O'Dell Restaurant Consulting Blog

In order to effectively convey what it takes to create an effective logo, I think it is important to outline the qualities of an effective logo.

An effective logo is easy to recognize, even at a glance or at a distance
An effective logo is easy to remember
An effective logo tells people who you are
An effective logo [...]

[Read more →]

Do:
Concentrate your marketing efforts and dollars on people who already know you.
Don’t:
Try to be all things to all people. Find your niche.
Do:
Incorporate a few “signature” items into your menu. Having items that your competitors don’t have gives your customers a reason to come to you instead of them.
Don’t:
Depend solely on word of mouth marketing. Word [...]

[Read more →]

Do:
Know your target market. Your target market is not the people you WANT to buy your food, but rather the ones MOST LIKELY to buy your food. A big red flag in any marketing plan is an assumption that your concept appeals to everyone.Don’t:
Have a large menu. Large menus confuse your concept, increase ticket times, [...]

[Read more →]

We currently have 60 entrees and 24 soup/salad/apps. We are known for our pizza, so we have a full pizza section which includes 6 sizes, 2 types of dough, 33 toppings, calzones, strombolis, 6 specialty pizzas, 7 sandwiches, beer, wine, and standard beverages.Which is better, 50 items or 100?
If you ask me, you need to [...]

[Read more →]

Is the cost of food and supplies less when you own a franchise because of their buying power, or the same, or even more because of kick-backs from suppliers?
The franchise I am looking at shows cost of goods to be from 34% – 38%.
This sounds a little high to me. Is this what the norm [...]

[Read more →]

In most cases, coupons are a path to disaster. Coupons undervalue your product, and getting customers to come in with coupons doesn’t give them a good idea of what type of value you really offer. You end up with customers that think your restaurant is a good value, “with a coupon”. Then, they wait til [...]

[Read more →]

Here is a reply I once posted to an assistant manager’s inquiry from a foodservice operation. It deals with a common situation in the food service industry. One that I have not been asked for advice on before, but one that I do have a strong opinion about, especially considering the initial response of other [...]

[Read more →]

Controlling Losses – Implementing a Slip and Fall Prevention Program
                                                By Brandon O’Dell                                      
 
All over the country and the world, owners and managers are asking themselves, “What can we do better? What separates us from the really profitable companies?” Operators want to know what the most successful companies do different that makes them consistently [...]

[Read more →]

The following are excerpts from discussions I had with restaurant owners in the Restaurantowner.com discussion forums regarding pricing by gross profit.

From “Pricing by gross profit” thread – RO.com

Posted Jul 30,2004 1:08 PM

brandon

I realized while typing a post in the bar pricing program thread, I might as well start a thread discussing pricing as a whole and [...]

[Read more →]

It’s common for startup restaurants to budget an initial 10% of their sales to go toward marketing in the first few months. If no one knows who you are, it can take some $’s to get known.
After that, it’s more common to see 2-4% of your sales being directed toward marketing. As far as how [...]

[Read more →]