Freezing out the economy

Do you think that stopping all advertising or investment into developing new business will help you tread water until the economy turns around? This is a long question but I want to chime in with my educated opinion on this topic.

If you do, let me try to change your mind. To quote Edmund Burke (Irish orator, philosopher, & politician 1729 - 1797):

"No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. "

Here is what I've learned in the restaurant business. Don't stop advertising or investing in projects to bring in new customers. Change your approach.

• If you've been advertising in Newspaper, TV or Radio, slow or stop your campaigns and invest in online advertising (many run 24 hours per day, 7 days per week). Consider this: One year with MenuSearch is less than a one-day ad in your local newspaper.
• Plan events that showcase your menu or signature dishes. Have a once a month trivia night - team competitions.
• Create coupons that can be distribute both on the web and on paper. Don't give away the farm, offer 10% or 15% off the total check. If you choose coupons, be sure to place unique coupon codes so you can see where your efforts are paying off.

Look, some of what I write is to warm you up to MenuSearch but most of it is about sharing my failures with you. Much of the above is what I didn't do for my restaurants but the competitors did. They succeeded. We didn't.

If you read just one sentence from this blog it should be this: Create a monthly budget of $100-250 for new business development and do try new things! It doesn't need ot be that amount but create a budget and use it. You can combine two months if you're planning a bigger event or if a good advertising opportunity comes up.