Dale J. Venturini
President/CEO, Rhode Island Hospitality Association
While the economic recovery is slow to materialize, let us remain focused on our marketing efforts and keep our goals front and center. In my book: when the times get tough, the tough get creative!
Most of us who have experienced the many ups and downs of business understand that now is the time for more creativity, not less. We would do well to remind ourselves about what made us successful in the first place, and stretch our thinking beyond the traditional marketplace.
In a time when Facebook, Twitter and Google dominate the headlines, let us be cognizant of the fact that it is our thinking outside the box which will expand our business, increase our customer satisfaction, and boost our bottom line performance.
Marketing is still vitally important to keeping the business of hospitality moving in the right direction. As I repeatedly say, and as we all know, people will always need our venues to celebrate, to mourn, to reunite and to conduct business. However, out of sight is out of mind and unless you’re regularly offering big percentages off checks, chances are that business is still down from this time last year.
So, ask yourself these questions: When was the last time we did something different than what people expect? When have we ever created something wacky or off-the-cuff? How can we create a buzz and get people talking about what we’re doing?Then, surprise your employees and customers with answers outside the realm of normalcy, saying “why not” instead of “don’t go there.” Some thoughts include: Why not create special celebrations and promotions around creative holidays such as Belly Laugh Day (January 24), Armed Forces Day (May 21) or Citizenship Day (September 17); Why not Meatless Mondays, Wacky Wednesdays or Thrifty Thursdays; Why not a 55-plus coffee club where customers 55 years of age and older receive free coffee.
In these challenging economic times when we’re seeing budgets cut and staff eliminated, when advertising is a luxury and marketing consists of a restaurant owner saying hello to his or her guests, finding a creative marketing vehicle seems far fetched. But we’re only limited by power of our creativity. Thinking outside the box will keep us, our staff and our customers energized for the steps ahead and keep us focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.
