Restaurant Marketing School

Every restaurant owner and operator is looking for an edge over the competition. For most of us, the answer is hidden in plain sight. That answer, ironically enough, is the very reason we got into this industry. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss how the level of hospitality we offer our guests is the ultimate competitive advantage and what that looks like in practical application.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

There is a way to establish accountability within our teams without demotivating them. It’s a proven process which has become commonplace in countless industries. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss how to bring those processes into our restaurants and kitchens, ensuring our teams are held accountable but feel supported at the same time.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

A restaurant is made up of many parts but, in order to achieve the highest levels of success, these individual parts must work in concert with each other. In this episode, Josh Kopel, a Michelin-rated restaurateur and Anthony Hamilton, an award winning chef, sit down to discuss the proven tactics they’ve used to bring front of house and back of house employees together.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Maximizing performance is a two-way street. If we want to get the most out of our teams, we have to give them everything they need to succeed. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton look at the tools leaders can use to support their teams as they strive for excellence.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

We spend so much time staring at our financial statements without an inkling of how to improve the numbers we see. Those days are done. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton provide winning strategies for managing your costs and scaling your restaurant’s profitability.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

As entrepreneurs and restaurant owners, we are in a constant state of improvement. This process, though necessary, can exhaust us and our teams. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss how these improvements can be adjusted to inspire our teams instead of wearing them down.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

In our industry, labor is the killer of most businesses and most of that labor is being absorbed by the back of house. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton illustrate how innovations in menu engineering can streamline your restaurant’s operations and scale profitability.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Everything you need to move product and create profit is within reach. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss how a chalkboard and a little salesmanship can transform your restaurant into a money making machine.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

No one becomes a restaurant owner because they’re passionate about marketing. Having said that, it has become painfully obvious that marketing is no longer optional within our industry. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton offer a step by step guide to planning and executing a winning marketing campaign.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

It’s easy to feel defeated when we look at the marketing campaigns of the big box restaurants that so many of us compete with. Having said that, the market is clamoring for new ideas and they want to hear what you have to offer. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss how independent restaurant owners and operators can position themselves as a more attractive option for savvy consumers looking for what’s new and what’s next.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

One of the greatest hurdles in our industry is the day to day frustration that we face in attempting to achieve a level of success that so few do. The path to success is not one we can travel alone and, as much as we need great people by our side, those people need a great leader at the helm. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss the right and wrong way to set expectations for yourself and your team.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

In an industry where a positive company culture has always felt like a “nice to have,” it has become painfully obvious that it is a “need to have.” To ensure the survival of the hospitality industry, we must borrow the best practices from other industry leaders. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss the essential elements of a positive company culture as well as tools and tactics that will improve culture without breaking the bank.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

The only sustainable cure for ending the restaurant industry’s labor crisis is to maximize employee retention. Turnover is the biggest threat to both our restaurant’s profitability and our ability to scale. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton offer simple, proven strategies for ensuring that you keep the employees you currently have inspired and focused.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

It seems like we may have hit a ceiling when it comes to raising prices, especially with a recession on the horizon. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Anthony Hamilton discuss how to win the battle against ever-increasing costs by using proven techniques to improve efficiencies and eliminate waste.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Chef Anthony Hamilton has more than 20 years of restaurant and hospitality working experience, ranging from quick-service outlets to full-service catering to fine dining. He has held positions in all areas of the restaurant industry with most notably chef de cuisine, executive chef, corporate chef, chef/consultant, and director of operations. As a chef instructor and restaurant consultant, Hamilton offers a wealth of information gained through first-hand successes and failures in the hospitality industry.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

It’s rarely discussed in our industry but there is an art to knowing when to sell your business and how to ensure that you get the most money for your restaurant. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss selling their own restaurant concepts and the lessons learned from those experiences.

Over the last year, it’s become clear that food delivery isn’t going anywhere. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss all of the ways restaurants can maximize their delivery revenue without cutting corners.

If the pandemic taught us anything it’s that we must make money in more than one way to ensure the solvency of our industry. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss all of the ways that restaurants are leveraging their brand equity to bring in more revenue in more ways.

Everyone wants to know what the future holds for our industry and, though the future is impossible to predict, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel do see trends emerging. In this episode, they discuss the concepts that are clearly winning the competition for butts in seats.

A restaurant’s greatest marketing tool is its menu. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss winning strategies to weaponize your restaurant’s menu to drive new business and increase customer frequency.

It’s impossible to run a great company when you’re not living a great life. The mass exodus from our industry was the result of the unsustainable pace with which this industry requires us to work. But, as it turns out, it doesn’t have to be that way. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel share the tactics and tools of successful owners and operators who have figured out how to achieve balance and offer a balanced life to their teams.

The biggest hurdle within the restaurant industry is people. The search for great people and the efforts involved in keeping those people have made headlines internationally. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss how accountability can serve as our greatest tool to inspire great people to join our teams and how those practices can ensure we retain our existing team members.

Many times, the difference between making money and losing money comes down to doing the boring work. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss how taking inventory in a specific way can scale your restaurant’s profitability overnight.

The restaurant industry has been heavily influenced by “big data” over the last few years. More and more, owners and operators are dependent on technology to guide the trajectory of their businesses. An essential tool in that arsenal is their point of sale system and, in today’s episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss what one should look for when trying to find the right POS for their business.

Post-pandemic, our industry finds itself at an inflection point, attempting to determine what was a “pivot” and what has become an evolutionary change. Technology played a critical role in restaurants overcoming the limitations of social distancing and a lack of indoor dining, but what do diners expect from us today? In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss the prevalence of QR codes within the modern dining experience and how restaurants can use them to improve their customer service.

Happy employees ensure happy guests but, in today’s evolving industry, it’s difficult to determine what policies will make our employees happy. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss the strategies they’ve used to ensure their teams feel heard, supported, and fulfilled.

The hospitality industry has been more “stick” than “carrot” for generations but that does seem to be changing post-pandemic. Rather than managing by fear, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel use this episode to provide practical incentives that owners and managers can use to inspire their teams to do great work.

Happy employees create happy customers. It’s impossible to get one without the other. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss the tactics and tools they use to ensure that their employees are inspired, supported, and providing that same experience to their customers.

To hire the right person for a role, we need a clear vision of what the roles and responsibilities of that role will be. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss the essential elements of a job description that creates clarity for both you and your potential candidates around the job that needs to be done.

If there’s one universal truth, it seems to be that restaurant construction tends to run over time and over budget. But, after countless buildouts, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel have devised a plan that actually reduces costs throughout the process. In this episode, the duo run listeners through this proven process.

Restaurants are getting smaller and more dynamic as a result of the pandemic. Bigger isn’t always better and choosing the right size for your next concept is critical to ensuring your success. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel provide a formulaic guide for determining the square footage you need to be successful.

To catch the right fish, you need the right lure. So many of us are advertising the job we’re trying to fill, instead of advertising the companies we’ve created. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss best practices for posting a job ad targeted towards your ideal candidate.

It never fails that after spending thousands of dollars on expensive equipment, we find that what we have is not what we need to successfully operate our restaurants. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel run through the checklist they use to ensure that every dollar invested in a piece of equipment is not wasted.

The first minute that a customer engages with your restaurant sets the tone for the rest of the experience. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss useful tactics to ensure that your team “wows” your customer base from the moment they walk in.

Executing at a high level is about more than having great people. There must be alignment within your ranks as it relates to standards and accountability. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss tools and strategies for establishing standards, ensuring compliance and driving accountability within your leadership team and line level employees.

The way we lead influences our team’s ability to follow. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel run through their proven process for launching new initiatives with their teams and tracking the success of those initiatives.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

When we look at the most successful restaurant brands in the world, we see one constant: a maniacal focus on employee development. That developmental process starts the moment a new employee walks through the door and there are a few things we can do in the first few weeks of their employment to ensure that they’re successful in their role. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel run through best practices when it comes to employee onboarding.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Everyone knows what an employee handbook is. It’s an amalgamation of every rule and procedure your team must follow to succeed at their job. A brand handbook is different but no less important. In today’s episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss what goes into a brand handbook and how it will help you better serve your team, your customers, and your brand.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

The first 6 weeks that your restaurant is open will set the tone for the next 12 months. There are several practical steps you can take in those early days to set yourself up for success. In this episode, Shaun de Vries and Josh Kopel discuss the winning strategies they’ve developed to ensure that when we grand open, we stay open.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Shaun de Vries has spent the last 20 years influencing the restaurant industry abroad through his company, Open Pantry Consulting. With a diverse background in multiple tiers of dining, Shaun is joining the show this month to share the actionable tips, tools, and tactics he’s used to help struggling restaurants maximize profitability through stronger marketing, operations, and leadership.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Industry-wide we’re feeling the impact of the labor crisis, but we’ve all seen that some restaurants have no problems at all sourcing and retaining great employees. In this episode, Jamie Oikle and Josh Kopel discuss best practices when it comes to finding and retaining great talent.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Starting off on the right foot is the easiest way to ensure success in the restaurant industry and that starts with securing the right lease for your business model. Jamie Oikle is a leasing expert and shares powerful tools and tips to ensure that the lease you get is a lease you’ll love.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

In today’s competitive environment, everyone is looking for an advantage. For many of us, the latest technology can give us that edge over our competitors. In this episode, Jamie Oikle and Josh Kopel discuss their favorite tech tools to level up your restaurant and business operations.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Selling isn’t limited to the four walls of our restaurants. We should be using the same sales tactics that we use at the table on the tablet. In this episode, Jamie Oikle and Josh Kopel share their best practices for increasing sales via delivery and online ordering.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Ignoring something rarely makes it go away. The sooner we begin to see online reviews as an opportunity rather than a burden, the busier we’ll become. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Jamie Oikle run through proven strategies to field positive reviews, negative reviews, and everything in between.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Independent restaurants weave the fabric of our local communities. They’re where families and colleagues go to celebrate and commensurate. One of the most effective marketing tactics available is to become the centerpiece of your local neighborhood. Accomplishing this task may be simple, but it isn’t easy. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Jaime Oikle run through the tactics, tools, and strategies they’ve used to scale brand awareness and loyalty through community activations.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Is your front of house team just taking orders or are they selling? Salesmanship is not a “nice to have,” it must become a requirement of employment. But salesmanship is a skill that needs to be taught and honed over time in both your leaders and your line-level employees. In this episode, Jaime Oikle and Josh Kopel discuss the essential elements of a great sales pitch and how to work it into your steps of service.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Culture is king. There is no world that exists where someone is running a great business without a great culture. Having said that, few take the time to clearly define what team culture looks like in practical application. In this episode, Jaime Oikle and Josh Kopel unpack the steps required to build and implement a world-class culture in your restaurant.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

We need to stop bribing our customers. We give too much and get too little. The solution is to redefine what “value” means to us and to them. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Jaime Oikle unpack the right and wrong way to run loyalty and reward programs to make sure you and your customers are getting the most out of the relationship.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows:

Marketing hooks are the unspoken hero of sales copywriting. These are the words and phrases that turn “lookers'' into “buyers”. In this episode, Josh Kopel and Jamie Oikle share the most compelling marketing hooks in their arsenal to convert attention into butts in seats.

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Restaurant Marketing School is brought to you by Yelp for Restaurants: In July 2020, a few hundred employees formed Yelp for Restaurants. Our goal is to build tools that help restaurateurs do more with limited time.

We have a lot more content coming your way! Be sure to check out our other shows: