Rev Ciancio

It's time to come out from behind the bar, get out the kitchen, lock up the office and get in the know! Trade show season has officially begun in the restaurant business.

The Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit just concluded in Myrtle Beach, SC. The show attracts growth mindset, proactive brands who are interested in learning, sharing and improving. Its a GREAT show! Here are my KEY TAKEAWAYS

I get asked every single day for tactics on how to create content and maximize efforts on social media. I personally create a lot of content and advise a lot of restaurants and hospitality tech companies on their marketing, so I do have a lot of experience with this.

Check the analytics on your website. I guarantee the number one source of traffic, maybe even up to 75% of all clicks to your website, are coming from Google.

There are so many moving parts to marketing these days, so many channels where we have no control of the algorithms, and it’s hard to find a guide for best practices, right? Restaurant marketing is so much easier when you have the manual.

The P3 Mastermind Restaurant Marketing Summit just concluded in Salt Lake City, UT and I am beside myself with gratitude. This event, in its 2nd year, was created by Chip Klose, MBA, an incredible restaurant coach. He and I co-hosted it along with a number of incredible thought leaders.

Marketing is a tough gig. You’re always expected to be on. You’re always expected to improve. Your feet are held to the fire when sales are down.

2 out of 3 people who dine with you are coming from a Google search. Id say that makes Google pretty important to your business, wouldn't you?

Restaurants - are we sick of cruddy emails that really say nothing other than "I'd love to book a meeting?"

Check the analytics of your restaurant's website. I'll bet Google is driving at least 67% of the traffic to your website. Assuming that's the case, let's agree; ranking high in Google is incredibly valuable.

Wondering how I learn all this stuff that I know about marketing? A lot of it is testing at my restaurant, Handcraft Burgers and Brew or with the clients I am consulting for, but I learn A LOT by attending trade shows and conferences. That's a huge reason I go to so many.

Growth in the restaurant business is a combination of intuition, drive and creativity. Being a market leader is great but to get there you have to build a foundation.