service operations, such as the following: freestanding facilities that provide space and party-related service for events; hotels with on site catering and banquet sales staff; restaurants that host special events in their catering and private dining areas; historic homes, museums, concert halls, stadiums and country clubs that rent out their banquet facilities; and hospitals, universities, and “contract employee feeders” (non-commercial operators) that serve patients, students and employees and also cater events.

• Be cognizant of and ready to explain labor costs and the logistics that
  will be required to transport people to and from the site – and be upfront
  about any activity restrictions associated with the site.
• For corporate events, thoroughly understand the goals of the meeting
  or event: Will there be intensive training sessions? Will attendees need
  to use laptops or take notes? Is the meeting formal or casual? How
  much free time will be built into the schedule? Is there fl exibility as to
  when lunch or dinner can be served?
• Be flexible and accommodating when clients make special requests.
  Events often require that equipment is delivered in tight “windows of
  opportunity,” so staff should always be on hand to oversee delivery and
  ensure that equipment is secure and installed without problems.
• Ensure that any technical aspects associated with providing the
  entertainment can be hidden from view when the space is in use, to
  maintain ambiance and a clutter-free environment.
• Make available technical, design and audio team personnel before and
  during all phases of the event, to help make planners comfortable that
  the event will occur as they envision.
• Be creative in adapting the facility to refl ect the theme that the planner
  or client has chosen.
  

Event Solutions, www.event-solutions.org
Special Events, www.specialevents.com
Catersource LLC, www.catersource.com

Independent, community-based book stores were once the first place people looked for books, but beginning in the 1960s, chain book stores began appearing in malls across the country. These were followed by bookstores offering discounts on slightly damaged books or books that had been purchased from other stores that had gone out of business.

• Make the store a community-centered space. Host book signings and
  lecture series by authors, and keep books by local authors in stock.
  The more events that take place, the better.
• Encourage employees to be creative and come up with ideas for
  making the store more money. Employees may think of something that
  will even create a new job or role for themselves.
• Initiate a profi t-sharing program for employees to involve them in
  making the business a success. Post sales results from the same
  quarter in the previous year, so that employees know that they will
  receive a check at the end of the quarter if they exceed the past year’s
  quarterly sales figure.
• Offer free wireless Internet (wi-fi ) access for customers in a
  designated area of the store. Doing this will draw in new people. And
  people entering a store to use a wi-fi hotspot are likely to purchase
  something. Also, having a wi-fi hotspot helps give the store a
  progressive character.
• Hold a store wide sale on a particular day of the year, such as New
  Year’s Day. Publicize the sale during the month before the sale day.

Sources: Santa Cruz Sentinel, April 29, 2007; Publisher’s Weekly, April 30, 2007; ABA, February 21, 2007 and January 18, 2007.

Industry Resources:

American Booksellers Association, www.bookweb.org
Publishers Weekly, www.publishersweekly.com
Association of American Publishers, www.publishers.org

1. Be an effective, enthusiastic communicator, to take advantage
   of opportunities to network and speak to the public.
2. Equip the studio with great flooring, the right lighting, and the
   proper height ceilings (so dancers can “lift” one another).
3. Hire hands-on, people-oriented instructors.
4. Create solid advertising programs to keep the studio’s name in
   front of the public.
5. Offer as much as possible under one roof, while maintaining
   high quality.
6. Hold exceptional, exciting events.
7. Be a good listener and be open to suggestions from
   instructors and students.
8. Develop business savvy (including a plan for sustained
   growth and profitability, with built-in flexibility if it doesn’t
   appear to be working).

Here are informative industry websites:

Dance Teacher www.dance-teacher.com
National Dance Council of America, Inc. www.ndca.org

...Not only a website, but a good website. If you're waiting for your nephew Joey to put it together for you, you've lost out already. Get your act together! Invest in a website! Here's why you need one.

• 85% of people agreed the quality of a website is an important factor in earning the consumer's trust. (A Nielsen//NetRatings survey, September 2007)
• Obtain new customers
• Build awareness of your business
• Stay ahead of your competition
• Serve your existing customers
• Keep connected with your costumers 24/7
• Maintain a professional online appearance

Here's an example of a site you don't want: www.creativeservicesnj.com

Many business owners are under the false impression that during a down economy cutting their marketing budgets will save them money. What they don't realize is the catastrophic effect it will have on their business once the economy stabilizes. Take for example the story of Kellogg and Post:

"In the late nineteen-twenties, two companies—Kellogg and Post—dominated the market for packaged cereal. It was still a relatively new market: ready-to-eat cereal had been around for decades, but Americans didn’t see it as a real alternative to oatmeal or cream of wheat until the twenties. So, when the Depression hit, no one knew what would happen to consumer demand. Post did the predictable thing: it reined in expenses and cut back on advertising. But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies. (Snap, Crackle, and Pop first appeared in the thirties.) By 1933, even as the economy cratered, Kellogg’s profits had risen almost thirty per cent and it had become what it remains today: the industry’s dominant player." (www.thenewyorker.com, 'Hanging Tough' by James Surowiecki)

Interesting, huh? It makes perfect sense. If you're currently controlling 20% (same as your other four competitors) of your market locally and decide to cut your marketing budget, less people will find you, you become less relevant, and some might even think you went out of business. This gives your competitor(s) a great opportunity to gain market share. See, you cut your marketing, your competition increased theirs, and once the dust settles, you'll have lost clientele. Your competitors now all have an extra 3%-5% of what used to be yours.

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Here are some tips on how to run a successful catering business.

• Strive to exceed the client's expectations of food quality, presentation, and service -- every time.
• Stay abreast of culinary trends.
• Continuously work on menu development and offer a variety of set menus.
  
• Cross-train office and sales staff with wait staff to expand the available server pool.
  
• Develop a website where customers can learn about the caterer's style, menu offerings, and variety of services.
  
• Identify the target market and develop a marketing plan to keep new business constantly calling or walking through the door.

Here are some industry resources:

• National Association of Catering Execs: www.nace.net
• Catering Magazine: www.cateringmagazine.com
• Event Solutions Magazine: www.specialevents.com

Example of a Great Catering Websites:

www.dibariscatering.com
www.bassettcaterers.com

After speaking to dozens of Beauty Salon owners over the years, here are some tips that lead some Salons to success.

• Start and finish with the client on time. If a stylist is running late or cannot start on time, offer a complimentary mini-service (nail polish change or deep conditioning treatment).
• Answer every technical question that clients may have. Educational programs are offered at most successful salons, which stylists are often required to attend. This helps build trust and confidence in all stylists at a salon, so if one stylist is out for and extended period, clients can be referred to another stylist.
  
• Guarantee the work done by stylists. If clients are not 100% satisfied, agree to remedy the problem fully and immediately.
• Never assume clients will be happy with recommendations of what should be done with their hair; it's up to the client to decide.
• Always be upfront and clear of any additional costs the client will incur during their visit. There's nothing worse than going in for a cut (normally $20) and find out that the wash and styling of the hair is an additional $10.
  

If you're the average shop owner I'm sure you've tried all sorts of marketing. From yellow pages, to direct mailers, to newspaper ads and more. You notice an influx of clientele walking through the door or calling you, but how do you keep track of how they found you?

Try this exercise for 1 week:

1. On a blank piece of paper list your current advertisements on the left hand side.
   
2. Along the top of the page list the days of the week you're open for business. For instance Mon-Sat
3. This step is extremely important! Every single person that enters through your door or calls you on the phone this week simply ask them: "Thanks for stopping in, by the way, how did you find me?" If someone says: "I found you in the Bergen Record", BOOM! mark it under the 'newspaper' category for that day. Continue throughout the week and record your results.
   
4. If someone tells you: "I found you in the Yellow Pages", you should mark it under that category, UNLESS, you advertised in multiple directories in your area, at which point you need to have those directories out and have your customer point at the phone book where they found you.

That's it! It's that simple. This should be an ongoing tracking process if you value your money.

One of my clients is very creative in tracking his phone calls... He places a 3-digit number in each individual ad and when someone calls he asks:"There's a little box in the top right corner of the ad, what does it read?" Great way to track your ads!

One of the easiest ways to track your ad response is to ask your Sales Representative to place a "tracking" or "metered" phone number in your ads. It's usually free and THE best way to track your phone calls.

I hope this information is helpful to you. After you try it, let me know what you think of it.

I'm a 29 year old Account Executive currently employed at a nationwide advertising company. Six years (and counting) of outside sales experience in Bergen County, NJ. It's grueling. It's not pleasant. Quite frankly, it's torture. My job is to knock on local business owners' doors and ask for an appointment so that I can prevent them from driving their business into the ground. Ultimately my job is to help local businesses grow and prosper so that they won't go under, like many others have, especially in the past year or two.

Let's face it, many business owners are great at what they do, but horrible at marketing their business into a local success. Time and time again have I walked into a florist and he/she shushed me out the door one year, only for me to return the following year and the store is either out of business or replaced by yet another nail salon.

Understanding the two types of advertising is essential to a local business owner and if combined correctly, extremely rewarding. What are the two types? Creative & Directive!

• Creative Advertising consists of TV & Radio commercials, Highway/Roadside Billboards, Newspapers, Direct Mailers/Coupons, just to name a few. The purpose of it is to let the local consumer know: "Hey! I have a business in your area, come check me out!" Is creative advertising alone successful? The answer is "yes", but it's also very costly. This method is useful to brand you business and to create awareness in your area.
• Directive Advertising is the type that when a potential customer has a need this is where they will be looking to fulfill it. Print yellow pages, Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), and Search Engines such as Google.com & Yahoo.com. I'm also going to include smart phones in this category because they have access to search engines and IYP's.

How many times has this scenario happened to you?

You and your wife have had a busy workday and return home to find out that nobody's in the mood to cook dinner. So what do you do? The both of you decide on ordering out. So now what? The eternal quest begins to find the menu to that local pizzeria. You scream back and forth at each other for misplacing that local flier that is supposed to be in one of the kitchen drawers and magically disseminated. Right? How in god's name are you going to find that phone number now? Guess what?

• You're going to pick up that phone book you have and search under the pizza heading for your favorite pizza parlor.
• You threw away your phone book and instead search online at yellowbook.com or (if you remember the name of the place) use Google or Yahoo to get the number.

I'm creating this blog to help local business owners understand that not all sales representatives are your typical "Sales Guys". There are sales reps out there that truly care about the local business' success.