How can restaurants bring in repeat customers?

Whether you’re in charge of a cheap and cheerful pizzeria or own a swish eatery specializing in gourmet fare, all restaurants should be doing their utmost to give customers the incentive to come back and eat at your establishment. As obvious as it sounds, happy patrons will return to your eatery time and time again, providing you with a vital source of income.

Happy diners who come to your restaurant regularly are also more likely to tell their friends and family members about the quality of your meals and service, but how exactly do you encourage repeat trade? Here are some of the areas you might wish to look at.

Set up a customer database
The first step to bringing in customers on a repeated basis is setting up a database filled with customers’ contact details. Gather this information when people ring up to book a table or from customer feedback forms in your suggestions box. You should also make use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to establish a relationship with your customers. In doing so, you can quickly get in touch with diners to inform them about promotions, special events and changes in opening hours, all while ensuring they remember your brand.

Run special offers
Consistently good food and impeccable service ought to be at the core of any restaurant, but to give people the additional incentive to come to your restaurant time and time again you need to think about running promotions. Whether these take place on a regular basis - perhaps offering money off main meals on a quiet midweek night - or are one-offs to mark special occasions, this is a great way to build a buzz around your establishment.

Use your customer database to identify a target market for special offers. For example, you might wish to email customers details of a new set menu option or inform them that they can get money off their next bill with a particular discount code.

Distribute promotional gifts
Lastly, it’s worth looking at the role promotional products can play in generating customer loyalty. Using promotional gifts is a fantastic way to ensure that customers think of you in a more positive light, with studies from the British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) showing 56 per cent of people claim to feel more positive about a company/brand that has given them a promotional gift.

We all like to receive something for nothing, and it’s a good idea to provide patrons with items that are intrinsically related to food and drink. Whether this is a set of coasters or a personalized glass that customers can take home with them, promotional gifts should help customers interact with your brand in the comfort of their home. With any luck, this lasting reminder of your restaurant will give them the incentive to return to your establishment for another meal.

Once customers have finished eating, you should serve chocolates or mints with the bill. Hopefully, they’ll have enjoyed their meal, but these sweet treats should put the finishing touch on a great night out. According to research by the BPMA, mints, sweets and chocolates were all in the top 40 most popular promotional products (taking 20th, 30th and 33rd place respectively) last year.

Promotional packets of chocolates and mints can be customized to feature your establishment’s logo and phone number, and therefore offer a great opportunity to publicize your brand.

These are just some of the things we suggest restaurant owners and their marketing teams do to bring in custom, but if you can think of any other steps please let us know by leaving a comment below.

Should You Buy or Sell a Company to Relocate?

There are many advantages of buying a company that stood long before you stepped into the role of entrepreneur. Maybe you have considered yourself to be an entrepreneur for many years, but are looking for a new investment opportunity.

that already stands has its advantages - starting with the legwork that has already been done for you, having an existing customer base and even having staff hired, trained and ready to go.

There are - of course - downsides to this type of business venture as well. For example, if the business has struggled under poor management, some of the skeletons might come out of the closet far after you’ve written the check and shook the owners hand. Existing clients may be unhappy. Employees might have a bad taste in their mouth from the previous management. Any number of things could happen.

But those are the risks.

We know the risks and the potential benefits of buying a business, but let’s talk about what happens when you want to relocate that business.

Before you buy you’ll want to see if the move is going to be worth the initial investment. If your business exists primarily online, such as a publishing or digital goods company, then the move will be fairly easy. You will still need to find employees willing to move, or hire new ones at the new location, but in general it’s a fairly straightforward practice. Your online customers are the same, your business model is the same - you just have a new location.

Relocating something such as a laundromat however, is nearly impossible. Not that you couldn’t buy the name if you really wanted, but retaining customers that aren’t near the beloved washers and dryers that they’ve fallen in love with is simply not going to happen. Some businesses only benefit from customer loyalty when it’s convenient, and this is a good example of a business like that.

If you are looking to buy a business and move it to your current residence you will want to go over their financials and compare them to the cost of living in your area. The current owners will have X amount blocked out for rental space, employee pay and utilities. These costs are different across the country. You will want to factor in the cost of living when calculating your rental space and employee pay. If you are unsure of the different rates between two locations regarding electricity, check out SaveOnEnergy.com. They provide an easy way to compare rates from one location to another, as well as through one provider to another. Other companies offer websites as well to compare - always research and calculate before making the decision to relocate businesses.

If you are lucky, the fees in the new area will save you money, but that may not be the case. If it’s not, then the move might cost you more than it’s worth. Think utilities, new employee hiring/training, new office/facility/storefront, and the cost of brand loyalty over the long haul (think back to the laundromat example).

Knowing the small details about the area in which you aim to relocate can help you to decide if this is a good buy, or something you should pass on. If you aren’t looking to move your business, then obviously this isn’t a factor.

One other major thing you will want to look into is the laws from one state to another. Is that going to change the way business is done, and if so is it worth it?

Now let’s talk about selling your business in the midst of a personal relocation. First, is this something you really want to do? Is it possible to relocate your business with you? There is a possibility that you can have your cake and eat it too. Often people sell and relocate when business isn’t going well, but if you are looking to move, you may be able to save money in order to keep your business.

If you are still looking to sell, you may want to do that research anyway in case you find a potential buyer who may shoot it down due to location alone. This could be a good selling point for someone looking to buy.

No matter what part of this transaction you find yourself on, understanding the good, the bad and everything in between will enable you to make the best decision for yourself and your business ventures.

Best Creative Jobs You May Want to Consider

As the job market slowly recuperates from the recession, many people are now looking add a little creativity to their line of work instead of settling for a boring desk job.

Creative careers seem to be a growing trend in the US today. With more institutions, corporations and agencies looking for creative solutions in their organization, people are now seeing the importance of creative skills for career advancement.

If you’re looking for a creative job but don’t know where to start, here are a few other money-making creative job suggestions that will put the passion back into your career plan.

Public Relations Specialist
When you hear the term “public relations”, you might think about Hollywood publicists and professional media spinners. However, PR is more than just publicity, it encompasses an entire realm of public-directed information systems that are beneficial to both organizations and target public’s. If your strengths lie in talking and writing, the PR specialist job may just be for you.

The PR specialist is responsible for managing an organization’s reputation, writing creatively to pitch story ideas, creating partnerships with media organizations and cultivating relationships with stakeholders and its public’s. Typically, PR specialist positions have a median salary range $53,000 to start. This job is perfect for people that have degrees in communication, journalism, English or business.

Architect
If you like drawing and have a keen understanding of math, architecture could be a creative job worth studying to attain. Being an architect involves more than just drafting blueprints for contractors and developers. Known as one of the most hands-on, creative career paths, architects also need to possess great communication skills, an eye for detail and and the ability to interact with the professionals from all fields. The median salary for an architect is $73,340, making it one of the highest paid creative careers in the job market.

Art Director
If you’ve ever been drawn to artistic layout of your favorite magazine, or perhaps enjoyed the wonderful animation in your favorite Saturday morning cartoons, you may have already been exposed to the creative work of an art director. Art directors are responsible for managing the artistic content within an agency, media organization or corporation in all of its forms of communication.

Usually, art directors are hired based on education and experience, specifically, a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and three to five years in an art-related position. If you’re looking for a job that allows you to create and deliver groundbreaking work across all media channels, offers creative freedom and pays an average salary of $81,260, art direction could be what you’ve been looking for.

Musicians
A career in music is indeed high-risk, but the benefits always pay off. Musicians have the ability to work for themselves (most common), work for a company (entertainment agency) or at schools or colleges (professors, teachers). Usually, professional musicians have a formal education in music, although it’s not required. Experience is a must! If you would like to go into the music field but have no education, you may want to find a good, qualified piano instructor to get you started.

The average salary of a musician is about $43,000 according to recent data. The professional opportunities in music are expected to grow about 10% in the next few years, which means it’s a perfect career choice for students earning their degree in music, performance or musical education.

Whatever your career choice, make sure that the career path you choose is one that allows you to express passion for your work. For creative careers, its easier to find that hidden passion. So, if you’re looking for a job that pays well and allows you to have creative freedom, a creative career could be something to think about.

Where to Get Your Medical Degree

Do you want to be a doctor, but don’t feel like competing with all the grade grubbers at your college for a slot in a top US or British medical school? Maybe the place for you is one of the fine medical colleges, or even one of the not so fine medical colleges, in the laid back atmosphere of the Caribbean islands. Don’t worry. Be happy. Be a doctor. Have a good time. Do we make ourselves clear?

Not that you don’t have the very highest academic standards, of course. It’s just that the rat race oppresses you, and years of study in an environment where you are forced to elbow your way past your white knuckled competitors is not worth it – It would make you an insensitive doctor anyway. Relax!

Nonetheless, you want to start your search at the top of the limited field of Caribbean medical schools, and the place to start would be with the longest established programs in the area. That would be the Barbados based University of the West Indies, whose hoary antiquity goes back almost 50 years for the medical degrees, more than 60 years for the university as a whole. It was founded as an arm of the University of London, just after world war II. It’s location, Barbados, is not exactly a hell hole.

Two medical schools entered the field in the late 1970s, the American University of the Caribbean (owned by DeVry and fully accredited) on Sint Maarten (on Montserrat until its dormant volcano got frisky), and the St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada. You may remember the somewhat unpleasant matter of Reagan’s invasion of Grenada in 1983, with a primary purpose to save the medical students and protect them from the horrors of Castro’s communism. Although some Americans were among the casualties of that conflict, none of the medical students were included. The matter has been cleared up since, and the school operates securely.

In the 1980s and 1990s, 6 programs were opened, at Saba University School of Medicine, at the Medical University of the Americas on the island of Nevis (St. Kitt), at the Spartan Health Sciences University on St. Lucia, at the University of Sint Eustatius, and the St. James School of Medicine, on Bonaire Island.

Someone must have recognized a good thing when they saw it because since 2000, no fewer than 23 programs have opened up. If you want to return to your homeland to set up your medical practice, you should only apply at schools listed as “Offshore” rather than “Regional”, as they are accredited worldwide. The Regional programs are only accredited for their own area, so you should go there only if you want to settle down in a beach house under that glorious Caribbean sun, kissed by those balmy island breezes. Come to think of it, doesn’t sound too shabby, does it? Also, unless tu hables espanol, stick with the programs that list themselves in English rather than Spanish.

Now it’s just a matter of choosing between those schools. What are the important factors? Well, the Daiquiris are definitely better on Barbados, choose Aruba for Mai Tais, and make it St. Kitts for Margaritas. ‘Nuff said?