Promote and Position Your LTOs for Success

“A brand becomes a brand when it is consistent.”
– anonymous

There is always a debate on what is marketing and what is branding. There is one factor that runs into both, and that is consistency. When crafting your message, it must ring loud enough and often enough to make an impact.  We talked last month about implementing pizza styles that make you stick out from your competitors. When putting together the marketing campaign around the new style, you want to make sure your branding message is entrenched in the overall campaign.

We recently introduced a Tavern Style pizza to our menu, and we now are advertising it. We built this campaign for a 90-day stretch of time. In the past we have done monthly pizza specials. However, we have found that 30 days is not enough time to run a Limited Time Offer pizza. We like to run somewhere between 4 to 6 limited time offerings throughout the year. Some examples of LTO’s would be our stuffed crust pizza, our pickle pizza, a new style of pizza or a collaboration with a non-profit.

We like to run these LTOs because it keeps things fresh and new. When we run a new campaign, here are the ways we promote and position the new pizza:

• We start by taking great pictures. Set aside a few hours where you can take some great photos of the new pizza. We usually start this process at least two months before we launch the special.
• Once we have the pictures, we then create in-store displays. This includes posters, table tops and sometimes box toppers.
• We also create digital ads for social media. We have found that if we create fresh digital ads for all of the social platforms (each one having their own ad) that the results are higher. Additionally, we have found that if we use another fresh digital ad halfway through the campaign we likewise end up with higher visibility.
• On top of the digital static ads, mixing in videos in the form of short videos is a huge plus. Short videos of staff talking about the creation or trying it goes a long way in the eye of the customer. We typically have some paid Facebook and Instagram ads to which we allocate some of these advertising dollars. That further helps push these specials to introduce them to the public.
• Finally, training your staff to offer the LTO is another key to success. We let the staff try all the new LTO pizzas so that they understand the item and can get excited about it. We always offer it at a fair price — a fair price for the customer, but also a fair price for us so that we can still run a profitable restaurant.

If you have other forms of advertisement in your arsenal already like direct mail, TV, billboards or radio, I suggest you use them around your limited time offers as well. Since we mentioned profitability, that’s what we will get into in the next installment of Building Blocks!

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Building Blocks: Promoting Your Limited Time Offerings appeared first on Pizza Today.

Pizzerias can benefit from updating menus, logos and décor

Even a timeless classic needs an update once in a while. From legacy brands that have been around for decades to newer concepts trying to keep up with changing consumer tastes, pizzerias can benefit from refreshing their brands. A refresh could include designing a new logo, removing slow sellers from the menu, modernizing the dining room and other updates.

When Hannah O’Hara and Dean Rein purchased Lisa’s Pizza in Milwaukee in January of this year, they wanted to make some changes, but not alienate longtime customers. “We wanted to make it our own, but stay true to its history,” O’Hara says. “We did not change too much too fast. People get really upset really easily.”

Before becoming pizzeria owners, Rein worked as an industrial engineer and O’Hara specialized in quality assurance. Her area of expertise is root cause analysis and corrective actions, which means figuring out what is causing something to happen and how to fix it. “We came into it with the mindset of wanting to continuously improve, which is big in the manufacturing space,” O’Hara says.

The new owners closed the pizzeria for eight days for an intensive cleaning, then reopened with a streamlined menu. Gone was the fish fry, a menu item that saw about one order per month. Unpopular pizza toppings such as ground beef and shrimp were replaced with trendy offerings such as hot honey. Also new were vegetarian-friendly items such as pesto, and a gluten-free cauliflower crust.

The dishes that stayed on the menu were standardized and the recipes uploaded onto a Google Drive. The previous owners had not written down the recipes and relied on their memory of handfuls of ingredients. Documenting recipes make it easy for kitchen crews to access the information, and help the Lisa’s Pizza brand maintain product consistency.

The new owners also added accessible seating by getting a city permit and adding outdoor tables. New exterior paint also increased the curb appeal, as did new bright red signage. The restaurant did not have a logo before, so the team developed a whimsical logo featuring Lisa, the pizzeria’s mysterious namesake. “Some people think the logo is too sexy,” O’Hara says. “But I don’t mind.”

Lisa’s Pizza now has a social media presence, which helps the brand engage with the community and compete with chains and other operators in the area. “A lot of people have been grateful for us buying the place,” O’Hara says. “They thought Lisa’s Pizza would come to an end, or someone would buy it and completely trash it. We kept it alive and gave the brand a refresh.”

Research first

For pizzeria owners doing a brand refresh, one challenge is to figure out which logo, décor and menu items to keep, and which to change. One way to do this is by asking customers how they perceive the brand, because their answers sometimes don’t match what the pizzeria owner might think.

“We’re very focused on the research and sociological effects of branding and how people interact with a brand,” says Jon Hartman, creative director at Wunder Werkz, a Denver, Colorado and Reykjavik, Iceland-based branding company that worked on a brand refresh for Mici Italian, a family-owned chain in Denver.

The first step in the brand refresh was to conduct research. Wunder Werkz interviewed Mici customers on what they valued in the brand. They found that people valued their experience in the restaurants more than the visuals of the brand.

“The minute you create a restaurant, you create something that exists in the public,” Hartman says. “Other people feel ownership of their experience within the restaurant. People take their kids there, they went on first dates there, they have memories.”

Mici Italian was also working on franchising the concept, so Wunder Werkz came up with a new logo that works well in different aspect ratios. That way, the logo remains consistent in different sized signage at stores that are freestanding, inline and other types of real estate.

Wunder Werkz also updated the interiors of Mici Italian restaurants, including the red and green palette, lighting, wood and higher end materials. “It was important to have something solidified and professional as they went more into franchise mode,” Hartman says. “It was widely positively received. The future franchisees understood there is a strong brand story to tell.”

Hartman says it’s important to avoid preconceived notions of what a brand should look like, or to simply redesign stores to look sleek and modern. “The secret to success is to come in with an open mind,” he says. “Process where you can go as opposed to saying we need to do this specific thing.”

Refresh versus rebrand

A brand refresh is different from a rebrand. There have been some high-profile rebranding efforts by large chains announcing menu overhauls, new logos and other major changes. Rebranding is more robust than a brand refresh.

“If it’s a rebranding, we are starting over again, and everything is up for grabs,” says Danny Bendas, managing partner with Synergy Restaurant Consultants in Newport Beach, California. “A refresh can include trying to promote different sales channels, change in dining layout, change in marketing, update the décor.”

Bendas notes that some restaurant companies have refreshed their brands recently to reflect their move to more takeout and delivery, while others have focused more on a return to basics, going back to being the pizzeria they once were. While customer feedback is important, the operator must also make sure the new components are easy to execute. If the refresh includes new menu items, these must be dishes that the kitchen staff can prepare with their current equipment and staff levels. Don’t add catering or a full beverage menu, Bendas says, without considering back of house.

“Bring your brand up to today’s standards without harming what people know you as,” Bendas says. “Don’t lose sight of who you are, and what got you to the party.”

NORA CALEY is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post Restaurant Branding Refresh appeared first on Pizza Today.

LTOs are a proven pathway to drive traffic, creating buzz and excitement for a restaurant’s menu. Savvy operators use the flexibility to experiment with new flavors and concepts without making long-term commitments. Holidays like National Pasta and Pizza Month in October or Valentine’s Day in February offer opportunities to capitalize on cultural moments and trends. “The right LTO, whether seasonally or creatively driven, or centered around a theme, always draws people in,” says Kevin Felice, vice president of the 40North at Villa Restaurant Group.

Successful LTO strategies find the middle path between innovation and familiarity. Too new and different, and guests may be hesitant to try a menu item, but laying what’s new on a familiar foundation greatly increases the chances of success. This is why pasta makes a great framework for LTOs: it’s got broad appeal — loved/liked by 89 percent of consumers according to Datassential — and offers endless possibilities for customization and personalization.

“For me, pasta is a great menu category for trying new things because people are already comfortable with the basics,” Felice says. “They understand what pasta is, so if you can incorporate fun ingredients or new items into something familiar, they’re more likely to give it a try.”

To truly stand out, LTOs should be visually appealing, taste great, and perform consistently. This is why pizza operators have experienced success with simple innovations like heart-shaped pizzas, and the new, limited-edition heart-shaped Barilla Love pasta also taps into this concept. “The appeal of the heart-shaped pasta is obvious; it’s cute, fun, and looks great on the plate,” says Felice. “On special occasions, small details like these make a big difference.”

Pasta is a versatile dish that can stand alone or pair with popular menu items. A heart-shaped pasta with “rosa” tomato-cream sauce is perfect for a Valentine’s Day menu, or a baked item with fall-season flavors for National Pasta Month. As a side, it can be used for a heart-shaped mac and cheese paired with popular menu items like wings. Pasta’s ability to maximize existing SKUs and sauces, particularly in the pizza category, makes it an easy addition to the menu.

Pasta is also quick and easy to prepare without highly skilled labor, which is crucial for restaurant operations. “Speed of service is important in the pizza category, and a delicious bowl of pasta can be served fast,” Felice says. “Pasta is quick from both a kitchen and guest perspective.”

Crucially, pasta is profitable. Operators can control portion sizes and ingredient costs while delivering a dish that feels indulgent and satisfying to the customer. With the right sauce or toppings, a simple bowl of pasta can add value to the guest while maintaining excellent margins.

As the need to drive traffic only increases, using LTOs can be a winning strategy, especially with an easy, versatile, profitable, and popular item like pasta. Available only for a limited time, Barilla Love adds an instant hook to the menu, offering more than just the visual appeal of the heart-shaped rigatoni. It comes with Barilla’s well-earned reputation for quality, a legacy shaped by over 147 years in the pasta business.

Barilla Love is available through your distributor now via pre-order from DOT Foods, delivering in early 2025. Supplies are limited! For samples and more information, visit the Barilla website today.

The post Pasta LTO’s Pave the Way to Profit appeared first on Pizza Today.

Media, Marketing and Social Media Ideas for National Pizza Month

Other foods get a day. Pizza gets an entire month! Rightfully so, it is America’s favorite food. October is National Pizza Month. It’s a tradition Pizza Today’s founder started in 1984 and has been going strong ever since. The month was even officially dedicated National Pizza Month by U.S. Congress in 1987.

Our goal for National Pizza Month (NPM) is to help you leverage the holiday to increase your business. We created a Pizzeria Operator Toolkit that provides you with the tools, resources and ideas to promote National Pizza Month in your shop. You’ll find the official NPM logo, social graphics, customizable graphics, a customizable press release, a customizable social media calendar, ways to celebrate, pizza fun facts for games, and an opportunity for you to share your National Pizza Month story. Go to the toolkit at PizzaToday.com/NationalPizzaMonth.

Media Loves National Pizza Month

One area you can find highly successful is gaining media attention during National Pizza Month. It’s an is opportunity to showcase your pizza to your community. Media loves National Pizza Month so be sure to share what you are doing with all your local media outlets.

I combed through past National Pizza Month Coverage and found some common themes. Here are a 5 ways that you may be able to capitalize on:

1. Deals, Deals, Deals! — Offering specials and discounts for National Pizza Month can grab the attention of local media. Often, we see media outlets run stories at the beginning of October sharing with the audience the best places to find National Pizza Month deals. If you have a special or discount going this month, be sure to send the details to the correct person at the media outlet.
2. Local Celebration Roundups — News media receive several press releases and alerts on the same subject. When it comes to NPM, they often create a feature highlighting how each pizzeria is celebrating. You’ll notice community outreach initiatives, pizza giveaways, interviews and more.
3. Pizzeria Listicles — Listicles are very popular in print and online media resources. We see a lot of lists on where to find the best pizza in the area. The focus here is eye-catching photos of pizza and details on the pizzeria. Send them why your pizza should rank high. Include jaw-dropping photos of your pizza and any accolades you’ve received locally, regionally and nationally.
4. New Menu/Product Release — October is a great month to roll out a new menu or new pizza. Share them with your local media, maybe even a tasting event.
5. On-Air Appearances — Media outlets have found National Pizza Month a great opportunity to bring pizzeria owners and pizza chefs live in studio to talk pizza, do a food demo or highlight what the business is doing for National Pizza Month. Reach out and pitch yourself and your business to get an on-air spot.

Yes, you can submit stories through the media outlets general story submission areas through their website or e-mail. Another approach is to reach out to the food and restaurant writers. You’ll notice the writer’s details at the bottom of most stories with e-mail or their social handles. You can try pitching them directly.

You can also host a Press Night. Invite local food writers, bloggers, etc. in for a free dinner during which you hit key talking points that differentiates your pizzeria … i.e. expand on whatever it is that makes you special and unique in your city, whether that be locally sourced ingredients, gluten-free, organic, beer in your dough, etc.

13 ways to celebrate National Pizza Month

Try one or a few of these low-cost or no cost NPM marketing ideas

1. Eating challenge. Get entrants to compete for t-shirts or other swag. Do a wall of fame.
2. Random Pizza Giveaway. Collect customer info and randomly give away a year (or month or week) of free pizza to a customer who orders during National Pizza Month.
3. Pizza History Night. Sell a dinner for $X per person. During the event, tell your patrons the history of pizza and include history games.
4. Run a customer recipe promotion. Invite your patrons to create your next big hit! Have customers submit recipes for topping combinations, etc. Winner gets the pizza named after them on your menu or free pizza for a year or a $200 gift card, etc.
5. Offer a National Pizza Month one-of-kind offer to your loyalty club members. Think swag, secret menu item, etc.
6. Host a Guest Chef Takeover Night, where a local or regional chef creates a menu with pre-sale dinner event tickets at $X per person.
7. Create games for each day of October with a drawing where winner receives free item or offer. (Think small games, like guess the number of pepperonis on a pizza; guess the ingredient; answer questions related to your pizzeria; in-store scavenger hunt; photo with a specific item social contest, etc.)
8. Crown an Ultimate Pizza Fan. Invite customers to submit on social media why they should be the winner.
9. Ask customers to send you video submissions. Have them state why they LOVE your pizza. Push these videos out to social media platforms — free marketing!
10. Challenge a pizzeria owner in another city to a duel. Whoever sells the most cheese pies in October gets to pick a charity and the “loser” donates $500 to said charity.
11. Let an employee take over your social media account each week of the Month of October to share your pizzeria’s story.
12. Take key team members on a pizza tour of your nearest large metropolitan market and share the experience with your pizzeria’s social followers.
13. Create a video to share with your pizzeria’s social followers on who you are and why you founded the pizzeria. Go further and create another video going behind-the-scenes to show how you make the pizza.

Find more marketing ideas and resources for National Pizza Month in our Pizzeria Operator Toolkit at PizzaToday.com/NationalPizzaMonth.

Get Social with National Pizza Month

YAY! 31 Days of Pizza! We’ve made it easy for you to create social content for EVERY DAY IN OCTOBER in the Toolkit. We’ve created a customizable Sample Social Media Calendar. Take an idea or two or use it as inspiration to create your own calendar.

I want to draw your attention to some designated days within National Pizza Month that your will want tie in. Here are a few to make sure you acknowledge:

National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This is a great opportunity to showcase that disability employment is a pillar of your restaurant. Find a unique way to highlight that.

International Pizza and a Beer Day, Wednesday, October 9. Post your best pizza and beer photo or video short. Make them drool and offer a pint and pizza special. “Grab a beer and a slice, throw in a breadstick.”

National Sausage Pizza Day, Friday, October 11. Showcase your best sausage pizza. Or if you make sausage in house, show the process. Your’ customers with appreciate your scratch made approach.

National Mushroom Day, Tuesday, October 15. Mushroom is a top-five pizza topping. Highlight your best mushroom pizza. Get down to the mushrooms types you use and how you prepare them.

World Pizza Maker Day, Friday, October 25. Show your pizza makers doing what they do best. Share their passion and techniques. Thank them for being the best.

National Make a Difference Day, Monday, October 28. Showcase a giving or volunteer program your
pizzeria and crew are passionate about.

Halloween, Thursday, October 31. It’s one of the biggest days in the pizza business. Post a fun Halloween photos and posts.

Our social media calendar has content ideas for every day in October. Check out the customizable calendar in our National Pizza Month Toolkit. 

Let’s have the biggest, best pizza month ever!

The post It’s National Pizza Month (October), Let’s Go! appeared first on Pizza Today.

Keys to repeat customers

Classic TV shows always have regulars. Friends had Central Perk, Seinfeld had Monks, and Happy Days had Arnold’s.

These types of regulars are a restaurant’s best friend. So why were Ross, Rachel and the gang always at Central Perk? Why did the Fonz only eat burgers at one place? Because the vibe was the same and they felt at home there. Also, I do get that the set decorator didn’t want to deal with making a new set each week, but there is value to be derived from the idealized version of having our customers “living” part of their story with us. How does that happen?

Knowing the owner, feeling comfortable and accepted, and having consistency is how this occurs. It will continue if there is an impressive experience tied to the location. If it’s basic, you and your restaurant will become a CHECK BOX — a restaurant they visited once and no longer need to re-visit because they’ve “been there.”

Regulars not only provide consistent clientele for your business and your servers, but they’re your business’s best word-of-mouth advertisers. Having loyal customers you can count on makes your life as a business owner 10 times easier.

Many customers have the mentality that after they’ve tried your food once, they don’t need to come again. This is dangerous for a restaurant. It means that while you might have plenty of clients now, that could change in a heartbeat. Regulars keep your restaurant running while other customers filter through. They are vital for long-term success.

The real question lies in how you make a customer a loyal one. I’ve seen three main tactics successfully make customers come back time and time again. Systemized Kindness, Loyalty Programs and Innovation.

Systemized Kindness

Systemized kindness is a way to ensure your environment is welcoming. Having overtly kind staff or creating “random” acts of kindness cultivates a happy experience for the customer. Many corporations have got this down to a T. Starbucks gives out Puppocinos if you bring your dog through the drive-thru. Chick-fil-A hands out random stuffed cows and ends each interaction with “my pleasure.” Dutch Bros gives out free stickers and trains a talkative staff.

These businesses not only drive repeat traffic but also have an actual fanbase. When people who come into your business feel welcomed and gratified and leave feeling joyful, it makes them want to come back. Better yet, it makes them fans of your brand, not just your food. This type of customer relationship is the cream of the crop in customer loyalty.

It sounds like common sense, but putting effort into making your restaurant an environment people want to be in will inevitably bring in repeat customers. IT HAS TO BE SYSTEMATIC, though. It seems random but is anything but.

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs have been used for decades to try to create repeat clientele. These programs have taken many shapes throughout the years and can now be implemented into your POS. There are several different types of loyalty programs. And, currently, there is no industry leader. This means that finding a loyalty program that works for your restaurant will require some trial and error.

The punch card is a common strategy for generating repeat clients. For example, if you buy 10 pizzas, you get the 11th free. The goal is to get a customer who would have only purchased one or two pizzas to buy your product until they earn their free pizza.

These days, punch card programs often aren’t operated on a teensy card, but online. Your restaurant might set up a point system or keep track of spending through your POS. Restaurants often pair this with an e-mail subscription, reminding the customer of their deal. This works well for those customers who are particularly money-conscious. Reminding them of their opportunity to get a free item or notifying them of other money-saving promotions your restaurant organizes can make them loyal customers.

Taking these e-mail promotions a step further, collecting customer data can be a great way to promote loyalty. Rewarding customers for ordering through an app or restaurant card is a great way to track buying habits. If you know a customer is ordering your veggie pizza repeatedly, you should market vegetable-based and healthy options to that customer. If a customer repeatedly orders a kid’s meal, inform them about children’s promotions or updates to the menu.

These methods make sense and cost little to organize, but they make the customer feel like they’re working for their reward. If you want a legitimate regular at your restaurant, they have to come and eat your food by their own fruition.

An alteration to the punch card method is a great way to achieve this kind of loyalty. Reward someone for buying repeatedly with one of your best items. If you have a dish you know brings customers back or earns rave reviews, consider adding this to an order for free. Have the signature item do the work for you. In other words, “if you buy three large pizzas you get our (Blank signature item) for free.” If it’s truly good, the customer will want to come back to try it again. This works best with unique menu items that are specific to your restaurant.

Innovation

Innovation is the final key to driving repeat customers. If you constantly have the same menu items, promotions and environment customers become bored with your restaurant. They know what to expect, and their experience will be the same.

Constantly searching for ways to make the customer experience better, whether that be adding a new menu item, having a new promotion or changing your layout keeps customers on their toes and gives them new things to experience in your restaurant.

That’s not to say there’s no value in consistency. If a customer has an excellent experience with your staff the first time they come in, make sure the staff isn’t grumpy the next. If they receive an amazing pizza for their first meal with you, ensure their second is of similar quality.

Pinpoint the things you do well, keep those consistent, but constantly search for ways to grow.

Having regulars is a privilege you have to earn. Creating programs to entice repeat clientele is a great way to introduce customers to what you do well. Still, to make faithful regulars, you have to ensure passionate staff, consistent food quality, and an environment that leaves the customers happier than they entered.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post Customer Retention: Converting Newbies to Regulars appeared first on Pizza Today.

Pizzerias can enhance the customer experience, even with fewer touchpoints

The dining experience has changed, as restaurants rely more on technology and less on the personal touch to serve customers. Pizzerias have to make sure customers still enjoy the experience, whether they are getting full service, counter service, takeout or delivery. With fewer customer touchpoints, operators must develop ways to enhance the customer experience, so they can remain competitive.

Customer experience includes customer service, which relies on well-trained employees, but it doesn’t end with whether a server was polite and speedy. Customer experience also includes the menu, restaurant ambiance and intangibles such as the vibe of the place. Pizzeria operators say several factors, from hiring to the use of technology, can improve the customer experience.

Empower employees

One important factor in shaping the customer experience is recruiting and retaining employees. “We focus on hiring college-age people,” says Laura Ambrose, who with her husband, Jeff, owns Woodstock’s Pizza in San Diego. “They tend to be thinkers. We’re looking for people who can assess an opportunity.”

The opportunity is to serve pizzeria customers in a way that makes them feel like they had a unique experience. “You can go into a restaurant and say, okay, they had decent customer service,” Ambrose says. “We empower our team to make moments.”

When a group arrives with small children, someone offers a booster seat or high chair. If a customer walks in carrying a birthday cake, a team member offers to put it in the walk-in cooler, or provide candles. Some crew members thrive in that environment. One worker dressed up as a character from a movie that was the theme of a kid’s party.

“We’ve had lots of customer testimonials saying how wonderful it is when the team sees an opportunity and really makes something of it,” Ambrose says. “They have fun with it too.”

Observe everything

Woodstock’s Pizza, which has eight locations, is counter service, but has adapted as customer needs have evolved. “We’ve morphed away from ‘You order at the counter and we yell your name out so you can come get your food’,” Ambrose says. “Now we bring it to you. We have servers, runners, and we have our manager on duty, or MOD.”

The MOD monitors everything from the front of the house. If they see a large group of people approach the counter, the MOD might get them to sit at a table, then come back and take their order. That way, there is not a crowd at the counter bringing the entire ordering process to a halt as everyone decides what they want.

Employees are trained to engage with customers, and not with insincere “how-is-everything?” table touches. If someone looks unhappy and they haven’t touched their pizza, it is likely that the order was wrong or something else happened, and the worker needs to figure out how to make it right. “We want people to be happy, and when people leave, they tell other people,” Ambrose says. “Word of mouth is more important than reviews.”

Make every touchpoint special

Whether the customer dines in for a nice meal or orders pizza for a quick pickup, the crew should make the experience a good one. “We want to make sure the customer is glad they are here,” says Shane Abbott, owner of the full-service Lupo and counter service Stevie’s Famous, both in the Seattle area.

Abbot describes Lupo as a date night restaurant, with a cocktail and wine list, a menu that features seasonal organic vegetables, and candles on the tables. The restaurant specializes in wood-fired sourdough pizza, and the wood fire oven, large dough mixer and pantry ingredients are visible from the dining room. The two-location Stevie’s Famous offers slices and pies for takeout and delivery, with streamlined, easy online ordering.

At both establishments, small actions enhance the customer experience. For dine-in, the server describes the dish when they bring it to the table. For pick-up, the crew member opens the box to let the customer see the pie. Both actions are meant to confirm that the pizzeria got the order right. “The real focus is that the customer experience is really consistent,” Abbott says.

Pizza is the perfect solution for a special night out and for a simple desire to avoid cooking and doing dishes. It’s important to enhance the customer experience in both scenarios, Abbott says, because Lupo and Stevie’s cannot win on price but on building relationships. “We’re trying to do something special on the food and delivering a little more food quality, a little more story, a little more character,” he says.

Streamline the online

Even online ordering contributes to the customer experience. For many consumers, a few minutes on the pizzeria’s website might be the only interaction with the brand, so that experience needs to be a pleasant one. While technology is often considered the opposite of engaging with customers, it can help pizzerias position themselves as a place to get a tasty pizza and be treated well.

When Mellow Mushroom did a system-wide rebrand in November 2023, the chain rolled out a new online ordering experience. “Guests have the opportunity to create accounts where they can save payments and favorite items to expedite the process of satisfied cravings,” says Anne Mejia, senior vice president of brand development.

Also, Mejia says, team members are trained on menu items and general standards. The company uses online training and changed the material by moving from long videos to short videos, and added Spanish language content.

Technology can also help pizzerias communicate with customers to find out what can be done to improve the customer experience. Mellow Mushroom uses a guest feedback platform for customers to comment on topics such as a recent dine-in experience, online ordering, gift cards and more.

“We value positive feedback to solidify what we’re doing right, and we consider negative or constructive feedback to drill down on areas of improvement and continue to find ways to enhance experiences,” Mejia says. “Through listening, we are able to reinforce what’s resonating with our guest and staff, but if something isn’t, we’re able to look into it on the local or system level to promptly respond/solve/adapt.”

NORA CALEY  is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post Steps to Improve the Customer Experience appeared first on Pizza Today.

Leveraging Loyalty

Mike Burns wants loyalty

When the veteran restaurant industry executive took the helm of fast casual pizza chain &pizza earlier this year, overhauling the 55-restaurant chain’s tech stack, including its loyalty program, was among his top priorities.

While &pizza had an existing loyalty program, it relied heavily on discounting and mass texting and was falling short of its potential. Burns knew it could work better, particularly at generating repeat visits, by becoming more dynamic, seamless and unique.

Burns leveraged his existing relationship with Thanx, a prominent loyalty and guest engagement platform for restaurants, and focused on “building loyalty organically.” He and his team adopted a quirky and memorable loyalty program name – the Dead Presidents Club – aligned with the brand’s counterculture vibe and Washington, D.C. roots. They created a redemption program featuring both food and merchandise and developed random surprises and VIP experiences. They initiated A/B testing to assess what efforts propelled results. Within four months of its launch, Burns saw results as &pizza scored a five-point swing in sales.

“If you’re doing loyalty right, it should prompt repeat visits and build a dedicated fan base for the brand,” Burns says.

In a competitive restaurant landscape, a loyalty program is becoming an all-important tool for restaurants to drive repeat visits.

“A loyalty program is crucial because it gives your high-value guests a compelling reason to dine with you more often,” Thanx vice president of marketing Emily Rugaber says. “It’s why so many are looking to ramp this up.”

Building return visits with loyalty

Citing years of data, Paytronix, a leader in guest engagement for restaurants, finds adding a basic loyalty program creates an 18- to 30-percent increase in spending and visit frequency among program members. That’s enticing, of course, but merely having a loyalty program isn’t enough. To optimize a program and woo repeat visits, strategy and thoughtful action matters, which is why savvy restaurant operators take these steps:

Create a differentiated loyalty program.

Loyalty programs have been around for decades and the old-school “punch card” method – buy 10 pizzas and get a free large pizza – fails to inspire in contemporary times.

“Customers don’t want to wait until their 10th visit to see the value of the program,” Paytronix senior strategist Julia Bigwood says.

Shrewd restaurant loyalty programs create differentiation through tiered levels allowing members to earn rewards more frequently and, even more, choose the rewards they want. Potential rewards might include complimentary appetizers or desserts, merchandise, exclusive access to new menu items or VIP experiences like a special beer and pizza pairing event.

With the Dead Presidents Club at &pizza, members earn coins with purchases. They can then redeem coins for both food and merchandise, including irreverent – and undeniably unique – t-shirts like Abraham Lincoln sporting a mohawk or George Washington with a nose ring and gold teeth.

Choice and uniqueness, Bigwood notes, helps generate excitement and return visits.

Personalize offers to entice returns.

Diners are individuals, which is why blasting out one-size-fits-all messages rarely achieves objectives. Today’s consumers, who regularly see personalized recommendations of television shows, books or footwear they might like based on past history, expect tailored communications created just for them.

Bigwood, in fact, calls “driving the right offers to the right people at the right time” the bread and butter of loyalty.

Pizzerias can learn about their customers and craft relevant, personalized offers for them by leaning into the personal information members provide upon loyalty program registration as well as the purchase history they build up thereafter.

With customer data in hand, pizzerias can then design targeted, focused messages to invite a return. Such communications might include: the traditional birthday or anniversary free dessert offer; an introductory reward for the new enrollee to use on their second visit to the restaurant; or early access to a returning LTO menu item for loyalty program members who previously ordered the item.

“We want to retain our customers and make it compelling for them to keep coming in,” Burns says.

Make the loyalty program seamless for all.

Too often, restaurant loyalty programs are clumsy and difficult to interact with, which makes it easy for customers to discontinue use and dine elsewhere. From signing up and earning points to redeeming rewards, Rugaber says loyalty programs “should be easy, intuitive and quick.”

At &pizza, all customers using the company’s mobile app are automatically enrolled in the loyalty program – and 90 percent of loyalty customers have their credit card on file. Whenever they use their credit card for an &pizza purchase, they earn coins. There’s no giving their phone number or name and the friction-free process is something customers appreciate, Burns says.

The seamless experience should also extend to the operational side as well. At &pizza, Thanx talks to the restaurants’ point-of-sale and online ordering platforms, so there are no extra steps required of store staff. This frees staff to focus on service, speed and hospitality, some of the most important ingredients to stimulating return visits.

Evolve the loyalty program.

In too many cases, Rugaber says operators launch their loyalty program and then … that’s it. The program never changes and becomes rote, predictable and static. There are no exciting rewards like secret menus to keep things exciting or incorporating tech-fueled advancements to make things more seamless or personalized for guests.

“Historically, a loyalty program is a check-the-box item, but it should always be evolving and finding ways to grow,” Rugaber says.

Rugaber suggests routinely testing different options to see what resonates. For instance, a free dessert offer might spur more traffic from loyalty members than a free appetizer, so the more cost-effective option could drive the better outcome.

Leveraging automation, a pizzeria might send “almost there” messages to nudge guests just shy of a reward to return. In its Loyalty Trend Report 2024, Paytronix recommends sending these offers via e-mail and including images of the reward guests will receive alongside their current point balance. By simply sending that reminder message – with no additional incentive – Paytronix helped one quick-service brand achieve a 5.5 percent visit lift.

DANIEL P. SMITH Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post How pizzerias can use loyalty programs to propel return visits appeared first on Pizza Today.

Optimize your Online Ordering Menu

When everything is on the line, every detail matters. This diligent approach is typical for recipes and
occasionally the ambiance, but for whatever reason the online menu gets a backseat. Meanwhile, this is how most customers initially interact with our businesses. Yet the modifications, or lack thereof, can be confusing/problematic, causing customers to go elsewhere. Here is how you avoid that, and better yet maximize their behavior.

Everything’s moving at a breakneck pace. I get it. There’s no master guide on how to set up online ordering other than attempting to mimic other successful owners, the typical way this goes down. You send off your menu to the POS company that builds your menu and you assume they know what’s best. That is categorically untrue, they know how to load the menu you provide. They don’t know how to maximize the sales potential of your items and they are not incentivized to do so. You are, so you have to do the heavy lifting here.

It’s crucial to consider how the menu will be structured for modifications and add-ons to maximize the customer’s experience.

The Power of Customization

Customers love options. Whether they can choose a ton of extra pizza toppings on just one half of the pie, swap out one type of pasta for another, or add extra cheese, customization is key. It makes customers feel in control of what they are about to drop dough on. More importantly, it can significantly boost your sales.

Extra toppings, substitutions, and special requests all add up to a higher ticket average. But if these options aren’t clearly displayed, customers may leave disappointed (or, worse, leave the website with three things in the checkout that never get purchased).

Avoiding Assumptions and Frustrations

One of restaurant owners’ biggest mistakes is assuming customers will understand how to modify their orders. If your customer can’t easily find the option to make a half-size pizza or have their hand held to the special requests section, they either abandon their order or settle for something they don’t really want.

By clearly listing all available options and modifications on your menu, you make it easy for customers to get exactly what they want without the hassle. This reduces errors, increases customer satisfaction, and ultimately drives repeat business.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

Forced modifiers are your best friend. It’s a perfectly scripted server but on autopilot.

An effective online menu enhances the customer experience and streamlines your operations. When customers can make all their choices and modifications upfront, it reduces the back-and-forth with staff and minimizes errors in the kitchen.

If your menu doesn’t offer the flexibility and customization that customers seek, there is someone else out there who does. You can differentiate your restaurant from the competition and build a loyal customer base by going in on every option and pre-loading the scenarios into your POS. Additionally, if you don’t know what to do, go to other websites. Check out similar menus and mimic their ordering. If an issue comes up frequently, like a sauce on the side, build that option into the forced modifiers.

When someone uses the special request note section, you can safely assume 50 other people have had that same issue or request but never said anything. If the request happens three or more times, not making a change is pure laziness on your part. Don’t put the responsibility of maximizing an order experience on the customer — that’s our responsibility. By providing clear and easy-to-use options, especially online, you can enhance the customer experience, increase sales and stand out as a dependable experience. Don’t underestimate the power of a well-structured menu, because it’s no longer just a best practice, it’s a mandate.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Maximizing Online Menus appeared first on Pizza Today.

Signage proves to be a slice of success for pizzeria exteriors

Folks in the business say, “signage is your handshake with the public, which is true in a lot of ways” says John Yarger, president and CEO of North American Signs in South Bend, Indiana. Exterior signage tells the world who you are and where you are.

Randy Rice, owner of Signs Now in Mundelein, Illinois, advises pizzeria operators to “approach signage almost like it’s another employee. It’s out there, it’s always advertising, it’s letting people know that you are open and in business.”

Signage matters, as these statistics from the Sign Research Foundation indicate:

• 54 percent of American consumers have failed to find a business because the sign was too small or unclear.
• 60 percent of businesses reported average sales increases of 10 percent or more by adding or updating their signs.
• Lower-performing stores benefitted the most from changes to signage, such as the addition of a sign to a building that previously didn’t have one.
• Just one additional sign yielded sales increases of 4.75 percent, an impact greater than that brought on by a larger building, longer hours of operation or location longevity.
• Modifying signs led to a 5 percent weekly sales increase for many stores; underperforming stores saw weekly sales increase by 15 percent.

Your exterior signs serve many roles, says Yarger. They index your location in the minds of the public; they establish the identity of your restaurant, whether high-end or family style; they’re an image and brand-reinforcement
opportunity.

Exterior Signage Best Practices

Here’s expert advice about best practices.

Partner with your sign purveyor

You can expect much more from your sign vendor than simply making and installing signs. Most sign vendors offer in-depth service to ensure your signage success.

“Sign companies are experts in every facet of signage, from the graphic design (and many sign companies have designers on staff) to the materials. They can assess the specific location and recommend the best type of sign. They can design, fabricate, install and maintain it for years to come. And they can help secure the permits needed to get the sign installed,” says Alicia Auerswald, senior vice president of the International Sign Association.

“We want to understand what you need, what you want to accomplish, and we want to be a part of your process, part of your success,” says Rice.

Yarger points out that “most sign companies provide maintenance as a service.” This can include upgrading to money-saving LEDs, replacing ballasts or other failed electrical components, and even cleaning – which can be a serious undertaking on high signage.

For these reasons, it’s important to bring your sign vendor onboard as early as possible and benefit from their expertise from square one.

Audience and goals

Like with any advertising endeavor, you should have a clear picture of both your audience and your goals. Consider whether you’re trying to catch the eye of pedestrians, transit riders, cyclists, local drivers or freeway drivers. Are you a new business trying to make a big splash, or do you just want to ensure that folks who phone in for pickup can find you? Do you want your sign to change peoples’ ideas about what kind of pizzeria you are?

Now you’re ready to design your signage. Christopher Stanley, art and design instructor at Montgomery County Community College in Pennsylvania, cites these four factors to consider: simplicity, size, location and basic color theory.

Simplicity

“You don’t want anything too complicated or busy, especially if it’s for people driving by,” says Stanley. Too much information or elaborate typefaces can be too confusing to grasp at a glance. “Simple and bold is the best way to go, with just enough information to give the customer an idea of the business and an interest to come in and check it out.”

Rice agrees that readability is paramount. “Sometimes people get a fancy font and it looks really spiffy on their computer screen, but when it’s over their door or window, people have a hard time reading it.”

Consider your goals. If most of your business is phone-in orders, emphasize your phone number. If online business is a big segment for you, you might prioritize your website. Make sure every word and image counts.

Color Theory

Stanley emphasizes that good contrast is critical to readability. “How do the colors look at five, 10, 15 feet? How do they look in the daytime? How do they look at nighttime? Do the exterior lights or the random streetlights affect the colors and make it difficult to understand the sign?”

Your color choices will be dictated by existing branding unless you’re a brand-new business.

Rice points out that “certain color combinations, like the reds, the oranges, usually indicate food.” Check out the best-known food brands and you’ll see how popular red, yellow and orange are: McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Chipotle, Arby’s, Dairy Queen, Denny’s, Sonic, and Hard Rock Café are all examples. The red, green and white colors of the Italian flag are also very popular among pizzerias.

Size

“How close do you need to be to see it?” asks Stanley. “Make sure that people have time to see it before they pass it. You are not only going to have cars driving by, but also people walking, riding bikes, et cetera, so size is an important factor for all potential customers.” Talk to your sign vendor and local building department about size restrictions.

Location

Stanley reminds that “it’s important that people can see it from multiple directions. Maybe it looks good coming down 3rd Street, but coming from Main Street, there’s a big tree blocking it or some other obstructions. Make sure it can be seen in every direction, especially in high-traffic areas… but don’t cut the tree down.”

In the case of monument signs (large three-dimensional signs at around eye level) and post signs (large signs on tall posts), “those are typically standalone signs by the roadways, so you want to position those near entrances and exits so that people driving can see them far enough in advance to be able to turn into your establishment,” advises Rice.

Always work in harmony with existing factors such as exterior street and building lights, architectural features, trees and landscaping.

What’s trending?

“There are a lot of new materials in the sign industry,” says Auerswald. “The neon look is back in a big way,” generally imitated by LED lighting. Digital displays and graphic wall wraps are both versatile and popular. She points out these can be heavily regulated, so do your due diligence.

Another trend is designing exterior signage with selfies in mind. If social media is your jam, make it easy for people to pose in front of your name or logo.

Rice notes that “pole signs seem to be going out of style” and are often being replaced by monument signs.

Common mistakes with Exterior Signage

The main design mistakes are poor readability and location issues, such as not accounting for your sign being blocked by various obstacles.

“One mistake that we often see new companies make is waiting until far into the process to even think about signs,” says Auerswald. “If a new pizza place is working on a business plan to secure a loan, chances are good that they’ll need to show they’ve thought about signage as part of that business plan. But merely putting it into a plan isn’t enough. Engage the sign company and get them started. It is a major aspect of your brand—and many sign companies can be backed up for weeks.”

She also emphasizes that it’s critical to bring your sign partner into the conversation early, because they’re so knowledgeable about local regulations, available options, and more. Engaging with your sign vendor after the design process is less efficient.

Auerswald urges operators to consider safety and engineering requirements, particularly if the exterior sign is freestanding on a pole. “Work with a quality sign provider to ensure that your sign is safe. And continue regular maintenance on that sign to ensure it stays in good working order. Having a sign in disrepair tells a story, too.”

“Signs continue to be one of the best values in advertising,” says Yarger. “While the cost of a sign may seem high, if you amortize it out over the number of people going by your location, the traffic count and the other types of advertising that you pay for, signs are actually a really good deal.”

Annelise Kelly is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer.

The post Exterior Signs: Sizzling Signage appeared first on Pizza Today.

In 2012, once we opened our second location in the heart of Tulsa, we started seeing a higher-end clientele. The Family Fun brand we had started with in 2005 didn’t match us anymore, and we needed to redo our whole package. We kept the name the same, but we needed a more stoic brand that matched the promise of authenticity and craft dedication to our product. So, we changed the signage and logos, which was an excellent move for our company. We saw an immediate pop in sales, making speaking to our customers with a brand that matched the messaging much easier.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

This update was not easy; it took much more effort than it probably would today. In 2012, logo design contests and sites like Upwork were not around. You had to go to a branding firm or know someone stellar on Illustrator, not a friend, but a pro. A rebrand can be as easy as a few minutes on Canva if you are so inclined.

A complete rebrand is a hard thing to pull off. New uniforms, new website, new packaging, etc, so a soft rebrand like a logo modification can be a subtle nod to the customer of evolving as a company.

Sign Rebrand

Additionally, even when you want to keep all your logos the same, I’ve noticed an interesting dynamic: a new sign on your building will immediately hit an ROI to the bottom line. It signifies to the customer that you’re vibrant and changing- an immediate ROI. Once the thing people are used to seeing looks different, they act differently.

It even works on me. There’s a restaurant across the street from mine that took the same logo and same sign but just changed the color tiles inside each neon box letter, and I felt even compelled to go and check it out. This simple sign update creates intrigue, sometimes subconsciously, sometimes overtly. Either way, I thought, I hadn’t been there in a minute; I should get lunch there, and I did.

A rebrand is rarely a wrong move. A complete overhaul can disenfranchise a customer, but an evolution always leads to top-of-mind awareness. Think of Planters, Starbucks and even Taco Bell. All these brands have done subtle updates in the last 18 months, which shows their bottom line to stay relevant. Typography and style updates happen; while I don’t seek to ride trends, I do seek never to stay stagnant.

Regarding exteriors, think of Target and Walmart; each big box store does a complete exterior rebrand every five years. At some point, outdated looks become a classic and nostalgic novelty, and it takes about 25 years to reach that point. If you don’t have enough time to wait to gain retro-vibe love, then an update is in the cards.

If you are seeking a shot of adrenaline into your bank account for 2024 and a way to connect with the customer on a subconscious level that says you care, a rebrand to the logo and or exterior is a great place to start.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: ROI Rebrand appeared first on Pizza Today.

Getting customers to order dessert after a filling pizza can be challenging

People might not always save room for dessert, but it’s possible to get them to order one anyway. Pizzeria owners say certain marketing cues can boost dessert sales, even after the customer eats some delicious, filling pizza. It helps to have attractive visuals, and to make the ordering process easy.

For some, it’s a wonder that people even want dessert. “Sometimes we sit and we laugh at our menu,” says Steven Dilley, owner of Bufalina, Bufalina Due, and Palm Pizza in Austin, Texas. “We pull fresh mozzarella and fresh bread, and people order that and then pizza, which is essentially more of that, and we hope they order dessert.”

Dilley says his approach is to have a signature item, which is Vanilla Ice Cream with Sherry. That dessert evolved from Bufalina’s investment in an ice cream machine, the restaurant’s decision to use expensive real vanilla, and a wine vendor’s visit one day after a sales call at another eatery. “He ordered ice cream and poured sherry on it that he had brought,” Dilley says. “We all tried it, and it’s been on the menu ever since.”

Also on the menu is Olive Oil Cake. The cake was one of the original desserts when Bufalina opened in 2013. The restaurant took the cake off the menu in 2016, then reintroduced a new version when the chef produced a different iteration. The cake is not only delicious on its own, Dilley says, but serves as a canvas for seasonal fruits such as summer berries and peaches or autumn apples. The changes are often inspired by produce available from a local farm, and the eatery announces the various offerings on social media.

Just as the seasonal fruits change, so does the availability of the cake itself. Bufalina takes the cake off the menu occasionally, and then brings it back, letting people know through Instagram that the popular dessert has returned.

Visual cues

Social media can play a role in generating excitement about desserts. “They are included in our social media presence,” says Samantha Monterosso, brand manager for Dough Counter in Denver. “Obviously people love to see pizza on your social page, and they want to see extras too.”

While high-quality food photos can help increase online orders of desserts, at the restaurant it helps to have an appetizing display. “Dessert is an order with your eyes,” Monterosso says. “Remember when you went out for a nicer dinner in the 80s or 90s and they brought out the dessert tray? You were getting excited for cheesecake before your appetizer got to your table.”

Dough Counter, from the family that owns the two-location Marco’s Coal-Fired in Denver, opened in September 2023. The cake slice display case is one of the first things customers see when they enter the space. The case shows slices of Bumpy Cake, an iconic Michigan layer cake that features a fudge frosting poured over ribbons of vanilla buttercream, creating bumps. There are also Celebration Cake Slices, and for a limited time, Triple Chocolate Mousse slices.

The appearance of buttercream, sprinkles, and chocolate evoke nostalgia, a big driver of dessert sales. While Dough Counter occasionally offers decorated cakes such as for Halloween, the pizzeria typically sticks with the three different layer cakes. That simplifies operations, and helps the eatery establish its brand. “We’re not going to do the honey lavender lemon zest,” Monterosso says. “Others have French bakery in their lane. We are Bumpy Cake lane, Celebration Cake lane.”

Another driver of post-pizza dessert sales, perhaps counterintuitively, is that the slices are oversized. “For pizzerias, something sharable is nice,” Monterosso says. “We market it as to share, or have some tomorrow, that sort of thing.” Dessert sales are higher during weekends when customers are in treat mode.

Online ordering

About 65 to 70 percent of the pizzeria’s orders are takeout or delivery, so it’s important to have the right packaging for the large cake slices. “We have many guests whose only interaction with Dough Counter is online and they never come in,” Monterosso says. “Little things like giving them the right size container matter.”

Customers tend to order dessert more often when they order online, says Antonio Gambino, co-founder of Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks, with six locations in Minnesota. “Specifically the cookies, they can just click and boom, it’s in their bag,” he says. “They have more time to look at it.”

When people order at the counter, they might feel rushed by the prospect of other customers waiting to order, so they skip dessert. That might change, as Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks recently installed two ordering kiosks at one of the stores. Not only is it easier to order by tapping on a screen, but the system is set up to ask the customer if they want to add cookies or ice cream to the order. Although the location still has an area to order at the counter from a human, the technology relieves the staff from having to do a verbal upsell, and frees them up to perform other tasks.

Other selling points

Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks offers two desserts, cookies and ice cream. Both are sourced from local vendors, a detail that helps sales. “People love to support local businesses,” Gambino says. “We don’t brand it as our cookie or ice cream. We brand it as theirs.” The cookies are from Sweet Troo Vi, a vegan bakery that is based in the Twin Cities and sources ingredients locally. The ice cream is from Minnesota Dairy Lab, and is available in flavors such as Heath Bar, Cookies & Cream and Vanilla.

The cookies are also on display at the stores, which helps boost impulse sales. People grab a cookie and add it to their purchases as they stand at the counter, and eat it after their meal or later in the day, as a snack at the office or at home. Because of their portability, cookies outsell ice cream, but both are popular among families. “If they have kids, they say, ‘All right, you ate your dinner, you can have a cookie and/or ice cream,” Gambino says.

NORA CALEY is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post Marketing Desserts appeared first on Pizza Today.

Limited-time offerings can fuel urgency

Time is running out! Buy now before it’s too late! Don’t miss your chance!

It’s a cold hard fact that scarcity sells. Companies like eBay and StubHub are valued in the billions because of it. We get excited every time the McRib comes back and there’s mayhem when Pumpkin Spice Latte season returns. Fortunately for you, it’s also useful to independent pizzerias. A limited time offering, or LTO, can provide the power to do more than just boost sales. By tapping into the customers’ fear of missing out you can increase sales, attract media attention, and strengthen your community relations.

Seasonality

Every summer, pizza fans flock to Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana’s sixteen locations for a taste of their fresh tomato pizza. This is a pizza that’s only available while tomatoes are in season, unlike the restaurant’s perennial pies that use canned tomatoes. Sales surge as customers grab what they can before time runs out. When summer ends, so does the fresh tomato pizza.

The rhythm of seasonality keeps Dan Richer engaged with both his customers and local farmers through his ever-changing menu at Razza in Jersey City. “Customers want to know when corn is coming back and when zucchini will be on the menu again. The truth is that I don’t know! What we’re doing is alive.” Richer bases his entire concept on perpetual change. He reprints menus every day so he can adjust to the limits of nature. There are some pizzas that will always be available, but the ability to constantly add items based on seasonality gives Razza fans a reason to come back more often.

Collaboration

What’s better than marketing to your own customers? Marketing to someone else’s customers! You can use LTOs to do both by offering a limited-time collaboration with another local business. Greenville Avenue Pizza Company in Dallas teamed up with a popular Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood to create a hit. “They told us their number one seller was the Dan Dan Sausage, so we took inspiration from that dish to create a super popular pizza that lived on our menu for just a few weeks,” says owner Sammy Mandell.

Alex Coons has had great success collaborating with like-minded businesses through his restaurant Hot Tongue in the Silverlake section of Los Angeles. “We recently ran a collaborative pie for just one weekend with a fantastic local restaurant called BeeWali’s. The collaboration proved to be a fantastic marketing tool for both of us, drawing in lots of new faces. It was one of our best weekends of the year.” Collaborations like this don’t just build a restaurant’s audience, they also strengthen communities.

Publicity

The main reason Greenville Avenue Pizza Company runs limited-time offerings is to stay relevant. “Our focus is on staying top of mind,” says Mandell. “How do you get yourself press coverage if you’re doing the same thing every day?” By having a rolling series of LTOs, Greenville Avenue Pizza Company has established a reputation within their community. It’s so much a part of their identity that the largest local magazine in Dallas recently featured them on the cover of their pizza-centric issue. Even better, the magazine asked GAPCO to collaborate on a special pizza in celebration of the issue. It doesn’t get any better than collaborating with the press!

On the social media side, an LTO provides loads of content opportunities. Images and videos of your new creation will generate buzz and provide a nice break from the same photo of your pepperoni pizza. MaiPai Tiki Bar in Hamilton, Ontario uses Instagram Reels to announce a new featured pizza every week. These videos rack up thousands of views and lead to a spike in pre-orders. MaiPai once ran a social media campaign that invited their followers to vote for their favorite weekly feature. They scored lots of engagement and used the results to update their regular menu.

Boosting Slow Periods

Time-sensitive offers have the ability to bring people through the door in times of need. Mama’s Too in New York City creates a new sandwich every week to be sold only on Wednesday. Regulars who usually come in for pizza make an extra visit on Wednesday just to pick up the weekly sandwich. The pizzeria announces the sandwich one day in advance via Instagram and they regularly sell out.

Diana Huynh, owner of Cici’s Pizza & Wings in Toronto, fired up an LTO when she noticed her merch line wasn’t selling. Last October, she celebrated Pizza Month with a special offer of a free slice with the purchase of any piece of Cici’s swag. She usually sells just five pieces of merch per month, but the free slice incentive increased that number to over forty.

Challenges

Creating temporary menu items takes a lot of work. You’ll have to devote time to R&D, especially if you’re working with an unfamiliar ingredient or process. Seasonal items pose a particular challenge because a short season won’t give you much time to experiment.

Before you can take your new item public, you’ll have to train your staff. The kitchen has to know how to prepare the dish and your servers need to be able to sell it. A complicated process that clogs up your makeline will give you more headaches than solutions. This is another reason it’s great to collaborate with another restaurant that can handle some of the prep for you.

One of the most popular LTOs at Greenville Avenue Pizza Company is their Pretty Pickle pizza. “We get more requests for this than any other pie,” says owner Sammy Mandell. “We would have already added it to the regular menu, but each pie gets 100 slices of pickle and that’s just too labor-intensive for my staff.”

Dan Richer agrees. “I can spend months perfecting chocolate cake but if it’s not a process my staff can execute perfectly every time it’s not worth adding to the menu.

The loudest refrain from pizzerias that use limited time offerings is that they have to become part of your routine. Greenville Avenue Pizza Company spent two years building their LTO program but now it’s an essential part of their restaurant. Razza and MaiPai consider short-run items to be part of their DNA. They’ve trained customers to anticipate LTOs as a way of holding their attention. It’s important to put in the work of establishing consistency, otherwise the occasional one-off will go unnoticed. It takes time and energy to build a rhythm, but the results could pump a new lifesource into your pizzeria.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Using FOMO to create an LTO appeared first on Pizza Today.

The basic 101s of e-mail marketing

E-mail marketing is the cheapest marketing a restaurant can use. It’s also the most effective. Here are the basic 101s of e-mail marketing. To start with, do you send e-mails? If you answered yes, you have separated yourself from around 75 percent of restaurant owners. The next thing is, what e-mails are you sending? There are many approaches to e-mail, but here are the three most common restaurant ones. The first and the most dated one is the newsletter, which has so much information that it overwhelms the reader to the point that they immediately click delete. The next is a middle ground with a story, which only works if you have a very engaging story. I’m all for this if you can add photos and build a narrative that genuinely entices purchase or brand loyalty.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

The simplest is what I call the Instagram e-mail. The Instagram e-mail is just a photo and a basic explanation of the one photo, just like you would have on a regular Instagram post, but it’s done via e-mail. A photo of a food item and the description of it with a call to action. Or a photo of a thumbnail of you doing something cool in your community that links to your social or YouTube page. The beauty of this e-mail is that it goes into people’s inboxes, which is the method most of our customers will check more than social media. People are not living and dying by what you e-mail, so make it quick and effective and pass the 1.5-second rule; if it can’t be absorbed in 1.5 seconds, it’s too long.

There is still value in social media if you show up in your customers’ feeds. But a lot of the time, that’s more challenging than it used to be. So, a top-of-mind awareness e-mail sent out from you is completing and checking the box of the basics. If you would post a video or recipe in the Instagram post, you do it by e-mail. If it is just a new menu item, you do it in the e-mail and let simplicity work. SIMPLE WINS ON E-MAIL.

The next level of e-mail marketing is an automated workflow or a drip e-mail campaign. E-mail providers like MailChimp and Constant Contact can send endless amounts of these, and they’re fantastic. When someone signs up for your e-mail list by getting a freebie or potentially because they’ve ordered with you in the past, they are automatically entered into your e-mail campaign, where they now receive a whole campaign of information on autopilot, which is fantastic. Those e-mails should start with who you are and what you’re about, and keep sending with info on your signature items, along with your charitable works and everything about your company vibe.

Even grander than that are e-mails directly connected to your Point of Sale System. Certain POS providers have become so advanced that you don’t need to transfer the e-mail to the e-mail provider from the point of sale. They’re interconnected because they’re one. This is great. Some POS providers can even tell you the total money earned in TRUE ROI from an e-mail campaign, which is better than simply knowing how many total e-mails were opened, which is what classic e-mail companies can do. POS e-mails have better customer reporting when tied to loyalty, while classic e-mail service providers (ESPs) like MailChimp and Constant Contact provide more e-mail bells and whistles.

An e-mail list consistently growing and nurtured with interesting content, offers and infotainment will yield an ROI. It’s mathematically impossible for it not to because of how affordable the e-mails are. Not using e-mail consistently at this point in the game goes beyond naivety and falls into the category of business negligence. If you were forced to choose between deleting all your social media or never sending another e-mail, keeping e-mail would be smarter. It’s smarter because it yields more direct results from your nurtured audience on your terms.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Email Marketing in 2024 appeared first on Pizza Today.

The right merchandise can be a smart marketing play

There is nothing better than shopping at a local store and seeing someone wearing a hat or a shirt from your restaurant. Right!?! Or someone pointing at your shirt or hat when you are out running errands in your day, and someone says, “Hey, I love that place!”

That’s what merch does. It spreads recognition of your brand and allows your customers to show off who they support when it comes to pizza. Merch is fun and exciting, but it can be expensive! Understand that your merch strategy is also a part of your marketing strategy. At GAPCo, we have done everything from koozies to selling our own pizza seasoning, stickers, tattoos, magnets, bandanas, sweat bands, baby onesies and even a skateboard wrap. We even took it to another level and had our logo lasered on pizza cutters and knives to sell those as part of our merch line. But, as the world has moved to print on demand, our customers can now sport our logo on beach towels, socks, leggings and dresses. You name it; we can now conveniently cover you from head to toe in GAPCo because print-on-demand has made it so easy.

When you consider what you want to put your logo on, let’s cover what we have learned at GAPCo that has worked and what didn’t.

Selling Merch / Creative Ideas / Utilizing the Web

First and foremost, the most influential and impactful thing you can do is have your staff in a branded company uniform. This is single-handedly the number one way to get your customers to see a cool, hip shirt or hat they may want to buy. I will mainly focus on shirts because that will be the number one thing you will sell that carries the biggest impact. At GAPCo, we always try to keep it fun, so we typically do a few designs to give the staff and customers variety. We also do a variety of testing out branding slogans on shirts to see if our customers gravitate toward it. So instead of just a shirt that says GAPCo or Greenville Avenue Pizza Company, we may have a shirt that says, “Pizza Slayer” or “Slay Pizza”. Those are two of our trademarked slogans. One time, we made a shirt that said, “Eat. Sleep. Slay Pizza”. We crossed out the word sleep and put “drink red bull”. It was more for the staff but kept it fun and customers laughing.

What if you do create variety and try to make merch creative? Well, yes. You will have more styles for customers to buy, but keeping inventory will be a challenge, as it was for us. Ultimately, our team members are the biggest purchasers of the shirts because they love getting the newest look, so it can be a lot of work to keep track of inventory. Nothing is worse than a guest seeing a shirt they want, and we don’t have the size they need. You can’t sell what you don’t have… well you can now! The answer is creating a merch store on your website. This way, you can direct guests to your website and have them get the size they want. The extra bonus is that you don’t have your staff tearing through boxes during a dinner rush trying to find a specific size for a guest. Now, you can keep revenue coming in on your merch without the inventory.

So, how do you make this happen? There are several different companies you can partner with to handle your print-on-demand service. Not only are you able to get them to be able to print shirts, but you can go wild with many different items, as I listed earlier. You can link those items to a shop or Merch page on your website, and Boom! You now have your own merch store. Doing this has allowed us to free the burden off the staff and stores by keeping inventory, it has allowed us to print on a variety of items that we find fun, and it has given our guests a streamlined way to purchase merch.

Selling Merchandise Do’s & Don’ts

Let’s recap some do’s and don’ts from what you read above. Don’t just have your inventory in the store. Do provide an alternative way for your customers to order your merch from your website. Don’t feel like all you have to do is print your name on a shirt. Get creative and do slogans, unique designs and fun colors. In the end, if it fails with your guests, your staff will likely buy them. Don’t get wild and offer your logo on things that don’t make sense but do consider going outside the box and taking advantage of the print-on-demand services that allow you to print your logo on some cool things.

Final Tips

One of the biggest struggles with creating merch is having the time to invest in new looks and styles you want to see in your store and on your guests. The good news is that a lot of companies out there that sell merch will create the look for you. If you don’t have the creative gene, it’s not a problem. Merch companies are staffed with creative people to give you multiple designs on all the things you want to print on. Merch companies also have their finger more on the pulse of what they think is trending. This can lead to some real creative things you would have never thought of. Find a company that fits the personality you are trying to convey through your merch and have them do all the work. If you want to step up from there, you can consult with a branding company to really elevate your merch style. This can be a very expensive route that can lead to some very appealing merch. I heard once, “You wear what you are, and you are what you wear,” so give your team and guests a reason to buy what you are.

Sammy Mandell co-owns Greenville Avenue Pizza Company in Dallas, Texas. He is also a frequent speaker at Pizza Expo.

The post The Power of Merch!! appeared first on Pizza Today.

In the music world, Barry Gordy of Motown fame coined the phrase, “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.” While rooted in the
music industry, this philosophy resonates profoundly with the restaurant world, particularly for us in the pizzeria business. The essence of Gordy’s advice? Be direct, be clear and don’t dilly-dally.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

In our efforts to be catchy or clever, to weave a story or create a unique brand voice, we often need to remember the power of simplicity and directness. I’ve seen this in my own experience – pizzas with straightforward, easily recognizable names consistently outperform those with clever but obscure references. Sure, there’s a time and place for creativity and inside jokes, but clarity should never be sacrificed for cleverness.

Take Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name.” The chorus isn’t just near the beginning of the song; it is the beginning. They captured their audience in the first three seconds. In today’s saturated market, this approach is more relevant than ever. People’s attention spans are short. They’re constantly bombarded with choices. You need to grab them immediately to avoid losing them entirely.

A “Maui Waui Hawaiian Pie” works to brand it uniquely while still being obvious. However, “The Ailina,” a street in Kona, is too inside of a reference to ever outperform the previous example.

This concept extends beyond menu items to branding as a whole. Consider a pizzeria’s tagline. A vague or generic tagline like “Fun and More” or “Great Eats” doesn’t really say much. It’s forgettable. In contrast, a specific and descriptive tagline – “Pizzeria and Wine Bar,” for instance – instantly informs the customer about what to expect. It’s straightforward, it’s clear and it’s effective.

The power of direct messaging can’t be overstated. While nuance and creativity have their places, especially in areas like logo design and interior decor, clarity and directness win when it comes to communication – whether it’s your menu, your marketing, or your tagline.

In our industry, getting caught up in trying to be different or unique is easy. We want to stand out, to be memorable. But sometimes, in our quest for originality, we lose sight of what really matters – communicating effectively with our customers.

Remember, your customers are looking for an answer to a simple question: “What can I expect here?” The more directly and clearly you can answer that question, the more likely they are to walk through your doors. It’s about meeting them where they are, speaking their language, and delivering what they’re looking for without making them work for it.

So, as you think about your menu, branding and marketing strategy, take a page from Barry Gordy’s book. Don’t bore your customers with unnecessary fluff.

Get to the chorus. Look at these two versions of a description, the first with too much fluff.

Mozzarella Sticks:

These mozzarella sticks do the trick with our signature marinara topped with our special blend of Romano. You gotta try it, to anything else, fuggetabout it.

Just say the menu item with only what will resonate to convey the point effectively.

Mozzarella Sticks:

Lightly fried, made in-house mozzarella topped with signature marinara and Romano

Be clear, be direct, and watch as your message resonates with efficiency.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Don’t Bore Us, Get to the Chorus appeared first on Pizza Today.

Pizza Festivals are popping up across the country. Learn about participating and organizing a pizza event.

Does your town have a pizza festival? If the answer is no, just wait. Festivals and events across America are popping up featuring all things pizza. One may be coming to your area soon. Or, you might even be the one to organize a pizza event.

Some big named pizza festivals launched in 2023. More than 35 pizzerias participated in Dave Portnoy’s One Bite Pizza Festival in Brooklyn, New York, last September. Gabriella Ottaiano knew her pizzeria, Calabria in Livingston, New Jersey, needed to be one of them. “It was important for me to participate in the One Bite festival because Dave Portnoy did so much for my family and continues to support us,” she says. “His 8.9 score on our Calabria’s Crunchy Thin®️ was life changing for us — we are now nationwide.”

Ottaiano says it was an amazing experience. “5k loyal fans showed up in the pouring rain. It was absolutely beautiful,” she says. The logistics of participating in such a big event went smoothly for the pizzeria and its team. “The event was very successful because it was well organized,” she says. “They teamed up with Medium Rare. They did a spectacular job! We had 2-3 months to prepare and they provided an entire team for us for each pizzeria. They handled everything from building out our booth to handling the equipment.”

Organizing a Pizza Event

Pulling off a big pizza event can be a challenge, so we tapped two organizers in the pizza business, Tony Gemignani and Scott Wiener, to get into the weeds with organizing and logistics.

Tony launched the San Francisco Pizza, Bagel and Beer Festival on a North Beach street next to Tony’s Pizza Napoletana last August. But he’s not stranger to executing large-scale events like the Guinness World Record for the Longest Pizza in the World.

Scott is a veteran pizza event organizer. He started Slice Out Hunger in 2009 with its $1 Pizza Party in NYC. What began with $500 fundraiser has grown to multiple campaigns raising more than $1 million to fund hunger relief efforts.

Why Start a Pizza Festival?

Pizza festivals require a huge amount of time, money and effort, but the rewards can be great. The time was right to introduce the San Francisco event. “It brings a camaraderie between all the pizzerias within that city or area,” Gemignani says. “It also celebrates how amazing pizza can be in your community. We were able to raise $90k for five different charities.”

Pizza Festival Event Logistics

Organizing events can be a full-time jobs itself and requires months of planning. Even with 14 years under his belt, Wiener says, “Slice Out Hunger’s $1 Pizza Party is a beast to put together. There are city permits, health permits, insurance, volunteer jobs to coordinate, training for volunteers, equipment rentals, and of course the biggest piece of the puzzle is wrangling all the pizza makers. We spend at least four months prepping events we produce. Once the event structure is in place, we can work with sponsors to cover costs and create custom activations for them. Oh, I almost forgot about ticket sales. We have to sell tickets or the whole thing’s a bust!” 

When an event is in its inaugural year, the logistics of getting pizzerias to participate can be daunting. “It took a lot of time and effort, especially when a festival may be new to a city, and the pizzerias have never participated in one before,” Gemignani says of the SF festival. “It’s a challenge explaining what it could be and how great of an experience it can be to someone who’s never done it. There are a lot of e-mails, phone calls and text messages back-and-forth, trying to get participants all year long before the big day.

He adds the sponsor component is key to the event. “A smooth transition consists of communication between the organizers, and the pizzerias to make it as streamlined as possible,” he says. “What’s also important is the support we get from sponsors to help pay for so many things. A budget for a pizza festival is quite large especially when you’re donating $90,000.”

In addition to sponsors, Tony says, another vital component is “having the right team and local organizations that support [the event],” he says. “Your festival is very important. Having a great festival coordinator is important. We had Nick Figone he and his team from the SF Italian Athletic Club and my team, along with 100 volunteers. If it wasn’t for them and the year of organization. It wouldn’t have been a successful event. I can’t thank them enough along with our sponsors, who made it such an amazing day.”

Want to organize your own Pizza Fest?

If the logistics haven’t dissuaded you, Gemignani and Wiener offer some advice to hosting a successful pizza event.

Gemignani found that getting support from local officials and state politicians is beneficial, especially when you want to close a road for the event.

Wiener suggests that it does get easier after year one. He offers some sound advice based on his experience. “We just start the process earlier and have a checklist for what has to happen and when it has to happen,” he says. “Scheduling all the beats has kept us on track. The first event is always the hardest, after that it’s just endless tweaking. But once the public knows your event it’s much easier to sell tickets because of the awareness you’ve built. Also a good practice is to communicate everything super clearly on the website and tickets from rain dates, cancellations, inclusions, extras, etc.”

Want to participate in a local pizza festival?

Not ready to host a pizza event? When executed effectively and keeping your food quality on point, participating in a large pizza event can introduce your product to a new audience.

Scott Wiener, who founded Slice Out Hunger offers the following advice for pizzerias participating in events:

• Read all the e-mails the event producer sends you. All the information you need is probably in those e-mails and on the event website.
• Show up early on the day of the event to scope the space and prep your food before the rush.
• Remember that this is your time to showcase your food to new customers so go all out. If you have a pizza you finish with Parm or arugula, make a show of it!
• Make the most of your position at the event.

DENISE GREER is Executive Editor of Pizza Today.

The post Pizza Festivals: Getting Involved with a Pizza Fest appeared first on Pizza Today.

The Limited Time Offer

Limited time offers or LTOs can be a great way to test the viability of new menu items, move inventory that may be close to its expiration date, or increase sales on a particular day of the week, enter “Doppio Frico Tuesdays” at Wholly Stromboli. When I began to write this story, I was eager to share all that I have learned over the last 15 years about releasing LTO’s and most recently The Doppio Frico — Fort Lupton Deep Dish. I began to think about the idea that if you are the visionary of your company, as I am, you’re probably the one who comes up with the creative ideas.

For us visionaries, LTOs can be a great outlet for our creativity, which keeps us motivated through tough times, feeds our souls and helps drive our vision for the future. While every business needs a visionary, we can tend to see the BIGGER picture and not the minute details required for a successful implementation. It takes a team of implementers to put these ideas into action — people with a more systematic way of thinking. As I reflected on our recent release, I started to think, why don’t I ask the implementers in my organization what it takes to successfully execute an LTO, and here’s what they shared.

Proper planning is key. “Tweaking things” as you go is hard on your team. Resolving questions such as, what is the desired look and feel of the dish, plating and whether it is an in-house only special in advance will ensure your rollout will go smoothly. Make sure that your training materials are rolled out to your team well ahead of the release date. Knowledge is power and this preparedness will spurn excitement with your team vs. stress and anxiety because they don’t know the plan. Lastly, lack of communication is perhaps the biggest pitfall in successful execution. We have to ensure that all team members, including those who work part-time, receive the communication and training needed” says Eric Frey, General Manager, Wholly Stromboli.

Timing is critical! Clashes with holidays, and events (parades, festivals or concerts), could put a damper on your release, not to mention that your team may be requesting these dates off as well, leaving you understaffed. Lastly, give your team enough time to perfect the process. Your team really wants to be able to execute flawlessly and sell your special with confidence! “Give them the training they need to fall in love with your big idea, instead of despising it because they feel incompetent or ill-prepared,” says Rowen Ben-Joseph, Front  of The House Manager.

Determining the goal of the LTO is the first step and most critical. Is your desire to increase sales or move specific products from your shelves? Then we decide if it’s cost-effective. Look at COGS, price point and factor in how much labor you are adding to the overall cost. Knowing where you will put any new ingredients on your makeline, which positions in your kitchen will be involved, and how will they be affected are all keys to a smooth rollout, says Edgar St John, Kitchen Manager.

Accurate recipe costing is critical. Our margins are razor thin and profitability of the LTO is vital. Wasting labor and ingredients on a creative whim that is not profitable isn’t good business. Take the time to write a solid recipe, set your desired margin, cost out your recipe and set your selling price accordingly. Having a great recipe isn’t just about putting great ingredients together in a way that is appealing to your guests, recipes and sub-recipes that list ingredients, tools needed, yields, techniques and the process are key. Include pictures and videos if you can.

Additionally, if you are creating additional SKUs to your inventory, you’ll need time to research, source and test them. And don’t forget yield testing for items that have trim loss, says Eric Rickman, CFO & Co-Founder.

Give adequate time and space for media coverage. You can only get so far on word of mouth. Start your marketing campaign no less than three weeks before your launch date and don’t rely on social and print media alone. Get your team involved! Contests are a great way to get your team motivated to sell and don’t forget the heart of the house. You want your whole team invested. Take photos and post them on social or have a contest for the prettiest “pizza,” says Jordan Montoya, Director of Marketing.

If you are going to use table tents or other print media, invest in high-quality photos, graphics and professional printing. On the planning side, playing devil’s advocate can be an effective way to ward off potential issues before they happen. Ask yourself and your team what could go wrong and then make a plan and a backup to that plan, says Monika Jesser, Graphic Designer.

And finally, my two cents — Staying on brand is key! Think about what will resonate with your current customer base, and also consider the new guests you want to attract and connect with your brand long-term. By way of example, if you pride yourself on using quality ingredients in a cozy, well-appointed atmosphere with a $30 per person average, you wouldn’t want to attract guests who are looking for cheap eats with an under $10 offer. Your new customers could be disappointed that there aren’t any “deals” on your menu once the LTO has ended. While you may have gained new customers, they won’t stick around and may not bring the kind of word of mouth desired.

LTOs can be a fun and advantageous experience. Driving sales, attracting new guests and bringing a little variety to your team day are just a few things that I love about special offerings. When we work as a team to market, train, sell, plan ahead and execute we make it an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Let there be no limits to the success of your limited-time offerings!

MELISSA RICKMAN is co-founder of Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado, and member of the World Pizza Champions.

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The New Social Media Arena

Social media plays a huge role in today’s marketing arena.

Mastering this notoriously fast-moving, ever-changing landscape is an ongoing challenge for pizzerias.

Are you wondering whether you’re missing some critical developments in the social media world because you’re too busy crafting amazing pizzas? We talked to a couple of experts in the social media marketing profession to find out what’s new.

Sara Huntington is a content producer and TikTok specialist at Firebelly Marketing in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Chad Richards is the founder of Sidework Social.

Do I Really Need To Be on Social Media?

“Social media is where the people are, right?” says Richards. “So, in order to reach people, they really need to be where the people are.”

Social media platforms are actually some of the most cost-effective places for paid advertising. While platforms typically launch with a focus on free user-generated content, “it’s increasingly difficult to reach people organically or for free,” according to Richards. “You are competing with everybody’s friends that they follow, with other brands that they follow, and with brands that are running ads trying to reach your same audience. So, if you want to guarantee exposure you really need to be running paid ads.”

He emphasizes that “you don’t have to spend a lot of money.” For example, instead of posting every day and relying on organic exposure, “you’re better off to just post one time a week, and front an ad promoting it through the end of the week.” He observes that many smaller pizzerias may devote virtually their entire marketing budget to social media, whereas larger brands will diversify their efforts.

What’s Hot in Social Media?

Video is extremely hot, and it’s got an obvious affinity with food of any kind. Nothing can match seeing the sizzle and stretch of nice hot pizza straight out of the oven.

The two most influential platforms today are TikTok and Instagram Reels. Many other platforms are capitalizing on the video trend. YouTube, dedicated to video, has initiated “YouTube shorts” to capture this element of the market, and Facebook has long been video-friendly.

The appeal of video is obvious. “It’s storytelling, right?” says Richards. “Video’s very popular. I would include that in your arsenal because there are people that love to consume video content, so that should be available for your guests.”

What’s Not?

Both Richards and Huntington warn operators against trying to anticipate the trends by being an early adopter.

“I hate to come on as the contrarian, but I’ve been doing this for 15 years and I’ve seen so many new things come and go. It’s the shiny new object syndrome, but really, I just say focus on where your customers are,” offers Richards. “There aren’t any new emerging platforms right now that I would say are must-have for pizzerias outside of TikTok.”

Your Video Marketing Strategy

The advice is to be where your customers are, and today that means the big, dominant platforms.

Huntington emphasizes that you need to cultivate an authentic identity. “To be able to grow on social media, you really have to be able to find what your niche is,” she advises. “There’s a level of realism you have to show on social media. Is it family owned? Is it artisanal? People want to see more than just half-off coupons. They want to see where do your ingredients come from? What’s your family’s background like?”

Richards says “the recipe for success for pizzerias, no matter which channel they’re on, it’s really simple. You want to provide guests with content they wish to consume and provide them with an amazing customer service experience. And these pizzerias are already doing this in their restaurants, so they just need to do the same thing on their social channels.”

Utilizing Metrics

That’s where metrics come in. They enable you to evaluate whether your content is resonating with your audience.

Huntington says valuable metrics are available “with pretty much any platform. You can see your engagement rates, your reach, your audience, it’ll tell you the age of your audience, where your audience is located. TikTok will show you a graph of your retention rate — at what point people stopped watching your video. The average length that people watch a TikTok video is around three seconds, but you’ll know if you have a good or bad video if it drops off before those three seconds. If they watch the whole thing, then you had a good video. Even if it didn’t have your highest engagement, people still watched the entire thing.”

Richards says metrics can reveal clues such as “when we post a trivia question, that has a really amazing engagement rate. Or maybe when we post a coupon, we don’t get many comments, but lots of people share it and we’re reaching so many people. So it helps you know what to include moving forward in your content mix.”

Different Social Platform, Different Style

TikTok expert Huntington emphasizes that the different platforms favor different productions styles.

“The thing with TikTok is it’s not this overproduced video showing how beautiful the pizza is. It would be an actual person in their kitchen showing them how they make the pizza.” TikTok users “wanna see live raw footage, which is so different than what we’ve seen in other social media in the past.”

She refers to research her firm did on Taco Bell. “If you look at their Instagram, it’s all pretty overly produced. And then you get on their TikTok and it’s just someone that they’ve hired, showing how they make each one of the tacos and the ingredients and everything. And then you get on YouTube shorts and it’s just some young employee in their kitchen making Taco Bell. It just progressively becomes more realistic and not so highly produced.”

Benefits of a Social Media Pro

Both experts encourage you to enlist a professional.

Huntington emphasizes that pros will know the trends and how to get a video to land on users’ “for you” page. “There’s a cadence of when to post, and what sound to put on it that’ll make it trend with other videos.”

Richards observes that when businesses DIY their social media, “they run out of steam.” He says professional service ensures pizzerias post consistently in terms of schedule and voice. He also notes that community management should be a part of your customer service experience. When guests reach out via direct message on social media apps, they expect a prompt response.  You should make sure they get one, which takes dedicated monitoring.

Annelise Kelly is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer.

The post How and Where Pizzerias Succeed on Social Media appeared first on Pizza Today.

How to Handle Copycats

You’ve finally done it! After months of research and development, the time has come to introduce the world to the fruits of your labor. It’s a pizza so advanced, with a dough process so radical and a topping combination so unexpected, there’s no possibility that anyone on Earth attempted it before you. Launch day arrives and your dreams start coming true. Customers love it and the press can’t get enough. You have achieved greatness. You’re a hero. Then one week later, the pizzeria down the street steals your idea. Time for revenge? There’s got to be a better way.

First take a moment to remind yourself that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. You’ve inspired someone! It stings that they’re taking away your thunder, but those who lack the creativity to innovate on their own usually have a low ceiling for adaptation and growth. They might make a splash with your menu item, but they’ll have to work harder to keep up as you continue to innovate.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

The worst thing you can do in this situation is aim your anger at your copycats. Don’t go telling the press that you’ve been ripped off and definitely don’t tell your friends to write negative online reviews about the thief. Instead, use this as an opportunity to boost yourself without detracting from them. Post some signage that you serve “The Original Frog Legs Pizza” and add similar callouts to your menu. Talk about how proud you are to see your idea on other pizzeria menus. You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. 

I’ve heard pizzerias make silly threats about suing for copyright infringement, but that’s almost never possible. You can’t copyright a recipe; you can only copyright the expression of the recipe in a book or similar publication. You can trademark a name, but that doesn’t cover the actual product. More importantly, it’s extremely unlikely you really created something that’s never been done before. Take, for example, the legend of the Hawaiian pizza. Common lore says it was invented by a Greek-born Canadian called Sam Panopoulos at his Satellite Restaurant in 1962. I have no doubt that he created his first Hawaiian pizza without seeing it anywhere else, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t exist. There’s plenty of evidence showing both pizza with pineapple and pizza called Hawaiian existed in the U.S. as much as a decade earlier.

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s actually becoming more common for pizzerias to advertise how other pizza makers have inspired them. Tribute Pizza in San Diego lists the inspiration for each pie directly on their menu, with over a dozen references to their favorite pizzerias or pizza makers. Emily in NYC has a pie called the Jerrier, named after Jay Jerrier of Cane Rosso in Texas. Motorino in Brooklyn has the Don Dom, inspired by Dom Demarco of Di Fara Pizzeria. These are all instances of homage, not theft.

No pizza emerges in a vacuum. If you’re making something good, you’re doing it with inspiration from all angles. If you’re making something really good, you’ll inspire others as you go. As long as you do it with respect and kindness, you can’t go wrong.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: Copycats appeared first on Pizza Today.

Learn what to post and how often to post on social media

As a pizzeria owner, you know that social media is essential for growing your business. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter help us connect with customers, promote menu items and increase brand awareness. However, with so many social media channels available, knowing how often to post and where to focus your efforts can be challenging. Let’s detail how often you should post and what you should do posts of.

It’s important to know why you are posting and not just to do it because “I guess that’s what you do.” Lean into the goal and remember that if your channel were a tv show, like a sitcom, it would be 22 minutes of entertainment and eight minutes of commercials. So, make sure you lean into entertaining and informing for seven out of 10 posts and use three posts to create a CALL TO ACTION or CTA; the rest are TOMA, aka Top of Mind awareness.

TOMA:

Social media is an excellent way to increase your brand’s visibility and reach a wider audience. You can reach more potential customers by posting regularly and using relevant hashtags (I suggest the app (Hashtag Expert). Videos, photos and enticing funny or informative content will increase the likelihood that people look at your content and, if a subscriber, that they look long enough for it to become at the top of their feed.

Connect with Customers:

DO NOT POST TO POST and call it a day. Think of social media as a networking event. Your post is the shirt you are wearing, but when someone comes by and says, “Hey, cool shirt.” or, in this case, likes or comments on your post, you need to say something back. If you have ZERO followers, here is a 100-percent foolproof trick to get some: like and follow other people who follow other pizzerias or restaurants in your town.

You: “But if I have a higher follow count than follower count, will I look desperate?”

Me: “No one that matters gives a hoot about you or is checking that much. And more followed today turns into more followers tomorrow; get over yourself and get social.”

THE CTA:

Once you have entertained, informed and shown off gorgeous photos of food (professional shots or portrait mode shots near natural light of perfectly fresh food), you can humbly inform your customer of an upcoming special.

Example: Hey, we’re doing a one-night-only tap takeover with (local brewery), and the first 50 people are getting swag; it starts at 5 pm; see you then.

This could be a video or a post, but since it’s timely, if it’s on Instagram, this should be a story, not a full-tile post.

What Social apps should you be on?

Focus on what’s relevant and what you can give solid attention to. Start with one and move on; if you cross-utilize content, post it natively in each app and do with discretion.

Facebook:

Facebook is the most popular social media platform, with over 2.7 billion monthly active users. You can use Facebook to create a business page, share menu items, post pictures, and connect with your customers. It typically runs older, like 25-65, with the prime audience being 38-65; almost everyone still has one, and it’s still the largest app, so don’t discount it.

You should post on Facebook at least three times a week. This posting frequency will ensure that your page remains active and your customers are engaged. Posting at different times of the day will also help you reach a wider audience.

Instagram:

Instagram is a visual platform perfect for pizzerias to showcase what you’re all about. With over 1 billion people checking their feeds monthly, Instagram is an excellent platform for reaching millennial audiences. Posting to stories is very simple and creates a lot of easy and organic engagement.

Aim to post on Instagram at least once a day. Instagram is a highly visual platform and posting pictures of your menu items and specials regularly will keep your customers engaged. Also, Stories, you need to post to stories more; it feeds the beast and keeps you at the top of the algorithm.

Twitter:

Twitter is an everchanging platform that can be super engaging if you have the gift of written gab over visual. Look at Wendy’s for a prime example of this. With that said, Twitter is a less visual app and can get into the sandbox quickly with its passionate, typically not-as-supportive fan base. It is still a solid venue for sharing real-time pizzeria updates. If choosing which app to start with, I would start with something other than Twitter in 2023.

While it’s socially acceptable to post on Twitter multiple times a day as it’s a fast-paced platform, it’s also an excellent way to burn out on a less effective platform; I suggest posting only critical updates on Twitter.

TikTok:

DO NOT SCOFF AWAY TIKTOK as a kid’s app for dancing. If you are not wholly addicted to TikTok, get on the app and let it play for about five days, and it will game your viewing habits quickly. It is a super solid app with an intelligent algorithm based on interest and not who your friends are. It’s a Silicon Valley game-changer. Despite the political issues involved with piracy, you can not deny its effectiveness. ALSO, VERY IMPORTANT, while setting up a TikTok ad account is slightly more complicated than Meta Instagram FB, it’s way more bang for your buck. No joke, I posted a video during the holidays and put 700 bucks behind it, and I was so visible in Tulsa that people posted in the comments, “I will pay 50 bucks not to see this TikTok five times a day on my feed.” That’s the best social media proof I’ve ever read online. I’ve been doing local news for a decade and got more public recognition the week my TikTok ad dropped than the decade before.

TikTok Copycats:

YouTube Shorts, Facebook and Instagram reels are all seeking to take the TikTok success and try and get it back to themselves. They’ve all made quick video solutions like TikTok, which is good for you. I suggest this:

• Make TikTok videos in the TikTok app.
• Save them.
• Upload them to a watermark remover website.
• Upload natively to the other apps.

CapCut is another excellent new app to create videos on your phone or computer, share on there, and then post to video platforms at will. You will need to potentially add sound native to the app to maximize trends and still post hashtags, but that can all be done with a posting app like Hootsuite or Sprout Social.

BEWARE: Instagram and Facebook are savvy to this and don’t promote videos not built native to the app as much, so if you have the time, working inside each app gets more reach.

These sites don’t come off badly if you post a lot at once, you can space it out if you choose, but if you put a bunch of videos up at once, the app will send it out sporadically and not in chunks, i.e., it does the spacing for you.

Social Strategies to achieve a great presence without eating all your time:

Batching and Content Calendars:

Always take photos and film videos in batches. Then use a device that posts them for you later, like Hootsuite and Sprout Social. You can’t post everything on these, like Instagram stories, but it does much of the work for you. This is a content calendar on autopilot; if you don’t use this, then you need a manual content calendar of what to post and when to keep your head above water.

Social Media Liaison:

If all this sounds like too much work, I get it. If you offload this to an employee or firm, make 100 percent sure they know your voice, and you edit and review all the posts every week before they go out. Also, ensure you are connected via notification e-mails on what people are replying with, so you can reply at any given moment since it is your business, not theirs.

Analyze Your Metrics:

Analyze your metrics to understand what types of content resonates with your audience and what don’t. Use tools like Facebook Insights and Instagram Insights to track your reach, engagement, and follower growth.

By following these tips and strategies, you can create a solid social media presence for your pizzeria and connect with your customers on a deeper level. Remember to be consistent and authentic and engage with your followers to build a loyal customer base and increase ROI.

Bonus-Influencers:

If you like someone else’s content, ask them to come to your place for free and let them do the posting for you. Their following could be larger and more diversified than yours. SEEK your influencers, like local celebrities and news anchors, not just self-proclaimed influencers who typically pay to play and don’t get nearly the bang for the buck.

The post Social Media Pacing and Strategy appeared first on Pizza Today.

Best Pizza Lists — SEO and the Accolade Snowball Effect

Having your pizzeria gain online visibility that turns into great press through accolades that eventually becomes profit takes many steps. Winning awards sounds like fun, but it’s not by accident. Here’s how to garner more visibility and traction for your business.

1. SEO ( Search Engine Optimization)

First and foremost, optimize your SEO. That term is overused, but SEO is easy to achieve when your website is set up correctly. That means the first few words of your website need to say “pizza,” your town’s name, and any other keywords that someone might search for you on Google. To know what people are searching for on Google, check the search analytics of your website on Google my Business, and you’ll see what terms are being used in your area or concerning your restaurant. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive. Ensure the photos are updated and crisp, which means no stock photos or cliche photos you’ve seen too many times before.

Make sure it’s a website that accurately represents you, including photos of you, photos of the way your food really looks, and updated menus. Google scans all these websites often, so when they see the website is updated often, it gives it more potential to be viewed at the top of Google.

2. Google My Business

Another easy way to enhance SEO is by claiming your Google My Business page and ensuring your name, address, phone number and all information is correct, and you put photos in there to feed the beast that is Google. Do this for all review sites and all other social media platforms and ensure your information is correct.

Then make sure you have great photos across all these sites; if not schedule a pro to come and shoot one.

3. Reviews

In line with feeding the beast of Google, respond to all online reviews, not just the bad ones. Review responses tell the search engine that you really do operate and run your active store. Additionally, respond professionally to their reviews and handle negative reviews constructively on Yelp, Trip Advisor and Facebook.

4. Then: The snowball effect of accolades

To gain awards and accolades, here is my snowball effect method. First and foremost, have good food. Consistently deliver greatness with a unique sales proposition that no one else is doing in your community. Great ingredients with a staff that cares and genuinely have a solid and consistent experience to ensure your review score is high.

5. Community

Once you have a solid product, engage with your community. Become an active member in everything you can, whether it’s the Chamber of Commerce, sports teams or charitable events. Be familiar with those who live and operate near your pizzeria. Be a face they know and trust. Once they all dig you, you can go after the local awards, like every small town’s Best Of Award. No matter how big a restaurant is, they all start with local awards and notoriety like this.

Go after these awards aggressively, but never stuff a ballot or betray your integrity to get an award. Once you have a legit award, market the heck out of it. Pabst Blue Ribbon is still riding high off a winning the “America’s Best” award at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, 130 years later, they’re still using that accolade on their label.

6. After local, go national.

As local awards are coming in, seek national awards. The easiest path to fast-track national attention is a great showing at the International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Then with that prestigious claim to fame of even participating in such a competition, you can go back to your town and advertise that. To market that, you can send a press release of where you placed, DM the local news to do a story on you and post about it on your feeds. If you place badly, you can still talk about the experience of competing, and smaller markets will run with that story.

If you’re not getting the press to come out, convince influencers and food critics to check you out. Encourage them to post on their feeds, as they might already have a large organic following in your community, and all the while, showcase any achievement you’ve accomplished no matter how small because it will snowball into bigger ones if you keep consistently serving solid food in an inviting environment sold by people who dig what they do.

7. Network with others like you.

After that, I advise networking in this industry to make professional friends, learn about what they’re doing in their community, mimic what you like, and avoid what you think doesn’t work. It’s a never-ending cycle.

8. Unsolicited Awards

Our most notable achievements I didn’t ask for. They found us when a food writer or clickbait intern scoured the internet and determined us to be the best in our area.

National “Best Of” awards typically are not written by people who have physically eaten at your restaurant. But, by having the best reputation online based on real experiences over time, we end up in these prestigious articles. That is the culmination of the snowball effect of good SEO becoming great consistent reviews that earn more customers and thereby more visibility into more prominent awards.

These things are doable by everyone in our industry. Pulling it off takes excellent determination, time, awareness, and effort.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post National Best Pizza Lists: Making the List appeared first on Pizza Today.

Operators can use AI and automation technology to engage with customers

Artificial Intelligence has been capturing media attention lately as a futuristic tool that can do everything from automate jobs to help students cheat on tests. For pizzeria operators, AI can be part of a marketing automation strategy that helps the restaurant engage with customers, increase repeat visits and increase brand awareness.

Marketing automation refers to technology that can manage communications with customers, such as software that handles the task of sending e-mails and texts offering discounts. AI uses large amounts of data to mimic the way humans think and perform complex tasks, such as chatbots that respond to customer service issues.

“There are two functional categories of AI you should be thinking about when it comes to restaurants,” says Darien Bates, CEO of Fourtop, “One is discovery, and one is execution.”

ChatGPT, an AI chatbot released in November 2022, is on the discovery side. It’s a generative tool that allows people to tap into a broad information set to answer questions that are otherwise impossible or too time-consuming to answer. On the execution side, restaurants can use AI to figure out when to start prepping the pizza after someone places an order. That process can change over time as more orders come in.

“That’s adaptive automated decisioning,” Bates says. “It adapts over time and helps make pre-determined decisions.” He predicts that in the next decade or so a third of restaurant operations will use these refinement models to perform tasks such as scheduling, ordering ingredients and supporting timing on guest experience.

AI can also play a role in marketing.

Restaurants can use data from their POS systems to build lists of phone numbers and e-mail addresses to send discounts and other offers. The pizzeria owner can leverage AI to go through large lists of data and figure out which customers respond to discounts, and which respond to other offers. “If you set it up correctly, there are systems out there that connect with ongoing guest data, and you can track behavior,” Bates says. “All these elements have to be built on clean, first party data that belongs to the restaurant. You have to have your data house in order.”

There are benefits to using AI generated messaging. “The most important thing to keep top of mind is how powerful this tool is for increasing in-house efficiency while remaining personalized from customer to customer,” says Angela DeFranco, vice president of product at SevenRooms.

The tool enables pizzeria owners to analyze customer feedback and automate responses such as recommendations, promotions, and reservation confirmations. That frees up restaurant staff to perform other tasks, while customers receive relevant, personalized offers. People who order wine can be invited to attend an in-house wine tasting, or customers with nut allergies can be excluded from an email announcing a new pesto pasta dish. “In return, independent restaurants like pizzerias can keep up with competitors and see those return guests waltz back through their doors for more dining experiences,” DeFranco says.

Repeat business is important, and AI can help by organizing massive amounts of data related to customer purchases. “You can group customers into logical segments,” says Zach Goldstein, founder and CEO of Thanx. “The family who comes in on Saturdays is very different from college students who come in late night Wednesdays.”

The old “buy ten get one free” model is not effective, Goldstein says, and restaurant operators can use AI to figure out what to offer to different customers. “Data is not valuable unless you are doing something with it to the benefit of the customer,” he says. “When done right you are delivering a value that could be financial such as a discount, or it could be an invitation to an event, or access to a secret menu.”

Pizzeria owners can also use AI to generate marketing content including text, images and video.

“Some of the most time-consuming tasks in marketing are for content creation, including finding the right tone, responding quickly and getting a message across,” says Carl Turner, CEO and founder of SWIPEBY.

Turner says AI can write text for the restaurant website, create emotional social posts to drive people to the pizzeria, and answer professionally to positive and negative reviews. AI can write a script and copy for a TV commercial, create a video, and chat with customers that have questions on social media or their website.

“AI can even create appetizing food photography that will make a customer want to order even more than they had planned,” Turner says. “AI could take over every part of customer engagement besides the actual interaction in the store.” He adds that it can also save money, as a restaurant might otherwise pay a social media agency hundreds of dollars a month to write two posts a week.

One growing area is voice ordering with AI.

People are already talking to their TV remotes and smart speakers, and they will discover pizzerias and place orders directly through voice AI-enabled smart devices or from their vehicles. “As we move into a new era of search, driven by new ChatGPT-style AI technologies, voice will become the most natural interface for every consumer,” says Mike Lauricella, head of channel partnerships at SoundHound. “Customer expectations are constantly rising and, as technology becomes more sophisticated, people are demanding experiences that are intuitive, convenient and fast.”

Independent restaurants can use voice AI technology to pick up inbound phone orders, then roll out the technology to kiosks and other ordering platforms. The voice assistant can even upsell and cross-sell menu items, even if those change frequently. “Voice AI technology can also provide additional information about parking and opening hours, helping any restaurant automate the basics so your staff can deliver an exceptional, personal service that keeps customers coming back for more,” Lauricella says.

As AI and marketing automation become mainstream and consumers receive more personalized offers, operators must find ways to stand out. One high-tech way is to put offers in front of mobile gamers. “We’ve seen that 56 percent of gamers will likely buy from a brand that’s in their game of preference,” says Jeff Michaels, vice president, marketing and sales enablement for Mobivity. “Without AI and specific, unique data points like these to feed into AI, pizzerias are on equal footing with every other brand marketing the same thing to the same consumers. The end result is consumers tune out.”

Nora Caley  is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post Marketing Automation and AI for Pizzerias appeared first on Pizza Today.

Digital Marketing Trends: Digital Forward

Digital marketing is constantly evolving. The rate of new technology impacting marketing is speeding up and changing the digital marketing framework. There’s an abundance of marketing opportunities. Fresh algorithm updates are impacting brands’ online presence.

Amidst all of that, there is one constant. Digital marketing allows you to reach your customers and potential customers effectively. Perhaps, the founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar, said it best: “We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.”

How you use that technology and execute your digital marketing strategy will allow you to harness those connections.

This year’s digital marketing predictions all share some key components. Let’s dive into eight of the biggest digital marketing trends that should be on your radar and in your marketing strategy.

8 Digital Marketing Trends Right Now

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

AI is the no. 1 thing happening in digital marketing right now. I’m not going to dive too deep into the subject. We tasked freelancer Nora Caley to examine how restaurants and pizzerias can harness AI capabilities to enhance your marketing program in an upcoming issue. To give an overview, AI’s marketing power lies in data. It would not be a spoiler to say that AI has the capacity to sift large amounts of databases and data hubs to help you better market to customers. Think purchasing patterns to better equip you for personalized offers. AI can also be used in customer service, graphic generation and copywriting. Many of the services available are in the exploratory phase so AI will be the marketing tool to watch.

For the past few months, there has been an explosion of conversations surrounding AI applications like Chat GTP and its copywriting potential. It was developed and launched by OpenAI in November 2022. According to OpenAI’s ‘How does ChatGPT work?’, “ChatGPT is fine-tuned from GPT-3.5, a language model trained to produce text. ChatGPT was optimized for dialogue by using Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback (RLHF) – a method that uses human demonstrations and preference comparisons to guide the model toward desired behavior.” The service has caught on so quickly that it has become the fastest growing user base. As of March, ChatGPT had amassed more than 1.6 billion users.

There are also AI graphic generators like the one built-in the popular Canva, an online graphic design tool. AI images have become so sophisticated that an AI-generated image recently won a category in the Sony World Photography Awards to which its creator rejected the prize.

2. Personalization

The balance between personalization and privacy is hot-button issue right now. New privacy standards have changed how marketers approach personalization using first-party data that you acquire through your POS system, loyalty program, online ordering and customer-facing WiFi. The great news is that customers want a personalized approach. Epison research found that 80 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences.

3. SEO 

Search Engine Optimization continues to be a vital component to your restaurant being selected as hungry people search for what to eat. This is an area many operators have chosen to outsource to website design, development and management consultants so make sure your consultant is executing an effective local SEO strategy. Enlist friends to Google your restaurant, the type of pizza in your area and pizza restaurants in your area. If your business isn’t ranking high in the searches, your consultant has work to do. A key SEO tactic trending is updating content. How long has it been since your website content was updated? Think mobile responsive, relevant keywords, text-based menus instead of image or PDF menus, schema markups and on- and off-page optimization. You may not know these terms, but your consultant should be harnessing them to lift your brand up in search results.

4. Voice Search

This sounds far out but many of us have shouted “Hey Siri” or “Hey Google” to ask questions. I asked the question recently, “Where can I find a Detroit style pizza in Louisville, Kentucky?” Bam, three responses direct to either their Google Business Listing or a map to the restaurant. Voice searches are designed to provide the top three results. Voice search continues to gain steam. According to the Google Mobile Voice Survey, 41 percent of U.S. adults use voice search daily. Similar to SEO, there are many factors that go into increasing your visibility in voice search, such as your Google Business Profile, the pizzeria’s website’s SEO optimization, positive reviews, updated and current information and more.

5. Video

Video continues to gain ground and is quickly becoming the go-to content online. A staggering 65 percent of Internet traffic is video, according to Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report. There is variety in trending video length. Short-form video led by TikTok and other social media platforms that followed suite are still red hot. Going live is resonating with viewers as they get a real-time, inside look at restaurants.   

6. Automation

The automation process frees up staff or consultants from basic tasks. Automation software simplifies and streamlines the execution of common marketing campaigns. Automation goes hand and hand with advances in AI. Chatbots and AI voice assistants handle general customer service leaving the more complex customer questions for the pizzeria’s team.

7. Shoppable Content & Ecommerce

Pizza has long been in the Ecommerce game with online order. Expect that to continue to grow and evolve as technology advances. An area that is picking up steam is shoppable content on social media. Statista reports estimated that $1.298 billion in sales will come from within social media platforms this year.

In addition to sales, transactions can also be made on social to create social fundraisers for your local causes.

8. Influencer Marketing

The Influencer market is huge and it is set to reach $21.1 billion this year, according to The State of Influencer Marketing 2023: Benchmark Report by the Influencer Marketing Hub. Its survey data revealed that accounts preferred working with nano (39 percent) and micro (30 percent) influencers while macro-influencers and celebrities accounted for 19 percent and 12 percent respectively. On an initial look at an influencer strategy, pizzeria owners often notice the hefty rates of major influencers. Pizzerias can better benefit from micro, local and regional influencers that are priced far less than influencers bombarding national and international feeds.

The hottest platforms for using influencer marketing is TikTok at 56 percent, followed by Instagram at 51 percent, Facebook at 42 percent and YouTube at 38 percent, The State of Influencer Marketing denoted.

Denise Greer is the Executive Editor of Pizza Today.

The post A Look at 8 Digital Marketing Trends Right Now appeared first on Pizza Today.

E-mail marketing is a great channel to leverage repeat business

While text and social media are increasingly central to digital marketing efforts, e-mail marketing is “definitely still relevant,” according to Matt Zibell, vice president of product at TouchBistro, a POS (point of sale) provider. The company surveyed 2,600 diners in 2023 and learned that 50 percent of diners say e-mail is their preferred communication channel.

“E-mail marketing is one of the best channels to leverage to foster repeat business and is considerably less costly than mailed coupons or no promotions at all!” says Zibell. It’s also 100 percent under your control, unlike platforms like Facebook and Instagram that may suddenly change algorithms and undo your hard work.

Teddy Tsang, vice president of product marketing at Toast, another POS provider, concurs. “E-mail marketing allows restaurants to engage with their guests on a more personal level, identify the most effective messaging that can help drive sales, and build loyalty among new and existing guests.”

According to e-mail marketing software provider Constant Contact, each dollar spent on e-mail marketing nets a return of $36.

Successful e-mail campaigns depend on attractive, intriguing and engaging outgoing messages.

But that’s only half the battle. You’ve also got to capitalize on the data linked to each subscriber. Your database can retain records ranging from subscribers’ zip codes and birthdays to information about the last time they opened one of your e-mails or bought one of your pies, what they ordered, how they ordered it, and how much they spent.

E-mail Marketing Basics

What is the goal of sending an e-mail? Engagement, as demonstrated through opening messages, clicking through, and taking action.

Here are a few critical terms to understand as you optimize your e-mail database:

• List Segmentation. Subdividing your subscriber list into smaller, targeted groups based on specific criteria such as location, buying habits and type of customer (catering, take-out, dine-in).
• CTA (Call to Action). This is the action you want readers to take, such as clicking on a link in your e-mail to place an order.
• Metrics. The collective indicators that measure the success of your e-mail campaigns, such as how many recipients open the e-mail, how many click on your CTA, and how many convert (purchase).
• Open Rate. The percentage of recipients who open your e-mail.
• A/B Testing. Sending two separate offers and comparing their performance. “For example, restaurant owners and operators can test if a ‘half-off on a large pizza’ promotion generates as many sales as a ‘buy one medium pizza get one free’ deal,” says Tsang, enabling operators to “refine campaigns and send the most effective message.”

E-mail Database Management Tips

These best-practice tips apply whether you are managing your list in-house or outsourcing to a vendor. If you’re managing it in-house, you are best served by using e-mail marketing software such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact or one of their many competitors. These tools provide critical automation features as well as useful metrics.

Outsourcing your e-mail marketing? That might mean simply paying someone else to manage your e-mail marketing with one of the tools just mentioned; paying an expert to use a more sophisticated and robust e-mail marketing tool; or it could mean utilizing an integrated solution such as a POS system that includes e-mail marketing as part of the package.

In any case, here are some major factors to consider when you want to get the most out of your e-mail database.

Quality E-mail Addresses

A high-quality list is built, not bought.

“The first step to good e-mail database management is to ensure that you’re collecting as many compliant and high-quality e-mail addresses as possible,” advises Tsang. In this context, “high quality” refers to customers or potential customers who have voluntarily provided their e-mail addresses. Give your customers a reason to opt in by promising benefits such as discounts and coupons and deliver those benefits to maintain customer trust.

Some platforms include embedded tools to collect addresses. “When the e-mail database management tool is part of the same platform as other key products, restaurant owners and operators never miss an opportunity to collect the contact information of their guests, with their permission,” says Tsang. “With Toast, restaurant owners and operators have multiple touchpoints to collect a customer’s e-mail address – when a guest places an order online or via mobile payments; orders using Toast Mobile Order & Pay™; uses a gift card; and joins a restaurant’s loyalty program.”

E-mail List Segmentation

By segmenting your e-mail list, you can target e-mails to specific groups, which will translate to more successful e-mail campaigns. Depending on how sophisticated your tools and your database are, your segments can be based on geographic area such as zip code; demographics such as age; signup channel (in person, online, by text, via loyalty program); buying habits; buying frequency and more. You can even craft a survey or quiz that will glean data on customer preferences that you will link with their e-mail addresses.

Zibell of TouchBistro urges operators to “know your audience – look at their ordering history to determine what offers will resonate best with them.” You can also “personalize your promotions with birthday specials, discounts on specific meals customers generally purchase, or free delivery to drive purchases.” It’s also important to track unsubscribes and other responses to determine the communication frequency best tolerated by your customers.

Integrate with POS

Integrating your e-mail marketing database with your POS has obvious advantages. The most effective and trackable e-mail campaigns “use technology that integrates your customer database with your POS, loyalty program and online ordering,” says Zibell. “That will make it fast and simple for your customers to order what they love the most using their loyalty awards and it will streamline operations, which reduces staffing time. You’ll also be able to track what has resulted in the most sales, the best times to send promotions, and which customers you should target.”

Likewise, Tsang says that instead of managing multiple vendors, “you want a tool that lets you run your restaurant e-mail marketing activities on the same platform you already use to run your business. Managing your e-mail database with a third-party application will require additional importing and exporting and could limit the type of data you can pull into segment groups of guests. Skip the export: it should have all the guest information in one place, so you never have to export or import e-mails from a third-party tool.”

E-mail marketing has withstood two decades of challenges and is still going strong. Thanks to the ease and sophistication of current database technology, you can harness your e-mail database and the wisdom it contains to target your digital communications for optimal sales and success.

Annelise Kelly is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer.

The post E-mail Marketing Database Management Strategies appeared first on Pizza Today.

Counting Down Today’s Top Social Media Trends

Here’s what we know: social media is big. Like really, really big.

According to the Pew Research Center, seven in 10 Americans use social media regularly. Social media powerhouse Facebook boasts 2 billion daily active users, while its sister social media site, Instagram, is hurtling toward 1.4 billion daily active users.

Noteworthy as those raw numbers are, it is social media’s continued ability to drive consumer behavior, including the dining decisions of Americans, that is perhaps most impressive. Numerous surveys and studies over the last decade have outlined social media’s ability to spark restaurant trials, generate awareness and increase loyalty.

“As a restaurant owner, you simply can’t discount the importance of social media today,” says Sammy Mandell of the Dallas-based Greenville Avenue Pizza Company (GAPCo). “It’s all about staying top of mind and people need to see you regularly to achieve that.”

Staying current and relevant

But social media doesn’t remain static. Like much of the tech world, it evolves. Its algorithms change. Consumer preferences shift. And restaurant owners must respond in earnest.

While the nation’s large pizzeria chains might be able to dominate the television landscape, Mandell feels local shops like his can compete on social media, where GAPCo can build its brand with entertaining videos and illustrative posts touting limited-time offers. It’s why GAPCo leadership has devoted so much energy to social media, including consistently monitoring trends in the digital landscape to ensure the relevancy and impact of their efforts.

“We absolutely stay on top of social because we know how key it is to our business,” says Mandell, who joined his GAPCo colleagues, co-owner Molly Mandell and creative director Phil Bossart, in delivering “A Pizzeria’s Guide to Social Media” presentation at International Pizza Expo last March.

When independent restaurants monitor social media trends and use market movements to their advantage, they position themselves to earn deeper brand awareness, cultivate richer relationships with customers and better compete in a crowded marketplace.

“Social media has become a crucial component of the marketing and promotion strategies for indie restaurants,” says Jon Morgan, the CEO of Venture Smarter, a consulting firm that specializes in helping small businesses scale and grow. “By staying up to date on the latest social media trends and focusing on creating engaging content, indie restaurants can increase their online visibility and attract new customers.”

So, what are today’s biggest social media trends?

Shorter video content

Video content is highly engaging and shareable. It is also a media format pizzerias can use to showcase their personality, atmosphere, staff and food. But as attention spans dwindle, short-form video content like TikToks, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have surged in popularity.

Years ago, GAPCo would make 30-second videos – “mini-commercials,” Mandell called them. Today, most GAPCo videos max out at 10 seconds and the three-unit chain is also incorporating TikTok – the home of short-form videos – more often.

“This is what’s resonating now and where eyeballs are going,” Mandell says.

Going live

In addition to short-form videos, live videos on platforms like Instagram and Facebook are generating heightened attention. When going live, restaurants can interact with their followers in real time, offering cooking demonstrations or tips, promoting an upcoming event or teasing the grand opening of a new location or renovated patio.

“By engaging with customers in real-time, indie restaurants can create a more personal connection and build loyalty,” says Ashish Goswami of Krish Technolabs, a full-service digital commerce agency.

Leveraging influencers

There remains an ever-swelling ecosystem of tech-savvy souls creating substantial followings – if not, full-time jobs – off original social content, including posts about restaurant visits. These “influencers” can help restaurants reach new audiences and generate buzz on social media, says Jessica Luna, a marketing analyst with Net Influencer, a media company that tracks influencer marketing.

Now, some hear influencer and immediately think “Kardashian.” That’s the tip of the global influencer spear.

More realistically, independent restaurants can team with locals boasting sizable social media followings. So-called “micro-influencers” might range from a school principal to the local TV station’s meteorologist to a local food blogger. Name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for college athletes have also opened a new opportunity for restaurants to tap into others’ social networks.

“The key is to find influencers who align with the restaurant’s brand and values and who have a genuine interest in promoting the restaurant,” Goswami says.

With almost every special at GAPCo, the pizzeria’s public relations agent brings influencers into the restaurant to post social content.

“There’s no shortage of local people highlighting who they are and where they go, so we leverage that as an economical marketing approach that feeds into social media,” Mandell says.

Inviting user-generated content – and supplying a branded hashtag

Pizzerias have long sought user-generated content (UGC) – that is, diners creating their own original content. UGC provides external validation and valuable social currency.

These days, restaurants are increasingly encouraging customers to share photos and reviews of their visits on their personal social channels. Yet more, restaurants are supplying a branded hashtag like #PizzaAtPappis or #ADateWithPizzaboy to amplify the UGC. The branded hashtag allows restaurant leadership to track content more easily, repost customers’ photos and videos and expand social proof.

“This can help build a sense of community and loyalty around your brand,” Luna says.

Favoring a cozy, homemade aesthetic

As many consumers cringe at the idea of being advertised to or sold on something, authenticity matters. Rather than sharing super polished content, businesses are favoring unscripted content on social media, such as videos recorded from a point-of-view angle or photos that appear unedited and natural.

“If you are planning to use images as ad creatives and want to give the images that homemade and authentic look, you can increase the exposure slightly and brighten the shadows,” suggests Arsh Sanwarwala, founder and CEO of Thrillx, a full-service digital agency based in Toronto. “After that, increase the vibrance of the image until it looks natural.”

Keeping it real

Alongside the homemade aesthetic, Venone Public Relations founder Kelly Richardson is seeing more independent restaurants leaning into social media to share the stories behind their restaurants, from the motivations of founders to the local farmers who supply ingredients. Above all, Richardson says, diners are attracted to stories and lively original content.

As one example, Mattenga’s Pizzeria, a six-unit chain in San Antonio, publishes a “Customer’s Choice” segment on social media every Thursday. Co-owner Hengam Stanfield says the store selects interesting pizza combinations from its POS, recreates the pies and tastes the pizza on camera.

Speaking of “behind the scenes”

Restaurants are taking people behind the scenes more often than ever on social media. It’s a shrewd marketing move that appeases consumers’ growing appetite for content about the businesses they frequent as well as food and cooking.

Using short-form videos or Instagram stories, forward-thinking pizzerias like Mattenga’s are pulling back the curtain and providing fans a glimpse into their kitchen, in particular. Pizzerias can showcase everything from the dough-making process to the preparation to the plating.

“People want to see how their food is made,” says Cari Garcia, a Miami-based social media manager, food content creator and food influencer.

Such behind-the-scenes content shows the personality of the restaurant, unlocks storytelling capabilities, heightens feelings of community and, perhaps most importantly, strengthens trust with diners who want to frequent clean, professional operations.

Getting on TikTok

Over the last five years, TikTok has surged in popularity, especially among American teenagers. In its Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022 study, the Pew Research Center found TikTok was the second most popular social
media platform among U.S. teens, trailing only YouTube. Two-thirds of teens reported using TikTok and one in six said they used the app “almost constantly.”

“If restaurants are already shooting short-form video, they might as well maximize its use and post it on TikTok,” Garcia says. “TikTok reaches a different and relatively younger audience with growing spending power.”

(Of note, the Biden Administration recently gained the ability to ban Chinese-owned TikTok in the U.S. That political situation bears monitoring for pizzerias using the platform to attract and engage with guests.)

Spotlighting sustainability

There is climbing consumer demand, especially among younger Americans, for businesses to act with environmental stewardship and social responsibility in mind. Such actions are something more businesses are highlighting on social media, including restaurants sharing posts and videos spotlighting the sourcing of local ingredients, their steps to reduce waste and their use of environmentally friendly products like eco-friendly packaging.

“Highlight your restaurant’s efforts in these areas on social media to attract like-minded customers and differentiate yourself from competitors,” Luna says.

Creating “Instagrammable” experiences

Instagram is all about the visual and many restaurants are leaning into this by creating photo-worthy opportunities on site to inspire picture taking and posting.

To encourage user-generated content that spreads the restaurant’s name, restaurants are creating photogenic dishes like colorful pizzas or monster-sized desserts served in unique vessels. They are also goading photos by installing distinctive décor in their eateries, such as an oversized throne in the lobby or a retro neon sign that reads, “I’m Hungry.” Here again, inviting customers to take photos and share them with a branded hashtag increases the velocity and impact of the post.“Instagrammability” can certainly extend to other social media platforms as well. Jessica Klein of pizzeria technology platform Slice cites Joe Brignoni from Joe’s Rotisseria in Asbury Park, New Jersey, as one notable example. Brignoni’s dynamic personality and over-the-top, creative recipes like the Triple Threat (a calzone, garlic knots and pizza all in one) have helped him amass more than 72,000 Instagram followers and over 200,000 followers and 2.8 million likes on TikTok.

Klein says some of Brignoni’s dishes are “purposely designed to spark audience engagement.”

Prioritizing engagement, not promotions

Overly promotional content is OUT on social media, as consumers are skeptical of blatant advertisements screaming “buy, buy, buy.” In line with the aforementioned “cozy, homemade aesthetic” trend, there is accelerating movement toward informative, educational or entertaining social content.

“Too many restaurants think you post your food pictures or videos each day and then wonder why no one interacts,” says Matt Plapp, the CEO of America’s Best Restaurants, a national media company that highlights local restaurants.

Instead, Plapp sees restaurants capturing success by prioritizing engagement over promotion. On Mother’s Day, for instance, a restaurant might post photos of staff members with their mothers and urge followers to share a special memory of their own mother in the comments.

“What’s working is using social media for its intended purpose: creating conversations,” Plapp says.

Concocting challenges

Social media challenges continue gaining momentum as a way for brands of all sizes to capture eyeballs and stir engagement.

A pizzeria might create a poll or bracket-style competition to select the name of a new specialty pizza or it might challenge fans to craft their own pizzas using a select group of ingredients and then post their results via video or photo on social media.

Restaurants might also create hashtag challenges. In 2019, IHOP found momentum with its #SyrupTurnUp challenge, which invited TikTokers to send in videos doing funny skits with pancake syrup bottles.

“Humor works really well on social media so a challenge like [#SyrupTurnUp] went viral,” says Joshua Wood, CEO of the tech hospitality company Bloc. “It’s a fun and easy way to showcase your indie restaurant brand’s personality, which is great for marketing.”

Employing social media to listen and learn

So often, business owners think of social media solely as a megaphone, a tool to broadcast their message. Wise businesses, however, have noted social media’s potential as a listening tool and a path to improved customer service and enhanced offerings. Through social media, pizzerias can gain perspective on customer preferences and experiences, double down on what’s working and attempt to recapture customers with earnest and empathetic responses.

“Social media provides a direct line of communication between indie restaurants and their customers,” Venture Smarter’s Morgan says. “Indie restaurants should respond to both positive and negative feedback in a timely and professional manner to demonstrate their commitment to customer service.”

Daniel P. Smith Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post Defining the Day’s Top Social Media Trends appeared first on Pizza Today.

Know the copyright rules on social

The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice and is for general information purposes only. Readers should contact an attorney in their jurisdiction for questions and advice regarding this topic.

As social media has become a vital part of marketing and branding for businesses, particularly restaurants, it is important for pizzeria operators and those who create and post content for them to understand copyright laws. Copyright laws apply to all types of content, including photos, videos and written material. While these laws are in place to protect the rights of creators and owners of original content, they can be confusing for a small businesses owner who just wants to promote their business.

What are the Rules for Social Media and Copyright?

The basic rule for social media and copyright is that all content is subject to copyright laws unless it is explicitly stated otherwise. This means that if a photo, video or written material is created by someone else, it cannot be used without permission from the creator or owner. If a business is found to have used copyrighted material without permission, it can lead to legal action, including removal of the content, fines and penalties.

Likewise, if your business posts original content on its social platforms and a competitor uses the same, or similar, content on their page, that is a violation and you can demand that the infringer to remove the content and threaten legal action.

Social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have their own internal rules when it comes to copyright, as well. These rules vary by platform, but in general, social media platforms require users to own the content they post, have permission from the owner to post it, or at the bare minimum attribute the content to its owner.

These platforms also have a reporting system in place for copyright violations, where owners of copyrighted material can report the unauthorized use of their content. They also have automated systems that can detect copyright material and remove it, particularly music, by either muting the content or deleting it altogether.

Here are some best practices:

• Only post content that the restaurant owns or has permission to use. This includes photos, videos and written content. If you are unsure if you have permission to use the content, it is best to err on the side of caution and not use it.
• If you do use content that belongs to someone else, contact the creator to obtain permission, or, if you can’t obtain permission, give proper attribution to the original creator and provide a link to the original creator. Attributing the content to its creator does not mean that you then have automatic permission to use the content, but it is helpful to show to a social media platform that you are not purporting to be the creator of such content.
• If using music in a video, try to use music that is licensed by the “Creative Commons”, a non profit organization that obtains licenses for music and provides it for free for use in the public domain.

Why does this matter?

Using copyrighted material without permission, called “copyright infringement”, can lead to legal action from the owner of the content in a civil lawsuit seeking damages per occurrence. Awards for damages can range from $750 to $30,000 per use of the copyrighted material. Additionally, federal criminal penalties can be assessed for willful copyright infringement, meaning that one used material that they knew was copyrighted and continued to use it. These penalties can result in imprisonment of up to five years and fines of $250,000 per occurrence. Some of the biggest mistakes restaurants make when it comes to copyright and social media include:

• Using Images from Search Engines. Many restaurants make the mistake of searching for images on search engines such as Google and using them without permission. Always use your own original images or obtain permission from the owner of the images.
• Using Images from Other Social Media Accounts. Some restaurants make the mistake of taking images from other social media accounts and using them without permission. If another social media account posts a picture, video or other content, it is theirs and cannot be used by your account.
• Using popular, copyrighted music as background music for a video.  Some social media platforms will allow copyrighted music to be used if it is given attribution to the creator and is used in short videos, but the exact rules on each platform vary and are not published, so it can be difficult to know what is acceptable and what is not. The last thing you want is to spend time putting together a reel or TikTok only to have it muted or removed by the platform. Not only is it frustrating, but it also looks unprofessional to customers.
• Playing music through non-commercial streaming services. While this is not directly related to social media, this is one of the biggest areas of copyright infringement in restaurants. Always use an approved commercial music streaming service to play music in your restaurant. Note that popular streaming services for personal use, like Spotify and Apple Music, are not commercial providers. Music licensing companies like SESAC will pay people throughout the country to dine at a restaurant or look through its website to try and catch restaurants misusing copyrighted music. This also applies to live musicians for hire who might play covers of popular songs – this also counts as a copyright violation. If they find a violation, the licensing company will send threatening cease and desist e-mails with the threat of fines of $50,000 per occurrence of misuse.

If you are unsure if material that you want to use is copyrighted or have any other concerns about copyright laws, seek legal advice. An attorney who specializes in intellectual property law can provide guidance on the legalities of using copyrighted material and help avoid any legal issues.

The last thing a pizzeria operator has time to deal with is copyright infringement fines or lawsuits. Following these best practices should help you avoid most issues and will allow you to create a thriving social media presence for your brand without worry.

Thomas Reinhard is a Seattle-based business attorney and a co-owner of Cascadia Pizza Co.

The post Copyright Laws and Social Media appeared first on Pizza Today.

How Video and Photo Can Tell Your Restaurant’s Story

Photo meets Video on Social Media 

The day has come where photos are no longer enough. Over the past couple years, it has been more about telling your story than showing a photo. At GAPCo in 2016 we knew then that captivating people with short video was the way the go. Video gives audiences a visual story that photos just cannot capture. In 2022, 82 percent of global Internet traffic came from video streaming and downloads.

Look at the rise of TikTok in the past couple years. It caught fire due to the ability to shoot raw footage on the fly. Instagram also has been pivoting toward video because of the popularity of viewers more attracted to video than photos. Marketers who use video content experience revenue growth 49 percent faster than those who don’t.

Photos do still have a place though. Showing a beautiful pizza shot from your phone with portrait mode can make your customers salivate. Showing a smile from one of your employees or customers can make people feel your culture. But we are in an age of storytelling, and everyone is tuning in to watch, laugh and listen. Roughly 91 percent of consumers want to see more online video content from brands. So how do you capture that attention? What works when shooting video or photos to give the audience what they want? And what are some things you shouldn’t do or worry about.

Both photo and video play together when thinking of a marketing strategy. But which do you choose? A lot of what you do depends on what you are shooting and what the focus is. Let’s dive into the dos and don’ts with social media when it comes to photo and videos.

Social Media Guiding Principles?

First let’s cover some guiding principles to shooting videos and taking photos. One of the things that all of us entrepreneurs struggle from is trying to make it “just right”. With video and photos, timing can be everything and time doesn’t wait for you. Catching a moment or a popular trend must be jumped on quickly. So, remember “progress not perfection”. Some content is better than missed or no content. This is a muscle you must develop to get good at capturing every moment.

Try to be active on every social media platform. At GAPCo most of our customer base was on Facebook which led to easy adoption of Instagram for us. With the popularity of TikTok, we have recently made the move to adding content there as well. At GAPCo we live by the philosophy of “always be top of mind”. You cannot be top of mind if you aren’t everywhere. You should do everything you can to put your restaurant in front of your current customers and new potential customers as much as possible.

Ideas for content will hit you every day, just watch and listen for the things people are doing and talking about. Whether it is a challenge online or a seasonal food item **Hatch Chili Peppers, cough cough** or even a national gimmick. There are ideas surrounding us day in and day out. So, when you see and have these ideas make it your own — put your branding on it, include your staff in it and have fun! Make the content exciting and it should make you smile. Just whatever you do, own it!

Social Media Do’s and Don’ts?

Do’s – When shooting video be sure to hold your phone vertical. The world is impatient. Short videos are great at getting quick attention. You want to post reels as much as you can. Consider adding in subtitles if you want both music and messaging. When customers tag you in a post be sure to review that content before just hitting repost. Also, thank that customer for posting. **Pro Tip** When a guest does something over the top like shoot multiple videos of them at your restaurant, DM them and send them swag! This has been very powerful in building customer loyalty to GAPCo. If you are shooting a long video, be sure to include audio. You want to sound clear and crisp. YouTube and Facebook are great outlets for longer videos. When shooting photos, having a high-res camera or a great phone can get the job done. There are many additions you can buy now for your cell phone like stabilizers, enhanced lenses and lighting to get the right photo or video.

Don’ts – Remember don’t get lost in the details. There are plenty of imperfect posts that get plenty of likes. Don’t question your judgment; you want guests that like what you like. Don’t put off ideas for posts. Get them out there as much as possible. At the same time, don’t feel the need to over-post. Three to seven times a week is ideal. Don’t feel like you must have music, a lot of video content doesn’t get heard because people are looking for visuals and generally have the sounds muted.

Social Media Strategy: Moving Forward

There are many ways you can get your content out versus just creating it and posting. You can consider live streaming, which you can promote beforehand to attract some engagement. You can have social media influencers come in and shoot their videos and photos to attract their followers, which then can become your followers. You can also hire a company to help you manage pushing your content out to your social media channels.

Lastly, if you are a visionary like me who can come up with some amazing ideas but struggle at know-how and execution, then grab the bull by the horns and hire someone to do it internally. You can really drive the creativity to a level you couldn’t do without a team. I was fortunate enough to hire my lovely wife Molly and long-time friend Phil Bossart who both helped contribute info for this article. Between Molly taking on social media and Phil covering the video I have the social and video pieces covered at GAPCo.

After reading this article I hope you are inspired to add video to your marketing strategy if you already haven’t. If you have already added it, I hope you were able to take some ideas away to ignite some new thoughts to push your restaurant and vision forward.

Sammy Mandell co-owns Greenville Avenue Pizza Company in Dallas, Texas. He is also a frequent speaker at Pizza Expo.

The post Dos and Don’ts of Social Media Storytelling appeared first on Pizza Today.

Rejuvenate Your Old School Marketing Tactics

Marketing has been around for centuries. 2800 years later we need to make some noise and be heard to attract customers.  What is effective today for our industry?

American film director, Hal Hartley, said: “We discover and invent new ways of finding out the same old things.” Since the Golden Age of Marketing not much new has come about, but there are many new gadgets to get it done. Gadgets in themselves can be a cautionary tale as many times business owners fall victim to SOS — shiny object syndrome. SOS is an ongoing state of distraction, where one equates “new” with “better”. This often comes at the expense of what’s already tried and true.

Let’s take a look at billboards, a marketing tool used since 1835 with the birth of the automobile. A billboard can make positive impressions when placed in a location people are going to walk, bike or drive by. You create visual references for prospects and impulse buying. Billboards have downfalls, too. Targeting a specific demographic is difficult, exposure time is brief and visibility issues arise. Cost may be out of reach for many as well.

How can we take this old marketing tool and make it shiny and new? Adam Matt, founder of Detroit based Slice of the 80’s, tells us, “One day when I was looking to do some ‘unique’ advertising that would make a big impact on my brand and be a bang for my buck, I looked into getting a billboard on a very busy street, but once I found out the price ($4,000) for just one month, I knew that was not in my budget and I also didn’t know how well it would work, so I wasn’t going to take the gamble for that price. But then I thought instead, ‘why don’t I just wrap my own personal car?’ It was a much lower cost, and it’s a mobile billboard! As long as I take care of the wrap (and the car) it will last me for as long as I need it. I have now had the wrap on the car for over 12 years, so I’m pretty sure it has paid for itself!” Matt’s cars are wrapped in the company’s logo and 80s theme.

Matt’s successful idea led him to incentivize drivers who have been with him for over two years. He adds, “if they would like to wrap their own personal vehicle, I will pay for the car to be wrapped and give them a monthly bonus for advertising. Today we have had seven wrapped cars, and are now known as the “pizzeria with the wrapped cars!” They are big attention getters and they fit our 80s theme perfectly as we wrap each car in a different color. It also helps the customers understand that we do deliver and if they should ever wonder if we deliver to their area, all they have to do is see one of our wrapped cars go down their street a few times and they know that are definitely in our delivery area!”

You may want to give car wrapping more consideration. Mobile advertising is the most effective and efficient form of outdoor advertising, one vehicle wrap can generate between 30,000 – 80,000 impressions daily. Fleet vehicle advertising boosts name recognition 15x greater than other advertising media. It’s easy to see why small business owners would consider choosing vehicle wrapping over other forms of advertising.

Advertisements from past and present show that communicating your brand message is vital. Ads are basically the same – a call to action (CTA), but their forms are different. Sears was first to do a direct mail campaign in 1892. The company mailed more than 8,000 postcards, generating 2,000 new orders. Today we’d call a similar mail campaign; ‘Spray and Pray’. Responses are generally low, two to four percent vs the 25 percent rate that Sears generated. Don’t give up on direct mail just yet. Remember in Sunday school you were taught to work in harmony with your prayers. When you prayed for your daily bread, you didn’t just sit there waiting for it to fall out of the sky, you worked for it, got a job, bought groceries and learned to make bread.

Direct mail is not a 43.3 billion industry for no good reason. Key to making this a success is targeting your prospective client. One lucrative demographic is that of new movers. To help rebuild his business after a COVID-induced slump in sales, Steve Dapolita, owner of North Carolina based Bisonte Pizza Co., relied on new mover marketing to drive the location’s sales. This single marketing effort helped increase traffic, and the location now thrives. Sales in 2021 jumped more than 35 percent from the prior year. New movers are big spenders and willing to try new things to adapt to their surroundings, so tap in to that.

My pizzeria in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, sees an 80 percent redemption rate of my new movers offers with 50 percent of these becoming regular customers. I target my mailers with various screenings — Income, Age, House Type, etc.

Sparked by Radio, the Golden Age of Advertising presented a way to express our brands’ unique selling proposition. Thinking of radio, we usually see negatives since ROI is hard to calculate. A primary drawback is that people listening to it are often engaged in other activities, such as driving. Therefore, you don’t normally get the same level of attention and engagement with your ad as you might through other media. There are no visual elements in radio, and let’s face it — we eat with our eyes. People have a plethora of choices for listening entertainment at their
command.

Can radio still bring a positive ROI to our business? Yes. One way I utilize is ‘Trade for Mention’. In various promotions, stations seek sponsorships. If their promotion is directed to a market I am also targeting, I bring my offer to the table. Recently a promotion directed to area high school bands was presented to me; I provided the winning band a pizza party (high school bands number up to 100+, and this age group likes to eat). So, for my food cost investment I had my name indoctrinated into the minds of radio listeners and my food fed to persuasive decision makers.

Why rejuvenate these old marketing tactics? Because they can still preform as good as new. Whether you tap, wrap, stamp or barter, you can successfully impress potential clients to come your way.

Scott Anthony  owns Punxsy Pizza in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

The post Old School Marketing That Still Works Today appeared first on Pizza Today.

The Sizzle

Want to increase your volume? Strategic promotions can persuade both new and existing customers to pop in or to place a few orders.

While coupons and discounts are tried and true, there are plenty of other creative promotions you can offer that won’t necessarily carve such a big slice out of your register while still making a positive impact on customer traffic.

In fact, some of these ideas for creative promotions will have a much bigger long-term impact, because instead of a one-and-done coupon, they elevate your profile in the community and build goodwill.

We know that increasing your profits is a universal goal but think about the big picture. What’s your objective? It could be increased customer loyalty, recognition for your chef, introducing a new product, or greater visibility in the community.

Ladd Biro, founder and principal at Champion Management, a PR & digital media agency that represents more than 70 restaurant brands, including several in the pizza category, says “formulate the objective first because if you don’t know what you’re aiming at, you’re sure to miss the target.” In addition, he emphasizes the importance of knowing who your audience is, “and then once you figure that out you have to figure out the best way to reach them.” Younger demographics are on TikTok while older people are on Facebook or even reading print publications.

Fundraising Partnerships

“We’re big fans of give-back promotions and campaigns – it’s always good to create goodwill with the community,” says Biro. “Everybody likes to get behind a good fundraiser. And if done right and done with the right partners it can drive incremental traffic,” some of whom may convert to loyal customers. Biro suggests finding a partner organization to align with who’ll take an active role in “driving some awareness for you, getting their supporters to come in your restaurant and support the fundraisers. It should be a mutual thing where everybody benefits.” These campaigns can include limited-time menu items that trigger your donation with purchase, messages printed on the box in support of the organization, and more. Such partnerships are newsworthy and might get you some press.

Local Coordinated Promotions

In Portland, Oregon, a local weekly newspaper has been organizing Pizza Week for six years. “It’s a week-long pizza celebration where participating pizza places sell a special slice just for Pizza Week,” says Rob Thompson, publisher of the Portland Mercury. “Slices for $3 and/or whole pies for $20 – this is a considerable discount in Portland.” The discount applies to a single pie at each pizzeria, specially composed for the event and promoted via a website complete with descriptions, images, maps and hours. Some of the “truly creative combinations” over the years have been spins on the Reuben sandwich (corned beef, kraut and Russian dressing); tacos (carnitas, raw diced onions, cilantro, and a wedge of lime), gyros, barbecue and so much more. Dozens of pizza spots participate each year and “Pizza Week is by far the busiest week of the year for most participants,” says Thompson. “Not only do participating businesses initially benefit financially but the marketing efforts the Mercury puts forth bring in many new customers that return throughout the year.” With huge community participation, it also generates a ton of Instagram traffic (#portlandpizzaweek).

Highlight Your Local Purveyors

If you’ve got a farm-to-table thing going, partner with your purveyors for mutually beneficial promotions. Perhaps you can team up for a cooking demonstration at the farmers market or on a local morning TV program; cross-promote each other; serve a special dinner on the farm; or have a mini petting zoo during baby goat season.

Gift Pizza to Your Community

Acknowledge local heroes like first responders, medical personnel, teachers and retirement homes. Pick a hero of the month and deliver a stack of pizzas for them, make sure you get some pictures for social media, and maybe even some actual local media coverage from local TV or newspapers.

Tap Takeover or Pint Night

If craft beer is on the menu, use it to lure customers in. Invite a different brewery to take over the taps one night each week and share samples and limited-edition kegs with your diners. Offer happy hour beer prices all day on Tuesdays or during televised games.

Promote Selfies and Social Media

Set up a selfie wall and make it irresistible to those picture-posting kids. Make sure your hashtag is posted so they can share it and tag you. Offer a free pizza prize every week or month to someone who has tagged and shared pix of your product.

Get Customers Involved

Invite your guests to submit their dream pizza topping combo. Take a poll on social media and serve the winning combo for a week or a month, named after the inventor. Offer coloring pages to kids and post their artwork on social media or on the wall. Take submissions from local artists or kids for the artwork on your boxes, bags or cups. Hang local artwork on the walls and throw an opening party for the artist.

Launch a Retail Element

At Fiore Pizzeria & Bakery in Forest Park, Illinois, they offer high-quality ingredients in their retail Mercado de Fiore. “I’ve cultivated a nice inventory of imported, mostly Italian ingredients,” says Regional Chef Jonathan Court. “I really focused on finding stuff that you can’t find anywhere else — really high-quality olive oils, marinated vegetables, honeys, to kind of promote and showcase what we’re all about.” This is a great way to elevate your image if you’re going for a gourmet audience.

Offer Classes and Events

Offer classes for adults, date nights, scout troops, parents and kids. Teach them how to stretch out dough and craft a fantastic pizza. Fiore Pizzeria & Bakery offers an evening class making limoncello. For the holidays, they invite kids in to decorate cookies as part of a one-day Holiday Market Celebration, along with face painting plus wine and food sampling for mom and dad.

Optimize Your Swag

Make the most of your branded t-shirts, can cozies, hats, stickers or temporary tattoos by making it a contest. Everyone who posts a picture of themselves advertising your pizzeria out in public is entered into a drawing for a pizza or more swag.

Cross-Market with Neighboring Businesses

Forge ties with other local businesses. Offer a coupon to the taco place or ice cream parlor up the street to your customers, and they can do the same for you. Everyone benefits when there’s more traffic and commerce.

Specialized Combo Orders

Pizza is the most shareable food out there, so capitalize on it! Make some combo orders that appeal to assorted group sizes and consider some specialty packages for events such as finals week, sports events and local festivities.

Enlist the Pros

Need some help? If you don’t have a PR partner, you might want one. “Good ones can be an incredible resource for you that can help you shape your message and tell your story in a way that can resonate deeply with your audience,” says Biro. They’ll also help you set up interviews, secure media for you, provide talking points, and capitalize on the relationships they’ve built with local and national media.

Annelise Kelly  is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer.

The post Pizza Restaurant Creative Promotions for Visibility and Volume appeared first on Pizza Today.

There are many unique terms used in the business world. It seems to me that many of these terms are jargon. ‘Jargon’ is defined as “special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand”. Case-in-point: Value Proposition. The term Value Proposition was born in 1988 by a group of consultants. The concept already existed, but I believe they created this new term so they could charge more for their services. They took an existing concept and changed the name, so they had something ‘new’ to sell. I prefer the old name, Elevator Speech. Both terms are equally descriptive, but the term Elevator Speech implies a sense of urgency; your audience is about to leave so you must grab their attention quickly.

Your Value Proposition is simply your Elevator Speech.

You and I get on an elevator. We push the buttons for our floors, and then stare straight forward until our floor comes up, then we depart. How long does this take? About a minute. Instead of staring straight ahead, what if you turned to me and before we arrived at my floor, you told me what your business does. What product or service do you offer to your customers? How is your product or service different from all the other businesses that also offer similar products or services? What is the value for the customer?  Why should they choose you over these other businesses? Tell me all that before the ‘ding!’ and the doors open because I must go. Otherwise, you and I are holding up the elevator and that is bad form. You’ve got less than a minute to tell me all that. Choose your words wisely, it is your only chance.

That’s why it is called an Elevator Speech.

There are some masters in the pizza business who have reduced the Elevator Speech from one minute down to mere seconds. Nothing wrong with that. Consultants call this shortened version a ‘Unique Selling Proposition”. I call this the one-floor version of the Elevator Speech.

Three of the most impressive one-floor Elevator Speeches in the Pizza business are these:

‘Pizza, Pizza’

‘Better Ingredients, Better Pizza’

‘30 Minutes or Free’

These brilliant Elevator Speeches take less time than the doors of the elevator closing to begin your 30 second trip to your floor. They grab attention, and if you can’t immediately figure out what they mean, they can be explained during the ride. Little Caesar’s ‘Pizza, Pizza’ meant that you got two pizzas for the same price that other pizzerias charged for one pizza. Papa John’s ‘Better Ingredients, Better Pizza’ meant that they had a better-quality pizza than similarly priced pizzas. Domino’s ‘30 Minutes or Free’ meant that your pizza would be delivered to your door within
30 minutes of the time you ordered it, or your pizza would be free of charge.

An Elevator Speech should grab attention and be memorable. It is not supposed to close the sale, just be something the listener can understand and consider. There is an expression in the public speaking business, “Be short and be seated”, which applies here. The longest Elevator Speech should be two sentences.

Your turn. What is your Elevator Speech? The two vital elements of an Elevator Speech for your pizzeria are value and differentiation. Michael Skok’s article in Forbes magazine “Four Steps To Building A Compelling Value Proposition” perfectly describes the best way to start. Answer these five questions:

1. What product or service do you offer?
2. Who is your target customer?
3. What problem does your product or service solve for the customer?
4. How does your product or service benefit the customer?
5. What differentiates you from competitors?

Let’s test some answers:

1. Pizza
2. Anyone who is hungry
3. We deliver so you don’t have to leave your couch
4. You don’t have to cook
5. We have the best pizza in town

What do you think? Is this compelling? Does it grab your attention and is it memorable? Does it offer value? Does it differentiate you from your competitors? Of course not! Yet these answers are what many pizzerias use to try to sell their products and services. Let’s test some alternative answers:

1. Original Detroit-style pizza
2. If you haven’t experienced a true Detroit-style pizza, you haven’t lived life to the fullest
3. You can’t get a true Detroit-style anywhere else unless you travel to Detroit
4. We offer a large Detroit Special for $19.99 that is TWICE the weight of a regular pizza.
5. Instead of throwing away the pizza crust, you will enjoy eating the crust as much as the rest of the pizza. You’ll want to eat it backwards!

Is your mouth watering yet? Wasn’t that fun? Putting your work, your goals and your passion into words so that others can experience them is the most important part of building your dream. Now all we must do is reduce these five sentences to two sentences to create our Elevator Speech.

“Authentic Detroit-style pizza you’ll want to eat crust-first. Get a Large
Detroit Special for only $19.99.”

This is an example, not an actual pizzeria. But if Shawn Randazzo had ever moved to California, I bet he would have crushed it. RIP Shawn; we love you.

If your Elevator Speech includes price, then you are at risk of falling to our market’s greatest current threat: inflation. While price can certainly always demonstrate value for your customer, including it in your Elevator Speech can be dangerous. Our imaginary pizzeria (and your pizzeria) may fare better by demonstrating value in other ways. Let us test that by changing our Elevator Speech:

“Authentic Detroit-style pizza you’ll want to eat crust-first. 5 pounds of deliciousness.”

This provides the two vital elements of Value and Differentiation for the customer yet insulates the Elevator Speech from the threat of inflation.

Now it’s your turn. Next time we meet on the elevator at the International Pizza Expo, I want to hear YOUR Elevator Speech!

DAN COLLIER is the founder of Pizza Man Dan’s in California and a speaker at International Pizza Expo.

The post Value Proposition: Elevate Your Elevator Speech appeared first on Pizza Today.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

I don’t want to love QR codes, but I just can’t help myself. They used to be outcasts, but now everybody wants to be their friend. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, QR codes are those glitchy black and white squares we all have to scan with our phones if we want to get more information about something. They didn’t catch on until a little pandemic came along and taught us that everything we touch can put us in grave danger. With our lives already revolving around the little supercomputers in our pockets, it wasn’t a far step to give in and become completely addicted.

Pizzerias’ first step into QR codes was as a replacement for paper menus. No more need to reprint every time prices change or a new item gets added, QR codes gave pizzerias license to make changes in real time. Customers like me were already used to ordering food online, so viewing a menu on a phone isn’t anything new.

I’m glad that pizzerias have embraced QR codes, but I’m worried they’re not always using them correctly. Customers interact with QR codes on their mobile devices, not on desktop or laptop computers. That means that any page I land on as a result of scanning a QR code should be optimized for mobile. Just this week I scanned a QR code at a restaurant and landed on a gallery of photos of their menu. I had to pinch and enlarge just to read the dang thing. And every time I did so the pixelation made the menu
impossible to read. If you’re sending people to a page on their mobile device, make sure they can read it once they land. No more PDFs or clunky web pages; just give me the info in straight text.

People are constantly on mobile devices, so it might seem smart to replace everything with QR codes. But I’m afraid we’ve tiptoed into the realm of overuse. Just last week I was testing out a new frozen pizza. I didn’t see any instructions for how to heat the pizza — just a QR code. I thought I’d land on a detailed page with diagrams and charts, but instead I got to a page that just told me to preheat my oven to 450 F and bake the pizza for 6-8 minutes. That was it. Just one sentence. In this case, the QR code inserted an unnecessary hurdle. If I didn’t have my phone on me or the battery was dead, I wouldn’t have known how to deal with the pizza.

The beauty of QR codes is that they remove the stumbling block of having to type in a URL. You can direct customers to enter a competition for a free pizza by scanning a QR code on your wall. Attract direct business from third party delivery customers by offering them 10 percent off when they scan the QR code on the flyer you place on their box. Provide a QR code printed right on the box so customers can directly access your pizzeria’s amazing 80s hair metal playlist.

As much as we may have resisted, the QR code is now en vogue. Use it to simplify your business, but beware of letting the cute little glitchy square create unnecessary barriers for your customers.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: QR Codes, Use them! But use them correctly appeared first on Pizza Today.

Don’t sleep on the short-form social video trend

Short-form video is all the rage across the biggest social apps on the market. We’re seeing pizzeria shorts go viral and reach millions of watchers. The social exposure of short-form video is unmatched by other posting methods.

What is a video short? They are also known as micro-videos and are typically 15 to 60 seconds long.

The trend can be traced to the social giant TikTok that came on the scene in 2016. By 2018, it was the most downloaded app in the U.S. Today, TikTok has over one billion active users worldwide.

The social powerhouse started a revolution that has reverberated to every major social channel. Instagram uses Reels and later Facebook adopted the feature. YouTube has added Video Shorts to its repertoire. Twitter is the latest to add a full screen video option.

Why short-form video?

We hear push back on adding video shorts. “It’s just one more thing to have to do.” “It will require too much work.” “I have no budget for that kind of thing.” Video shorts have dominated the social channels and they are projected to keep going up. To stay in front of your audience who are watching digital shorts, it’s time to get in the game.

If a picture is worth a thousand words; then a video is worth a thousand pictures. Video allows you to tap into not only visual elements but movement and sound. Creating a 15-second video allows you to appeal to the short attention span of today’s social users. The shorts are bite-sized and easily digestible.

Let’s talk Short Content

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to come up with captivating video shorts. You already have one of the hottest subjects on social media to work with — pizza. Make them obsessed with your pizza. It’s 15-60 seconds. To go even deeper on video length, the sweet spot for TikToks and Reels is often suggested at seven to 15 seconds.

• Show Off Your Food. It goes without repeating but I’ll say it again, show off your food! We have seen static short-form videos that are photos of a special’s flyer. That is not going to sell your pizza.

The basic rules of food photography still apply to video. You need good lighting and an engaging composition. With video there is another element, motion. There are some basic motions you can use to energize your videos of a new pizza, pasta or appetizer. Tilt is when you hold your camera or phone in a single position and slowly tilt the lens down or up to reveal the dish. Pan, in addition to being a delicious pizza style, is when you move the camera slowly from side to side. Zoom is where you make mouths water as you go in closer to show the dish’s ingredients.

• ASMR. It stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. The most literal definition of ASMR is a tingling sensation that starts in the scalp and moves down the neck and back. ASMR can be triggered by stimulating or relaxing sights and sounds. It’s is a hot trend in short-form video.

What does it have to do with a pizzeria? You have so many ASMR-invoking possibilities in your restaurant that will captivate your social followers.

What you see as an ordinary action in a pizzeria can actually seduce your social audience and trigger real salivation with optimal end result of ordering pizza.

For example, slicing pizza after pizza isn’t exciting for you, but get a close-up video of it and capture the sound of the crunch as blade works its way through the crust, that’s ASMR. Here are a few more ASMR ideas:

• pizza being released from the peel into the oven
• a pizza maker turning a pizza in the oven
• someone eating a piece of pizza
• the dough stretch
• a sizzling pizza landing on the cut table
• opening a box, putting pizza in and closing the box
• a beer or soda being poured
• a topping being chopped
• dough going through its final mixing stage

The possibilities are endless.

• Go Behind the Scenes. Draw back the curtain and give your customers an inside look at your operation. Your fans want to see how you make such incredible food. Give them a window into what makes your pizzeria tick. Highlight employees. Showcase their talents.

• Be You. Whatever you create, be sure that it is genuine and represents your brand. Trends can be a great way to increase visibility. But evaluate whether they match your pizzeria’s visions and goals.

Getting Professional Video on a Smartphone

While many successful short-form videos are professionally made by videographers and marketers, many others take a grass-roots approach and are created by business owners, employees and even customers. You have the technology in your hand to create captivating short-form videos. Since the editing happens in the
social app, you need to concentrate on the quality of the videos you are using. Here are some tenets to producing professional-quality video:

1. Light it up. Natural lighting by windows is your bread and butter. But if you don’t have great lighting (like in your kitchen), create it. This does not mean using your on-camera or phone flash. There are simple, compact and effective light kits for smartphones that are affordable and connect directly to your Bluetooth.
2. Steady. Lock down your phone with a tripod. If your hands are shaky doing handheld video, try a stabilizer, like a gimbal. Unless you are looking for that grunge, home movie look to your video, you should stabilize your device. If you don’t have a stabilizing gadget, try holding it against a wall or table to hold it steady.
3. It’s all in the angles. It is often boring to see the same direct, head-on view in a video. Think about what will draw watchers in. Try different perspective angles until you find the best way to highlight your subject.

Now get out there and create great video shorts. Don’t forget to tag @PizzaToday.

Denise Greer is Executive Editor of Pizza Today.

The post The Video Short Phenomenon appeared first on Pizza Today.

I just listened to the worst podcast ever. It was a disaster. I listen to this show all the time and it’s usually great, but this episode was a dud. Five years ago, we could go about our days blissfully ignorant of podcasts, but now they’re a fixture. With more podcasts in the mix than ever before, it’s likely that someone is going to ask YOU to be their guest. The reason this podcast episode tanked was because of the guest — and I want to make sure the same thing doesn’t ruin your interview experience.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Podcasts are an audio medium, so you can’t rely on visual elements to communicate your point. You need to express yourself with only your voice. That’s why it’s important not to speak in monotone. I tend to think about speech in musical terms. When I hear someone sing or speak in only one or two notes, I’m bored (unless it’s Morrissey). When I hear someone speak with multiple notes, it’s like a catchy melody. You’ll hook the listener with the melody of your speech pattern, just as songwriters do with hit singles. 

The same concept applies to how you answer questions. The boring guest will drone on without getting to the point. Start your answer by addressing the question directly before diving into the details. The show I just listened to was a struggle because the guest’s answers to simple questions would spin out of control into the abyss of irrelevant details. To make the matter worse, they spoke in endless run-on sentences, leaving the host no space to cut in. The best podcasts are conversations, not monologues. Don’t just sit and answer questions, feel free to toss in some questions of your own!

Once you’re booked, the podcast host will usually send an email with technical details about the recording process. If you’re recording from home, they’ll send you a link to whatever platform they prefer. Put that link in your calendar and download any necessary software immediately so you’re not scrambling five minutes before go-time. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, spend three minutes scanning through an episode to get an idea of what kinds of questions they like to ask. Of course, you should always Google the show and its host so you don’t end up on a platform you don’t support. 

Most podcasts these days are recorded remotely, not in a professional recording studio. To get the best sound at home, you’ll want to set yourself up in a quiet spot. Your restaurant’s office is going to be much better for audio than the middle of your dining room. To cut down on echo, sit close to a wall. Bonus points if that wall is covered in something soft to absorb reflections. A coat closet works great for this! You should use a headset/microphone combo for the best sound. Earbuds, Air Pods, or whatever you plug into your phone should work fine. 

Being an interview guest can be nerve wracking, especially if you’re not used to public speaking. Just remember that you’ve been invited onto the show because someone wants to share your story with their listeners. I promise it will be a great show if you just sit back, relax and have fun!

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: So, You’re Going to Be on a Podcast appeared first on Pizza Today.

Get National Pizza Month Social Media Ideas

October is National Pizza Month. It’s 31 days of pizza celebration. Why not schedule 31 days of interactive posting on your social accounts? We can make it easy on you with engaging social marketing ideas.

Let’s first talk ROI, the biggest bang for your buck and time. We scoured through #nationalpizzamonth social campaigns and found some common patterns. There are a few styles of posts that drive views and engagement. Let’s examine a few strategies:

The Giveaway 

Hands down, doing a giveaway on social reaps high exposure and engagement. And you don’t have to give away the farm (or, in a pizzeria’s case, something like free pizza for a year). Yes, that does get a huge amount of traction. People love free stuff, whether it’s a pizza, appetizers, dessert or restaurant swag. They will like, share and tag to get free stuff.

Get the details right. Avoid confusion and even legal issues by spelling out everything in your contents. Some items that should be included are specific contest opening and closing dates and times, eligibility requirements, methods of entry and selection of winner, judging criteria, publicity rights of winner’s information and any exclusions, among others. 

There are guidelines that you must adhere to run a giveaway on social. Be sure to read through the rules carefully for each platform on which you plan to post a contest. Some of the information that should be included is that participating in the contest requires no purchase necessary.

The Collaboration

Social platforms make it easier than ever to team up with another account to post to followers. Increase your National Pizza Month reach by collaborating. Make the most of your collaborations. Are any of your pizza fans social influencers in your community? What local and regional food and events bloggers can you align yourself with?

Be strategic who you select as social collaborators. Local celebrities may not be the right fit. Make sure that they fit within your brand identity and values. 

The Mention and the Tag

Mentions and tags can also expand the reach of your National Pizza Month campaign. Let’s break them down into four key tags:

• Mention. Maximize the power of your post by mentioning accounts that are important to your specific campaign with @ symbol. Good mentions include key products you use, campaign partners and creators of graphics and content that you roll out. For instance, @PizzaToday would be a great mention for National Pizza Month. Don’t forget to invite your customers to mention your account in their National Pizza Month celebration.  
• Tag. Add tags on your images and videos. Think of this as putting your social campaign on their radar. Local or regional media and blogger are great accounts to tag. Events, tourism and review accounts may also be good tags. Don’t overdo it. Tag who’s important. 
• Hashtag. First and foremost, use #NationalPizzaMonth. Sure, you can use broad hashtags like #pizza and #pizzatime. With millions of mentions, try to drill down to your area and niche. What are common foodie hashtags in your market. Are their media hashtags for story pitches? Check out other local businesses. Have they found the hashtag sweet spot? Don’t forget to create your own hashtag for customers to join in on your National Pizza Month fun.  
• Geo-tag. Wherever possible, geo-tag your pizzeria’s location. Guess what? Your customers are already geo-tagging themselves at your spot. Make sure your content is there, too. Geo-tagging also helps you connect to local customers and lets them see precisely where your physical location is. That’s the point, right, to get them through the door?

Drool-worthy Images and Video

Stop a scroller dead in their tracks with a mouth-watering cheese pull or charred pep cup. Your best National Pizza Month social content is your jaw-dropping product. Showcase it with good, we mean GOOD, photographs and video EVERYDAY. 

Hire a professional. No time or budget for that? Google it and learn. Put a pizza by the window (not in the direct sun) and point your camera phone at the pizza and fire. Get creative with angles. Don’t know what you are doing? You have an entire team of social media aficionados that can point you in the right direction. 

User-generated Content

Now that you have your customers mentioning your pizzeria and using your custom National Pizza Month tag, it’s time to include them in your social campaign. It is always best practice to ask for permission to share that content. It’s as easy as commenting on their tagged post: “Great shot! We’d love to use it in our marketing (specify usage — i.e. social, print, web, etc). Please reply with #yesYOURPIZZERIANAMEorSOCIALHANDLE to give us the go ahead.”

Now that you have the mechanics of creating an engaging social campaign, it’s time to blast your National Pizza Month content across your social platforms. 

But you might still be asking: posting on social for 31 days … isn’t that a lot of work? It is work, but it can also be a fun way to engage and celebrate your product and your customer’s favorite food. Have fun with it.

We’ve put together a National Pizza Month social calendar template. Follow it, use a few ideas or fill in your own. The key is plan, execute and celebrate. 

Go to pizzatoday.com/national-pizza-month-october-pizzeria-tool-kit/ and download the social calendar.

Happy National Pizza Month!

The post 31 Days of Pizza — Get Social with National Pizza Month appeared first on Pizza Today.

September isn’t too early to start planning your gift card strategy. Gift card sales generally start picking up in September and October and peak around the December holidays, so it’s critical to have your tools and strategies in place before the fourth quarter starts.

“Almost half of gift card sales from Square merchants happen between October and December since these months hold major holidays like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and others,” says Saumil Mehta, GM of Square’s Point of Sale Solutions. “Restaurants can expect gift card sales to start increasing at the beginning of October with a big spike right before or even on Christmas for late shoppers.” Also, don’t discount other opportunities for gift card sales, such as birthdays, graduations, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day.

Here’s how to rock your pizzeria’s gift card program this holiday season, and all year long. 

Yes, You Need a Gift Card Program

Gift cards are a low-cost, high-return marketing tool. According to a National Restaurant Association survey, 24 percent of card recipients would use them as soon as possible; 38 percent would use them within a few weeks; and 38 percent said they would save them for a special occasion. As long as the card lingers in your customer’s wallet, they see your name and logo regularly and your pizzeria stays top of mind. This is free, recurring, targeted advertising.

“Customer relationships are vital to any business and having a gift card program can enable businesses to improve the customer experience,” adds Mehta. “You can use gift cards alongside a loyalty program, so you reward your top customers or offer gift cards to remedy an unhappy customer.”

In terms of promoting customer loyalty, gift cards are designed to guarantee a visit by a new or returning customer. They’re usually purchased by committed fans who plan to come again, or who want to share their passion for your pizza with friends and family. In both cases this is a huge compliment from your customer and indicates some serious loyalty. 

You can reward this loyalty by offering a little extra to buyers. For example, sell a $50 card for $40, or throw in an extra $5 card with purchase. These small-denomination gift cards are very likely to plant the seed of a bigger purchase, whether they are used by your loyal customer or passed on. Either way, you are engaging your customer by demonstrating your appreciation. 

Gift cards can boost sales. “One of the top benefits of implementing a gift card program is maximized sales,” says Mehta. “Historically, Square has found that 17 percent of transactions where a gift card is used result in overspend, creating an opportunity to drive incremental revenue and sales.” When the customer doesn’t spend over the value of the card, they might well spend under the value, encouraging them to return to use the remaining balance. At that time, you might see them overspend. 

How to Prepare for Gift Card Season

If you are launching a new gift card program, Seshu Madabushi, founder and CEO of mKonnekt, proposes a series of questions to ask yourself. “What kind of gift cards do you want to have? Do you want a physical gift card or an electronic gift card? Can they be redeemed online or only in-store? Can your point-of-sale (POS) system accept physical gift cards? Can your online ordering system accept your digital cards?” He advocates starting early so you can make informed choices. 

Mehta suggests that “the best way to prepare for gift card season is to make sure you’re offering both physical and e-gift cards so your customers have a choice. When stocking up on gift cards, restaurants should make sure they have different designs, such as a customized gift card with your business logo, birthday, or holiday, among other things.” 

Familiarize yourself with the types of gift cards available: electronic vs. physical; bar code vs. magnetic strip; reloadable vs. not reloadable. Compatibility with your POS system should be your first priority. Consult with your provider to ensure a frictionless experience. It’s important that transactions go smoothly to maximize convenience for the customer. 

“Every business should have a 360 view of their operations, and gift cards are included in this,” observes Mehta. “It’s important for restaurants to use integrated solutions that seamlessly work together. This removes the need to piece together hardware and software that don’t work together, and ultimately cause more work. By running your restaurant all through one centralized platform, businesses can better understand how they’re performing, areas of improvement and necessary changes to make.” 

Promoting Your Gift Cards

Train your staff to engage in active but low-pressure promotion. Make it crystal clear in every available channel that you offer gift cards, including your menu, website, table tents, e-mail communications, social media campaigns, and at the register and hostess stand.

Incentivize your staff by rewarding top sellers or reward the whole staff when you hit a certain target of gift card sales. Present a gift card as a prize. 

Madabushi at mKonnekt suggests partnering with local entities such as schools, PTAs, scout troops, youth organizations, sports teams, realtors, churches and apartment managers. Offer them bulk gift cards at a discount to provide as prizes, incentives and rewards to their members and customers. 

New Opportunities with Gift Cards

“Surveys on gift-giving found that a large portion of Americans preferred to receive cash over other presents,” according to Mehta at Square. “Last year, gift cards continued to grow in popularity and there’s no sign of this trend slowing down.”

Digital cards are particularly attractive to the last-minute shopper, who can make a purchase in minutes on their phone and deliver it cross-country at lightning speed.

Madabushi predicts that this holiday season, customers will be eager to return to the experience of dining out with friends, “so that’s how I’m looking at gift card positioning for this year specifically.” However, public health circumstances might compel a spike in takeout this winter, so make sure your cards are versatile for both in-person and online use. 

Square has noted increased self-use of gift cards. According to Mehta, “last year, around a third of gift cards purchased from Square merchants were for self-use as consumers now use gift cards as a budgeting tool to keep track of finances.”

Financial Implications of a Gift Card Program

Gift cards can boost cash flow for restaurants. Many establishments promoted gift cards heavily during the peak of the pandemic as a tool to cover immediate operating costs so they could endure the hardships of the shutdown. 

It’s also worth noting that a certain number of gift cards are never redeemed. According to USBank.com, three to five percent of total gift card value goes unspent. 

Madabushi from mKonnekt reminds operators that they need to make sure their accounting systems are prepared for the interval between sale and redemption. “From an accounting standpoint, if you are a publicly-traded company, it’s a kind of a debt which needs to show on your financial statements. But for most mom-and-pop restaurants, it doesn’t matter.” You may sell a thousand dollars in gift cards in December, and there’s no cost of goods sold until they’re redeemed, “so you need to be prepared from a financial standpoint as well.”

Annelise Kelly is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer.

The post Give Sales a Lift with a Gift Card Program appeared first on Pizza Today.

Search engine optimization, text messaging and social media can help pizzeria owners reach customers

People are staring at their screens, and viewing everything from friendly texts to pandemic puppy posts to dinner suggestions. Advertisers that want to be included in this mix are moving beyond traditional print and TV ads and boosting their digital marketing strategies. According to Mintel, digital advertising revenue in 2021 totaled an estimated
$162 billion, a nearly 16 percent increase from 2020. 

Pizzeria owners are leveraging text messaging, search engine optimization and online review management to better engage with customers and measure the effectiveness of these campaigns. These days it’s not enough to post a discount and fun photos on a business’s social media pages, and pizzeria owners must figure out how to get the best return on investment. 

Search for pizza 

According to Google, pizza was the top-searched dish on Google Maps every month in 2021. For pizzerias, the challenge is to stand out among the many “pizza near me” search results. “A lot of large chains are bidding on those keywords,” says Christian Jones, senior vice president of marketing and client development for Hawthorne Advertising in Los Angeles. “Those are expensive because you have to outbid them at $30, $40, or $50 per click, for someone to click through and buy a $30 pizza.” 

Instead, pizzeria owners should differentiate themselves with a specific descriptor, such as wood-fired, vegan, authentic Neapolitan, even 00 flour dough. People who search using these keywords have a very high intent to buy. “You are capturing that niche when someone is looking for you,” Jones says. 

Social media is also a big part of businesses’ digital marketing plans. According to Nielsen’s annual marketing report, which surveyed global marketers, 64 percent of respondents said social media is the most effective paid channel, and are spending the most on TikTok and Instagram. When choosing a platform, opt for one that is suitable, not just popular, Jones cautions. “If you are a fine dining establishment is TikTok right?” he says. “Probably not, but if you are a fun, youthful restaurant or chain and you’ve got things to say and to show that you are engaging, it might be.” 

Everybody’s a Critic 

Another way to boost the chances for success with online searches is to make sure the establishment’s profile is up to date. Many pizzerias changed their hours or limited their menus during the pandemic, so it’s important to update that information. 

“We call it local presence advertising,” says Brock Berry, CEO and co-founder of AdCellerant in Denver. “It means making sure they have a website, making sure they have a Google business profile page, their social media pages, all the kind of basic things a consumer will use to essentially make a purchasing decision.” 

These purchasing decisions are usually quick, and online reviews can help. Having no reviews might make a customer look elsewhere, Berry says, and even negative reviews can be helpful if one responds to them effectively. “The business owner reaches out and says, ‘I’m sorry you’ve had this experience, since COVID started we have had challenges, we are doing our best, here is a free pizza, we appreciate it if you take that review down,’” Berry says. “The person might say, ‘I get it, they reached out to me, they are willing to give me some food, I will take that review down.’” 

Full strategy 

According to a survey by the platform Popmenu, restaurants are planning to step up their digital game to attract and serve guests in 2022. Many experienced increased sales and efficiency through tech usage in 2021, and 51 percent plan to automate more online operations over the next 12 months while 41 percent plan to automate more on-premise operations.

 “We’re seeing greater investment in more personalized outreach, at a higher frequency, through automation,” says Justin Krivanek, vice president of marketing for Popmenu. “For example, more restaurants are using interactive menus that enable guests to like, review and share specific dishes. When a guest takes an action like placing an order or writing a review, it automatically triggers a remarketing campaign that is based on the guest’s behavior and preferences.”

An example of a remarketing campaign is if a guest leaves a review that the restaurant decides to publish, it could then trigger an automated text or e-mail that says, “Your review put a smile on our faces. We hope 10 percent off your next online order puts a smile on yours!” 

That’s just one part of what digital marketing looks like today. Krivanek says restaurants are taking many actions towards updating their digital marketing. They are investing in SEO-driven websites so they come up higher in Google search results, and leveraging their online menu as a marketing asset with a more engaging, dynamic approach. They are posting several times a week on social media and sending mass texts and e-mails every week, if not more often. They’re also using on-premise tech such as digital waitlisting to gather guest information for remarketing. “Every digital touch point with a guest is a revenue opportunity and restaurants are taking full advantage of it,” he says. 

Text Marketing

Ordering by text is another trend. “Restaurants’ need for digital ordering and text marketing has skyrocketed,” says Chuck Moxley, senior vice president of marketing for Mobivity. “Even as the pandemic wanes, consumers expect these options, and make choices where to order from based on being able to order digitally and communicate via text.”

Citing a report from Gartner, Moxley notes that the open rate on a text message is 98 percent, while the open rate on an e-mail is about 20 percent. Also, Mobivity’s own research found that text subscribers visit stores more frequently than non-subscribers, and once a consumer joins a restaurant’s text messaging program, the spend and visit frequency increases 23 percent.

“You want to ensure your pizzeria is one of the brands they’re already engaging with,” Moxley says. “After the logistics are nailed down and you start building an opt-in database, you can refine the nuances, like ensuring the tone of the text message is lighthearted with an exclusive offer and call to action.”

Nora Caley is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics. 

The post Current Digital Marketing Trends appeared first on Pizza Today.

Loyalty Pays

Loyalty programs are nothing new, but they’re reaching critical mass. This growth is a direct result of tech advancements in cloud-based POS systems. The boom, coupled with every customer’s easy access to a smartphone, has turned loyalty programs into a hot commodity in the restaurant space. With that said, no loyalty program is the same. Each one is created differently and has different failure points and unique solutions.

When determining which program is right for you, keep in mind, there isn’t currently a clear industry leader. Determining the best fit for you will not be a black and white decision. The goal of any loyalty program is a return on investment to incentivize people to come in more often. That’s the primary intent and goal for all loyalty programs. But again, they vary greatly based on numerous factors.

Pre-POS Loyalty

In 1990, a pre-modern point of sale era, a punch card was your most common loyalty program. Buy 10 sandwiches, get the 11th free. Some modern-day loyalty programs don’t do much more than that still. The difference is they take the punch card idea and do it digitally. Some loyalty programs are way more robust.

A punch card is fundamental; it’s an easy-to-understand return on investment without much cost. That’s why they were popular. The punch card belief is that this person would not have purchased 10 sandwiches if there was not the free 11th sandwich incentive.

Money or Experience Conscious 

The problem with loyalty programs like this is they don’t account for the experience-conscious customer. Every customer is either primarily motivated by being money conscious or experience conscious. A money-conscious customer would work to get the 11th sandwich. They take pride in working to get something “free.” Instead of a flimsy piece of card stock. Loyalty programs geared towards this customer use points or total visits noted. They’ll send this info via app, text or e-mail to inform the user of their reward status. As an operator, I don’t love these programs. I go to certain stores where I have opted into the loyalty program and sometimes I’m told, “Do you want to apply your $3 discount to today’s order.” Theoretically, I should be happy. But, instead, the business owner in me thinks: “That’s dumb. I was here anyway. I was going to buy this anyway. I had no idea I even had points, let alone cash value, nor did I care. They’re just blowing money away here on me.” 

I fall into the second category, the experience-conscious customer, the ones who have FOMO. For the experience-conscious customer, inform them of things they wouldn’t get otherwise. The goal is to give reasons why, as a result of this program that they have opted into, they get exclusivity and higher-end experiences. Many loyalty programs do not cater to the experience-conscious customer. They are purely points accumulated based on total dollars spent. If you’re not seeking to be the “discount pizzeria,” then any loyalty that doesn’t cater to the experience-conscious customer will immediately be a no-go. In the best-case scenario, the points program acquires their e-mail. Which you could then, in turn, use for marketing new menu items and events, but that’s the best case. You could already do that with any marketing e-mail provider and use a new sign-up bonus and avoid points and loyalty altogether. That leads to data acquisition.

Data Acquisition

After the paper punch card came the plastic loyalty card of the 90s and 2000s. Grocery stores used these to track what you bought, and which stores you visited. To get customers to use the card, They would jack up all their prices and make the membership price the regular price to force the loyalty card usage. All this was done to understand their customers buying behavior better. 

Without your loyalty card, you could use your phone number to get points, i.e., be tracked. Over time, your e-mail could do this as well. Big brands built out their own loyalty data acquisition software to better understand their customers and market to them more. With a name, home address, e-mail and birthday, they could determine their gender, age and demographic and send them marketing material that fell in line with that demo. 

But for you today, I’m guessing all you want is to sell a little bit more. You’re not trying to get invasive into your customers’ lives. Is there a way to do that without being too Orwellian? Yes and no.

Credit Card Tracking

Yes, you can avoid demo targeting people in an overly invasive way, but the best way to track customers via POS loyalty might be the most invasive of all, their credit card. Most high-end loyalty programs use credit cards as the loyalty number to bypass the need for a physical loyalty card or QR code. Even though you aren’t physically seeing the number, tracking with a credit card is a little off-putting for some. 

To those not put off by this, their profile linked to the card can provide a lot of info if they are willing to share it. You can learn a lot with a linked credit card they actively use. You will know which store they shopped at, how much they spent, and even better, what they bought. This is needed to market to the experience customer. The goal of using this data is to build curated content. For example, you can e-mail or text someone who bought a vegan pizza and inform them of a new healthy offering you are rolling out that they can get before it goes on the menu. If they bought a kid’s meal, you could e-mail about a kid’s tour coming up they can RSVP first to before the promo goes live to the general public. You can send out this info when you have it, or it could get sent as an automated workflow. IE, when a customer buys X, three days later, send an e-mail about X, and five days later, a follow-up text about getting a free appetizer when they purchase X again, but only for the next three days. 

Detailed loyalty based on your purchasing can feel like Big Brother. When you get into really detailed, robust loyalty programs, your operator mind might start to get excited because that means you’re going to be able to tap your customer in new and exciting ways. For a large portion of the population, typically people in their 40s and older, this will freak them out. This will scream Big Brother and “I want nothing to do with it.” Bear in mind that people over 40, not all, are typically more inclined to be money-conscious customers. Regardless of if they are rich or poor. So, approach anything like this with some level of tact. Even include at the bottom something like, “You’re getting these offers and exclusives because YOU signed up for it. We dig you and have not nor will we sell your info, just an FYI from us to you.”

Tour Guide Loyalty

Another problem with points is they don’t get the customer to buy what you want them to buy. A solid loyalty program does not use ONLY points or dollars but instead allows for items. If you can push an item with low food costs or items that represent you well, items that people might not know about, that’s where you drive actual loyalty—true fandom to your brand. Let’s say you make a fantastic Caprese platter, one that you know if people had, you would own as a customer and potentially transition them to a catering client. If you could say, “Hey, when you buy your fifth pizza in a month, you’ll get an order of the Mom and Pop Caprese Platter,” Then you’re using that freebie as a gateway drug into your catering program. You are the tour guide, leading them on a journey through your menu to maximize their exposure. Getting smart with things like this is how you genuinely maximize loyalty. The customer will see that they’re getting a lot of free food. They don’t overtly realize that they’re getting led into your world more and more. This is how you endear yourself to the customer and make them highly aware of what you do in the hopes of planting the seeds to have a more extensive and loyal relationship with that customer.

Multiple Brands

If you have multiple brands, a loyalty program might be a great way to get the pizza customers to become customers of a different thing you sell. I have multiple brands, and that’s one of the main things I look for in any loyalty program. Can I take one person who’s a fan of our pizza and turn them into a fan of our gelaterias via this loyalty program? Along with all loyalty programs, it’s genuinely about the ROI, and a good loyalty program will show how often someone’s coming back.

ROI

My return-on-investment formula is fundamental and straightforward. Five times. If I spend $300 a month on a loyalty program, I need to know that $1,500 of unique sales generate from this investment in the loyalty program. If it can do that, then it works. That covers the food costs, the labor and the program in and of itself, theoretically. With all loyalty programs, there will be a sales rep with a demo that says it connects to your POS. No matter how cool the sales rep is, no matter how clean the user interface looks, never be married to a contract that you don’t have an out on, assuming you’ve proved the worth of the product.

Get Away Plan

Always negotiate, saying, “If this is what you say it is, I’ll be a very loyal customer. But I need to have a chance to get it set up, try it for 30 days, and call it quits if it’s not working for us.” Because the truth of the matter is stuff that looks amazing sometimes just has a horrible implementation strategy or people that are excellent sales reps and horrible software engineers. You don’t know until you do the dance. And sometimes they’re great, but it just does not work and integrate properly with your point of sales system, it causes all sorts of unintended problems that you can’t live with, and you don’t want to be stuck on the hook for a contract for over a year of something like that. So be wise in researching and calculating if any loyalty program is right for you. Ideally, a loyalty program that your POS company endorses will be your best bet, but even then, you still need to do your due diligence.

The Goal

Great loyalty programs bring back lazy customers and incentivize current customers to visit more often. Great loyalty turns good customers into full-blown ambassadors of your brand. That’s my goal with any program I evaluate. Also, I’m still actively always on the lookout for the best program to do that.

MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The post Turn your Loyalty Program Members into Ambassadors appeared first on Pizza Today.

Order Direct Converts

In conversations with pizzeria operators at Pizza Expo, on The Hot Slice podcast and visiting restaurants, the same question is frequently posed: How do I get the third-party delivery customer to become my customer? Getting customers to order directly from your pizzeria will require a strategy on your part. 

“Word of mouth” marketing may get you customers on a third-party delivery platform, but it will not win them over to ordering from you directly. 

What do we know about American consumers? Recent studies from Sense360 found that 63 percent of customers would rather order directly from a restaurant. A SevenRoom study found that 47 percent of customers think it’s cheaper to order directly from a restaurant.

So why do they order from third-party providers? It stems from customers’ buying behavior. And, as we all know, changing habits is a challenging task. We could devote hundreds of pages to changing consumer buying habits. Let’s focus on the task at hand: third-party conversion.

We enlisted the expertise of David “Rev” Ciancio, co-founder/CMO of Handcrafted Burgers and Brews and head of revenue marketing for Branded Strategic. Ciancio has guided restaurants to take back their deliveries from third party. We also tapped one of the best marketing minds in the pizzeria business: Clayton Krueger, director of marketing and communications at Tacoma, Washington-based Farrelli’s Pizza. 

Ciancio points to the root of issue as he sees it: third-party complacency. “(It) is that they go raise their prices on third party. And they are like, ‘oh well, I’m getting dinged and they have my guests’ data but at least I’m making my margin and that’s good enough.’ I think that is a terrible way to operate. Operators who just go in and raise the prices, it’s like ‘Ok, I would tell you to do that. That’s smart. But how are you getting them to stop using GrubHub and order from you directly?’”

Therein lies the quandary. “It’s not like third party is going anywhere, so you just have to figure out how to utilize it,” Krueger says of Farrelli’s approach. “Our opportunity with third party is really to think of it as a new customer acquisition strategy.” Acquiring customers can be an expensive way to drive sales but you have to gain new customers in the pizza business. 

Krueger continues: “In this day and age, third party is one of the best platforms to do that. These are people who want a product you sell that are on a marketplace where you most likely are and they are not brand loyal at this point. If anything, they are brand loyal to DoorDash or whomever and are willing to pay a premium. How do we a.) get our share of those customers and b.) what do we want to do with them once we got them? You kind of have to have a strategy around that right out of the gate, which is super high level. So, you have to have a benefit for them to come over to your side. Once you have that then you can communicate. That is really the strategy that we’ve tried to employ.” 

A manageable way for Farrelli’s to do that is to not partner with every third-party platform available, but instead to be exclusive to the one(s) that are most beneficial to the pizza company. That also allows Farrelli’s the ability to negotiate a better rate with its DoorDash partner. 

There are tactical approaches you can take to convert third-party customers to order from you directly. Ciancio warns that you must be willing to be proactive. “If you’ve decided you want to win this battle, all you have to do is mimic GrubHub,” he says, using GrubHub as an example of third-party providers. “Do what they do. Use them as a model. What do they do? They collect guest data, they e-mail their guest, they text message their guest and they make it easy to order. If you just do those four things, you’ll be more successful.” 

Ciancio dives into strategies further with three action items.

1. Make online ordering easy for the customer. “You got to have your own online ordering system and it has to be easy to use,” he says. “Remember GrubHub is easy to use. I can literally use a thumb to get hot wings. You have to have an online ordering system that is easy to use and intuitive.” You need to reduce the amount of clicks it takes to add a pizza into a checkout cart to as few as possible. 

2. Limit your menu on third party platforms. “I would only play my greatest hits on third party,” Ciancio says. “So if someone happens to really love your specialty this or that, they have to go to you to get it.” 

3. Raise your prices on third-party platforms. Ciancio says you do need to raise your prices on third party but, you also need to incentivize customers to come over to your ordering platform.

Furthermore, is your brand front and center with the third-party customer? If you use unbranded boxes, bags, cups and napkins, customers are not being exposed to your brand. Custom-branded items will help the third-party customer correlate your food with your brand. “You have to be memorable,” Ciancio says. 

Farrelli’s works to make ordering directly as seamless as possible. “The barrier to entry is friction,” Krueger says. “You have to make it as frictionless as possible for them to make the switch and you’ve also got to dangle a little carrot in front of their face and say, ‘Come over here.’

“In our case, the kinds of carrots we hang in front of those people’s face is we offer free delivery for any order that is over $50. That is well under our order average. We also offer discounts and deals.”

Farrelli’s targets third-party customers on every order. “They get a specific box-top sticker that targets them that says, ‘Hey, next time, place your order through our app and get $10 off on your first and get free delivery for orders over $50,’” Krueger says. The sticker also includes a bullet-pointed list of reasons to order from its app with a QR code.

Ciancio suggests going even further and instead of offering a discount for the next visit, ask for the customer’s feedback. “How was your pizza?” he asks. “Tap the QR code and tell me, then I’m going to capture your e-mail or phone number so I can market to you in a week. I’ll ping you in a week and ask you to order and I’ll send you the coupon then.” It creates a call-to-action. 

Since Farrelli’s does not have in-house delivery, the company also uses DoorDash exclusively for deliveries. Even so, Krueger says, they strive to convert customers from the DoorDash Marketplace into Farrelli’s online ordering and app systems. “We have never had delivery,” Krueger says. “So third-party really provided us a whole new stream that we’ve never been able to tap into prior because we didn’t have drivers.” The delivery program works through Farrelli’s internal online ordering system. “It’s our data,” he adds. “We are collecting data so it is in our best interest to convert those guests over so that we have that data so we can market to them and get them back through the door more frequently.”

DENISE GREER is Executive Editor at Pizza Today.

The post How to Approach Third Party as New Customer Acquisitions appeared first on Pizza Today.

Getting Press Coverage for your Pizzeria

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Don’t you get frustrated when an article comes out about a rival pizzeria? Doesn’t it burn when another “Best Pizza” list ignores your existence? Do you feel completely helpless when it comes to all matters of press and public relations? Getting media attention is a daunting project, especially when you’re busy dealing with your shoddy ovens, dough issues and the broken refrigeration unit. It takes time and persistence, but once you get the ball rolling PR efforts can be a great asset. 

The first thing you want to do is decide what story you want to pitch. Your local newspaper probably won’t publish a story about your pizzeria just because it exists; they want an angle. Maybe it’s your pizzeria’s 25th anniversary or you’ve created an incredible new menu item. Community events are great opportunities to attract media attention. When Slice Out Hunger ran the Pizza Across America campaign in February, we provided pizzerias with a story to pitch to local media outlets about participation in a nationwide campaign to support hunger relief efforts. Small independent pizzerias got press coverage because of it!

Next, you’ll want to pitch your story to the right person. Check out the bylines of articles about other local businesses, particularly restaurants. If you’re pitching to TV, look for the producer’s contact info online. You can check LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Journalists don’t hide their contact info because they want to be found. Their job is to write stories and fill airtime. The newspaper gets printed even on slow news days, and they must fill the pages with something — why not with your pizzeria?

Once you find who you want to pitch, send them a tight e-mail with the who, what, where, when and why of your story. If your story is time-dependent, like an anniversary or event, make sure the date is clear. You can’t go wrong with sending it a few weeks in advance; just make sure you follow up, otherwise you’ll get lost in the pile. 

If a journalist schedules a visit to your pizzeria, be sure to give them the best possible experience. Plan a couple shots so they have options when they show up. Know the talking points of your story (the who, what, when, where, and why) so you won’t be caught off guard by questions. If you’re camera-shy, pick someone who isn’t! You control everything that happens in front of the camera, so take advantage.

Most importantly, be easy to work with. Make their job a breeze and they’ll come back to you when they need a story source in the future. Don’t turn into a primadonna just because you’re in front of a camera. Make sure the crew is comfortable and happy so they’ll want to come back. 

If this all sounds like a lot of work, you’re right. That’s why you have the option of hiring a publicist. If you do, you’ll gain access to their contacts…so make sure you choose someone who has plenty of experience and has placed stories you covet. Keep an eye out for red flags like bad communication skills in e-mail and over the phone. If they’re bad at communicating with you, imagine how they are with media producers. 

An article or TV segment about your pizzeria will benefit you for years. Online publications don’t go away, and they’ll help boost your website’s SEO if they link to you. The right quote can serve your website and menu, and the right clip will give potential customers a glimpse into the deliciousness that awaits when they cross your threshold.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: Press On appeared first on Pizza Today.

Dig Into Your History

What makes your pizzeria different from the other 75,114 in the U.S.? You’re probably not the only “Home of the Buffalo Chicken Pizza” and you’re certainly not the sole “Best In Town.” Everybody’s always looking for ways to boost their pizzeria above the competition, and there’s a fantastic opportunity right under your nose. As a small business owner, you have a unique asset in your own personal story. Hopefully that’s already part of your brand, so I’m asking you to go deeper. I’m suggesting you dig into your family history. 

There’s a pizzeria I love in Brooklyn called Luigi’s Pizza. As you can imagine, there’s more than one Luigi’s Pizza in Brooklyn, but this one really stands out. As you wait for your pie, owner Giovanni Lanza will tell you about how his parents worked day and night to start the pizzeria. He’ll show you photos, articles and, if he really likes you, he’ll even bust out his parents’ wedding album with black and white photos from the ceremony in Italy. That’s more than you’d ever get from the “Established 1972” sign on the door. Sharing his story forms a connection with the customer that makes them feel like they’re not just buying a pizza from a local shop, they’re supporting a local family.

Memories and family stories are great, but I get even more excited when I see old ads and photos. Just last week I checked out a pizzeria in Borough Park, Brooklyn. The place was totally sterile and boring, but a blown-up image of an old ad for a long-gone pizzeria in the same neighborhood caught my eye. I love the connection to the past!

Where do you even find old images and documents? It’s much easier than you’d think. Start by poking around online newspaper archives like Newspapers.com or your own local paper if they have a digitized backlog. By searching your pizzeria’s name or even some general terms like “pizzeria” you’ll find that old ad you placed in a local paper in 1994. Search your grandmother’s name and maybe you’ll find an article about her from when she owned a bakery down the block.  

Check out genealogy websites like Ancestry.com and you’ll find your grandfather’s WWII draft card, old marriage records and photos. Talk to your local library or historical society. Maybe they have photos of your block before your pizzeria ever existed. There’s a trend among restaurants in NYC posting old tax photos taken by the city in 1940. I love seeing what business predated yours, even if it wasn’t a pizzeria. It instills a connection to the community. 

Even more importantly, learn from them. There are nuggets of information on these old records that might completely change your understanding of your own pizzeria. We’ve found evidence that some pizzerias in New York City are actually older than their signage claims! Previously unknown links between pizzerias came to light and now there’s an even more interesting story than previously thought. 

Customers like me are tired of the ubiquitous photos of Frank Sinatra and the cast of The Sopranos. We’re ready to see your past, to learn where you came from. It’s guaranteed to set you apart from the competition.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: Tell your Pizzeria’s History appeared first on Pizza Today.

Mike Bausch shares how to effectively partner with third-party delivery

At the 2021 Pizza Expo, third-party delivery was a hot topic in all my sessions, even those that had nothing to do with third-party delivery. If you decide to partner with a third-party delivery company, then I suggest you truly PARTNER with them. That means they are in business with you. Do right by them and don’t have an adversarial relationship. The person coming to pick up food from your location is in business with you. They are your pizza ambassador. They are helping you get more money. They are not leaching off you and your business. If you view it that way, they will treat you negatively, and you will have a counterproductive relationship. Bear in mind, you have approved this relationship. You have said, “Yes, I am willing to let other people deliver food to my customers who order on their app on my behalf.” Hence, it’s in everyone’s best interest to have the most mutually beneficial experience.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

What does that mean? It means, simply put, be cool. Be nice to them. Give them a water or soda while they wait. Say hello to these drivers. Give them a spot to sit down if it’s taking some time. Or better than that, don’t have it take much time at all and make sure all third-party delivery drivers have priority access, so they get in and out quickly. Have a set station for them; even wrap a hot box with their company’s logo on it, so it’s blatantly obvious where to go as you increase their speed of service. 

Here’s another big reason to be cool to them. I’ll let you in on something; all your third-party delivery drivers are talking to each other. They are on Facebook groups gossiping all day like a sixth-grade slumber party about which restaurants treat people well and which restaurants to avoid. If your restaurant is known for treating drivers well, they’ll circle your restaurant as their go-to place, waiting for pizza orders to come in. They’ll do this if you are known for being quick and kind. If they know they’ll get reliable service, maybe even a soda, then they’ll haul for your delivery and come right back to your pizzeria all night. Without speedy transactions in store, some driver will pick up the order eventually, and they’ll do it reluctantly or out of naivety.

Quick pick-up times and more driver interactions will increase your viability on the algorithm and visibility on the third-party delivery website. This practice is good things leading to good things when you’re a partner with your delivery drivers. These people who pick up your food are not only your temp workers; they’re also potential customers. If you treat them like minions doing your bidding, as opposed to potential customers, they’re not going to like you. They’re going to speak negatively about you to their friends and family, in addition, to the other third-party delivery people. Dealing with drivers might sound like a lot of pain and aggravation, but in reality you could be building a whole new customer base with a solid, robust delivery program. 

Not every driver is perfect, far from it. Be active in blocking in the app, those who don’t represent you well, and make those who do right by you feel like gold. If you’ve owned a pizza place for a while, it’s highly likely you’ve brought pizzas to an on-site event at one point or another. Maybe a church or a corporate lunch. Think about the ones that we’re excited to see the pizza show up and greeted you warmly. Now think about the people who treated you like “the help” and how crappy that felt. I remember going to deliveries and hearing, “Pizza-boy is here; where should he take everything?” Do you want to treat people like that? Of course you don’t, so build relationships you can be proud of and be good to the drivers because they’re hustling in the game just like you. 

In a post-COVID world, Andolini’s Pizzeria went from 8-percent dine-in to a decent even split of pizzas that leave our restaurant versus pizzas that stay inside. That means treating all to-go procedures and delivery procedures with a high level of professionalism and courtesy. It is essential for profitability. Partner or a pest? Decide which one you want to view delivery drivers as and they will return the favor in how they treat you.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Your Third-Party Delivery Partners appeared first on Pizza Today.

A Sample Pizzeria Manager Job Description

In the previous installment of Building Blocks, we explained which management positions are required to run a successful pizzeria — now we need to define them.

Before you identify the potential managers within your organization or make the proper hires — or at least before they begin serving in their new roles — ensure you have complete job descriptions. Each manager will have different duties, so take them one by one. Begin by summarizing the duties and characteristics of the position, then address daily activities in detail. 

Below is a full example of a job description for an assistant manager position. Feel free to use this as a template for your own job descriptions:

Title: Assistant Manager

Reports to Owner/Regional Chef/General Manager

Summary of Position: 

Oversee and coordinate planning, organizing and training and demonstrate the leadership necessary to achieve our stated objectives in sales, costs, employee retention, guest service and satisfaction, food quality, cleanliness and sanitation.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Understand completely all policies, procedures, standards, specifications, guidelines and training programs.
• Ensure that all guests feel welcome and are given responsive, friendly and courteous service at all times.
• Ensure that all food and products are consistently prepared and served according to the restaurant’s recipes, portioning, cooking and serving standards.
• Achieve company objectives in sales, service, quality, appearance of facility and sanitation and cleanliness through training of employees and creating a positive, productive working environment.
• Control cash and other receipts by adhering to cash handling and reconciliation procedures in accordance with restaurant policies and procedures.
• Make employment and termination decisions consistent with General Manager Guidelines for approval or review.
• Fill in where needed to ensure guest service standards and efficient operations.
• Continually strive to develop your staff in all areas of managerial and professional development.
• Prepare all required paperwork, including forms, reports and schedules in an organized and timely manner.
• Ensure that all equipment is kept clean and kept in excellent working condition through personal inspection and by following the restaurant’s preventative maintenance programs.
• Ensure that all products are received in correct unit count and condition and deliveries are performed in accordance with the restaurant’s receiving policies and procedures. 
• Schedule labor as required by anticipated business activity while ensuring that all positions are staffed when and as needed and labor cost objectives are met.
• Be knowledgeable of restaurant policies regarding personnel and administer prompt, fair and consistent corrective action for any and all violations of company policies, rules and procedures.
• Fully understand and comply with all federal, state, county and municipal regulations that pertain to health, safety and labor requirements of the restaurant, employees and guests.
• Provide advice and suggestions to the General Manager as needed.

It is crucial that each manager has a clear job description. If you would like examples of job descriptions for other positions, please e-mail me at pizzadrafthouse@gmail.com, and I will send you more examples to help you create your own. And once your job descriptions are drafted, we can talk about how to hold managers accountable to their duties.

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Building Blocks: Drafting Your First Job Description? appeared first on Pizza Today.

Mike Bausch share why poaching employees is a bad strategy

Here is a typical scenario we’ve all seen happen. You go to another restaurant and see a fantastic employee. You wish this employee were your employee, so your brain starts spinning. How can I make this wish a reality? Therein lies the predicament; to do that would make you a poacher, and poaching is bad. Don’t poach employees. Here’s why.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

As much as you might believe it’s okay, thinking to yourself, “All’s fair in business,” you’re creating more problems than you’re solving. Additionally, it is extremely tough and rare to poach an employee successfully from another business. Assuming that you do, you’re now beginning your professional relationship with them poorly. They are disloyal, and your integrity isn’t super strong in their eyes. Additionally, you have shown yourself to be less than above-board to the employees you don’t successfully poach.

I am fully aware of the hiring crisis. I am conscious that solid people are the lifeblood of any thriving business. It would help if you had good people. This is not the path to getting good people. It’s the path to you looking like a garbage, dirty, poachy leach of a human.

If you poach in the classic sense, you just come off as slimy. I’ve had people drive behind my restaurant to talk to my staff who are on a break and say, “You should come and work for me. I pay x per hour.” What’s even crazier was this figure was $3 less per hour than what they got with me. Even if they offered the same or more than me, all the other parts that go into hiring weren’t considered. The drive-by offer treated the staff as a commodity up for bid instead of a valued asset. 

Restaurants who do this are desperate, and they fail. They fail for a multitude of reasons. One, they’re not ethical, and that perpetuates the way they exist in their whole business. It’s precisely why doing business practices like this is shortsighted. It shows that you’re not seeking to partner in your community but rather someone who takes advantage of others. You open the doors to engage other restaurant owners in an arms race for staff that no one wins. You also destroy any goodwill you have with other restaurant owners to not actively poach from you. Now it’s game on from now til eternity. Again, that’s why this practice is dumb.

Next month we’ll discuss some extenuating circumstances and how to navigate them.

MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Instagram: @mikeybausch 

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Don’t Poach Employees, Part I appeared first on Pizza Today.

Growing your Management Team

You probably know the phrase, “You’re only as good as the people around you.” That’s because it’s true. I surround myself with great managers in all my pizzerias. 

In the next couple of editions of Building Blocks, we’ll examine the types of managers, supervisors and shift leaders any pizza shop needs to succeed. We can start with the steps I took in building my first team.

Keyholders

In the beginning, when I opened my first restaurant, we gave a key to anyone trustworthy, just so we could get a break from the strenuous work of operating the shop. Soon, I found myself with about five great employees, or “keyholders.” 

Granted, their skills varied, and some were better at the job than others, but the biggest problem was no one knew who was really in charge after myself, which led to some confusion and infighting. To add some structure, I needed to create job titles and actual positions. 

GM and AM

Up first: Who was my number one, or the employee who outranks everyone but me? I felt it was important to name this person the General Manager (GM), because I had worked at a pizzeria where the owner was the GM, and for years I was the Assistant Manager (AM), despite essentially doing the work of a GM. I eventually left for another shop where I could get the title of GM. (If that owner would have put his ego aside and named me GM, my pizza journey would have been much different.) My most talented and trusted employee was the natural choice for GM, so after naming him as such, I confided in him and picked his No. 1 — or, my No. 2 — to be the AM. 

At that time, I was already paying all the keyholders differently than each other based on skill sets, so pay raises weren’t as necessary as titles that showed proper respect for their roles. We outlined specific duties and explained the “pecking order” in clear terms, and everyone was pleased.

Who’s Next?

We still required two more management positions. Looking at the store’s hours, we were open about
120 hours per week. So even if the GM and AM were putting in a 50-hour workweek, there remained shifts that needed a manager. The rank-and-file staff had to know who was in charge during these periods. 

So, I named a Kitchen Manager and a Shift Leader. Both are considered management-level positions, even if the Shift Leader is lower on the organizational chart — and the word “manager” is left out of the title intentionally. Normally, the Shift Leader is a younger, but responsible and promising, team member who can open or close the store on their own yet has other commitments like school or sports. Meanwhile, the Kitchen Manager position is reserved for someone who is all-in, committed to the success of the store and has future AM or GM potential.

With my management team in place and the restaurant growing, the next step was to define roles more clearly, beyond just a conversation. It was time to clearly write job descriptions — and that’s what we’ll tackle in the next Building Blocks. 

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Building Blocks: Identifying and Growing Your Management Team appeared first on Pizza Today.

A food so loved they gave us a whole month.

Uncertainty has ruled the restaurant industry since March 2020. But now it’s time to put our energies into celebrating America’s favorite food, pizza! October is National Pizza Month and one of the industry’s biggest sales months. Let’s collectively have the biggest pizza month ever. 

Fun Pizza Facts

We think we could all use a little fun after the past few years. Let’s look at some fun pizza facts that you can tie into your National Pizza Month 2021 promotions and activities.  

• The word pizza originated in Gaeta, Italy in 997 AD according to food historian Giuseppe Nocca in La Repubblica.
• Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba in Naples, Italy is widely believed to be the world’s first pizzeria, opened in 1830. 
• Americans eat three billion pizzas per year. 
• The average American consumes 11 pounds of mozzarella a year, more than any other cheese. It is attributed to the demand for pizza.
• Pepperoni remains the most popular pizza toppings at a rate of over 250 million pounds consumed on pizza each year in the U.S.
• The top five most popular pizza toppings in the U.S. are: pepperoni, mushroom, olives, sausage and green pepper.
• There are approximately 92,000 pizzerias operating in the U.S., 
• The biggest pizza sales days are Super Bowl Sunday, Halloween, the day before Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

For the Record

Moontower Pizza Bar Owners Paul and Amber Rouse accept designation as largest pizza commercially available in Guinness World Records.

Going for a world record can draw a crowd and get people excited about a brand. Let’s look at just a few of the Guinness World Records in the pizza category. There are several other pizza-related records to explore at guinnessworldrecords.com.

• The Longest Pizza in the World measures 6,3333 feet and 3.60 inches. Roughly 17,700 pounds of dough, 5,000 pounds of tomato sauce and 3,900 pounds of mozzarella cheese were used to make the pizza that took 54 hours by a team of over 100 people. The Guinness World Record was set by Pizzaovens.com, Venice Bakery, Orlando Foods, At-Pac, Sysco, TFX Non Stick, Capstone Scaffold Services, Scaffold Works, SoCal Gas, Tony Gemignani, Giulio Adriani, John Arena and Italforni in Fontana, California, USA, in 2017.
• The Largest Pizza Commercially Available measures 8 feet by 2 feet and 8 inches from Moontower Pizza Bar in Burleson, Texas. When the record was set in 2018, the pizza retailed for $299.95 plus tax.
• The Largest Pizza Delivery was 30,000 pizzas delivered to United States Armed Forces, in Kandahar Airfield, Bagram Airbase and Camp Bastion, in Afghanistan, on July 4, 2012. The deliver was organized by Pizzas 4 Patriots.
• The Highest Pizza Toss is 21 feet and 5 inches set by Joe Carlucci in 2006.
• The Largest Pizza Base Spun in One Minute at 28.35 inches is also held by Joe Carlucci set in 2017.
• The Largest Pizza Base Spun in Three Minutes is 33.2 inches wide and was set by Tony Gemignani in 2006.
• The Most Pizza Boxes Folded in One Minute is 18 and set by Randy DeGregorio in 2020. 
• The Largest Collection of Pizza Boxes was set in 2013 with 595 different boxes by Scott Wiener. 

Getting down to business with National Pizza Month

There’s still time to take part in National Pizza Month 2021. We’ve pulled together resources to help you mark the occasion and promote your National Pizza Month campaigns in your store, in the community, virtually and on social networks. October can be anything you make it. The tools and tips in our annual National Pizza Month Pizzeria Toolkit will assist you with your unique efforts to promote your pizzeria’s National Pizza Month celebrations.

Blast the National Pizza Month hashtag on everything. Use the hashtag on social media posts, in store and on external marketing and promotional signage.

#nationalpizzamonth

Go further and add a unique hashtag specific to your brand to track its shares. Don’t forget to tag @pizzatoday so we can follow your NPM campaign.

Try out a few of these low-cost or no cost marketing ideas:

1. Run a customer recipe promotion. Invite your patrons to create your next big hit! Have customers submit recipes for topping combinations, etc. Winner gets the pizza named after them on your menu or free pizza for a year or a $500 gift card, etc.
2. Offer a National Pizza Month one-of-kind offer to your loyalty club members. Think swag, secret menu item, etc.
3. Go for a local, regional, national or world record. Guinness World Records offers several pizza-related opportunities.
4. Host a Guest Chef Takeover Night, where a local or regional chef creates a menu with pre-sale dinner event tickets at $X per person.
5. Create games with a drawing where winner receives free item or offer. (Think small games, like guess the number of pepperonis on a pizza; guess the ingredient; answer questions related to your pizzeria; in-store scavenger hunt; photo with a specific item social contest, etc.)
6. Crown an Ultimate Pizza Fan by inviting customers to submit on social media why they should be the winner.
7. Go big and raise money the entire month to support a local cause.
8. Host a Halloween party for little ones. Encourage them to “trunk or treat” for candy inside your parking lot. Give them a coupon for a free personal pizza on their next visit.
9. Host a pizza-making workshop to let customers stretch and top pizza.
10. Create a video to share with your pizzeria’s social followers on who you are and why you founded the pizzeria. Go further and create another video going behind-the-scenes to show how you make the pizza.

We have more marketing ideas and official National Pizza Month logos, media release and graphics available in the Pizzeria Operators Toolkit.

The post Let’s Celebrate National Pizza Month 2021 appeared first on Pizza Today.

Great food photos move the needle. If your photos are poorly taken or don’t let the food’s colors pop, customers are that much more likely not to order and try someone else. Food photos done correctly are an immediate ROI producer. Here are tips to take great ones, whether you do it yourself or hire a professional. 

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

First, if you can hire a professional, do it. GREAT PHOTOS PAY FOR THEMSELVES. Go all out with a $1,000.00 budget if you can. Hire a photographer who has worked with food before. Hire them when you have seen their portfolio, and you trust their insight. 

A food photoshoot should take about two hours with a half-hour of prep beforehand. Don’t make all the food at the same time. Have each item ready to be baked off and then have one come out every two to five minutes or so and keep pounding through items like an assembly line. 

A good photographer should be around $300.00 to $500.00 for two hours of work. A great photographer not only knows how to frame a great picture, but they also know how to edit it properly. It’s also wise to get a food prepper, i.e., someone who helps elevate the food to be camera-ready for each picture. This job is different than a photographer who is skilled at capturing the image. A food prepper is like a makeup artist for food; they might apply pan spray to pizzas for a glisten or keep sauce moving, so it never looks dry. They ensure all beer photos have a full foam and other things that our minds pick up on. These people are also worth their fee and ensure that you get great photos and the shoot is worth the effort. Their price can run from $300.00 to $500.00 as well.

If you have ZERO budget to spend on anything, and I mean ZERO money (I’ve been there, I get it), it is doable to pull this off on a solid smartphone. 

• Camera. If you don’t have a DSLR camera, make sure you have the best smartphone you can get access to. The portrait mode on newer iPhones can take incredible pictures when used correctly. 

• Lighting. Lightboxes and lighting kits are great, but if you don’t have all that, use a table near a window. The best photos are taken during the daytime with natural light. Avoid direct sunlight, but an overcast day is great for photos. If your windows are blacked out, this will be harder, and you might need to go to a different location.

• Set up. The primary focus of a shoot like this is getting great food photos for your online ordering and third-party delivery apps. So shoot sideways and never take tall pictures with the phone upright. Have the base photo of everything you’re framing stay the same for each image. Also, make sure the photos actually look like your food inside your restaurant. That means don’t show off white linens if your restaurant uses wood tables. Don’t take pictures with clichéd props like a massive clove of garlic and a Chianti bottle. Unless you give a whole unpeeled bulb of garlic with each order, your photos will be inauthentic. This practice does your photos and your pizzeria no favors. These types of set dressings are antiquated and very 90’s, and not in a good 90’s sort of way like the MTV beach house.

Other Tips for great photos:

• Use a tripod so your photos are clearer and have the same angle for each item.
• Don’t cut pizzas when photographing them. 
• Don’t put Romano as a finisher because more white isn’t good for photos. More white saturates the light of a food photo and dilutes the pops of color like the gold, brown and red you want to see.
• Don’t buy stock photos, it’s lazy and a lie to your customer. Don’t let menu designers use pictures of someone else’s pizza to represent your brand.

These are tips for a food photoshoot explicitly designed for showing off your menu items. Set up for customers and staff photos, and action food photos — such as a cheese pull — are created differently. Those are different styles of photos that require various photoshoots. 

For this photoshoot, you’re purely documenting all the pizzas and menu items, in the most enticing way possible. The goal is to visually inform the online customer why they should order from you. Creating great photos this way will enhance customer purchase pride and increase online sales the first day you put them online.

MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Instagram: @mikeybausch 

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Great Food Photos = A Great ROI appeared first on Pizza Today.

No pizzeria has ever earned a Michelin star. That’s right, the restaurant guide founded by a tire company just isn’t into pizza. A few years ago, I heard a rumor that a pizzeria in Naples was expected to receive the honor. They were so sure about it they even had a film crew follow the proprietor to document the lead-up to the announcement. Then the ratings hit — still no pizzeria. All that time and energy spent on expectation for nothing. 

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

I recently heard a pizza maker announce on a podcast that his goal is to be the first slice shop to earn a Michelin star. I love the energy, but it’s a tricky mission to control because nobody knows the Michelin Guide’s criteria for awarding stars. There’s no checklist. It’s not like a health inspection where someone hands over a list of violations and your score jumps when you fix them. An accolade like this is just too mysterious to spend time chasing. 

On the other end of the spectrum is Dave Portnoy. That’s the guy who posts a video of himself eating a different slice every day, assigning a score based on one bite (or often more). Every pizzeria in the country hopes he’ll walk through the door because his videos always boost sales. 

Unlike the Michelin army of surveyors, this is just one guy’s opinion, but I’ll argue that it’s a more manageable goal. Watch a handful of his videos and you’ll quickly get an idea of how he rates. Neapolitan doesn’t do it for him, and specialty slices are a waste because he sticks to plain cheese. I’ve heard about pizzerias tweaking their pizza or even creating alternate versions just to suit his taste. I’m not saying you should do that, but it’s a good example of a steady target. (Hopefully I don’t need to tell you how silly it is to tailor your product to one customer, no matter how large their online reach.) 

Online reviews may seem like an unwieldy mess, but I actually think they’re infinitely more manageable than any other “best of” list. These websites change their organizational structure and internal algorithms all the time, but consistently achieving good reviews will always yield positive results. Pick your review site of choice (Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google, etc.) and concentrate on it. Ask your loyal customers to give you a review. Place box toppers with QR codes offering a discount for any review, positive or negative, on your pizza boxes. The more action you can get on your review page, the better. 

This won’t help if your food and service are terrible, but your excellent pizzeria will only amplify its visibility thanks to the voices of your happy customers. Review sites usually list your business in multiple categories, and with persistence you’ll work your way up to one of their top spots. It may not come with the notoriety and bragging rights of a viral video, but it’s an achievable goal. 

Don’t let yourself get caught up in the chase for lists and rankings over which you have no control. Instead, focus on the things you can quantify and manage, and the rest is more likely to follow.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls, Shoot for Attainable Online Reviews appeared first on Pizza Today.

Innovative loyalty programs that keep customers coming back

Marketing is not a one size fits all process. Demographics such as number of homes, income and employment opportunities play a part in successful marketing. A recent survey aimed at small town pizzerias discovered that the overwhelming majority of these operators say they love the personal interactions with customers and community in general. If you love it, capitalize on it — make people love you, too. These personal relationships are the basis and advantage a small-town pizzeria has over a larger player.

To quote Sesame Street: “Who are the people in your neighborhood? They are the people that you meet when you are walking down the street each day.” That is your target market.

We look at tactics that work from three such operators:

• Melissa Rickman, Chef and CEO of Wholly Stromboli, Fort Lupton, Colorado

• Cecil Ison, CEO of Ison’s Family Pizza, Batesville, Indiana

• Scott Anthony, Owner / Operator of Punxsy Pizza, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

These marketers realize that WOM (word of mouth) is not a lost art. In a small town where neighbors know and talk, they are much more likely to get a recommendation where to eat. Those who create media relationships also gain an avenue to get the word out and make people talkative about your activities. Ison tells us: “A successful tactic is our local radio station. We host a local sports show on Monday night called Coach’s Corner. We also sponsor local school broadcasts, running commercials throughout. I can always tell if a commercial is working if either a new or limited time item is on and sales spike.” Small town sports are an essential marketing avenue as every kid, parent and grandparent loves to hear about their friends and family. Why not throw a little pizza talk in the conversation? Ison also donates food to first responders and the hospital. He states, “We are always taking part as sponsors at the local sports clubs. I take pride in hearing from teachers and parents that kids only want our pizza. We remind customers that we are proud to be part of Batesville.”

Rickman concurs: “Never underestimate the power of people. Support them and they will return the favor.” Find out what is important to your community and do what you can to help further that cause, even creating your own events to support it. When other businesses set up shop, be the first to support them. ‘Support local’ goes both ways. Just as Ison’s presence is known at local sporting events, Rickman is present at local events such as a “Taste Of” event or chili competition. She recommends, “anything where we can feed some folks, we are there with our branded ‘easy up tent’ and all of the trimmings. We bring our atmosphere and hospitality. We hand out branded grocery bags, T-shirts and cups. Our secret weapon is a free sample of our award-winning bread pudding — mom’s recipe, of course.”

I, aka Punxsy Pizza, endorse this. For 19 years, I have annually held a fundraiser supporting our local volunteer fire company – something everyone needs. It’s turned out to be a win-win for everyone. Our 2019 event sold over 5,400 pizzas in a day with 100 percent of the profits donated. This brought us much free publicity from several regional media outlets. Know your community and associate with key organizations.

Once WOM and TOMA (top of mind awareness) are in place they must be maintained. For Rickman, she refers to her recipe for success, called the 100 percent rule. “All of the things mentioned are important, but unless you commit 100 percent to these things, 100 percent of the time, at 100 percent volume it won’t matter. You can’t execute excellence part time. Be different, unique and bold.” She explains, “Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. What are you doing that no one else is, and then knock it out of the park! Our hook is our East Coast theme and our Ginormous 24-inch Stromboli.” Mainstream operators tout a signature dish.

Ison’s marketing reminds customers that their pizza has done well against heavyweights in the business at various pizza competitions. ‘When you get an Ison’s pizza you get quality’, is a phrase he’s overheard on several occasions. All three of these operators are regulars at Pizza Expo, seeing the advantage of continual education and bringing new ideas home. Just marketing the fact you’re among the one percent of pizzerias rubbing shoulders with the best at an international event is big news in a small town.

Customer replacement is challenging in small markets. The truth is that people move, die or for other reasons aren’t customers anymore. Ison plans a new venture with local realtors that will give each person buying a home a meal of breadsticks, pizza and cookies as a welcome gift. Anthony also has a new mover’s program, sending a mail invitation to new persons in the area to try a free pizza. The enclosed letter also tells them the story of his pizzeria. He reports an 80-percent redemption rate with 60-percent retention. Rickman focuses on local relationships to motivate new persons to come to her establishment. She emphasizes, “We make sure our food is made with the best ingredients around. We partner with companies that share our values, from the micro brews on tap, to the locally distilled spirits, cheese, tomatoes and the olive oil we use. We develop relationships with these businesses. We know who we are “partnering” with to provide the elevated experience that is Wholly Stromboli.”

Does technology make a difference in a small town? We all concur with Rickman’s words: “Technology provides us with the data that we need to navigate these tough times,” she says. “What is our labor cost? How are sales year over year, month over month, week and day? Are we moving in the right direction? Add to that the changing habits of our guests. Online ordering adds a level of upselling. “Enhancing the guest experience,” we call it. That is impossible over the phone. It provides ease of ordering and improved accuracy. From on-boarding employees, scheduling, timekeeping and payroll, we’ve gone totally paperless. I would caution you to consider your brand when introducing technology to your guests. It was important for us to maintain the personal touch, not to lose sight of the humans in all of it.” Most POS systems along with online ordering platforms allow for consistent branding.

Ison adds: “To be completely honest we are just getting up to speed on the tech side. My son is helping us with making videos for pre-training new employees and we have added Instagram to our Facebook postings. Making the jump to a POS system with integrated online
ordering was a great decision to make. We market the online ordering a lot.”

Social media’s use of images, videos and live feeds is proving to be an invaluable tool in connecting with our customers. After all in a small town you are the ‘face’ of your business, so be seen. People want to invest in a person, not in a company.

Small Towns: Where everybody knows everyone (and everything).

SCOTT ANTHONY  owns Punxsy Pizza in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

The post Small Town Big Mind appeared first on Pizza Today.

The Fan Club with Loyalty Programs

The concept of loyalty programs dates to the 18th century. In recent times, however, there has been an increased interest among restaurants to offer this type of customer-attracting-and-retaining method. Today, a plethora of big brands ranging from Chick-fil-A to Papa John’s tout rewards programs.

The trend can make it tough to find a niche. It’s no surprise, then, that places are looking for new twists on an old technique. Panera Breads offers customers a subscription to unlimited coffee for just $8.99 a month. Throw technology solutions into the mix, and operators are faced with a mountain of choices.

Despite the influx of loyalty programs, creating and maintaining one still holds the potential for long-term benefits. “Developing and curating an in-depth loyalty program allows a restauranteur to understand their guest segmentation and the entire journey a guest takes when interacting with their brand, both in the four walls and outside,” says Stephen Lee, director of strategic partnerships for PAR Technology, a restaurant technology company based in New Hartford, New York. It also helps establish a one-to-one relationship with guests. Creating potentially lifelong customers that send in regular orders is perhaps the ultimate perk.

The key to making these programs work lies in understanding what consumers are looking for, and then setting up a uniquely designed program that’s in tune with your specialty and brand.

Recognizing the playing field.

“Today, customer loyalty solutions are about so much more than making sure guests can earn and redeem rewards for their dining experience,” Lee says. At the same time, diners are expecting more than just points or coupons when they order food. “Today’s guests are savvy and looking for more personal experiences,” Lee says. “Offering a discount on a pepperoni pizza to all of your guests, regardless of their dietary preferences, is a thing of the past.” This sort of ‘spray and pray’ model is more likely to turn guests away, rather than bring them back for more.

Getting more personal. Red’s Savoy Pizza, a growing pizza chain in Minnesota with 16 locations, offers guests the chance to sign up for its Thank You Rewards program. Diners receive Thank You Points for each dollar spent on qualifying food and drink. After collecting 75 Thank You Points, they receive a $5.00 Thank You Bucks reward. This amount is credited to the customer’s Thank You Card and can be redeemed for more pizza or other qualifying menu items.

Members of the loyalty program also can receive a 10-inch, one topping pizza on their birthday. “It helps to recognize the person,” says Reed Daniels, CEO of Red’s Savoy. Some customers may come in solo for their birthday pizza, while others will bring family members and others who will pay for their meals. The arrangement creates a perceived value for diners, and also creates a balance from a financial standpoint for the restaurant.

Building in more aspects of personalization has been central to the loyalty program.

“We want to care about that other person, and part of caring is knowing what they like and don’t like,” Daniels says. This is the approach taken as data is gathered from customers. For instance, when considering offering a promotion related to chicken wings through the loyalty program, the option isn’t necessarily pushed on every customer. “If we know someone is a vegetarian, let’s not offer them chicken wings,” Daniels says.     

Using technology to build programs. “In 2021, a lot has to be omni channel,” Daniels says. This includes loyalty programs, which can easily get overlooked if they are only showcased on your website or a single sign within the place. “Guests can see our loyalty program when they walk into a store, order online and use our app,” Daniels says. Other places where sign-up information can be included: on pizza boxes and at the bottom of receipts. “It has to be top of mind,” Daniels says.

Providing specific details about what to expect will be appreciated by today’s diners. “Most programs are free to join, but clearly stating the benefits can persuade an ambivalent potential member,” says Darren Easton, vice president and creative director at The Cyphers Agency, who has helped develop and promote loyalty programs for pizza restaurants. Feature the perks and provide a way for customers to reach out and ask questions, such as a telephone number or chat box.

Continue with the clarity theme for the registration process. When it comes to signing up for the loyalty program, “The simpler, the better,” Easton says. Staff members can ask diners if they’d like to sign up and help gather their information. For online registration, make a clear call to action, such as “Click here to sign up.” Once the customer clicks, the sign-up page should be streamlined and request only basic information, like e-mail address and phone number. “Explain the straight-forward nature of the sign-up process in your social media posts to reassure your audience that it’s a quick and easy click through,” Easton says.

In addition to making the loyalty program easy to find and sign up for, it’s equally as important to have a system to track the client’s journey.

“Every time someone calls in, we can see if the guest is in the reward program,” Daniels says. “If they are not, they can be asked if they want to be in it.”

Find new ways to delight. “Your customers want to feel like they’re part of something special—something exclusive,” Easton says. “Although you want to clearly state the perks of the loyalty program in the social media content, it’s important to leave a bit of mystery that ignites some curiosity.” You might offer a surprise bonus that will be revealed after the customer signs up, such as a free order of mozzarella sticks or complimentary dessert with a meal. You can send out monthly benefits that are valid only for loyalty program members.

As you build and maintain your loyalty program, keep the diner front and center. As Easton says, “Loyal customers are the lifeblood of successful restaurants, and those customers should be rewarded.”

Rachel Hartman   is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post Innovative loyalty programs that keep customers coming back appeared first on Pizza Today.

All In

To offer online ordering or not? This is a question that has come to the mind of many operators as a result of restrictions on in-house dining. Although the COVID 19 pandemic has presented the restaurant industry innumerous challenges, setbacks and painful losses, there is still an opportunity for growth should you decide to take advantage of it.

Maybe online ordering is already part of your operation or maybe you are considering whether or not to utilize this technology. In either case, I am sure you have heard the good, bad and ugly about online ordering. Increased revenue, orders pouring into the kitchen out of control without taking into account order volume or production times or even the number of in-house guests, generic, often inaccurate, promise times. The fact is, online ordering is a tool, that, if managed properly, can make a significant difference in your bottom line, and the overall experience of your guests.

Prior to the indoor dining ban, phone orders only accounted for about 12 percent of our total sales. Wholly Stromboli was and still is a destination with our primary focus being an exceptional dine-in experience. Since takeout orders were only a small part of our business there really wasn’t much need for online ordering….until COVID! Knowing that no, or limited, dine-in service was in our immediate and foreseeable future, we implemented online ordering.

Despite implementing online ordering, we found ourselves still overwhelmed by the volume of phone calls. Once we re-opened indoor dining, the constant ringing of the phones was annoying to our guests and disrupted their experience. We HAD to convince our take-out guests to order online. After all, just because you build it, doesn’t mean that they will come.

Like many other aspects of your restaurant, you must market this new offering. Plus, we were paying for the service, we needed to use it to our advantage.

With restaurant marketing, it is important to understand the psychology behind the behavior of your guests. If you want to drive your guests to a particular behavior, you must make it convenient for them to do so, and conversely, make the undesired behavior less convenient. Of course, this must be done with the best guest experience in mind too.

Find out what matters most to your guests. For us, no more waiting on hold for guests to place their orders, improved order accuracy, ease of check out, and the ability to re-order their last meal with a few key presses were all key selling points. Additionally, busy restaurants are loud and difficult to hear on both ends of the phone, so not having to contend with the din of clanging plates and spirited conversation was a win-win!

The guest experience is half the battle though. Your teams’ experience with online ordering is just as important and you must market to them as well. If the platform is inconvenient, your team won’t embrace it nor promote it to your guests. You have to have buy in from your team if you are going to grow online sales. If your online order system doesn’t have direct integration with your POS and uses the swivel chair approach, to order entry — that is to swivel from the tablet(s) to the POS to manually enter orders. Have you really freed up your team to focus on the in-house guest? Have you made their job any easier? You lose the advantage of order accuracy and your teams’ experience with the process is much the same as a phone ringing off the hook. Without POS integration, you also run the risk that you will not hear the ding-ding or see the blinking light that indicates there’s an order to be keyed in.

Despite our best initial marketing efforts, our phones still rang uncontrollably. It was just too tempting for our customers to stay in the old habit of picking up the phone and letting our friendly team take their order. We had to find a way to better market the availability of our online order platform. We used box toppers, social media and digital signage. But, the real game changer was when we replaced our analog phone system with a new VOIP system with an auto-attendant. The message was simple, after thanking our guests for calling, we gave them instructions on how to place a takeout order — online of course! Additionally, our short, seven-character online ordering URL makes it easy for our guests to remember our online ordering site once they hang up.

Our customer base is diverse and the response to auto attendants and online ordering was mixed. Some of our guests absolutely refused to even try it and many loved it. We received many angry voicemails because they “just wanted to place their order!” Funny thing though, by the time we called these guests back, they had already placed their order online. Still, though, a friendly follow up with them about the need to change our business model and all was good.

Over time the number of complaints has subsided, and online orders have increased substantially. Since the introduction of our auto attendant and other marketing campaigns, online orders have grown from 27 percent of total takeout sales to 73 percent! Moreover our check average for online orders is 18 percent higher than phone takeout orders. We attribute that increase, in part, to the suggestive selling features available on the online ordering platform. The ability to suggestive sell over the phone can often be limited when our team is busy.

Many factors are affecting our industry in unprecedented ways, and times are changing. We need to constantly evaluate which of the latest technologies are a good fit for our restaurants. For Wholly Stromboli, technology is a clear path to success. A little bit of psychology and knowing how your guests think, together with creating a user-friendly experience for both your team and your guests is imperative to growing your online sales.

MELISSA RICKMAN  is co-founder of Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado, and member of the World Pizza Champions.

Don’t miss Melissa Rickman’s session “Growing Online Ordering” at Pizza Expo in August

When COVID shut down indoor dining, Melissa Rickman knew she needed to grow her online ordering capacity. Ideal for placing delivery and carryout orders, the online option also tends to yield higher check averages. So she went to work and did just that. A year later her online sales are robust, and now she’s going to give you a game plan to do the same in your pizzeria. Get more details.

The post Growing Online Ordering Requires Planning and Marketing appeared first on Pizza Today.

‘Can I get a side…?’

Among the most popular and significant developments in the pizza industry over the last 15 years in my opinion is online sales. By now, if you’re not offering an online ordering option, stop reading, call your point-of-sale company and add it right now — you’re missing the boat!

In all seriousness, I can remember working a late night with one of the big chains back in the early 2000s, and suddenly, the make line screen started beeping really loud and an order appeared. In my experience, that was the very start of online ordering. Over the years, as smartphones proliferated, not only did the big chains adopt online sales, but nearly every point-of-sales system and pizzerias, big and small, added it as option.

The advantages were really endless — in particular, with customers ordering from their smartphones, it gets employees off ringing phones and saves on labor. It even leads to higher ticket average, as customers frequently get trigger happy because of the ease of adding to their carts with a simple finger tap. There’s even the psychological element, as a nice visual menu leads to ordering extra items for the family. But the real science of adding to ticket averages on online sales comes through what I like to call “add-ons.”

All about add-ons

Add-ons are any opportunity to add extra sales online by having strategically placed prompts and buttons added to the back end of your online platform. For example, say a customer orders
10 wings that come with ranch. Is there a button to add more ranch, or do they have to ask for more ranch packets in a comments section? Customers should be able to address any combination of menu items or special request with a button tap when they are placing the order, rather than leaving the only
option to be a written-out (and possibly misconstrued) comment. Taking things one step further, you may want to think about including a pop-up window that opens when they select wings, asking the customer if they would you like to add extra ranch, carrots or celery. You get the idea — take advantage of online sales systems by making it easier for customers to add on to their order.

The same example can be applied to a pizza order. Have you had the customer that wants to take black olives off of a supreme pizza and add double cheese or another high-end topping in their place? If you leave a comment box on the online menu, that gives them the green light to do just that, but a menu that pops up on every pizza order makes it far easier and enticing. There is also an opportunity for extra sales by nudging customers via a pop-up menu that asks if they would like to up the size of their pizza (for a couple of bucks, of course). All of these subtle suggestions keep the ticket average higher than a normal phone call and give your customer more of what they didn’t even know they needed.

Even when the online order is wrapped up and in the cart, the add-ons aren’t finished. This is a great time to add on an appetizer. You can get creative and set up the point-of-sales platform so that at this point it offers a menu item at a small discount, or you can combine the appetizer with a 2-liter soda as a clincher. And whatever you do, don’t forget to include a pop-up asking if they would like to satisfy their sweet tooth with a dessert item.

None of this is really rocket science. As I mentioned, the big guys have been using online ordering for the better part of two decades. They’ve perfected it, so if you really want to see these tactics in action, just order a pizza (or at least put it in your cart) from one of the “Big Three” in your area.

Implementing your strategy

The online functions of point-of-sale systems have grown by leaps and bounds and truly give you an opportunity to increase your online ticket average during a time of so much uncertainty. If you’re new to online sales or have never implemented an add-on strategy, reach out to the vendor or employee who handles your online sales platform. Ask them, “can you do this?” You might be surprised, and it will probably leave you wondering why they didn’t tell you about this sooner. Probably because you never asked.

That brings me to my final point: Stop thinking “well, this is how we’ve always done it” and grab some of those easy low hanging sales. We tend to think that things in the online realm are high-tech and can only be done by the big guys — but everything today is accessible and scalable to businesses of any size. Think about it: There was a time when simply having a system with touchscreens was the big, shiny, seemingly unobtainable new thing, and now, if you don’t have a point-of-sale system that has the latest features and is pushing out monthly upgrades, you have the wrong system.

As it is with online sales, pop-up menus and the constant mission to increase your ticket average, the more you add-on, the better.

NICK BOGACZ  is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post A Guide to Add-on Sales appeared first on Pizza Today.

The fundamental steps of a sound marketing budget

When Keniey Sonley first joined Colorado-based Parry’s Pizza as its director of marketing in 2011, scant residue of a marketing apparatus existed.

“They pretty much did everything on their own and were decently successful with those modest efforts,” Sonley says of the then-four-year-old pizzeria.

As Parry’s ownership introduced more locations – there are now more than a dozen across three states – and solidified its emphasis on craft beer, however, Sonley pushed for more calculated action, including a marketing budget tailored to support the brand’s ambitious prospects. A marketing budget would foster more organized outreach, Sonley reasoned, and that would enable Parry’s to heighten its most successful marketing initiatives.

With a marketing budget in hand, Sonley then teed up ad buys, planned promotions and assembled creative assets, coordinated work that contributed to Parry’s steady growth and overall performance.

“In marketing, you should always be in front of everything,” Sonley says, adding that a thoughtfully constructed, fiscally sound budget should serve as a compass for marketing efforts.

Taken one step further, Renegade Hospitality Group CEO Tim Kirkland calls a set marketing budget “a critical discipline” for business health.

“It helps you keep an eye on the steady, long-term health of your business,” Kirkland says.

The path to a marketing budget

Marketing remains an essential function for any restaurant, a necessary endeavor to attract new guests, retain existing customers and, ultimately, drive sales. It’s also a step toward more informed decisions.

“You want to know how much money you need, so you can anticipate and plan accordingly,” says Nick Makris, an associate professor in the College of Hospitality Management at Johnson & Wales University.

Still, many restaurants continue to overlook the importance of a marketing budget or struggle to account for its necessary components.

Step 1: Set a dollar figure

Quite often, restaurants brush aside a marketing budget as an unnecessary, burdensome effort. It need not be. To simplify things and determine a reasonable marketing budget, gather annual, quarterly and monthly sales figures. According to Makris, larger chain restaurants typically devote seven to 10 percent of total sales to marketing. In contrast, smaller, independent spots traditionally sit in the two to three percent range, though some might run as high as six percent.

“Those are good guideposts,” Makris says.

New restaurants will need to plan for more, however, as it is significantly more expensive to establish a brand than sustain it.

“Many new operators budget their funds just to get the physical plant open, then think the world will beat a path to them once the doors swing,” Kirkland says, contending that such passive efforts contribute to the high number of restaurants that close in their opening year of business.

Step 2: Account for experimentation

A marketing budget typically includes traditional forms of advertising such as direct mail and print as well as digital marketing efforts like Google Ads or paid social media advertisements. Marketing often requires experimentation, testing different avenues before investigating what resonates. While paid Facebook ads might work well to generate orders of a limited-time menu item, print coupons on a grocery store receipt might drive traffic for a weeknight special.

“No one formula works for everyone, so expect to experiment,” Makris says, reminding that any marketing budget should also factor in updating and maintaining a website stocked with modern functionalities like online ordering.

Step 3: Adopt a strategic approach

When constructing a restaurant’s marketing budget, Sonley says it’s imperative to identify specific promotional targets and to know the traditional peaks and valleys of a business’ year. Now running his own Colorado-based marketing agency called Woken Eye, Sonley does a deep dive with each client that includes identifying instances in a normal calendar year in which the restaurant wants to use promotion to drive traffic and sales. This includes holidays, new menu item launches, anniversary celebrations, summer parties and sporting events.

Having this information handy allows the marketing budget to flex accordingly. For instance, a pizzeria might invest more marketing dollars into pumping up spring and summer catering specials whereas it might not need to devote as much capital to a Super Bowl promotion.

In addition, Sonley says a useful marketing budget will also outline available funds for each quarter of the year while simultaneously calling attention to when and where paid advertisements fall to avoid overlapping promotions.

Step 4: Go forth, track and pivot

With a thoughtful marketing plan in action, operators can then reallocate funds from the budget accordingly as the year progresses, cutting a planned investment on unprofitable marketing endeavors and redirecting capital to efforts that impacted sales. This, Makris says, is the way pizzerias capture the most bang for their marketing buck.

“By tracking and evaluating your current marketing investment, you can see what needs to change and target the marketing that brings you the greatest ROI,” Makris says, adding that even slim marketing budgets can stimulate impressive results when dollars are deliberately and strategically invested.  

Why you need to think of marketing like a water pump

Veteran hospitality consultant and author Tim Kirkland, CEO of Renegade Hospitality Group, urges restaurant operators to think of marketing like a water pump.

“Once the water is flowing, it takes relatively little effort to keep it going,” he says, “but if the pump is shut off or
allowed to run dry, it takes significant effort to get it primed and flowing again.”

That’s why Kirkland urges restaurants to avoid stop-and-go marketing and instead favor continuous investment.

Too often, Kirkland says, restaurants only turn to marketing when sales drop, using already scarce revenues to “jumpstart” the business. Such reactionary marketing, however, is frequently more expensive and less effective than a practice of steady messaging to customers.

“If you wait until business starts falling off to invest in marketing, it’s often too late,” Kirkland says.

Another common misstep: restaurants immediately slice their marketing budget when the business hits a downturn. Though a seemingly modest cut, it risks taking the restaurant off the consumer’s radar.

“Cuts to marketing will show up weeks and months later in the form of further reduced top-line sales,” Kirkland contends.

Daniel P. Smith  Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post Marketing Budget Basics appeared first on Pizza Today.

When looking for ways to stretch ad dollars, geofencing may provide specific advantages and lower costs. “Geofencing is a strategy of getting your brand to smartphone users only using ads that are relevant to them,” says Michael Hammelburger, CEO of The Bottom Line Group, an expense reduction consulting firm. “These users are within a virtual distance or boundary around your pizzeria’s location.”

Consider the following scenario: Travelers pass through your area and crave pizza for dinner. As they approach your restaurant, they receive a message on their phones. The notification provides information on your place and offers a promotion of 20 percent off their bill. These travelers might be more likely to stop and try out your pies, as the ad has targeted them while they are in proximity of your location and enticed them with a discount. “A mobile pop-up can connect customers to your restaurant if you hook them using a location-based discounted offer,” Hammelburger says.

Before setting up a geofence, however, you’ll want to understand what it can do—and what it cannot. Making the most of this ad strategy also involves recognizing costs and using best practices to turn a profit. Read on as experts explain everything you need to know about geofencing and sales.

How Geofencing Works

Geofencing is similar to how it sounds: when you run an advertisement, you can draw a virtual “fence” indicating where you want the ad to be seen. “This may be a zip code, a neighborhood, a town or even a state,” says Mike Funkhouser, CEO of Small Business Mentor.

Restaurants can use geofencing to help meet goals such as bringing in more customers, improving brand recognition and creating brand loyalty. In addition to offering promotions and discounts, you can use this type of advertising to inform potential diners about your place. For instance, if your pizza shop provides free wi-fi for diners, you can include this in the message that’s sent to individuals in the geofence.

“Geofencing can take only a few minutes to set up if you know where to look,” says Nate Shivar, a marketing consultant at ShivarWeb LLC who helps local businesses like pizzerias with online marketing. If you’re using Google Ads, you can navigate to your campaign overview. Once you see the column with campaign options, you can click “More” to expand the options listed. Then click on “Locations” and add your included areas and excluded areas. For Facebook, you can head to Facebook Ad Manager; once you’ve created your ads, go to Ad Set. Then head to the Audience section, where you can narrow or expand your audience based on a radius surrounding an address or a defined location area.

Geofencing Limitations

“Like anything in technology, geofencing isn’t foolproof,” says Pieter Vanlperen, a veteran software architect and security expert, and managing partner at PWV Consultants. “There will be a percentage of ads that get outside the fence.” You also may find that you end up marketing to your pizzeria’s already established client base. This can happen if you’re located in a small town, and everyone there already knows of your place.

Another pitfall can occur if your marketing efforts collide with your customer base’s preferences. For instance, some clientele may consider it an invasion of privacy to receive ads when they are in a certain location. If your target customers tend to not be tech-savvy, delivering notifications on a mobile device may not lead to as high of a conversion rate as you’d hoped for.

Cost Considerations

“Usually the cost of a geofencing marketing campaign varies from $5 to $15 CPM (cost per thousand impressions),” says Akshay Deogiri, SEO outreach specialist at Beaconstac, which provides proximity marketing solutions including geofencing. Your exact spend will depend on several factors, including the size of the geofence. “The larger the geofence, the lower the CPM is because the volume is higher,” Deogiri says.

One cost perk of geofencing is that you can avoid spending money to reach customers that are outside of your ideal range. For instance, say you tell Google, Facebook or another ad platform that you will pay $0.25 per click for customers in Atlanta who want to buy pizza. “Once their algorithms find a group of people who click your ads, they will focus on serving your ads to just that group of people,” Shivar says. “You might end up spending almost all your ad budget on cheap college students at the outside bounds of your delivery range.” With geofencing, you can establish a radius or target a specific neighborhood and only spend ad money on individuals who are within your delivery reach.

In addition, you can use geofencing to create more attractive and profitable ads. “People click on ads that are more relevant to them,” Shivar says. Google and Facebook reward relevant ads with lower costs per click. “Plus, they usually have better conversions,” Shivar adds. For example, perhaps a national restaurant chain pays $0.50 per click for an ad throughout the Chicago metro area that says, “Get Tuesday’s Pizza Special!” If you have just one location in downtown Chicago and try to run an ad campaign throughout the city that states “Check Out Our Tuesday Pizza Special!” You will have to pay more than $0.50 a click, and your ad still might lag behind the national chain’s promotion. However, if you run a campaign for just the two miles around a university that is near your restaurant and create a relevant ad such as “University of Chicago Students Get a Tuesday Pizza Special!” Google and Facebook will be more likely to show your ad first. You can expect to pay much less than $0.50 per click, even though the national chain is still bidding $0.50 per click for those same customers.

Marketing today is becoming increasingly personal. Using geofencing can help you find those ideal customers and bring them back for another meal. “Geofencing is a viable and high-converting option when pizzerias are relying on online ads and digital marketing to drive footfall, and when the ideal target customer is tech-savvy,” Deogiri says.

Rachel Hartman is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post In Range: Using Geofencing to Advertise appeared first on Pizza Today.

The New Social

When discussing the growth of Triple Jays Pizzeria in Atlanta, Jay Terrence doesn’t get far without mentioning the role of social media.

Given Triple Jays’ 2015 origins as a food truck, social media served a tool to communicate with customers eager for a taste of Terrence’s award-winning, New York City-styled pies. Facebook and Instagram, where the pizzeria currently boasts some 10,000 followers, propelled Triple Jays’ notoriety and empowered Terrence to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in February 2020.

“Social media was the most economical way for us to get the word out to thousands of people,” Terrence says.

In early 2020, Triple Jays doubled down on social media when it added TikTok to its social media arsenal. In one calendar year, Triple Jays posted hundreds of snappy videos providing a behind-the-scenes look at pizza-making, store personalities and notable guests such as basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal en route to collecting more than 22,000 followers.

“I’m always trying to catch the next thing so I can ride with that,” Terrence says.

While the contemporary restaurant marketing playbook touts social media’s benefits, the pandemic elevated its stature given consumers’ soaring reliance on digital devices amid the quarantine lifestyle.

“COVID supercharged the importance of social media and was a lifeline to all restaurants as a meaningful way to reach customers,” says Marc Liu, co-founder of New York City-based Gourmet Marketing.

And it’s no fleeting arrangement given ever-rising technological adoption.

“As brands start to claw their way back out from the pandemic, there will be no greater set of tools than social media marketing and advertising,” says Ryan Goff, social media marketing director at Maryland-based marketing and advertising firm MGH.

But on which social networks should restaurants be active, especially given the practical challenges of managing accounts with regular postings, evolving functionalities and shifting consumer whims?

The Standard-Bearers: Instagram and Facebook

With 2.7 billion and 1 billion monthly active users, respectively, Facebook and Instagram dominate social traffic, yet both continue to evolve and offer new ways for restaurants to engage audiences and distribute unique content.

Facebook, for instance, continues to take larger steps into the e-commerce arena. Users can now purchase products from Facebook as well as Instagram, its sister network, without ever having to leave either platform, thereby cultivating the faster, more seamless checkout experience today’s consumers crave.

“For restaurants looking to diversify revenue streams through merch and other e-comm products, Facebook’s tools could play a significant role in helping to launch, sustain or grow these businesses,” Goff says.

Meanwhile, Instagram Stories enables restaurants to post more off-the-cuff, authentic-feeling content that counters the heavily edited content that can dominate Instagram feeds, Liu says. With little more than a smartphone and basic knowledge of overlay tools and captions, restaurants can create appealing content on Instagram Stories.

But beware: on both ubiquitous platforms, investing in paid options – which can be economical and evaluated, it’s worth noting – are necessary to maximize reach.

“You can’t get around paid on Facebook and Instagram because of the algorithms, so familiarize yourself with paid options on both,” Liu suggests. “To not do this is to miss out.”

The Rising Star: TikTok

Over the last two years, TikTok has been the belle of the social media ball. In February 2019, the video-sharing network claimed nearly 27 million monthly active users in the U.S. Today, it boasts well over 100 million, half of whom are daily active users, according to company data.

“Without question,” Goff says, restaurant marketers should consider developing a paid and unpaid presence on TikTok given the exposure the platform delivers, the variety of creative paths it offers and its fresh appeal.

“The TikTok opportunity exists today, but it might not exist tomorrow as more brands jump on board,” Goff says. “Restaurants should look for ways to immediately start participating on TikTok, particularly through the use of low-cost TikTok influencers.”

The Not-to-be-Ignored: Snapchat, LinkedIn and YouTube

While Snapchat, LinkedIn and YouTube are all established platforms, each provides its own unique, though often overlooked appeal.

With TikTok’s surge, many wrote off one-time Gen Z darling Snapchat. The 10-year-old messaging app, in which pictures and messages vanish after a short time, has wooed back users with some strategic development and new promotions, Goff says, including a daily $1 million giveaway for the best user content. Its resurgence is worth monitoring.

While LinkedIn is mostly used for professional networking, the platform now rewards high-engagement content with equally high organic reach in its news feed. With that, Goff says restaurants might “seek out ways to create engaging or shareable content on the platform with the intention of reaching a large, tuned-in user base at little to no cost.”

And don’t sleep on video powerhouse YouTube, especially for longer-form video. Restaurants might use the platform to share instructional tips for home cooks or detail the development of a new menu offering.

One important note: as so many restaurants leverage multiple social media channels, Liu suggests using a scheduling tool such as Hootsuite or Buffer to streamline posting and spur a more calculated plan.

“Using a scheduling tool will lead to a more thoughtful approach and also help improve the efficiency of your social media efforts,” he says.

Three questions to ask before launching a new social media profile

In the rush to capture social media’s benefits, pizzerias should not jump onto a new digital bandwagon without first considering the practical and strategic aspects of adding another social channel to their marketing mix. So, before launching a new social media platform, consider these central questions:

What social networks are my core customers using? Investigate where customers spend their time online for inspiration, news, entertainment and the like. That’s where you want to be.

Am I committed to doing this well? Social marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Absent an investment of time and energy into developing consistent and relevant content, a new social media channel will likely fall flat and struggle to deliver a reasonable ROI.

Who will oversee content? Someone competent must manage a new social media channel and that individual should be invested in doing it well.

Daniel P. Smith  Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post The Pizzeria’s Abridged Guide to Social Media in 2021 appeared first on Pizza Today.

The Fast Lane

When it comes to website development and management, restaurant owners tend to be hands off. Let the professionals do what they do best. But, are you asking yourself: why doesn’t my pizzeria’s website get more visits or why is my restaurant not higher on Google results pages? These questions should prompt you to gain a better understanding of how your website functions, performs and is marketed.

The year 2020 taught us the importance of using the most effective communications methods that will reach customers and convert into ordering. Whether you have online ordering or not, your website is one of your most powerful marketing tools to reach your customers.

Roughly 77 percent of diners have indicated that they are likely to visit a restaurant’s website before they dine or order takeout or delivery, according to a 2019 MGH study. The Marketing Communications Agency study also found that over 60 percent were discouraged from dining or ordering takeout or delivery because of the website. Your website has a direct impact on your sales.

Put on your helmet for a crash course in website basics. Go to your website as a new customer. Can you easily and quickly see where the restaurant is located, find active contact buttons, access menus and ordering? Conversion happens quickly with hungry diners. If they can’t access what they need quickly, they will move on to the next restaurant.

Aesthetics are very important to restaurant websites. And it starts with your photography. “Pizza websites should have bold, appetizing photos,” says Phil Marzo, partner at RetaurantIdentity.com, who worked with hundreds on restaurant websites. “People eat with their eyes, so colorful, delicious food photos matter to attract them to your pizzeria over competitors. All photos should be optimized so both desktop and mobile website opens quickly for online customers. A slow opening website will turn away customers in a hurry.”

Avoid using stock photography. People want to see your food and what your dining experience is like. Quick tip: a table near your front window may produce perfect light for food photography that can even be taken with your smartphone.   

Just as your dining experience solidifies your brand, the same is true of a website’s visitor experience. If those do not match, you may be falling short of your brand online.

There are three areas that you’ll want to familiarize yourself with and be able to ask the right questions of your website manager. We’ll introduce them here:

• SEO. Search Engine Optimization, you’ve probably heard this term and know and hope that your web developer is on it. Did you work with your developer to create a keyword roadmap and/or revisit your keywords lately? Only you and your team know your business so you should be part of the keyword strategies.

Rudolph Musngi, head of marketing at Orders2me, says a key to increasing web traffic is with local SEO. “Ranking high on search results for ‘pizza near me’ or similar keywords will give you high-quality and FREE traffic,” he says. “SEO is a bit more complicated, but in a nutshell, it’s about performing several optimizations on your website and your business listings to increase user experience, quality of traffic and content so that search engines like Google will reward you with appearing first on search results.”

It’s not enough to merely identify keywords that you think people will use, you also want to research to see what search terms people are actually using. Think in terms of overall restaurant terms, niche keywords that your restaurant falls into and your restaurant’s branding keywords.

• Responsive. Your website MUST be easy to view, navigate and interact with on a mobile phone. “A good tip would be to visit your own pizzeria’s website on your phone (if you have a spare old and really slow phone then test it there too),” Musngi says. “If you find it confusing, or slow, or just plain excruciating to go through the process of ordering on your own website, then your customer might have a 10x worse experience.”

People are making dining decisions on their smartphones while they are running errands, leaving appointments or on their couch. Your website should meet their mobile experience expectations.

• External drivers. Marzo and Musngi point to good strategies to help drive traffic to your website. Your website should be submitted and verified by Google. Use social to drive traffic. Get reviews and maintain all of your review site accounts.

You can dive as deep as you want to understand your website’s performance. Musngi says, “Try to build relationships with your audience and understand where they are landing on your website. Are they coming from Facebook or Google Search? How many of them land on your blog posts? Or your product pages? These things matter because you begin to understand where your customers are coming from and how to convince them to order online.”

Ask your website pro to go over the analytics, not just totals. Get to the meat of the analytics to see who’s visiting the site, when are they ordering on the site, where they are going on the site and how long they are spending. You may even want access to the analytics yourself to browse all the areas you can learn about your website’s traffic.

Driving more traffic to your website and online ordering requires your time, attention and planning.  

A Quick Website Basics Checklist

• Website is mobile responsive. Users should not have to zoom in or scroll across to see menus and images on a smartphone.
• Contact info, menu and ordering is easy to find on homepage.
• Phone numbers are active and clickable to call.
• Location has clickable directions.
• Menu is easy to read in body text format. It’s good for search and visibility. Menus shouldn’t be hidden behind PDF links or in images.
• High-quality photos of your food are present, and they have meta descriptions — a must for SEO and ADA compliancy. And, please no more stock photos. Your smartphone is a high-resolution camera!
• Online ordering is easy to access and use.

The post How to drive more traffic to your restaurant’s website appeared first on Pizza Today.

This year’s marketing trends are vast. We’ve scoured dozens and dozens of 2021 marketing trend predictions to give you a look at what’s hot and what’s relevant to pizzerias.

In the world of independent pizzerias, budgets for marketing are often tight or focused on the tried-and-trued initiatives that operators have used for years. It may be time to introduce new marketing strategies to reach your target customers.

What’s hot this year aren’t necessarily new marketing initiatives, but they are surging marketing ideas that are resonating and building steam, especially after such a volatile year for restaurants.

An overarching trend with no signs of slowing is a focus on digital marketing, whether that’s social and websites or e-mail and search engines.

Lou Malnati’s continues to grow its digital marketing spend. “We continue to invest in digital marketing as it grows and want to engage customers in their preferred channels,” says Natalie Levy, marketing manager at Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. “Also, we lean into social media and embrace influencer marketing to build relationships and increase engagement. We value content marketing as it remains relevant to connect with our customers and focus on video marketing which is vital for storytelling.”

Clayton Krueger, Director of Marketing and Communications at Tacoma, Washington-based Farrelli’s Pizza, was an early adaptor of social media and social continues to be an area of concentration. He sees new marketing trends as opportunities. “You have to keep your eyes open to new opportunities that align with your brand, that align with where you are at with your resources and make sure you are going after the target market that you want to get,” he says.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the hottest marketing trends right now and how you can use them:

• Short-form video. From TikTok and Instagram to YouTube and Facebook, these 15- to 30-second videos are content marketing gold. Instagram Reels and TikTok specifically are all the rage because a user can cut in several small snippets of videos into their short video. The possibilities are endless for pizzerias. You can highlight a pizza special in unique ways, do a vlog style culture video, show the pizza-making or delivery process start to finish or go for the drool factor with some slow-mo finishing drizzle toppings or cheese pull. Don’t forget the metadata (that’s the titles, descriptions and tags). Without the metadata, you could go viral with your video without hitting your target market.

• Voice Search. If you have said, “Hey, Sir”, “Hey Alexa” or “Hey Google”, you have done a voice search. The reality is that smartphone uses are already using voice search to find local restaurants. A 2018 BrightLocal study found that restaurants were the top industry for voice search. So how can you capitalize on voice search? It begins with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Understanding relationship between your website, order apps and local search keywords, like “near me” and “best pizza nearby”.

“We don’t pay for any services like AdWords or Google Search rankings,” Krueger says. “We just do everything we can to keep our website up-to-date and accurate. We manage our Google business pages. When you just take the time to do those things, your search results automatically improve, and you see your SEO high. When your SEO is high, if someone asks Siri or Google or Alexa a question, you just have a better chance of it being you already. So, step one is just make sure you have the tools that you can control dialed in. And beyond that, now there are other companies out there trying to help you be the top result.”

For more on SEO and website traffic, go to How to drive more traffic to your restaurant’s website.

• Partnerships. Some call it co-branding. But, let’s broaden the term for its use in pizzeria marketing. Collaboration is nothing new to pizzerias. Krueger views third-party delivery partnerships as a marketing line item. “We think of third-party delivery as a form of advertisement,” he says. “You are going to pay upwards of 20+ percent to have your products delivered by them. We think of that 20+ percent as a marketing fee. What it is is a new customer acquisition strategy.” The challenge is that pizzerias are not capturing data on third-party customers. It’s an issue that Krueger says Farrelli’s has been working diligently to convert those customers to use the pizzeria’s internal platforms through branding and experience-based marketing. “How can we take third party and use it to our advantage to cast this net out there, bring the people into the pizzeria and convert them to our online ordering platform, our data aggregator?,” he asks. “How can we bring them into our system and how do we retarget them? It doesn’t have to be slick and polished; it just has to work.”

• E-commerce. Providing a vehicle for customers to order from your pizzeria digitally, whether that is online, on social or on mobile has become essential in a time without much face-to-face ordering. This trend is poised to continue as many are now accustomed to digital ordering. “E-commerce endures as the preference of choice for brands and consumers with significant growth and investment opportunities in the future,” Levy says, adding that e-commerce remains the most effective marketing channel at Lou Malnati’s.   

• Live Streaming. We saw the capabilities with live streaming thrive during the pandemic. Pizzerias around the country went live to interact with guests that they missed engaging with when dining areas closed. These opportunities will only grow as more people are now accustomed to and enjoy live streaming. You can host a virtual pizza-making class, do a food and wine/beer pairing event or vlog what’s happening at the pizzeria or share your pizzeria’s story.

• Personalization. In the era of COVID-19, people are seeking personal connections and hyper-personalization marketing will meet that customer demand. Your POS and loyalty programs give you the power to get personal with your customers. Use it. It’s time to leverage that data in e-mail, text, direct mail, in store and on delivery/carryout communications. “Current resident,” “Dear Sir or Madam” or “Customer Number X” fall flat when you are trying to build a relationship with your guests.

• Push Notifications outpaces SMS. Though these are very different concepts, they both allow pizzerias to deliver messages directly to customers’ devices. Push notification drive the customer to instantly engage, while SMS is a direct 160-character text message delivered and opened in seconds. Krueger says Farrelli’s relies on SMS for more specific annual birthday and anniversary messages. “We’re going to rely more on the push notifications feature of the app,” he says. “For us, we like the push notification more and essentially it accomplishes the same thing. And for us, it’s built into the cost of the loyalty program.”

• Cause Marketing. Community outreach and fundraising is at the fabric of pizzerias. It’s an area that pizzerias received a return during COVID-19. Communities supported their local pizzerias as they have supported their communities in the past. Cause marketing will continue to thrive. “The pivot to virtual events and fundraisers, due to accessibility, has created new opportunities for our fundraising program to support local communities,” Levy says.

• Marketing Tech on the Horizon. There are a number of hot technologies to watch this year. Augmented reality (AR) and chatbots are here. AR has caught fire with the retail market with the ability to “try on” anything while shopping online. In restaurants, menus are being reimagined as 3D views.

Chatbots are being deployed on restaurant websites, apps and social accounts right now. Chatbots are facilitating online ordering.

When it comes to advancing marketing technology, Krueger advises evaluating them through your brand filter. “The bigger question is how do you utilize that to enhance your experience to be relevant in some way to your brand? You just really need to know who you are as a brand. If these things fit, that is where the opportunity is.”

These marketing trends are only a drop in the bucket of what’s available to help you market your restaurant. It can seem cumbersome to review everything available.

Krueger offers some tips for looking at marketing trends. “The reality is the opportunities are endless, whether it be social media, new social media things popping up, new technologies popping up,” he says. “You just have to be able to have that filter to say there are going to be new things coming out all of the time, that does not mean we should do them. We should only do those if they fit with our brand.”

The post 2021 Marketing Trends appeared first on Pizza Today.

Mike Bausch outlines how to get specific with your social influencer marketing

A self-proclaimed social media influencer contacted my pizzeria via direct message to “Collab” for her baby shower. I said, “Sure. We can do the appetizers for free.” I was quite surprised when I received the curt response of, “I was under the impression you wanted to do a collab.”

Let me pause for a moment and say I had no idea that the short-form version of collaboration takes on a whole new meaning. A modern meaning where I, as the restaurant owner, are to entirely give my restaurant to the whims of the influencer, with no proof of ROI.  I had noooooo idea a “Collab” is the type of thing that means a 20-person party eats at your restaurant for free, with no room fee, free booze and all. All this for a photo of themselves eating for free at your establishment, but I digress.

The pretense of this “Collab” arrangement is pretentious and ostentatious, and that’s why it turns so many people off.  This “influencer” had about 3,500 followers. Her followers were mostly female that lived locally. I thought, “let’s see what comes of it” … purely out of curiosity to see if my gut was wrong.

My gut wasn’t wrong. I threw them a nice party, took care of the bill, and nothing happened as a result. I was out that food cost with a lesson learned — a few photos and videos on her feed with a few likes. The lesson I learned that day is a self-proclaimed influencer is less likely to be the influencer I want.

I’m not saying the influencer model can’t work; it totally can. Here’s how it can work: I saw a 45-second clip online of a different girl. She had posted this video titled “My favorite date night spots in Tulsa.” She showed some great locations and restaurants, which included my food hall location.

She had over a thousand comments from people agreeing with her or suggesting other locations that should be added. I messaged her and offered her and her husband dinner at my restaurant on me. No strings attached. I didn’t have to ask her to make a video, I just let her do her thing. She made another video of her and her husband at Andolini’s. The video got over 600 comments. Her audience engaged in thoughtful, natural, unsolicited comments. People were saying they need to try Andolini’s, and others said how much they love Andolini’s. Out-of-state people commented about going to my restaurant.

The self-proclaimed influencer acts like a QVC salesperson who wants to eat for free. They want to be the star of the show, not your restaurant, so the focus never leaves them. A legit influencer is a personality in your area that interacts with people who comment. They post to have fun, not to build a lifestyle brand off it like a wannabe Kardashian. The influencer model is viable when you choose your influencer and not influencers hitting you up for a handout.

Influencer marketing can be significantly cheaper than traditional marketing, pending you do it right. Find people who don’t bill themselves as influencers but who are speaking to your audience. And just be cool to them, offer a free meal, offer whatever. They’ll know what to do. You don’t need to create a contract of what you will give for how many mentions; let them do their thing. Because if they’re excited about your restaurant, they’ll be happy to do it. And they’ll put more into their post, and more people will see it.

I started looking at social media feeds. I found that many local newscasters, weather people, radio personalities have a massive following. I found others who do great on social media with no affiliation to anything in the public eye. These people dig talking about what they like in the food world, and have a lot of interaction with the community. When they post, it comes off as natural, and it resonates. ENGAGE THESE PEOPLE is the lesson I learned. Engage them with open arms and a clear mind to let them do their thing. For $10 in food cost, you could be reaching hundreds with what appears to be unsolicited advertising that shows interesting people checking your place out.

Now when I get hit up for a “Collab,” I typically pass. Their overt sales photos with little to no comments don’t move the needle.  It’s not genuine and people can smell it as fake. Instead, choose your influencers, let them have fun with your restaurant, and gain low investment top of mind awareness with new and repeat customers.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Influencers — Don’t Just Partner With Anyone appeared first on Pizza Today.

I made a huge mistake on January 1, 2019. That was the day I decided to reorganize my entire pizza t-shirt collection. I pulled out every single one of them and organized the whole lot by color, then posted a picture to Instagram. The next day, I had dozens of messages from pizzerias wanting to send shirts to add to my “collection.” Until recently, only the touristy pizzerias in New York offered t-shirts, yet clearly they’re a popular item at pizzerias everywhere else. At a time when small businesses are looking for alternative means of making ends meet, I truly think t-shirts are an incredible way to boost sales and amplify your brand without breaking the bank.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Original design t-shirt sales in the U.S. alone is a $516 million dollar industry (SOURCE: Ibisworld). Customers love shirts that express novelty, humor and support for important causes. That could mean anything from political statements to obscure jokes from a podcast.

Your customers want t-shirts. Families haven’t been able to make their annual pilgrimage to eat your pizza. They’d certainly fill the emotional blank with a t-shirt. College students miss their favorite campus pizzerias and would love to wear their support.

The old school way of selling shirts is to contract a printer, invest in a large order, warehouse the product and fulfill orders. Today it’s much easier to offer t-shirts thanks to Print On Demand technology. This is the business model of a bunch of Websites with the word “Print” in the name. You just upload a design, choose the t-shirt you want it printed on, price it, then sell through a link on your website and social media. Your POD partner handles the transaction, printing and shipment. You don’t have to do anything.

Most POD services are free to use since the company makes their money only when your product sells. Shirts are printed only when products are sold, so they use a Direct to Garment print method that doesn’t look as nice as screen printed shirts. One major benefit is that these companies usually offer more than just t-shirts, so you can put your logo on hats, cell phone cases, umbrellas, etc. for no additional cost.

The POD companies I just mentioned offer direct sales, which means you provide the sole portal for customers to discover your products. If you plan to offer shirts to a wider audience, perhaps with artwork that isn’t specific to your pizzeria, you can use a marketplace option like Tee Public or Tee Fury. Those sites are popular for esoteric novelty shirts, but they’re also used by podcasts to offer merch to their fans.

There is an option for a custom t-shirt that offers the ease of POD with the quality of screen printing. Sites like Custom Ink offer Group Printing, which means you pre-sell a product for a limited time, then they print and ship only what sells. The more you sell, the less you pay per piece. Shirts and prints are of the highest screen print quality but you don’t have to warehouse and fulfill. It’s the best of both worlds!

Shirts are a great way to offer your customers a way to support your business while wearing a piece of hometown pride. If you’ve been holding out because of the time, space and expense you can rest easy knowing that technology has caught up with your dreams. Now make some cool shirts so I can wear them!

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: Looking for ancillary income? Design a sweet T! appeared first on Pizza Today.

I just realized I’m getting old. Most people figure it out when they lose hair or experience back pain, but my red flag has been my reaction to the word “influencer.” Even typing it makes me cringe. My frustration is compounded when an “influencer” reaches out to offer a “collaboration.” That just means they want something for free, right? That might be the case in some situations, but as much as it hurts my aging brain to admit, social media collaboration can have incredible benefits.

As a pizzeria, your job is to serve your customers. As a brand, your job is to reinforce your identity. That happens through signage, decor, your website, and what you choose to post online. When someone contacts you with an offer to collaborate, you’ll need to figure out if the relationship will reinforce your brand. Do your audiences overlap too much? Is theirs likely to be interested in your message? Is their following even in your pizzeria’s service area?

Some brands are so preoccupied with their own advantage that they forget the whole concept of collaboration is that both sides benefit from the relationship. This isn’t a compromise, in which both sides have to lose ground to reach an agreement. A collaboration is an elective relationship by which both parties root for the other to succeed. I wouldn’t enter a collaboration that showed no clear benefit to the other party because they’re unlikely to do any real promotion.

Influencer collaboration is marketing, and it can be more valuable than traditional forms of advertising because it provides you with a focused and active audience. Social media incentivizes users to become their own brands. That’s why the random person who contacts you to collaborate might be worth your time. They’re a brand looking to build their audience just as you’re looking to build yours.

Maybe I cringe at the words influencer and collaboration because I’ve seen so much abuse of both, but the flubs have helped me outline some best practices for getting involved in such partnerships.

If you want to collaborate with a person or brand, come up with a direct ask or short list of ideas. It’s really annoying to receive a request with no specific plan.

When you do reach out, take a minute to research the person so you can personalize the message. This week I received a “We’ve identified you as an influencer” message (already a red flag) inviting me to try a new pizza. I noticed that the place is a few states away so I figured they’re offering to ship frozen pizzas in exchange for a post. Nope. They apparently thought I’d ignore health and safety guidelines to cross through a few states to try a pizza.

Finally, try to think of something that truly is a collaboration and not just a favor. I saw a really smart campaign in which a pizzeria created special pizzas designed by local influencers every week. They even tied a local charity, chosen by the influencer, to the purchase of every pizza. The collaboration brought a fresh audience to the pizzeria thanks to exposure from both the influencer and the charity while providing the influencer with a unique medium by which to express their creativity.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: The Art of Collaboration — Influencer Marketing appeared first on Pizza Today.

It wasn’t long ago that we were all enamored with the chime of a text message or the blast of a new ringtone. That was before we fell down the slippery slope of automatic updates and notifications. Today’s consumers want to get fresh information as it hits, and pizzerias like yours need to reach customers quickly and effectively. With so many communication options, it’s hard to know what’s worth your time and money.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Social media works really well because users view it as a recreational activity. They’ve opted in to your feed alongside the feeds of their favorite celebrities, sports teams and friends. That positions you nicely to soft sell your audience. Social lets your brand personality take center stage in a way that can indirectly translate into sales. The issue is that there are so many platforms and each has its own format so it’s best to customize content for each one instead of blasting the exact same thing across them all. The platforms may be free, but they’re sophisticated enough that it might be worth bringing in a professional social media manager to make sure you reach maximum potential.

As much as I appreciate social media, it’s definitely not the only way to run a sales strategy. Facebook and Twitter have algorithms that favor some posts over others and YouTube is notoriously attuned to feeding content based on what they think will keep them staring at their screen the longest. You don’t actually own your social media audience, the platforms do. At any moment, they can change their tech and destroy your entire communication structure. As a friend in marketing once put it, “Spending all your time building a social media following is like building on rented ground.” The key is to collect an audience on social media and convert them to a format that gives you some control.

That brings me to e-mail. Having a newsletter list might seem like an ancient method of communication but it consistently outperforms all other channels in terms of getting good return on investment. You own the list so you stay in the driver’s seat. Success rates are easy to measure with e-mail marketing whereas they are not so simple on social media. You can also segment your audience so the right people get the right message. That’s pretty powerful especially if you have multiple locations and want to tailor a message to people in one neighborhood or another.

As a consumer, I don’t mind getting a few marketing e-mails. Even when I delete them, I’m still reading your name and thinking about your business. Even the worst-case scenario of a customer unsubscribing isn’t even that bad because it refines your audience. Maintaining an e-mail list is how you transform a third-party delivery app customer to a direct customer. Just offer a discount that requires redemption via e-mail so you can loop them in on your marketing blasts. Small price to pay for saving on future third-party app fees.

The last format I want to mention is SMS. I’ve never been a fan because text messages feel more like my personal space than my e-mail inbox. I get a bit annoyed when a marketing text pops up on my phone but they’re easy enough to delete or unsubscribe. As reluctant as I may be about SMS, the stats are heavily in its favor. I recently read that 75 percent of consumers are OK with receiving SMS messages after opting in; SMS messages have a 98-percent open rate; coupon redemption is 10 times higher than other discount methods; and SMS response rate is 209-percent higher than e-mail, phone or social media. You just can’t ignore those numbers!

These days it’s extra important to communicate with your customers so consider all the options and choose what’s right for your business. 

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: Communication Channels appeared first on Pizza Today.

Brand and Messaging Strategy

The doors are open and you’re spending on marketing in as many ways as possible, but there might be a missing piece: your message. We’re not talking about coupons and menu mailers, but your calling card — the core message.

What do you want people to say about your business when you’re not around? The best way to make sure they’re saying what you want them to is by staying consistent.

Slogans.

Have a clear, simple message that customers won’t forget. At Caliente Pizza & Draft House, our brand is built around our award-winning history. Each employee wears a “3X World Champs” shirt, and the slogan “Pizza of Champions” is everywhere, from uniforms to our website, billboards and printed materials. It’s even on the beer glasses.

Employees.

Don’t underestimate the way your employees represent your brand. Being customer-facing, their attitudes and even uniforms are a good start. For example, if you’re a ’70s throwback pizzeria, selling pies alongside free good vibes, tie-dye shirts would be the perfect uniform.

Pizzerias.

Your restaurant should match your message. This is where the message comes alive. Can you guess what’s on the walls in our pizzerias? If you guessed trophies and awards, you’re right. You’ll find framed articles from the publications talking about our victories, as well. We even have a World Pizza Champions jacket hanging on display, and we go the extra mile with custom wooden pizza peels that have our accolades engraved on them. When you walk into our locations, you feel like you’re walking into a world-class, championship-winning pizzeria.

Social Media.

You can’t forget social media — ever. There are too many potential customers to be found over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the platforms yet to come. We build our messaging into our respective pages, incorporating pictures of trophies alongside our pizzas. If we produce a video for YouTube, we film in front of walls that display our accolades and slogan. The point is the audience is always seeing our slogan, logo or awards.

Competitions.

When we take part in competitions, we make sure our videos include the messaging and encourage our customers to root for us. When we win, we celebrate with a great special around the championship pizza. We have even hosted events inviting customers to celebrate our championships with us at a cake-cutting — who doesn’t love cake? Ultimately, we try to include our customers in our success, and therefore, our messaging.

The interesting part of our story is, at the start, our brand was built around the great craft beer we serve. But, as our company evolved, so did our brand. After a few years, if your brand doesn’t quite fit your company’s true nature anymore, don’t be afraid to change it — just do it full-tilt and consistently.

Speaking of going full tilt, if you’ve kept up with this series, you’re off to a great, rapid start. However, as we’ll discuss in the next installment, you might begin to run into bottlenecks. Don’t worry, though, nothing is insurmountable.

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Building Blocks: Your Brand and Messaging appeared first on Pizza Today.

Firing on All Cylinders

For more than a decade as the owner of Sciarrino’s Pizza in Wilmington, Delaware, Billy Gianakopoulos went without online ordering, the byproduct of a DOS point-of-sale (POS) system unable to accommodate digital orders.

But when Gianakopoulos’ POS provider sent word one year ago that MenuDrive could attach its established online ordering platform to Sciarrino’s POS system, Gianakopoulos jumped at the opportunity. The pizzeria unveiled online ordering in February and it already accounts for nearly two-thirds of Sciarrino’s overall sales.

“It’s been amazing for us. Any time that machine spits out a ticket, it’s like printing money,” says Gianakopoulos, adding that Sciarrino’s top-line revenue has jumped 30 percent since online ordering’s arrival.

Online ordering has certainly emerged a key ingredient in present-day restaurant operations, and especially so for pizzerias given the nation’s hefty appetite for comfort food amid a global health pandemic. Online ordering streamlines operations for pizzerias, has been credited with increasing ticket sizes and delivers convenience to time-starved, digitally connected customers. Since February, online
ordering has soared across the U.S., headlined by a 3,868-percent jump in large suburbs, according to data from Upserve, a leading restaurant management platform.

“Pizzerias that aren’t prioritizing online ordering are missing out on serious customer demand,” MenuDrive CEO Saleem S. Khatri says.

But online ordering cannot be a set-it-and-forget-it proposition. With new players entering the fold and ongoing technological advancements, savvy pizzerias consistently monitor new offerings and critically evaluate their digital ordering platforms to ensure online ordering is operating at peak performance.

“If you wish to sell more and serve more, you must leverage the power of online ordering and keep optimizing it to keep up with the changing demand,” says Bharti Batra, the co-founder of Restolabs, a leading restaurant ordering system headquartered in Reno, Nevada.

To get the most out of online ordering, prominent players in this still-evolving space offer these tips:

Favor the “white label.”

White-label branding refers to a product or service removing its brand and logo from the end product. With respect to online ordering, that means an individual pizzeria’s branding overtakes any mention of the specific online ordering platform. It’s Sciarrino’s Pizza, for instance, not MenuDrive. White-label branding is important, Batra contends, because it allows a pizzeria’s customers to “feel at home when interacting with your brand online.”

Assess online ordering’s impact on sales.

Khatri encourages operators to investigate how their online ordering solution is contributing to sales. MenuDrive, for example, will automatically create customer offers for individual restaurants on Facebook and Instagram. When a customer wishes to redeem that offer, they receive a prompt for their name, e-mail, phone number and birthday. This information then heads into the restaurant’s secure customer database, which operators can later use for periodic messaging to drive traffic and orders.

“Restaurants will need to optimize their digital marketing efforts and automated communications in order to grow their customer base and bottom line efficiently,” Khatri says.

Show, don’t tell.

The ability to add images to menu items, so long as it does not compromise website speed, can drive sales. In fact, online food ordering system LimeTray reports “an increase of more than 25 percent in conversion rates when restaurants moved from text menus to image-based menus.”

Allow customization.

Personalization is ingrained in the pizzeria world. Some customers want to split pizza toppings, request heavy sauce or favor a well-done pie. In today’s age, customers expect customization from all restaurants and online ordering should seamlessly and capably accommodate such requests.

“Pizza ordering should have the ability to modify different complex modifiers,” Batra confirms.

Be mobile ready.

Heading into 2020, one out of every 10 food orders at quick-service restaurants came from a smartphone, according to Business Insider Intelligence – and that figure continues trending upward. Today, any online ordering platform should absolutely be optimized for mobile ordering.

“I see so many platforms that don’t work as seamlessly on mobile, which can be a major turnoff for customers,” Batra says.

Look beyond the online ordering.

Khatri says restaurant technology has increasingly moved toward holistic, all-in-one restaurant management solutions. Rather than a patchwork of different solutions, pizzerias might explore the full scope of capabilities different online ordering platforms provide. This can drive more seamless operations as well as potential cost savings.

“‘Online ordering platform’s will, like ‘point of sale’ before it, become a misnomer as leading technologies evolve into comprehensive platforms for online ordering, delivery, menu management, stock levels and so forth,” Khatri says, adding that more layered, comprehensive solutions provide restaurants more “complete ownership of their online experience.”

Monitor new functionalities.

Over recent years, multi-language support, order-ahead optionality, social media ordering and real-time analytics have all become commonplace on online ordering platforms. More recently, contactless ordering has become important – if not a “permanent requirement” of restaurants, Batra notes. Having access to such functionalities helps a pizzeria up its online ordering game and respond to evolving customer needs.

“When all of these come together, you create a comprehensive and intuitive system for your restaurants that helps generate profit,” Batra says.  

When is it time to investigate a new online ordering provider?

Much as a discerning pizzeria operator would investigate alternative providers of mozzarella or chicken wings should prices skyrocket or quality fall, operators should apply that same scrutiny to their online ordering platform.

For most, investigating a new online ordering provider begins with investigating orders and profits.

“If you’re paying high monthly fees and not getting a decent ROI, time to start looking,” MenuDrive CEO Saleem S. Khatri says.

Support is also critical, as tech snafus and limited technical assistance to address customer quandaries can leave a pizzeria vulnerable to irking – and losing – customers.

“You really don’t want your customers hanging there, waiting for their complaints to be resolved,” says Restolabs co-founder Bharti Batra.

And given the public health alarms ringing in the wake of COVID-19, contactless features stand vital to serving wary customers.

“Without contactless delivery, ordering and payment being an integral part of your online ordering system, your customers will not trust your business and move to the next one,” Batra says.

Daniel P. Smith  Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post How to optimize online ordering in an online ordering world appeared first on Pizza Today.

Evaluating delivery operations an essential step to a more efficient, productive delivery program

When it comes to pizza delivery, Andy Hooper isn’t messing around.

The president of the 41-unit fast casual & pizza chain, Hooper watched his Washington, D.C.-based company’s delivery business soar after the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. At the end of summer, Hooper reported that &pizza’s delivery sales had nearly doubled from its pre-pandemic rate and was now accounting for about one-third of total company sales. That reality only cemented Hooper’s commitment to delivery as a “primary channel” for &pizza.

“Pre-pandemic, many operators could afford to think about off-premise as a secondary or tertiary brand experience, but for many restaurateurs now, delivery is the first, and perhaps only, means a customer is interacting with a brand,” Hooper says. “That requires a completely different level of focus and investment.”

Ain’t that the truth.

An eye on delivery

As many restaurants shuttered dining rooms and Americans were confined to their homes amid the coronavirus pandemic, food delivery surged as consumers turned to their favorite restaurants for a taste of comfort, convenience and even an escape. For some pizzerias, the accelerating number of off-premise orders exposed flaws in their delivery systems and protocols, while others, even those with sound delivery operations in place, wisely hunted for ways to better handle the blitz – and continue to do so.

“Sticking with the status quo is unlikely to yield long-term value,” Hooper says of delivery, which many industry analysts predict will continue to rise as COVID-19 fears linger and winter’s looming presence minimizes the viability of outdoor dining throughout much of the country.

“You want to be ready,” says Scott Landers, co-founder of Figure 8 Logistics, a food delivery consulting agency headquartered in New York City.

Without a consistent, critical eye on delivery, Adam Oldenburg, the vice president of operations at the 65-unit, Wisconsin-based Toppers chain, says pizzerias can expose themselves to a litany of negative outcomes: a delivery program that yields low margins if not losses, potential lawsuits and compromised food quality and service times that threaten a brand’s marketplace reputation.

“All things we’d like to avoid,” says Oldenburg, noting that more than half of Toppers’ revenue comes from delivery orders. “You’re talking about a big chunk of the pie there.”

According to Landers, whose firm works with restaurants to build scalable and sustainable off-site business models, pizzeria operators should be focused on analyzing three areas to improve delivery operations: the guest experience; unit-level operations; and, finally, last-mile logistics.

The guest experience

To begin assessing delivery, Landers suggests operators themselves place phone and/or online orders at their stores and let the delivery process play out. Playing the role of customer, he says, will help an operator evaluate the store’s system and identify weak spots. Is the ordering process intuitive, smooth and streamlined? Does the pizza arrive hot, on time and as ordered? Does the packaging work?

“You can’t set it and forget it,” Landers says of a delivery program, adding that operators can also fine-tune operations and systems by monitoring customer feedback via online reviews, guest surveys or even contacting the delivery guest directly much like an in-store “table touch.” particularly in the coronavirus age, in which some folks stand wary of close personal contact, it’s particularly important pizzerias inspect measures respectful of guests’ personal space and safety concerns. To that point, &pizza launched “contactless delivery” in mid-March through its native delivery platform. Guests received an anonymized phone number for their delivery driver and could indicate their preference for “contactless” delivery. Hooper says this offering “met the needs of our customers and improved the overall delivery experience.”

Toppers similarly began offering contactless delivery within a week of the pandemic, leveraging software enhancements that provided secure credit card payment and allowed guests to tip Toppers’ drivers before checkout.

“Today, it’s most important to be safe, and that’s what the guest wants,” Oldenburg says.

Store operations

It’s crucial to note that delivery works in concert with other parts of the operation. If orders are slow to enter the kitchen or prep lags, then delivery suffers regardless of drivers’ hustle.

Landers and Oldenburg both suggest evaluating the basics of order processing and kitchen operations to find any negative impact on load times. Do orders head straight into the kitchen or does some second, and likely avoidable, step interrupt that flow? Are there ways to improve prep time and kitchen workflow? Do certain menu items delay kitchen staff?

“Every pizza is a race until the driver gets into the vehicle,” Oldenburg says.

Operators might also review the number of deliveries drivers do each hour and turn to drivers for insights on where they encounter delays, remembering that inefficiencies likely hamper their earning potential as well. Are drivers waiting on the kitchen or is the kitchen waiting on them? Are they getting hung up with guests? Such frontline perspective opens the door to improvements.

“Drivers have a fixed cost and you want to maximize the number of orders they’re doing while on the clock,” Landers says.

Last-mile logistics

On the last-mile front, Landers urges operators to evaluate delivery zones and traffic patterns and to investigate cutting out delay-causing areas.

“Because you always want drivers moving,” he says.

Oldenburg says Toppers’ analysis regarding last-mile delivery largely focuses on geographic areas. A nine-minute drive time is each store’s baseline, though stores might eliminate – or increase the delivery fee for – specific areas within that radius due to density, customer frequency or frequent traffic pitfalls.

“Every delivery that’s five minutes late affects every delivery after that,” Oldenburg says.

Finally, Landers reminds operators to keep tabs on gear such as delivery bags and driver technology that can help improve food quality and logistics efficiency. To the latter point, Toppers utilizes GPS car toppers from Drivosity that show where Toppers drivers are at any moment. When Toppers in-house staff see a driver near the restaurant for pickup, for example, they can then ready pizzas in hot bags, grab sodas and prepare credit card slips for a quick, immediate load in the driver’s vehicle. 

Daniel P. Smith  Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post Driving Delivery appeared first on Pizza Today.

OK, new restaurant owners, if you’ve been following along, you made the right deal, opened your doors and designed a creative and delicious new menu. Now, you’re left with a bigger challenge — how to get people to walk in, and how to make the phones ring.

Spend, spend and spend. It’s nice to throw around percentages and say your marketing budget should be X% of your sales, but let’s be honest, how can you spend X if you don’t have it?

Personally, I spend the most I can while not affecting my other necessary expenses. If I have the cash for marketing, I spend it. I’m always open for something new; it only comes down to whether I have the money for it. But this isn’t a spending spree with no rhyme or reason. As quickly as possible, I want a nice stable of marketing assets, campaigns and promotions to implement.

Go online. You need a website, not only to give customers a space to find your menu and order online, but to be found through searches when people type, “Best Pizza in my city.”

For starters, find examples of other websites you like, hire a good designer, and give this person free rein to build your restaurant’s online portal. Make sure they pay attention to SEO and keywords to make you easy to find.

Be social. Create accounts on as many social platforms as you can actively manage. I’d recommend beginning with Facebook because its Ads Manager helps give you a wide reach on a massive platform. While it is relatively easy to use, you can find great free tutorials on its use through YouTube. Just remember, the key to social media marketing — and all marketing, really — is being consistent. If you can only manage one platform, that’s OK as long as you’re using it regularly.

Hit send. From day one, collect an e-mail every time you come in contact with a customer. You can then use a service like Mailchimp to send out regular communications, such as a weekly newsletter featuring fun information and news about promotions. It takes time to build a large e-mail list, but from personal experience, I can guarantee you will wish you started it from the moment you opened.

Send ‘snail mail’. Don’t forget about direct mail, especially if you offer delivery. Organize a weekly program, sending a set number of menus or postcards. I’m partial to standalone pieces because they are not grouped in with flyers or pages of coupons. This method is more expensive, but it is worth it to stand out in a stack of competitors.

The next step is knowing what content to put on your website, social posts and mailers. That’s right, next month we’ll talk about your brand and messaging.

NICK BOGACZ is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Building Blocks: Marketing 101 appeared first on Pizza Today.

Marketing makes your grand opening great

Last month in this column, we discussed pulling off a “turnkey” — opening your recently purchased restaurant immediately. The location will be a work in progress for a little while, but at least the cash registers will ring. We just left out one crucial step. It’s the last one — the grand opening.

There are plenty of ways to put on this exciting event. Having done it five times (with more to come), I’ve found it isn’t giveaways or gimmicks that are most important. People generally want to try a new restaurant — they’re coming there for food, drinks and good times. They just have to know it’s opening, so it’s the marketing of the grand opening that’s pivotal at this point.

Get your camera

As soon as I have a lease signed, I start spreading the word over social media. Despite the rise of other platforms, Facebook is still an ideal place to purchase ads. Using location targeting features, you can narrow down to your community.

As far as the ads, I generally create two filled with great pictures (menu items, the store, our chefs, etc.). The first ad runs from the lease signing to when I have an actual open date, simply sharing that we’re opening a new location and where. Add your catchphrases and brand messaging to spruce it up.

The second ad runs once I have the open date, and it may not be up for very long — possibly as little as four days — as I try to have quick turnarounds from the old business to the new. This ad announces the opening date and store hours and includes before-and-after pictures. The last bit is because people love to see “behind the scenes,” so think about documenting the turnaround with pictures and video, from the old booths being ripped out to the first test pizza in the oven.

Releases and ribbons

At the same time as your social ads are in play, you should send out traditional press releases — one simply announcing your new restaurant or expansion, and the other announcing the date you will open.

Invite local media to the opening, as well as local public officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. In a lot of smaller communities or close-knit neighborhoods, a new restaurant is a big deal. Having bigger names on hand makes for great photos and packs the store from the get-go.

The doors are open

While I’m normally a numbers guy and stay efficient with staffing, a grand opening is one day that I overstaff. You’ll be busy and want all hands on-deck to make a good experience for customers. First impressions are lasting impressions.

At this point, you’ve opened ASAP, and now you can get going on changing over the menu, developing new recipes and finding new vendors. Easier said than done, but I’ll share some tips to get you started next month.

NICK BOGACZ is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Building Blocks: Grand Scheme appeared first on Pizza Today.

How customer data helps fuel results

With New York on lockdown amid COVID-19, Brad Barnes ordered from his local pizza place every Thursday. Though Barnes had previously shared his e-mail and mobile number with the pizzeria, the shop never once used that information. No personalized text prompting another Thursday order. No e-mail touting additional offerings like wings or dessert.

“Sure, I continued ordering from them, but it was a missed opportunity for them to really engage me,” says Barnes, director of consulting and industry programs at the Culinary Institute of America.

Put aside the big data buzz.

Despite the ubiquitous presence of robust point-of-sale systems, effective customer relationship management software and digital ordering platforms that can push out relevant data to drive traffic, customer service and sales, many pizzerias across the U.S. struggle to use any customer data.

“The mechanisms are there to generate data. All we have to do is distill it and use it,” Barnes says. “It’s one of the biggest ills in our industry and it’s going to have to change rapidly.”

Collecting key information

The increasing digitization of the restaurant world has made it easier than ever for dining establishments to capture data. With online ordering and mobile apps becoming more mainstream – a reality accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic – pizzerias have a viable way to collect customer data, information they can later deploy to boost customer service, inform marketing efforts and fuel sales.

Beyond digital ordering platforms, Karen Zaniker, a partner with Synergy Restaurant Consultants who has been devoted to restaurant marketing for the last 25 years, says every guest touchpoint is a way to encourage data collection – from tabletops, napkins and receipts to special events, social media, contests and website pop-ups. She touts e-mail clubs and loyalty programs as baseline ways stores can begin collecting customer data, adding that many customers will volunteer personal information in exchange for a benefit, such as a free birthday pizza or a discount on their next order.

One important note, Zaniker adds: gather as much information as possible off the bat.

“Once someone’s in the program, it’s hard to gather information retroactively, so the more you can gather up front, the better,” she says.

At a minimum, pizzerias should seek to capture name, e-mail, mobile number and physical address. The mobile number, in particular, can be used as a unique identifier for future activations. Thereafter, birthdates and household information can prove helpful and spur unique personalized offers around children’s birthdays or Mother’s Day.

“The more relevant we can be with our marketing messages, the more likely a guest is to respond,” Zaniker says.

With basic customer information in the system, operators can then layer on ordering information to generate a more complete picture of each guest. When, what and how do they order? How often? Do they only order with a coupon in hand?

“Brands must gather the data that helps them know and understand their various customer segments and how to interact with them,” says Hope Neiman, chief marketing officer at Tillster, a leading digital ordering solutions firm.

Leveraging data to drive sales

With customer information in hand, pizzerias can entice visits with new product launches, limited-time offers, seasonal specials, catering or meal kits. Data around what customers purchase and when, meanwhile, can help pizzerias refine their menu mix, staffing, food prep and marketing efforts.

“Data can be the straw that stirs the entire drink,” Zaniker says.

Consider the tried-and-true birthday gift. According to Zaniker, sending out a special offer such as a complimentary appetizer or dessert to mark a birthday is a proven way many eateries have used data to spark sales.

“And a good one, too, because virtually no one likes to celebrate alone,” she says.

Knowing when customers visit can also prove beneficial. Instead of trying to bring the customer who orders dinner once each week in with a coupon for a lunch offer, Neiman says it makes more sense to nudge that same once-a-week dinner guest toward a second weekly dinner.

“By knowing when they like to order out, the restaurant can target their efforts prior to or during this period, vying for an extra dinner visit and doubling the customer’s weekly spend,” she says.

And if that weekly dinner guest suddenly stops visiting, then Zaniker urges the restaurant to reach out and revive the relationship.

Customer data also opens the door to upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Combining the menu mix with customer dining habits, restaurants can share relevant offers. For example, a restaurant might notice that a customer orders on weeknights around 6:00 p.m. and subsequently send an offer designed to boost check size, such as, “Work got you hungry? Add wings to today’s dinner for only $2.99.”

“After receiving this discount, the customer may be more inclined to increase the size of their order during their usual stop,” Neiman says.

For Barnes, who has done restaurant repairs for the better part of 20 years, customer data is the powerful, all-purpose tool pizzerias can use to communicate with guests, enhance service and drive profitability.

“To rethink your restaurant, you need to have something that drives process and that’s data,” Barnes says.  

Customer data is vital to personalized marketing

According to Tillster’s Hope Neiman, data is the way restaurants can shift their operation to meet the hyper-personalized marketing that resonates heavily with today’s consumers.

“Personalization is all about understanding your customers and interacting with them in ways that feel familiar,” Neiman says. “Customers appreciate when you know what they have ordered in the past and value their time by reoffering them their favorites.”

Whether pizzerias are trying to drive a specific outcome like an incremental visit or letting user data drive their actions in automated ways such as customized push notifications, Neiman says data should be informing campaigns in ways that make the experience feel “more one-on-one, more conversational.”

“Restaurants who utilize hyper-personalized approaches can market to their guests based on what they like to eat, what they like to see, what they want to experience [and] when they want to experience it,” Neiman says.

Daniel P. Smith, a Chicago-based writer, has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post Data Driven: Collecting and Using Customer Data appeared first on Pizza Today.

Limited-time offers take on a new face

We’ve entered uncharted territory in marketing during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Bill Vivian at Regents Pizzeria in La Jolla, California, has stated in a recent Checking In With video, “it’s like throwing ideas against the wall and seeing what sticks.”

One area of marketing that has taken an interesting turn, limited-time offers. Many experts surmised that traditional limited-time offers took a hiatus when the pandemic began. Or did they? Just as restaurants have adapted to operational changes, LTOs have shifted to fit the customers’ changing needs.

“When the pandemic hit, we basically had to throw out our entire marketing calendar and start over,” says Carol DeNembo, vice president of marketing at Mountain Mike’s Pizza with more than 220 restaurants across California, Oregon, Nevada and Utah. “We had our entire year mapped out, but our team quickly came together to create a new strategy that involved developing weekly calendars that were tweaked on the daily to ensure Mountain Mike’s was offering unique value and convenience wherever possible during a time of fierce competition.

“LTOs have long been a part of our DNA. We are very thoughtful about what we offer, and when, and identified LTOs that we believed would bring the most value to our guests at this time,” she continues. “Yes, it’s been effective, and we have been positive as a whole. In addition to driving sales, LTOs are a chance to stay in front of our guests, providing unique reasons and incentives to enjoy Mountain Mike’s while also making sure they know we are open and how they can place their orders.”

As a single-unit operator, Vivian also sees the shifts. “There is a wonderful article in The Atlantic where Tom Colicchio is being interviewed and I think he summarizes it very well,” he says. “There is going to be a significant shift towards safety, convenience and value. Those are far more important than they were pre-crisis.”

Let’s explore ways to give customers what they are looking for in a limited-time offer.

Here are three LTO categories that will resonate with your customers:

• Comfort.

When times are uncertain people look to comfort, especially as people venture out less. What special item or service can you provide to give your clientele comfort?

DeNembo says, Mountain Mike’s brought back one of its popular LTOs, heart-shaped pizzas. “The decision to bring back the heart-shaped pizzas when the pandemic struck was for a completely different purpose,” she says. “It was a natural segue that we could apply to the environment we were all now in, bringing new meaning to the age-old saying ‘Home is where the heart is.’ Besides just being fun to eat, we were seeing customers order heart-shaped pizzas for delivery to others as well, which wasn’t something we had anticipated. It was heartwarming to see and paired perfectly with our contactless delivery. Also, being that we had offered heart-shaped pizzas in February, it was simple for our franchise partners to implement operationally.”

• Family.

All the heavy hitters offer specials for families right now. Leave it to the independent pizzeria to come up with an idea that drives to the heart of family and entertainment rolled into one. Pizza kits have been widely successful as families became bored of the same old takeout. Pizza kits evolved into entrée and dessert kits.

Bundles and packaged meals have been trending in restaurant and pizzeria segments. They wrap everything a household needs for a meal in one package at a reasonable price.

Fine Folk Pizza rolled out its Feed the Family meal for $50, which includes a 16″ Cheese Pizza, a 14” Specialty Pie, 10 Classic Breadsticks w/ marinara, Regular House Salad with 1 extra dressing, and Two-Liter Beverage.

“This special is designed for a family with a few young kids,” says Co-owner Michael De Nunzio. “Kids tend to order mainly a traditional cheese or pepperoni pizza, so a 16″ cheese pizza is great for them, but maybe not their parents. Here’s the problem we are solving with this special: Many adults don’t get the pizza they want because their kids only eat cheese. The 14″ specialty pizza in this package solves that problem and encourages them to order what they want and that it’s ok to do so.”

Regents also debuted its first-ever Family Value Menu targeting an overall 15-percent discount. “It didn’t stick,” Vivian says. “We have a premium price point. We try to be authentically New York and authentically Chicago in our two styles. We work very hard at that. We have never really couponed or discounted.” Vivian is on to other ideas.

• Service.

Use your LTOs to do good deeds. Regents Pizzeria launched a “Buy a Meal, Give a Meal” deal. The unique offer gave 7,000 meals those in need through Feeding San Diego. “I’ve been wanting for a long time to do something like this,’ he says. “What we are hoping to do is once a quarter do something like this, just have a routine way of giving back to the community.”

Vivian says benchmarking has been key for Regents. “We are constantly searching for the next idea,” he says. “That’s where I’m spending a ton of my time doing finding the good ideas and then adapting them with our team to things that will success for us.”

Regents sits in a business district with a neighboring university, so retargeting offers was key. Social media geofencing has helped Regents reach its neighbors. Bill says they decided to even expand those geofenced areas and expanded our deliverable areas. “That really gave us a strong kick.”

DeNunzio has tapped all of Fine Folk’s marketing tools. “The current avenues we market today are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Ads, Youtube, our website, e-mail marketing to our loyalty club, various forms of direct mail, and most importantly, having the specials available in our online ordering platform,” he says.

If developed and executed effective, LTOs can be a big sales generator. It comes down to this, DeNembo says: “At the end of the day an LTO is intended to drive trial, frequency and transaction average – short term efforts to create long term results – there’s no magic solution out there. The brands who do it well know their customers, their identity and are very targeted in their approach and won’t stray too far from what they’ve been doing.” 

Denise Greer  is the Executive Editor of Pizza Today.

The post Limited Time Offers: The Real Deal appeared first on Pizza Today.

Strike the Right Tone

In the face of dwindling revenue and potentially debilitating circumstances, it’s hard to stay upbeat. Nonetheless, striking the right tone with your customer is vital. The time a customer will spend viewing your message is precious. The ideal is to maximize your exposure in a positive way that endears yourself to the intended demographic. Being real in social media and your public image earns points that will translate into sales. At the same time, being overly “real” and venting to the customer is precarious. It’s essential to strike the right tone in your messaging. Tone should be upbeat, informative and entertaining. That way, the content is viable and gives the nod to the customer in a way that makes them want to spend their disposable income with you instead of another restaurant.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

When the COVID-19 crisis began, it was completely relatable to have a, “I don’t know where this is going to go, but I’m here with you” earnest tone. If that tone devolves into becoming depressing or a negative tone of “woe is me,” eventually, people will tune out. People have their own lives and problems to deal with. They don’t want to hear about yours unless there is a story of triumph attached to it. You might get some love and comments back from a select few on social media, but by and large, it’s a downer.

Along with tone comes the message. As things are shifting and developing in the world of 2020, restaurants are becoming politically charged lightning rods. Some of your demo wants things never to go back to the way they were and keep social distancing forever, while some want to act like COVID never happened. Appealing to any single demo is problematic. I say do what you believe to be right and don’t take a hard-tonal stance either way. Also, be as safe as possible. It’s better to be overdressed than underdressed when it comes to hygiene and safety. Gloves, masks, disinfectants, these things matter.

Politics has never been a part of the restaurant industry. This has never happened before, one thing everyone agreed on has always been food. I always advise avoiding politics because you’re bound to disenfranchise half of your customer base. Even if you’re in a very politically-charged atmosphere, where most of your client base sways to the left or right, you’re still going to disenfranchise, at a minimum, 20 percent of the population if you have an overtly political tone.

I’ve never introduced politics into my business. I’ve done events with politicians present, but that’s about it. As much as you and I have our own political opinions, it serves no productive purpose to vent political beliefs or frustrations in open platforms. Not only from a sales perspective, but you’re speaking on behalf of employees that you might disenfranchise. Also, now they have to answer for your political beliefs, which is not what they signed up for. I advise staying upbeat and give relatable enjoyable universal information. Be goofy, be irreverent and informative, but don’t be a lightning rod.

If your political beliefs are so important to you that you will voice them at the potential loss of revenue to your business and your staff, then run for office. Otherwise, your priorities are misguided. If you genuinely want to seek political change, speak to your lawmakers and city officials directly, not a Facebook group. As a business owner, you carry more weight with your elected officials than you think.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Maximize Your Exposure in a Positive Way appeared first on Pizza Today.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Of all the ideas to come out of the COVID-19 madness, my favorite by far has been the home pizza-making kit. With such severe restrictions on restaurant service, it’s become a powerful solution for staying connected to customers. Maybe you think it’s not worth your time to sell raw ingredients to customers who might otherwise purchase your finished pizza but the concept of selling pizza-making kits is more than just a means of feeding the stomach.

When your customer purchases a pizza-making kit they’re not just picking up dinner, they’re scheduling a family activity. I’ve heard operators say they won’t even entertain the idea in fear of losing control over their food, but pizza kits aren’t your food at all. When you sell a pizza kit, you’re selling an experience in which you can take credit for success but carry no blame for failure. Nobody posts photos of their pizza kit disaster with the caption “Luigi’s pizza really stinks,” they say, “I really botched Luigi’s pizza, but we had a great time doing it and we’ll go back there as soon as we can!”

The pizzerias with the most successful kits don’t end their involvement when the kit leaves their shop. Tony Boloney’s in New Jersey offers an entire program based on their weekly pizza kit. Owner Mike Hauke develops a unique recipe every week using the same basic ingredients, delivers kits on the weekend, then hosts a free tutorial session on Instagram that Sunday. This helps his customers use their kits while marketing to anyone else who tunes in for his incredibly entertaining lessons. Mike regularly sees hundreds, if not thousands, of viewers on his live streams. His wife and kids get involved, which makes it even more fun for families. By changing the kit every week, Mike has converted a one-time sale into a weekly customer.

In the UK, Pizza Pilgrims found such incredible success with their Pizza in the Post program that they’re planning to continue it even after their shops reopen for regular service. According to co-founder James Elliot, they’ve sold 20,000 kits in the first six weeks of lockdown. That’s gold because it brings in revenue without taking up any space in the dining room. Everybody’s going to be looking for a solution like that as restaurants begin to reopen with restricted capacity. Beyond the direct financial benefit of selling pizza kits, Pilgrims also gets loads of free social media exposure from all the customers who post their pizza-making successes (and failures).

But not all the kits are perfect. When I bought my mom a pizza kit from her local shop for Mother’s Day, I was appalled when I saw the 20-ounce dough ball they sent her. Unless someone’s going to make a Sicilian pizza, that’s way too large for home use. Even worse, they just threw the dough into a pizza box with no protective packaging so it arrived dried out and misshapen. PLEASE DON’T DO THAT! The Pizza Pilgrims kit is beautifully designed to fit snugly into a pizza box and comes with instructions for baking the pizza in a frying pan. I love this because it (correctly) assumes that customers won’t have any pizza-making equipment at home. They’ve also scaled their portions down to compensate for domestic use and stored them in compostable containers.

The meal kit industry hit $5 billion in gross revenue last year and is trending even harder during the coronavirus lockdown. Pizza kits can be an effective way to ride that trend in order to promote your brand while delivering happiness to your customers.

SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org  Instagram: @scottspizzatours

The post Man on the Street: Selling an Experience During Lockdown with Pizza-Making Kits appeared first on Pizza Today.

Now, more than ever, you need to set the standard

When we first opened Andolini’s, developing our brand took time. We completely redid our logo six years after opening. We had to re-look at what our demo was and refocus our brand. Through all the changes, I’ve always ran point on all our marketing. I’ve been the one making the calls and creating the content. In the last 15 years, I’ve cultivated the message and voice of the Andolini’s brand.

I’ve received offers in the past for marketing projects where the salesperson would also draw up the art and message. When I would say yes to these projects, it would be a long, drawn-out process. It would involve me trying to explain our brand, getting them the right logos, and defining the voice and message I wanted to convey. It would become more work than it was worth, and I would end up redoing their work.

That was until I learned about making a Brand Standards package (BSP). I stumbled onto this a little over a year ago. It hit me square in the face as the most obvious thing that I should have been doing for a long time. I needed it asap.

A brand standards package encapsulates everything that your brand is. This way, you can give this package to an artist, designer, social media liaison or marketing firm and get it done. My BSP has my logos in vector art, along with details of what our color scheme is, down to the CMYK level. That’s fancy art talk for the numbers that your colors coordinate with by a specific number. I discovered another imperative, which is telling any designer what your brand IS NOT.

For Example:

• Use this logo for catering purposes
• Don’t use this logo in this context
• Always use these colors for the background
• Don’t use X color
• Use these fonts
• Speak factually about awards we’ve won
• Never speak braggy in the first person about Andolini’s

Decide based on things you’ve seen done with your brand that you did not care for to determine what you include here. State clearly what you don’t want to be done ever, and state it in a brand standards package.

My example of not being braggy is a real one. The free art I was offered from a colleague wanted to write, “You know Andolini’s is the best pizza in town, so come and get some.” This sounded like a nice compliment coming from them, but this ad was written in my voice. If it’s perceived that I wrote it, that would be a really lame way to market my restaurant. In my current BSP, it states ad copy should speak factually without opinion. To drive this point home, I video recorded myself on an iPhone stating all the things I want them to convey. I placed the video file in BSP folder. I say my points as if I’m right next to them, “Speak and write this way, and never this way. Place logos in a context that adds to the final product, etc.”

It’s now my expectation of anyone who wants my money via design work to abide by this package. Most designers thank me because it means less work trying to figure out and guess our brand intent. The specificity of a brand standards package helps our advertising appear seamless, regardless of the art designer.

This exercise also helped me hone in on what my brand is. You can do this yourself or have a marketing firm do it for anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 as a fair cost. It’s money well spent if you have more than two stores and find yourself running around scatterbrained, trying to convey these points to multiple people. It can be a lot, trying to handle all the people speaking on behalf of your brand.

Even If you have just one store, it’s still a good idea to do this exercise yourself and create your BSP.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Brand Standards Package appeared first on Pizza Today.

On March 20, Totonno’s, a nearly century-old pizzeria on New York’s Coney Island shut its doors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, its 1,800-square foot space consumed by darkness.

“We’ll come back,” Totonno’s co-owner Antoinette Balzano continuously assured loyal customers.

Balzano’s confidence wasn’t misplaced, as her third-generation, family-owned pizzeria has a sturdy track record of recovering from mighty blows. Fires in 1997 and 2009 forced the eatery to close for three and 11 months, respectively, while damage from Hurricane Sandy shuttered the beloved Coney Island institution for five months. Each time, Totonno’s, through a special blend of hustle, passion and determined leadership, found its way to reopen and rebound from life’s unfortunate turns.

“It’s not even a question of if we’ll be back,” Balzano told Pizza Today on April 8, the 19th day of Totonno’s closure. “We just will.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the American landscape in March, many restaurants were forced to temporarily close or shutdown aspects of their business. On March 25, still the early days of COVID-19’s wrath, the National Restaurant Association reported that 44 percent of operators had temporarily closed their restaurants.

With carryout and delivery so engrained in pizzeria operations, most outlets had a head start on their culinary peers in servicing guests and fulfilling orders. Still, pressing challenges remained. Shuttered dining rooms meant eateries couldn’t capitalize on high-margin beverages, while sagging consumer confidence combined with food safety concerns hampered sales.

“Shutting Totonno’s was like turning off a piece of ourselves,” Balzano says. “That’s our blood, sweat and tears in there and it hurts on so many levels.”

Now, many pizzerias are plotting their march back to sustainability, looking to rebound from a global health crisis that shook the American economy and altered daily lives.

Life after a closure

Following a closure, pizzerias face a litany of challenges to restore business operations and achieve stability.

Some restaurants, for example, might need to fulfill regulatory obligations such as inspections before reopening to the public. Others may encounter supply chain pressures. As other eateries reopen and ramp up post-pandemic production, pizzerias could face heightened competition for goods that impacts availability and costs. Restaurants will need to closely monitor inventory levels and contracts.

For many, the most pressing issue will be financial, as closures, even partial or temporary ones, dampen revenue and cash flow. Utilities, landlords and other vendors will likely push for scheduled payments, pushing an already tenuous financial situation to the brink. Seeing cash flow as critical, Totonno’s leadership spent much of March and April communicating with banks and assessing options for capital.

“Have a line of credit set up and ready to go,” Jeffery Elsworth, an associate professor at Michigan State University’s School of Hospitality Business, instructs reopening restaurants. “You don’t want to get stuck in a cash flow problem.”

Beyond the financial, Elsworth says restaurants will need to continue marketing, albeit by favoring more creative, cost-effective efforts like social media, loyalty programs and limited-time offers that spur relevance and brand awareness.

“You have to stay in the eye of the consumer the entire time,” Elsworth says, adding that restaurant websites should be “up to speed” as well.

In addition, restaurants will have to reintegrate employees back into the mix, so many of whom were laid off, furloughed or had hours cut amid the pandemic. National Restaurant Consultants CEO Richard Weil suggests operators fine-tune their training manuals and procedures and capitalize on the opportunity to incorporate “A players” in a shaky post-virus labor market.

“We’re going to see a labor component that we haven’t seen in close to a decade and stores might be able to become choosier with staff,” says Weil, the former president and chief operating officer of the 135-unit Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza chain.

An invitation to reset and evolve

While the road to recovery will undoubtedly be rocky for pizzerias, it’s also an opportunity for operators to redefine who they are and who they want to become. In fact, Elsworth says the restaurant closures demanded by COVID-19 allow ownership to put “fresh eyes” on their business. That means assessing the business plan and operations while also exploring new revenue opportunities or ways to engage customers.

“In many ways, [COVID-19] has given restaurant operators an opportunity to assess what they’re doing and to reset,” Elsworth says.

The COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, pushed curbside pickup into the mainstream. A fringe service option at U.S. restaurants, curbside became commonplace amid social distancing guidelines and pizzerias across the U.S. added the service model to their operations. Though born out of necessity, curbside could have long-term potential for restaurants, according to Weil.

“I really think curbside will be part of the new model,” Weil says. “I see runway for those who keep it personal, efficient and convenient.”

After a closure, Weil continues, is the perfect time “to trial new models and incorporate new trends.” Stores might also revisit their menu, ridding it of poor performers and introducing new, on-trend dishes, refresh the dining room or revitalize company branding elements. Such changes will not only modernize restaurants, but also give operations something exciting and interesting to discuss with customers upon reopening.

“You almost need to view this as a grand opening – talking to press, balloons, the whole bit,” Elsworth says. “Try to secure as much attention as you can get and take that opportunity to reintroduce yourself to the community.”

In fact, when Totonno’s reopened after its 2009 fire, it did so with music on the street and a ribbon cutting.

“What a way to reconnect with our community, to show them we were back,” Balzano says.

With consumer confidence shaken by the pandemic, especially on the dine-in side, Weil says such displays of positive energy and assuredness will go a long way to encouraging visits and orders. Otherwise, a pizzeria, after enduring all COVID-19 threw at it, could languish and perish in its aftermath.

“People need to know it’s okay to dine in,” Weil says, “and we need to give them reason to believe so.”

Daniel P. Smith  The Chicago-based writer has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post Getting back on track appeared first on Pizza Today.

Getting the word out about DELCO only

As the COVID-19 crisis unfolded and restaurants closed their dining rooms to comply with state and local mandates, many turned to a delivery and carryout (DELCO) model only. Pizzerias had a head start in this transition, as most already provided to-go orders. Still, they had to boost their communications efforts to make sure customers knew the places were still open, which items were available for pickup or delivery, and even that they were offering deals.

Social media has been the main channel for letting customers know delivery or takeout are available. Businesses engage with customers on Facebook and Instagram by posting fun and informative videos, inviting customers to post photos and offering promotions. “The first two weeks we were very consistent about posting every day,” says TJ Messerschmitt, owner of Fatty’s Pizzeria in Breckenridge, Colorado. “That reached quite a few people right away.”

The posts ranged from a video of a camel eating a slice of pizza on Wednesday (hump day), to traffic-driving promotions such as a large one-topping pizza for $15. Messerschmitt also uses Google Posts, updates that show up in the local panel on Google search and Google maps. “It was very successful,” he says of the discount. “People appreciate it.”

Offering a discount might seem difficult during these challenging times, but customers are looking for deals as they stay home. At the 48-location Russo’s New York Pizzeria, the Taste of Italy Spaghetti and Meatballs for Two for $19.95 has been very successful. Other deals include free medium pizza with a large pizza when ordering online, and a free appetizer with a specialty pizza. “We knew that families, moms and dads at home with the kids, were our target,” says Anthony Russo, founder and president. “We knew they want value offers.”

The Houston-based Russo’s posted videos on Facebook and Instagram, showing, for example, how their in-house delivery drivers are trained to do contactless transactions. To reinforce the messaging, Russo’s also sent out direct mail. “Everyone is home looking at their mail,” Russo says. “When the postcards actually hit the neighborhoods, we immediately saw response. Customers walked in with the postcards and said, ‘I just got this in the mail. I didn’t know you were here.’”

Others agree that low tech marketing works well when paired with social media. Sauce on the Blue, located in Silverthorne, Colorado, has run an ad on the back page of the local newspaper, the Summit Daily News, since the eatery opened in 2016. Sauce also has Facebook posts, and the Town of Silverthorne helps by listing local restaurants open for takeout and delivery on its website.

Takeout used to account for only five to 10 percent of orders at Sauce, a full-service restaurant with a patio. “We are luckier than a lot of restaurants,” says managing partner and owner Tim Applegate. “We always had a to-go model in place.”

The model changed slightly, as the menu items became available for curbside pickup only. Instead of adding an app or online ordering, Sauce simply let customers know they could call in their orders. Customers order, read their credit numbers on the phone, and when they arrive, they put a sign with their last name in their car window. “We walk out with the pizza, put it in the back seat or trunk, and wave goodbye,” Applegate says.

Curbside takeout has long been popular at the 16-location Regina Pizzeria, headquartered near Boston. Some locations, such as in shopping malls, closed temporarily, but six remained open for curbside pickup and for delivery through third-party companies such as DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats. Curbside has its advantages, says Stuart Thompson of East Coast Associates, the Beverly, Massachusetts-based firm that handles marketing for Regina Pizzeria. “There are cost savings from not having to pay delivery fees or upcharges,” he says. “It’s the same as picking up at the store, and they don’t have to leave their car.” The Regina locations that offer curbside pickup have cameras so that workers inside can see when customers drive into the designated area.

Like other pizzerias, Regina announced the shift to delivery and curbside pickup on social media. There were also e-mail blasts to the chain’s large database of customers. The messaging was updated often to keep people interested. “Just doing the same e-mail repeatedly will probably drive people to unsubscribe,” Thompson says. “So, you have to be creative.” Also, he says, it doesn’t hurt to include heating instructions with the pies.

It helps to also include information about limited hours, and about details such as price changes. Via 313 Pizzeria, with five locations in Austin, Texas, uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and e-mail messaging to indicate the hours, new setup and new products. “We added a 15 percent service charge on all orders to make sure the staff is getting theirs,” says co-owner Brandon Hunt. “It’s worked very well for us.”

Operators use social media not only to update customers but also to offer feel-good messaging during the crisis. Many restaurants posted photos of their food donations. “As part of what we do we always give back to our community,” says Bill Jacobs, founder of Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Chicago. The eatery donated pizzas to Chicago Fire Department Engine 35, the City of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications and the Chicago Police Department. “What we’re trying to do with Piece is to connect with people, let them feel good, and say it’s going to be okay. We’re trying to make the best of the situation.” (The eatery stayed open for takeout only until April 5, when it announced a temporary closure.)

These efforts are important not just to endure the pandemic but also to build future business. “People are going to say, ‘We ordered from 10 places and we like seven of them so we put them in our rotation,’” says Thompson, from Regina Pizzeria’s marketing firm. “We want to make sure a new customer has a great experience and becomes a customer for the future.”

Nora Caley is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post Marketing Delivery and Carryout appeared first on Pizza Today.

Bottle It Up

The start of the COVID-19 pandemic brought more than an abrupt halt to dine-in eating at many places; it also stirred a desire among pie lovers to help their local eatery and shop in new ways. For several weeks in March and April 2020, merchandise orders steadily increased between 30 and 50 percent every week, according to research from BentoBox, which runs the websites of more than 5,000 restaurants in the United States, including many pizzerias.

Putting a price tag on t-shirts, water bottles or caps might seem like a quick way to generate cash, but the process needs to be carried out carefully to avoid financial risk. “In this crisis, to generate significant profits from merchandise requires more than just having inventory,” says Peter LeSar, co-founder of I Love Restaurants, a website which helps pizzerias and other restaurants fundraise through merchandise sales. “You need to engage and help fans to understand that buying merchandise is important to helping you, as their favorite pizzeria, to rehire and rise again post crisis.”

The following strategies lay out how to sell merchandise in a way that helps your pizza establishment fuel through the coming months and beyond.

Know Where to Start 

While people often want to help, “offering variety so they can find something useful will help optimize sales,” LeSar says. If your place has been selling aprons, bottles of sauce or kitchen towels for some time, you can review past sales to see what has been hot—and what’s not. Assessing what other local places offer may make it easier to differentiate your products and find a place in the market.

Vero Pizza, located inside the Denver Central Market, has offered retail items since it opened nearly four years ago. The eatery has a grocery section where customers can browse and purchase products. “Our aim is to supply the community with the necessities they desire and can’t find at regular grocery stores,” says Shelby Shumaker, general manager of Vero Pizza. “When customers look at our retail selection and menu, they see a healthy variety that ranges from basic pastas and sauces to more uncommon or hard to find Italian ingredients.”

Line Up Merchandise Correctly

If your eatery is in a warm climate, selling sweatshirts might not appeal to frequent local customers. Offering sunglasses or hats, however, might be well received. Similarly, items that reflect your image and brand will help streamline sales. “Some of the items we sell we also use in our kitchen,” Shumaker says. Letting customers try samples or see them packaged helps them understand everything the restaurant offers. “While people are waiting for food or just shopping around, they may spot something they like or want to try,” Shumaker says. “Being able to inform them what pairs well with Fig Balsamic Glaze or Gnocchi al Tartufo definitely gets customers excited to experiment at home.”

Adapt to the Surroundings

When Varuni Napoli, an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria with two locations in Atlanta, had to close its doors for dine-in service during the COVID-19 pandemic, owner and veteran maestro pizzaiolo Luca Varuni shifted strategies. The pizzeria started selling an at-home pizza kit with all the Neapolitan ingredients needed to make a Margherita pizza. The change provided more than a chance for customers to continue enjoying the restaurant’s menu; it also gave them an inside opportunity into the eatery’s long-held recipes. “This is the first-time customers have had access to our dough,” Varuni says. The place also began offering customers an Italian cannoli kit so they could prepare the meal at home.

Before the pandemic, Varuni offered staples and rare Italian products through a retail space called “Luca’s Midtown Market.” When nearby grocery stores struggled to replenish supplies after the COVID-19 outbreak, Varuni started selling household items from the market at its flagship location. Customers can now purchase products like Italian tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Sorrento, truffle oil, 00 flour, artichokes, salt and Calabrian peppers at the restaurant. “We want to share with our neighbors that are so supportive of the restaurant,” Varuni says. “We went to give them the best quality at a good price.”

Make it Visible

Rather than tucking products away on a back counter, placing merchandise in an entryway or waiting area can catch diners’ eyes. “We put everything in the window,” Varuni says. This way customers can see the items as they walk past. Keeping a well-maintained display also tends to draw in shoppers. “Maintaining an organized and visually appealing selection of goods makes for effortless upselling and more importantly, spreading the joy that comes from making and eating good food,” Shumaker says.

For places without dine-in, outdoor signs that announce what’s for sale may attract shoppers. Vero Pizza has a banner that includes directions on how to order over the phone for curbside pick-up, along with a list of its groceries for sale and their prices. It also uses social media promotion to help customers see what’s available.

Make Online Shopping Easy

While you may offer merchandise through your website, there are additional ways to appeal to Internet customers. Instagram Shopping, for instance, is a checkout feature that allows you to sell to customers through the Instagram platform. Through the feature, you can tag up to five products per image and
include details about the product and price in each tag. “Users can select what they want to buy and complete the purchase seamlessly within Instagram,” says Alex Membrillo, CEO of Cardinal Digital Marketing in Atlanta.

If stocking up on inventory would mean a budget strain, third-party solutions can help ease the financial burden. I Love Restaurants, for example, offers restaurants a ready-made merchandise solution without upfront costs. Pizzerias can sign up for free and choose products such as t-shirts and mugs to sell. They can also offer incentives to employees for selling the selected merchandise. I Love Restaurants helps with some of the marketing efforts as well. “The sales come from better leveraging the power of restaurant and employee networks to create more income for both simultaneously,” LeSar says. As products are sold, pizzerias and their employees receive a portion of the sales.

Rachel Hartman is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics. 

The post 5 Ways to Sell Merchandise and More appeared first on Pizza Today.

What does a customer see when they view your brand online?

When you walk through the front door to your restaurant, you get a glimpse of what the customer experiences. You see the debris, the grass growing out of the sidewalk, the neon light not turned on. Once inside, you see how the host stand looks and all the small things that go into the customer’s perception. I suggest always walking in your front door as opposed to the back employee entrance.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

That same mentality should apply to your digital doorstep. What is your digital doorstep? It’s how a customer who comes in views your brand online. If you only look at Google analytics of click-through-rates and how often your menu is displayed, you’re not looking at what the customer is seeing. As much as your physical restaurant will need a deep clean from time to time, your online presence is the same. I come across lazy dated digital presences so often with pizzeria operators, which is insane because it’s the first impression the customer sees way before they get to your restaurant. It’s even more critical because the way it’s presented can be the deciding factor if they choose to go to your restaurant.

Here are some necessary house cleaning double checks you may or may not have done in a long time:

Website:

Go to your website and click on your menu to ensure it’s up to date and the social icon links still direct to where they should.

Review Sites:

Check out all the review sites. Do they have your most up-to-date menu and a good representation photo of your food and ambiance on their page? Make sure someone’s poorly lit photo isn’t your key image on your page. Also, are the hours correct? They might have been when you set up the page, but things glitch, one day it might just change without provocation.

Third-Party Sites:

If you have third-party delivery, do they have your menu updated correctly with correct pricing? Are the photos on their page of YOUR food or some stock photo that looks nothing like what you sell? For any online ordering, I also want to check the coupons to make sure they are functioning correctly as well.

Social Media Pages:

What does your Facebook page look like? Now, this one’s a little trickier because if you’re like me and you run your Facebook page, what you see is going to be different than what your customer sees. So to truly get a feel for the digital doorstep that my customer sees, I use a separate browser with a fake name and account to check out all these sites.

Catfish Yourself:

When you make your fake name and profile, see if that version now gets advertised to. For my fake page, I used my actual age and location because my current age range is the target demo.

If I weren’t, I would make the fake account with the target demo’s info so I can see how my online marketing is working. Case in point, sometimes I’ll log in on the fake account, and I’ll see a direct competitor being advertised to the fake me, which I would not have seen otherwise if I was logged in as the owner of my business page. Checking out my social profile from this fake account, I can see what the customer truly would see. If I were to log in on my regular browser under my real account, I would see that site’s business owners’ perception of my account, which can be skewed. I’ll look up my info everywhere, not just Google but also Bing, duckduckgo (track free search), and even Yellow Pages, to see what my brand is doing and how it is perceived everywhere online.

I find this tactic to be incredibly valuable to see if my ad dollars are working as well as I want. I catch simple errors that I would not have seen otherwise. Make no mistake; your online presence is how you are seen today, more than the sign outside your store. If you can spare time to sweep your kitchen, you can spare time to sweep the Internet.

Additionally, I don’t only do this on the browser of my laptop. I also check it on my mobile phone to make sure that all the websites are optimized correctly. For digital clean up, I’ve never found success outsourcing it; it’s on you to do it. Scan the web, take your notes, decide what’s not right, and then make a plan to change it. No one can replace you and your gut for what you want your customers to see and experience when interacting with your brand.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Digital Doorstep appeared first on Pizza Today.

Let the Games Begin

Gamification seems like one of those fancy obscure terms that doesn’t relate to the average pizzeria operator. Many owners and managers have already gamified their businesses and do not realize that what they are doing falls into the term. Do you hold sales competitions for your servers? Does your loyalty program have a points system and offer levels and rewards? How about box folding speed drills with incentives? These are all forms of gamification.

gam·i·fi·ca·tion: the process of adding games or game-like elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation.

We even gamify Pizza Expo, yes, the show. Ever play the MEGA BUCKS Giveaway or New Exhibitor Treasure Hunt? You, as an attendee get excited to seek out game piece participating booths for a chance to win big. It’s a fun way to encourage engagement, reward our attendees and showcase our exhibitors.

So, why should you consider using gamification in your pizzeria? Here are some quick stats that may blow your mind. By 2021, the estimated global market value of gamification will be $11.94 billion, according to Digital Talk. The eLearning platform also reports that the number of active video gamers worldwide in 2019 was 2.47 billion. According to the Pew Research Center, six-in-10 Americans ages 18 to 29 and 53 percent of those ages 30 to 49 say they play games often or sometimes. That’s a whole lot of Americans who understand and enjoy the elements of games.

Before we explore some game applications in restaurants, let’s look at key elements that gamification should have:

• The Challenge. What is the mission? This is where you really narrow in on the overall purpose of the game.
• Objectives. These are the steps that participants must take to earn rewards.
• A Reward Structure. Forms of rewards can be points, badges, stamps, stars, pizza slices or whatever will allow players and/or your business to keep track of each player’s progress and distribute rewards.
• Rules. You need to be very specific in how the game works and what is permitted and prohibited.

Gamify four areas of your business

Running a business is difficult enough without having to worry about keeping employees and customers engaged in the restaurant. That’s where gamification comes in. Here are four areas to gamify that can win big for your business:

Employee Training

Many operators use learning management systems (LMS) to train staff on areas such as food safety and alcohol service. An LMS will use game theory to help employees learn specific key principles. When gamified elements are added to training, motivation goes up 83 percent, according the 2019 TalentLMS Gamification Survey.

It doesn’t have to only exist in a virtual environment. You can adopt real-world game elements in on-site training, through quizzes and learning task achievements.

The widely popular ServSafe uses a match game to engage the class and get them energized to learn food safety concepts. The certification program also incorporates a game show-style team battle, Food Safety Showdown!, to reinforce key concepts the employees have learned.

Loyalty Program

A loyalty program is one area of your business that already has gamification built in, whether it’s an in-house or third-party system. It can be as old school as frequency punch cards.

Today, area businesses are uniting in their efforts, by creating passports.

Scottie’s Pizza Parlor in Portland, Oregon, rolled out a passport that showcased the city’s thriving pizza community. “We just launched a ‘Portland Pizza Passport’ for customers where they can collect stamps at six of our favorite pizzerias around town in the month of January and be entered into a raffle,” owner Scottie Rivera says.

You can go high-tech. Milo Vinson is CEO at LineSkip, which incorporates customizable loyalty programs. “The restaurant can create their own type of gamification by setting the point structure and goal rewards to incentivize customers to purchase specific items,” he says.

“The gaming element gives customers an incentive to be loyal to a specific restaurant and become a repeat customer,” Vinson says. “We have seen when restaurants implement a loyalty program, customers are more willing to provide additional information such as e-mail, birthdays…etc by creating a profile which allows the restaurant to better understand their customer. We have also seen an increase in online orders as it is easier for them to follow their rewards and progress.”

Vinson cautions operators to crunch the numbers on the rewards. “Restaurants need to be cautious on how much they reward their customers,” he says. “Many times, a restaurant may not pay attention to the program they setup and give too much incentive, which can hurt margins, while other programs give too little incentive for the customer to care.”

Social Marketing

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like are inherently effective platforms for adding game elements. The classic “like” and “share” posts with prizes are still very effectively. With social algorithms these days, they may see better results when they are used in promoted posts. A tagging game is another way to encourage engagement and also add followers that may turn into customers.

Create game elements that are targeted specific to your customer base vs simple “like” and “share”. Customizing games that incentivizing interactions with your brand can result in stronger ROI. Establish a custom hashtag and ask followers to submit photos or videos like #thebestcheesepullat(yourpizzeria). Post the tagged photos and ask followers to vote. Winner gets a prize you’ve set.

Stories are also a great place to incorporate elements like quizzes and polls with promo codes. Users only see the promo code if they participate in the quiz.

Employee Tasks

This is one of the simplest areas to gamify that result in the biggest return. Retention is critical and one of the best ways to retain employees is through constant engagement. Whether it’s front of house or back of house, there are several tasks that can be gamified.

Nick Bogacz, co-owner of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area gamified his employee programs.

“We run contests for highest ticket averages and contests for selling new menu items,” Bogacz says. “At our annual holiday party we just did an awards ceremony. The awards included store with the highest sales, store with the highest sales percentage increase, host of the year, cook of the year, iron man manager of the year, highest ticket average in the company, most orders taken in the company, most deliveries taken in the company, and customer service fanatic of the year. And then each driver who took the most deliveries at each store was presented a Caliente winter jacket with their accolades stitched on it.

“In this day and age when it’s very hard to hire in any industry, it’s more important than ever to retain the employees you have,” he continues. “We have focused more of efforts and resources on retention than on hiring.”

Denise Greer is Executive Editor at Pizza Today

The post Four Areas to Gamify in a Pizzeria appeared first on Pizza Today.

The evolution of pizza box design offers opportunities for your pizzeria branding

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Pizzerias have been customizing their boxes as far back as the 1930s, utilizing the open real estate as mobile billboards. Early designs were simple, but improvements in printing technology have broadened the possibilities for independent pizzerias. Here are some design motifs pizzerias are using to define themselves on their boxes.

Local Artists

After decades of pizza boxes that look more like blown up phone book ads, pizzerias are finally hiring artists to create unique pieces for their box tops! Hiring a local artist gives you a truly unique image and endears you to the community as a supporter of the arts. The challenge here is educating the artist about the limitations of pizza box printing. There are restrictions regarding the number of colors, overlap of colors (trapping) and proximity of ink to folds and cuts in the box. If you’re hiring someone who hasn’t designed for this medium, it’s wise to connect them with the in-house designers at your pizza box supplier to help guide them through the process.

Lo-Fi

The rise of artisan pizza has brought with it a wave of lo-fi pizza box design. Just as the pizzas are rustic and handmade, so too is the art on the box. Picture a 12-inch kraft box (unbleached brown paper) baring a simple graphic hand-stamped off center. It’s usually just a name or logo. This is the opposite of corporate design since it avoids the direct sell of a flashy box covered with coupons and contact information. The DIY aesthetic has a punky edge that works really well for pizzerias that want to convey an artisan mentality. Pizzerias doing the lo-fi thing are often the ones using preferments, organic toppings and local produce.

Throwback

Retro pizzerias are popping up everywhere, and with them come designs that harken back to the days of wood paneling on the walls and video game cabinets in the corner. These prints have simple nameplates in the center and vintage borders at the edge. Maybe there’s even a winking chef in the mix. This trend is all about simplicity with no social media handles, QR codes, or detailed designs. It’s all about branding, not advertising. While the throwback motif might seem like design regression, it’s actually quite distinctive among the myriad pizzerias trying to accentuate a dominant presence. These boxes, and the pizzerias that offer them, are proud of being mom-and-pops.

Full Bleed

Some of the most striking visuals are the ones we don’t expect and in the world of pizza boxes that means an image that rolls over the box’s side. A yellow box with red text or a black box with white text is quite the departure from the usual. Although they’re incredibly striking, these full-bleed designs will cost you more for ink and require higher minimums. Short run orders are printed after the box has been cut and scored, so you can’t get close to the edge. If you absolutely need a box with full-bleed art, you’ll have to order a large run that gets printed before being scored and cut. Also be careful with large amounts of ink because there’s a risk of color rubbing off on your customers’ hands. As with each of these design concepts, always follow the guidance of your printer. They deal with enough pizza box art to have best practices based on their equipment.

Scott Wiener is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org.

The post Man on the Street: Top Pizza Box Design Trends appeared first on Pizza Today.

Get the Message Out with SMS Texts

When you send current customers and potential new diners a text message, chances are high they’ll see it. After texts are received, 90 percent of the messages are read within three minutes, according to VoiceSage.

In contrast, e-mail messages have an open rate of around 20 percent, per Mailchimp statistics. The disparity makes sending text messages an attractive option, as the likelihood that they will be viewed is higher. Sending out texts can also be more personable than e-mail, providing chance to connect in a real way with customers.

Effective SMS (Short Message Service) marketing, which consists of sending text messages to cell phone users who have signed up to receive messages, follows a process. To maximize a text campaign, it’s essential to plan and dedicate enough time to the efforts. Following are key guidelines to keep in mind when using SMS marketing to enhance sales and ultimately, increase profits.

Make it worthwhile.

“For your messages to affect your bottom line, you need to grow your list,” says Alfredo Saikeld, marketing manager at SimpleTexting, a SMS marketing platform. Create a keyword that customers can text to sign up for promotions and include it on your menus, receipts and pizza boxes. You can also add a sign-up form on your website. Once customers sign up, send an automatic reply that includes a sign-up offer or reward.

When asking customers to opt in for text messages, a light promotion, such as “10 percent off an appetizer,” might not get much attention. “People are, rightly, highly protective of their cell number,” says David Ganulin, principal at Local Mobile Marketing Solutions, which helps bar and restaurant owners build effective SMS marketing campaigns. Instead, when launching a campaign, you may use an invitation such as: “Join our new SMS VIP Club and get entered automatically each month for your chance to win a $50 gift card. As a special thank you for opting in, you’ll receive 20 percent off your next order.”

Slow and steady can be effective tools when sending out offers. “It’s not like e-mail,” Ganulin says. Rather than hitting customers with several messages in a row, or updating them with daily offers, leave time between messages so clients don’t get burned out. “With SMS, especially in the beginning, less is definitely more,” Ganulin explains.

Follow timing secrets.

Among Americans, 53 percent don’t know what they are going to eat for lunch until they realize they are hungry, according to a 2019 survey by the California Walnut Board & Commission. “Imagine how powerful a text message offer would be if it arrives between 11 a.m. and noon,” says Bob Bentz, president of Purplegator, a digital marketing agency.

Scheduling promotions to coincide with popular events in your area, such as a college football game or music concert, can also increase conversions. Attendees looking to feed a group or grab a quick meal after the activity ends could jump at an enticing offer.

For locations in a business district, time communications to coordinate with corporate workers. “If you are trying to reach a white-collar businessperson, send your text messages at 57 minutes after the hour,” Bentz says. “That’s when busy executives are waiting for their next meeting to start and are spending time looking at their mobile phone.”

Make the words count.

The standard character limit for a SMS message is 160 characters. While most phones and networks provide support so users can rebuild a message that includes more characters, it’s best to keep specials short and to the point. “Put the most important words early in the 160-character message,” Bentz suggests. This way customers won’t have to push extra buttons to be able to view the entire offer.

If you’re including an offer with a short expiration, or want to highlight a key menu item, make certain phrases larger. “Capitalize the most important words in your broadcast messages,” Bentz says. You might send a message that says, “1 FREE MEDIUM PIZZA when you buy a large pizza” or “30 percent OFF PEPPERONI pizzas, offer valid TODAY ONLY.”

“Don’t think that all of your messages need to be discounts,” Bentz says. You can send wishes for holidays, remind customers of menu items that are only available for a limited time, such as in-season toppings, and alert them of new menu offerings.

Give customers a choice.

After diners sign up for text messages, clients may reach a time when they no longer are interested in receiving offers. If you have an efficient way for them to opt out of promotions, customers will appreciate your simplicity and authenticity. “Offer a clear exit strategy,” says Reuben Yonatan, founder and CEO of GetVoIP, which reviews VoIP solutions and business communication applications.

To make it easy for customers, offer an opt-out choice right away. It might be included in the welcome message or shortly after. An explanation such as “Text STOP to no longer receive promotions,” may be all you need. The system could work in your favor when customers view the exit path, as sometimes “more sign up when they know they have a clear way to unsubscribe when they no longer need the service,” Yonatan says.

How to Choose the Right Texting Service

While many marketing agencies offer texting services, you’ll want a platform that works for you and your restaurant’s unique needs. Ask the following questions when shopping for a text marketing service:

1. What is the cost? You don’t want to spend more than the benefits you’ll receive. In addition to prices, ask for a referral or client case study to see what results to expect.
2. What industries do you work with? Agencies that cater to single-owned restaurants or food service operators will likely have a better understanding of your place’s needs and requirements.
3. What features are available? Make sure the company’s specialties line up with your priorities.
4. How does customer service work? When you have a question, you’ll want to be reassured help is on-hand to solve any issues before they impact your overall sales or customers’ experiences.

Rachel Hartman is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post A Step-by-Step Guide to SMS Marketing appeared first on Pizza Today.

Build customer relationships based on trust

Being clear and open with customers can draw them in and keep them coming back. Among consumers, 67 percent say a good reputation may entice them to try a product from a trustworthy company, according to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer. Furthermore, 85 percent of customers say they’ll give a business a second chance after a poor experience if it has a reputation of being transparent, per research by Sprout Social.

With today’s communication tools and online connectivity, it’s become easier than ever to take an authentic, honest approach to customers and operations. “I have always valued transparency, so it was pretty natural for me to want to integrate it heavily within my own operations,” says Madisen Saglibene, owner of Pizza Stone’d, a mobile woodfired pizza service in Las Vegas. “With the emergence of social media, it has only created more of an opportunity for us as business owners to actually show the world what we do.”

Implementing the right strategies can help build customer relationships, boost your reputation, and stand out among competitors.

1. Take social media to the next level.

Saglibene uses social media to highlight the ingredients her place uses. She also makes callouts to brands she collaborates with, and shares messages that relate to her company’s values.

“Have a social media presence that’s open and honest about the work that happens in the restaurant,” says Olivia Newman, content marketing assistant at Giraffe Social Media. You might showcase recent news from the restaurant or mention upcoming items you will soon have on the menu.

“Share offers and discounts and allow people to leave reviews, so other individuals know your business is legitimate,” Newman adds. For a personal touch, make videos of staff members and have them express why they enjoy working at the restaurant. Let them talk about how long they have been at the place and what benefits they have received during their time of employment. Then share the clips on Facebook or Instagram. Viewers will get a sense of who works in your restaurant and what they find meaningful.

2. Show what sets you apart.

“I am very clear that Pizza Stone’d is a women-owned business, which can help make us more identifiable to other women who may want to support female-led businesses,” Saglibene says.

If your establishment has been in the family for several generations, consider communicating its history clearly with customers. Put pictures of the founders on the walls or create a timeline that highlights special moments and awards from the previous decades.

For new places, try holding a meet-and-greet event where you can interact with customers and explain why you opened your place. Dedicate a page on your Web site to explain your purpose, including what’s important to you and how you want your pizza place to impact the community.

3. Place an emphasis on truth.

“When asked questions about products, whether it be about ingredients or process, an honest answer is always given,” notes Saglibene.

Nick Herntier, owner of Pizza Man in Shakopee, Minnesota for the past 15 years, focuses on being upfront early in conversations with customers. If the place is running behind on deliveries over the lunch or dinner hours, “I’ll come out right away and say something like, ‘Just to let you know, we’re looking at about an hour right now for delivery,’ even before they make the order,” Herntier says. Customers are then able to decide if they want to continue with the order or come back at a different time.

The setup has led to repeat customers. “Being transparent on whether you can be there at the designated time helps build confidence in your brand to the customer,” Herntier says. Most of his restaurant’s day-time sales come from businesses that have to take a lunch break at a certain time. “If you are upfront and say, ‘we can’t be there at noon, we could do 12:15 to 12:30,’ then they could move around meetings and not have employees waiting around, and they appreciate that,” Herntier says.

4. Don’t shy away from poor reviews.

Negative feedback, especially in today’s interconnected online world, is nearly inevitable. “I personally rather embrace that than try to resist,” Saglibene says. “Addressing less than optimal reviews has led me to gaining a customer for life because he appreciated my genuine approach and apology.”

When you see a negative review online, you can respond in writing so others can view your position. You might note any mistakes that were made or plans to change in the future. Even if no promises of a free meal or future discount are made, both current and new customers will get a glimpse of your approach to customer service.

5. Open the kitchen.

“The way we’ve found our restaurant and pizzeria clients to have more transparency is to quite simply promote the idea of an open kitchen,” says Christopher Grozdon, co-founder of DASH-SEO, a SEO and digital marketing agency. If your structure allows, you might be able to put in see-through glass that separates the kitchen from the eating area. You could also completely open the kitchen, making it visible to customers when they enter the restaurant.

Another way to create an approachable kitchen appearance is to film the tasks that take place by the ovens. Saglibene has used cameras on site to record and share videos outlining what goes on in the kitchen.

6. Offer a Full Picture of Ingredients.

Start by including nutritional information, such as a list of ingredients and calorie counts, on menus. For an in-depth display, add that same information to your walls or front counter so customers can access it with a glance.

Then look for ways to add more meaning. “Pizzerias should know where and how their millers’ source, and even what farming practices they value,” says Michael Chapman, CEO of Fieldcraft, an online marketplace for crops and ingredients for food and beverage companies. “This presents greater opportunity to share that story with customers, not just as an ingredient list, but as an integral part of their brand narrative.”

Rachel Hartman is a freelance writer who covers small business, finance and lifestyle topics.

The post Six Ways to be Transparent appeared first on Pizza Today.

Your box is so much more than a box

If you are still buying the generic blank pizza box or the one that has some cliched Italian version of a pizza maker on it, you’re saying: “I’m Anytown, Pizza Place USA. Nothing special here, move along folks.” Branded boxes aren’t nearly as expensive as they once were, and it’s just common sense at this point.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

Next level things to set yourself from the pack is to have an aeration pizza liner under the pizza, not just wax paper or nothing. A pizza liner says to the customer, “I invest in this pizza so much I also want to make sure it’s perfect by the time it gets to you.” Typically, these are very affordable, and it sends a message to the customer that you care. Above that, having branded bags, branded to-go boxes, and anything else that you could put your logo on sends a unique message to your customer that your pizzeria is a professional operation, so as they walk out their door, they have pride of purchase. It does cost more, but it pays itself back in that feeling of pride that leads to return business, as well as the free advertising along the way.

Upon opening Andolini’s, one of my first goals was to get branded pizza boxes. As a small pizzeria, that wasn’t easy — especially when you have multiple sizes. Whatever needs to be done, you need to do it, right?. Other workarounds are to stamp your packaging with a stamped ink logo or branded stickers. By all means necessary, you must push your brand beyond your doors.

However, it’s never been easier to brand stuff. If you’re not branding your product, you’re saying to the customer, “We don’t care, so here’s some pizza. What do you want from me?” If you’re spending time reading this article to improve and get ideas, then you’re better than that.

That’s what the game is now; it’s about being different and unique. I’m talking all-day, every day unique. Hit their brain with pride of purchase so your last impression to the customer before they eat your food — which is your packaging — sets the meal up for success.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Set for Success appeared first on Pizza Today.

I love the night before Christmas. I’ve loved it since I was a little kid. I love gifts wrapped under a tree waiting to be opened. The anticipation of what’s inside of these perfectly wrapped boxes leads the mind to wander to a happy place of what might be in them. I also like wrapping a gift for someone else. Knowing I’ve picked the perfect gift and it’s ready to make someone else’s day gives me a sense of pride. I, however, don’t get as excited about gifts in a generic gift bag. Bags come off as phoned-in, as if the person who got the gift probably did it as an afterthought. Right, wrong or indifferent, that’s the message a gift bag gives me.

Mike Bausch, owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria

I feel the same way about my pizza box and the whole to-go packaging experience. My team and I have worked our ass off to make a perfect pizza, and I want a clean and well-designed box that will show the recipient of the pizza that I cared when I made it. When it comes to your pizza, if you’re selling it in a regular non-branded box with nothing else, it’s a letdown before the party even starts. It gives the impression that nothing special is about to occur.

I want the customer upon purchase of anything from Andolini’s to tap into the euphoric side of the brain where dopamine flows to create a sense of fulfillment that negates any purchase anxiety. What you might associate with people at the mall on a shopping spree is a real psychological transformation in the brain that I want my customers to feel upon purchase. I want them to experience the pride of purchase, and it’s pretty darn hard to get there before eating without some solid branding. Retail figured this out in the ’80s that people have a sense of pride in buying the best, so make your shopping bag as big and as bold as possible so that a person holding a bunch of bags walking down through the mall is a source of status. It’s the same concept, but for people who are more food-centric than fashionistas. The mental side of this is all the same.

Thoughtful packaging also alleviates purchase anxiety and leads to more repeat business. You want them looking for the pride of purchase that comes from something that is upper echelon, the best of the best — and that can only be achieved with great, unique branded packaging. It also allows you to charge the premium price your pizza deserves.

I’ll get just a bit more into this next month, so stay tuned!

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Gift Wrap Your Pizza appeared first on Pizza Today.

I’m done with the word “good.” I hear it every time I ask people what kind of pizza they like. They say things like “I want a good sauce,” and “I like a really good crust,” but I have no idea what they mean. Everybody has an idealized version of the pizza they like, but unless you can read minds you’ll never know what defines “good” to a customer. That’s why I’m proposing we actively expand the vocabulary of pizza consumers as a method of increasing the likelihood they’ll love your food.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Believe it or not, normal people don’t understand physics. When you brag about the incredible heat of your wood-fired oven the uninitiated expect their pizza to be thin and crispy, exactly the opposite of the soft crust they’ll get. If you’re making Neapolitan pizza or something like it, you might want to pair impressive stats about your oven’s extreme temperatures with words like soft, charred, chewy, pliant, pillowy, supple, and gentle. Don’t let your customers be disappointed just because their expectations weren’t met. Set accurate expectations for them.

Printing “Best Sauce in Town” on your menu doesn’t help anybody know what flavors to expect. Using words like savory, zesty, robust, herby, chunky, simple and fresh gives your customers a better idea of what to expect. Dani’s House of Pizza in Queens is loud and proud about their sweet sauce, going so far as to print “#sweetsauce” on the back of their t-shirts. If someone hates sweet sauce, they’ll have ample warning. If you communicate your product properly, you’ll have fewer people writing negative online reviews about something they dislike that you see as a feature.

One word I’ve been seeing a lot lately, particularly at Neapolitan and Roman pizzerias, is “digestible.” Ignoring the science behind the claim that one pizzeria’s dough is more digestible than another, it’s a word that confuses pizzeria customers. I see it printed on pizza boxes and menus, but since nobody expects pizza to be indigestible, seeing it in use at a pizzeria provides confusion instead of clarity. If anything, it casts some doubt about other pizzerias but doesn’t do much to elevate the profile of the one using it. To convey the same idea, you can use words like light, fresh, and luscious. Even better is the word fermentation. Fermented foods like yogurt, kombucha, and kimchi are trending hard right now because of their health benefits. You can maximize that momentum by calling out the fact that your dough is a fermented product. That conveys the same image as “digestible” but with a lot more finesse and clarity.

There’s plenty to say about your pizza that’s both marketable and accurate, but you have to be honest rather than hyperbolic.  Since everybody’s claiming to be “the best in town,” you’re better off using words as a means of educating your clientele. This is particularly important for those serving a unique or unfamiliar style of pizza. Providing your customers with a vocabulary that accurately describes your pizza will give you control over their expectations. If you use objective descriptions instead of broad terms and subjective claims, more customers will connect the dots between your marketing savvy and your food’s reality.

Scott Wiener is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org.

The post Man on the Street: “The Power of Words” appeared first on Pizza Today.

Sometimes I forget that I have the world’s largest collection of pizza boxes. It’s not like they’re sprawled all over my apartment; I have a highly organized spare closet that allows me to keep over 1,500 (mostly unused) boxes both out of sight and out of mind. But every few weeks I receive a familiar e-mail that reminds me about my true identity. “I’m redesigning my pizza box. What should I put on it?” When I see those words on my screen, I’m reminded of both my hoarding problem and the reality that most pizzeria owners have no idea where to start when it comes time to craft pizza box imagery.

Scott Wiener

Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

Before jumping into your new design, think about how your customers will interact with the box. Do you offer takeout and delivery, or will you only be giving boxes to customers for leftover slices? Each of these situations presents different needs and it’s likely you’ll need a box that can cover all three.

You can print on any surface of the box (even on the inside if you spring for food safe ink), but put your energy into the top since that’s going to get the most eyeball time. Your design should be simple and clear. Instead of clogging it with your phone number, Web site, address and every single social media handle you’ve ever created, just give the basics. Your name and location is all most people will need to look you up online. You’ll have to give a bit more if your pizzeria has a common name or if your URL isn’t just the name of the pizzeria, but keep the contact information as simple as possible.

Next comes the actual design. I absolutely recommend working with a professional designer, but there are lots of fun alternatives. Maybe you have a pizza maker who’s in school for design. They already know your brand and style, plus they’ll be grateful for some side work in their field of interest. Several pizzerias have had success tapping their customers’ talents by running pizza box design contests. Locals enter their designs and customers vote for their favorite. A contest can even drive social media engagement if you post images and hold the vote on Instagram or Facebook. Designing your pizza box is a great opportunity to work with local schools and art programs. Students can work together to design an image for you just as they would for an actual client. They’ll get valuable professional experience and you’ll get a unique box design, not to mention customers for life.

Two-color prints are the most popular and provide flexibility, but you’ll save money if you can make it work with just a single color. Thanks to the growth of visual platforms like Instagram, people are hyper aware of design and will post a picture of your pizza box if it pops enough. If that happens a few times, thousands of new people will be exposed to your brand.

The pizza box can be a valuable tool for retaining valued customers and bringing in new ones. Just make sure your box is designed with your customers in mind and reflects the brand you’ve built inside the restaurant. Then send me one for my collection.

Scott Wiener is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org.

The post Man on the Street: Boxing Lesson appeared first on Pizza Today.

How to make your restaurant gift card the must-have gift of the holidays

The holiday season has shoppers everywhere scrambling for the perfect gift, the last-minute gift, stuff to fill a stocking, teacher gifts and coworker kudos. But shoppers need not scramble, if you and your staff are doing their jobs right — promoting your restaurant’s gift cards. Because who doesn’t crave your signature pizza or garlic knots or specialty salads? Well, you know the answer — no one, at least no one on Santa’s nice list.

Although it’s better to give than receive, when it comes to holiday shopping, most givers would love a small token of appreciation for their hard-shopping efforts. If you’re willing to give a little, you’ll probably see a lot more gift cards flying off your counter.

“With my restaurant and retail clients, we have found that successful gift card programs always include something for the buyer. And, to get people in the door in dreary January in Chicago, we have usually made that offer something the buyer can use starting January 2,” says Jen Peterson, leader of J Peterson Marketing in Chicago. “For example, with one client we did when you purchased $25 in gift cards before December 24, you got a $10 gift card to use January 2 – January 31. You could purchase something for just $10 at the restaurant but, most likely, you’re spending on top of that $10 so it’s January revenue that we probably would not have had otherwise.”

Big incentives will also get your customers’ attention and sway them to purchase a gift card for themselves or for someone they love.

A contest promoted on social media that boasts a high-value gift card will get customers clicking and buying, according to Leah B. Ynostrosa, owner and Chief Brand Elevator at Tacos & Caviar Brand Elevation in San Antonio.

“These contests are proven to raise awareness for your brand while also getting people to talk,” she adds. “Provide a ‘consolation’ offer to non-winners to purchase a gift card at a discounted rate. We’ve seen purchases skyrocket as patrons rack up tabs well beyond the gift card value.”

Dean Small, founder and managing partner of SYNERGY Restaurant Consultants in Newport Beach, California, suggests running a raffle for a trip that customers will automatically be entered if they buy a gift card.

You’ll also see increased foot traffic and gift card sales by sponsoring a fundraiser.

“Sell gift cards at a reduced price and the difference in price goes to charity,” advises Small. “Fundraisers are a great way to get people into the restaurant.”

Plus, you’ll be giving back in the season of giving, a great way to strengthen your ties with the community.

If you want your customers to purchase gift cards as holiday gifts, make it easy for them to connect “gift card” with “gift.” Signage strategically placed throughout the restaurant and holiday decorations such as gift-card-stocked stockings will help them see the gift card as a holiday gift, according to Small.

Visual reminders such as table tents and a point of purchase you can throw in a to-go bag that serves as a reminder that pizza is the perfect gift, will go a long way in promoting gift card sales during the holiday season, he adds.

Gift card promotion doesn’t have to be limited to your storefront, though; by extending your reach into cyberspace, you can exponentially multiply your gift card promotion efforts and as a result, increase your sales.

Ynostrosa recommends pairing “table-top tents with a QR code linked to a Facebook Messenger bot or e-mail opt-in form to build your audience (whom you can later retarget in e-mail or via Facebook Messenger).”

If your e-mail list is already substantial, put it to good use.

“I’m a big fan of utilizing your e-mail database. These people gave you their e-mail address to hear from you so make it worthwhile. Perhaps they get an even better incentive — a $15 gift card or their gift cards go until February 28, instead of January 31 — something just for that group. They just have to bring in the e-mail to purchase,” advises Peterson.

Snail mail can be as equally effective as digital mail in promoting your gift cards, according to Small. Be sure to add parameters on gift cards such as they can only be used for pick-up or dine-in. That way, you’re safeguarding your chance to upsell, he adds.

Any marketing strategy to increase gift card sales will only be strengthened when you get your entire staff on board, and the effort they put forth promoting gift cards should be acknowledged and compensated.

“You can do a contest, and nothing is better than cold, hard cash (or a Visa/Amex gift card). I also love surprise rewards. You hear an employee talking up the gift cards and getting a sale? Reward them on the spot with a $20 bill and have some higher rewards, too,” Peterson advises. “A key to making this work from a management perspective is to budget for this before the holidays. Start setting aside some funds to use in November and December for employee rewards.”

Keep a scorecard or pie or growth chart of employees’ performances on gift card sales that everyone can see and offer substantial prizes for sales leaders, said Small. To offset the added expense of employee prizes, he suggests partnering with other vendors who could supply the loot.

“Pizzerias can have trade-offs with other vendors so they’re not paying dollar for dollar. Restaurant operators may have points when paying with credit cards, and they can use the points to get prizes,” Small says. “Set realistic goals in terms of sales. During pre-shift meetings encourage them to be on their game. It’s not difficult to sell gift cards if you’re focused.”

If you’re concerned that offering a gift card at a discounted rate will negatively impact your revenue, Small says that a good percentage of gift card users — approximately 17 to 22 percent — will leave a balance on the gift card, of nearly 20 percent. And, of course, there are always customers who misplace gift cards completely.

Gift cards not only make a fantastic holiday gift, they also generate double the buzz and interest in your restaurant thanks to the customer who purchases the card and the gift card recipient who is already a fan of your place or will soon become a returning customer. Take advantage of the season by effectively marketing gift cards so that the end of the year and the year to come continue to be successful for your business.

Deann Owens is a freelance journalist living in Dayton, Ohio. She specializes in features and human-interest stories.

The post Holiday Gift Cards: Ramp It Up appeared first on Pizza Today.

Fifteen years doesn’t seem like that much time in the grand scheme of existence. It’s smaller than a minuscule blip. When I think back to 2004, I liked all the same bands I do today. Saturday Night Live was on with some of the same cast members that are still on today, and not too much of my personality has really changed. I had already graduated college and started Andolini’s, the pizzeria I still own and operate today.

Mike Bausch
Owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria, Tulsa, OK

Now, completely to the opposite of that notion are all the things that have occurred in the last 15 years. Three presidents, along with the introduction and advent of social media — not to mention with the popularity of the smartphone. In reality, a ton has changed, and 15 years is a long time. Not just in terms of technology, but think, for example, how much happened from 1959 to 1974. In 1959 TV broadcasts were in black and white. No one had ever heard of the Beatles. By 1974 the Beatles created every album they would ever make and broke up, all while we landed on the moon and had five different Presidents. So, as you can see, 15 years is a long, long time in terms of culture. And things are moving now like they were then — at a breakneck speed.

It’s easy to think that once you’ve got your finger on the pulse of what’s happening, that that’s the way it’ll be forever. But that is simply not true. Case in point: there are probably about 10 pizzerias in America that can still pull off not taking credit cards. If you can and still make a profit, good for you … but any pizzeria that’s not rolling in cash and still isn’t taking plastic is a dinosaur. And dinosaurs go extinct.

The debate to accept credit cards was an issue of 15 years ago. The problem of today is the operator who doesn’t think social media is relevant (or isn’t really engaged with learning everything there is to know about it). Most every pizzeria owner gets that it’s free advertising, but they don’t really go all in to understand the metrics of how to maximize it. Your marketing is as vital as your choice of flour. Not knowing how or why you do things on social media is like not knowing your brand of flour. It really is that big a deal now.

My motto for staying relevant is “Be Regis.” Be Regis Philbin. Here’s a guy who into his late 80s was still on morning television talking about the night on the town he had with his wife and talking about what he tweeted today on Live with Regis and Kelly. Regis got his start in the 50’s at NBC, and he is still a regular talk show guest today. Until the day he left that show he was still engaged in knowing about the newest thing and never looking down on the next wave, but instead finding a way to ride it.

It’s very easy for someone over the age of 30 to write off social media, even easier for someone in their 40s or 50s to say, “Instagram is not for me.” While I understand that, just know that you are absolutely wrong.  Time is going to kick your butt unless you decide to stay relevant and BE REGIS. That means not only seeking to follow trends, but also making them your own. No one says you have to Instagram exactly the same as someone who’s 20. Do it your way and do it often.

Marketing your pizzeria now has very little (actually, nothing) to do with the Yellow Pages and anything else that you might’ve used if your pizzeria is over a decade old and you’re over the age of 35. The beauty of all this is that understanding that you might not be great at something new is the best way to start to fix it. So today choose to start with your social media presence.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a frequent speaker at the International Pizza Expo family of tradeshows.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: 15 Years of Social Media… and Idolizing Regis Philbin appeared first on Pizza Today.

Social Media ads are a great bang-for-the-buck to reach customers

With 28 Rapid Fired Pizza units under his charge and battling an increasingly competitive environment, Ray Wiley isn’t taking any chances.

“Nowadays,” Wiley begins, “you have to market everywhere and anywhere you can.”

As a result, Rapid Fired’s marketing budget includes a diverse array of efforts designed to capture the eyeballs of retail customers as well as prospective franchisees.

And in the digital age, those efforts certainly include social media advertising. In fact, Wiley allocates about 10 percent of Rapid Fired’s marketing budget to social media advertising, everything from boosting a customer’s post to running a paid campaign touting special offers.

“Social media advertising is a good bang-for-the-buck way for us to reach customers and franchise partners, so many of whom are active on social media,” says Wiley, a veteran restaurateur who founded the Ohio-based Rapid Fired concept in 2015.

That’s a savvy play, says Ashley Thiesen, CEO of The Modern Connection, a social media and digital marketing firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. With organic reach on the decline for nearly all major social platforms, a paid social budget working alongside an existing content marketing strategy better positions a restaurant’s social media content to attract the eyeballs it seeks.

“It’s no longer an option to post to your social pages and just assume your followers will see it,” Thiesen says. “You have to pay to play.”

With Facebook hosting approximately 2.3 billion monthly active users and food-friendly Instagram topping the one billion mark, social media weaves into daily life for consumers around the globe, and that’s precisely why social media advertising is so critical, says Marc Liu, co-founder of New York City-based Gourmet Marketing.

“And, thanks to the targeting capabilities on social media, you can reach [your targets] with pinpoint accuracy,” he adds.

Yet more, Liu continues, social media advertising offers flexibility in terms of budget size and campaign duration, while also giving restaurants the ability to track key metrics ranging from clicks to revenue-driving actions like reservations, online orders or phone calls.

“This allows the restaurant to make the most of their advertising budget and move forward with confidence,” Liu says.

While social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Foursquare, Snapchat, Pinterest and LinkedIn offer various paid advertising options based on audience, budget and campaign goals, Facebook remains the “best and easiest place to start,” Thiesen says.

“Facebook for Business has amazing free resources, and if you have the time and patience to teach yourself, that’s a great place to begin,” she says, noting that Instagram ads’ integration within the Facebook Ads Manager allows restaurants to rather seamlessly extend their advertising reach on two key platforms.

In addition, Facebook’s vast user base and versatility generally produces a favorable return on investment, though results will swing based on a restaurant’s target audience and approach.

“Our experience has been that Facebook drives the most conversions at the lowest cost per conversion,” Liu says.

While some tactics will prove more expensive than others, the costs associated with the advertising bids vary week to week due to an algorithm rooted in real-time Facebook and Instagram users.

“The best way to identify a budget is to build out your audience, creative assets and campaign and then identify the bid range, keeping in mind it updates every seven days,” Thiesen says, adding that a more targeted audience doesn’t necessarily translate into higher rates.

8 ways to enhance paid social advertising

1: Define precise campaigns objectives. Whether it’s promoting a new restaurant opening or driving catering sales, Liu suggests restaurants define a clear goal for their paid advertising campaign. Otherwise, efforts can too easily wander and fall flat.

2: Know the ground rules. Liu advises restaurants to familiarize themselves with a given advertising platform, its options and its pertinent details. For instance, are costs associated with clicks or impressions? What’s the campaign’s run time? When will charges occur?

“Understanding these parameters and then keeping a close eye on your campaigns is key to avoiding surprising charges,” Liu says.

3: Pay for the “right” play. Particularly for beginners, Thiesen suggests restaurants use the cost-per-click model rather than the cost-per-impression option. This way, a restaurant only pays when people engage with an ad.

4: Identify the target. Avoid default targeting, Thiesen says, and instead specify audience, which can be based on geolocation, gender, age, income, parental status, marital status and interests. Then, craft content – video as well as text and imagery – as precisely as possible.

“For example, if you want to promote your new pet-friendly patio, use images of dogs in your ads and target pet owners who live nearby,” Thiesen says.

Other potential targets might include happy hour specials for nearby workers, game-day promotions for fans of a particular team or family-friendly events aimed at parents.

5: Consider the customer. Much too often, restaurant owners push what makes them excited with nary a concern for what the customer cares about or how the restaurant can address an existing customer need. “Put yourself in your customers’ shoes,” Liu directs.

6: Don’t yo-yo. Wiley acknowledges that social media advertising can be “very temperamental” with factors like weather or national news impacting results. Even so, it’s important operators commit to an overall strategy, including timeline and budget, and resist the temptation to change campaigns in a willy-nilly fashion.

“Give your strategy time to work and also to deliver enough data so you can figure out what is working and what isn’t,” Liu says.

7: Measure constantly and adjust accordingly. Timely data is one of digital advertising’s premier advantages, so use it. Dig into the numbers to see if certain copy, images, promotions, descriptions or targeting parameters are resonating more than others. Then, pivot accordingly.

“Measure everything you do so you can figure out if your assumptions were correct,” Liu says.

8: Defer to the pros. If no one in the business is willing to do the research to master paid social media ads, then hire an outside expert.

“Otherwise,” Thiesen says, “it’s literally money down the drain.”

Chicago-based writer Daniel P. Smith has covered business issues and best practices for a variety of trade publications, newspapers, and magazines.

The post Pay to Play: Social Media Advertising appeared first on Pizza Today.

How Farrelli’s used an appreciation campaign to grow its customer base

I had a vision of appreciation. This is one of my core values. I am the current CEO and Co-founder of our 24-year-old, nine-store pizza chain, called Farrelli’s. I founded it with my parents, John and Margaret Farrell.

Papa & Mama Farrelli always taught me to have a stack of thank you cards, so this vision of appreciation I mentioned was just a natural extension! My vision was to appreciate the people around our neighborhoods who serve the community in different ways — first up was the firefighters. My husband is a firefighter and I wanted to do something for Firefighters Appreciation Day in 2018.

What do firefighters love? Pizza! We planned to deliver pizza to his station, but that didn’t seem like enough… how about pizza and a $15 appreciation card? Boots on the ground, let’s do it!

However, we could not just take care of his department, we needed to take care of all the departments in all the neighborhoods that had taken care of us over their many years of service. Mission: bring pizza and $15 appreciation cards from all locations to all fire department districts in each Farrelli’s neighborhood. Sounds simple … but, for example, in one neighborhood there were around seven stations with 150 firefighters. And we have nine neighborhoods to nourish. My point here is to not underestimate the reach you may have and be prepared to divide and conquer.

In terms of the design of the card itself, it was important to me that we presented them with an appreciation card that functioned as a gift card to Farrelli’s that could be redeemed in our stores as a sign of appreciation and thanks for the work that they do. I did not want it to look like a coupon, nor did I want to force them to make a purchase. After all, this was to be a genuine gesture of gratitude.

I asked our leaders, also known as neighborhood ambassadors, to personally deliver the pizza and appreciation cards. The impact it had was significant. 

Autumn Nessibou led the charge in one of our stores and had this to say: “We delivered enough pizzas to the Sumner location that several other firehouses were able to stop by and take pizza back with them. One firefighter came to the door and thanked me for the kind gesture from our restaurant. Later that afternoon, several firefighters from around the community posted thanks and pictures of them enjoying Farrelli’s for lunch on our Facebook page. It was such a win-win situation in that they felt our genuine appreciation for their service, but I also was moved by their level of appreciation for our campaign.”   

Another leader, Brittany Knieriem, commented: “I had such a positive experience from the firefighters. From the moment I called to get a head count of their building, telephone operators included, they were all so friendly and appreciative. When I arrived with their lunch that day, everyone started clapping and shaking our hands as if we were their heroes that day. Their selflessness is remarkable and it felt amazing to give them a small token of our appreciation. I have seen numerous amounts of appreciation cards coming back in and I’m loving this campaign and feeling like I can contribute to my community!”

After the Firefighters, I felt this campaign had some real legs and wanted to keep the appreciation train going. I met with our Director of Marketing, Clayton Krueger, to help identify the next segments to appreciate. We decided next up would be the local grocers in our areas. How many times have you stood in line at a grocery store and watched as a clerk demonstrates remarkable patience or kindness with an unreasonable customer (I’m sure none of us can relate to this)? Boom! Second mission identified. At this point I’m thinking I want to target a different segment every month.

Once again, the mission was even bigger than I had imagined. I was picturing 15 to 20 clerks in each store. Well, try around 175-250 employees per store! At first I was a little overwhelmed with the quantity, then I reminded myself of the purpose — to appreciate those who can fall under the gratitude radar while building sales with an unconventional use of marketing dollars. Also, wouldn’t it be great if you had the local grocery clerk telling a cool story about your pizza store? I wanted our pizza store rippling with great stories and intent in our neighborhoods. So, again, we executed on our mission to appreciate the grocery clerks as well as the baggers, butchers, deli workers and countless other roles which extended our appreciation to the entire staff of each local grocery store.

Next up? Teachers! Teachers really need some appreciation, and our teachers in Washington had a tough start to the year. Many had to strike. The teachers were a lofty goal and one to which you could dedicate many months. When I first tasked the leaders to do a head count of how many appreciation cards we should make, the answer actually shocked me. In one area it was over 1,000 teachers in a district.  At this point I needed to reign it in a bit so as not to flood the stores with gift cards all at once. So we broke it down to elementary, middle and high schools, one a month, and it became much more manageable.

Patrick Lewis is one of our leaders and has strong ties to his community. He led the charge for the teacher campaign and had this to say: “As I put the appreciation cards in their school mailboxes in the main school office they were coming and getting messages. All of them were very appreciative and kept saying thanks was enough, but a gift card made it better. Before I was gone for the day at least 10 more teachers came in because they heard about what we were doing. Over a week later I was flagged down and again thanked. Everyone was just surprised that we would thank them and be so involved in the community.”

Leader Emilie Becker added: “It has been fun to see the same smiling faces we saw during the strike for the free breadsticks promotion coming back in to use their thank you certificates. We have created a bond.”

Most recently, we have appreciated baristas. Tyler Winters, a leader for our company, states: “Today I went to the first of the three independent coffee stands that surround us and left 14 certificates for the baristas and owners. I have visited this location several times in the past. However, today when I told the baristas about how great we think they are and why we are doing this neighborhood outreach, they were so appreciative I received a round of handshakes and high fives. This program is helping our location dig deeper roots with the other businesses that are around us. This is what separates us from the competition. This, to me, is Farrelli’s teaming up with other businesses to continuously let the community know we are now, and always will be, great — and they should want to be a part of what we stand for.”

Tyler’s statement sums up the intent and the purpose for the campaign.  Give your community and your crew a reason to proudly support your brand!

This program is still very much a work in progress for Farrelli’s. Rob Rasmussen, who designs and is responsible for our materials, commented: “I think it gives our crew a really good feeling that they have a tool to reach out into their communities, and an opportunity to interact with some of the folks that not only come into their stores, but also that they see out and about in the community outside of our four walls.”

At Farrelli’s we will continue our mission, which is: To use our business systems to create vibrant working families that provide nourishment to our neighborhoods. Have fun with your appreciation campaign and enjoy watching your sales grow!

Jacque Farrell is Co-Founder Farrelli’s Pizza.

The post Build sales by extending thanks appeared first on Pizza Today.

Uniform Branding

Uniforms are a vital branding element

Slap your logo on a t-shirt. Branding is done, right? Not quite. Your staff’s uniform carries a great weight on how your customer perceives your pizzeria’s brand.

A uniform and attire is a major customer touch point, says Amy Dennis, CEO at Nice Branding Agency in Nashville, Tennessee. “The uniform is no less important than the food you are serving or what your logo looks like or whatever it may be that you consider part of your band,” she says.

A brand is not so easy to establish. It’s not a tangle thing. “A brand is created from the customer’s viewpoint,” Dennis says. “It’s an opinion formed by the customer about things that they’ve felt or feelings that they get interacting with the business.”

But, you can influence that perception and it starts long before uniforms are discussed. Business owners need to tap into three foundational elements of branding. “They have to know what their positioning statement is,” Dennis says. “They have to know what their brand attributes are and they have to know their visual direction. If they have those three pieces set, that’s the only way that they have a chance of making their uniform align with those items.

“Let’s say you are doing the casual uniform and you have sophistication as one of your brand attributes, that’s probably not going to align,” she says. “Your uniforms have to align with those brand attributes. They can’t contradict them.”

Pupatella, based in Arlington, Virginia, is a Neapolitan-style, fast-casual concept. “Pupatella’s uniform of fedora and logoed t-shirt is fun, funky, hip and most importantly, comfortable,” says owner Enzo Algarme. “Anastasyia and I have always been into fashion and love experimenting with clothes and accessories. We have always tried to create our own trends rather than follow others, and I think this shows in our restaurants, from the uniforms to the décor and the look of our pizzas.”

The fedora began as a way for Algarme to show off his hat collection and they struck a chord with customers. “I started wearing my hats to work, and the fedora was an instant hit…cool looking, comfortable and not bulky,” he says. “It was easy to wear all day, so we added them to the employee uniform, as well. Once customers started to recognize our cool, funky hats, we decided to roll with them for all locations.

“While our uniforms are very simple, we use quality, long-lasting materials for the t-shirts to keep our employees comfortable and happy,” he says. “That good feeling translates directly to the ‘back to the basics’ philosophy we have about our food and how we welcome our guests. Pupatella is focused on creating a fun, easygoing atmosphere where our guests can enjoy quality pizza prepared simply and with the best ingredients.”

Enzo Algarme, owner, Pupatella, Arlington, Virginia

While Pupatella’s uniform evolved out of customer response, Greenville Avenue Pizza Company in Dallas, Texas, sought to create a brand within its brand centered around its pizza makers, Pizza Slayers. The uniform is a key element. Pizza makers are part of GAPCo’s brand focus and a major customer touch point for the New York-style counter-service operation with an open kitchen.

Owner Sammy Mandell worked with a branding agency to create and unify GAPCo’s new brand and its uniforms. He went through several versions and variations before the Pizza Slayer uniform was solidified.

“It can’t just be a guy wearing a t-shirt with a logo,” he says. “It’s got to be more than that. Let’s work on a chef’s coat, but not just a chef’s coat, something new and up-to-date. I remember going to my branding company who I shoot a lot of ideas through and I was struggling. I have this idea and this brand now, I want to figure out the image, the look. I want the tools on them.

“We wanted to make sure that every part of this was fully thought out,” Mandell says, especially its holster and pizza tools. “This took a year to get to this point. We took a design patent out on it. We have to own this, just like trademarked Pizza Slayer.” The end result is a sleek chef’s coat, functional pizza tools in a holster and interchangeable items like headbands and hats.

“Outside of the Pizza Slayer uniform, our staff wears updated shirts that we make roughly every two to three months,” Mandell says. “We use those shirts to spread new branding and slogans. It doesn’t really cost us anything since the team always wants the new stuff.”

There are other factors to consider when incorporating uniforms into your brand. They are:

• Quality. “A lot of times they want to go with the cheapest and the cheapest isn’t always the best route,” Dennis says. “I think investing in the uniform is important because it is day-in-and-day-out. It would be the same as putting cheap chairs in there that get sat in every single day. There is so much opportunity in the world of attire for employees, especially at restaurants because you have all of the fabrics, you have all of the materials and you have all of the styles. There is a lot of opportunity to do something within a uniform that you can’t necessarily do through your food service or through your environment. You have a whole different palette of options to choose from when it comes to clothing.”

• Dress Code. “I think having a manual for your employees, with not only how they should act related to your brand and how they should communicate with customers, but what they should wear is importan,” Dennis says. “Give them options. It’s hard today because no one wants to, or an employee wants to be put into this mold of ‘Hey, you have to look like this.’ You have to see if there is a way for them to still be the human that they are, but put some regulations around it — but regulations that allow personality to come through.

• Rotation. Dennis sees validity in refreshing shirts often. “Let’s just say you have the same ad out for two years and it says the same thing for two years and they disregard it,” she says. “They’ve already seen it. They are not going to look at it again. So putting fresh things in front of the customer allows them to engage with it.”

Customer-facing employee uniforms can also be used for advertising. “The employee is like a walking billboard,” Dennis says. “You have two canvases. You have a front and a back of that t-shirt. Letting your brand voice speak through that t-shirt, what it’s saying specifically with the graphics and text — there is so much advertising you can do to your current customer base through employee t-shirts or attire.”

Denise Greer is executive editor at Pizza Today.

The post They got the look appeared first on Pizza Today.

A Look at the Latest Marketing Trends

For the past few months, business owners have been inundated with headlines about marketing trends to watch in 2019. It’s a lot to take in. Let’s take a look at some of the marketing trends that have been predicted to be red hot this year:

• Micro influencers. These are social mavens with less followers than major influencers but they’re focused on relevant topics or interest areas.
• Video. The use of short videos and video stories will continue to explode.
• Stories. Followers can’t get enough stories on social networks. Stories are growing at a drastically faster rate than feed-based sharing.
• Hyper local. Also called boots on the ground marketing, hyper local channels efforts to potential customers in immediate vicinity.
• Data. Leveraging information collected through POS system, web traffic and social media will play a big role in how restaurants spend their marketing dollars. Interconnected with data is an increase in personalization marketing.
• Search engine optimization/search engine marketing. Increasing your visibility at the top of search engine results pages has become vital for online ordering and competing in a crowded marketplace.
• Mobile. Mobile responsive content is no longer a “want to.” It’s a “have to.”
• Pay to play on social media. Not only is social advertising on the rise, companies are getting even more strategic on what content they boost.
• Direct purchase power on social channels. Ordering food and making reservations directly from social accounts will be a game changer for tracking ROI on social media.
• Chatbots. This advanced tech is coming into its own and restaurants are discovering how it can be used for social and web messaging, as well as ordering.
• WiFi. As more restaurants offer WiFi, they are finding innovative ways to use it as a marketing tool.
• Augmented reality. This app feature brings “eating with your eyes” to a whole new level as customers engage with a menu.
• Voice search. Voice search is skyrocketing thanks to voice services like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant. Marketers are optimizing local search to be more conversational and include “near me” and “nearby.”

These are just some of the big marketing trends that are making the headlines. While a few sound like something out of SCiFi, others are cost-effective options for restaurant owners. We asked three experts in the field who work with restaurant clients about the big picture of the latest marketing trends. Cynthia Hollidge, president of CCS Creative, based in Toronto, Ontario; Randy Lopez with SYNERGY Restaurant Consultants in Newport Beach, California; and Bill Church, managing partner at Restaurant eSolutions in Annapolis, Maryland, weigh in on the subject.

As you look at current marketing trends, a couple of big picture marketing themes emerge that you won’t want to ignore this year:

• Content is king.
• There is a sense of getting back to basics.

With frequent social media and Web site postings, restaurants are producing more content than ever before. “It really comes down to content creation,” Hollidge says. But the content has to have on-point messaging.

“They need to understand that there is the creative aspect of messaging, there’s the relationship management aspect of the messaging,” she says. “And those people work together to make sure they are getting the right message and the right response and the right tool. If you don’t package your message correctly, whether you use five mediums or one medium, you are not going to be successful.

“One thing that is more important than anything today is making sure you are differentiating your product and bringing out what quality aspects of your product are a reason for them purchasing from you,” she says. “There’s always going to be the discount pizza guy who is out there where people are going to go strictly for the price. But you really have to focus on your messaging going forward and educating your customer on why they are coming to you over somebody else.”

Lopez says content should be authentic. “Real people telling real stories,” he says. While freshness and ingredient marketing has become standard, he says, “It’s now how are you cooking? It’s more about flavor. It’s more about being authentic with flavor, presentation and cooking style… There is an integrity of all of these layers now that you have to have, so I think the marketing needs to respond to that integrity. It’s really going down to quality statements.”

Content is not only being produced for a pizzeria’s web and social account, but also for online listing and review sites. “Online listings and review sites are critical to a restaurant’s success, and restaurant management must take an active role in managing these,” Church says. “This can be broken down into three steps:  1) claiming and controlling the Google, Yelp, Bing and Trip Advisor listings; 2) implementing a strategy to get customers to leave favorable reviews and star ratings; and 3) quickly responding and addressing negative reviews.”

Getting back to basics, Lopez says he sees with his clients at SYNERGY a return to local store marketing to build third-party validation for restaurants. “It’s going back to being a neighborhood restaurant and that mindset,” he says. It’s using field marketing teams and connecting with local bloggers, influencers and community leaders.   

A back to basics approach requires looking at multiple mediums. “It’s not just one thing,” Hollidge says. “There is some print, there is some digital, web and SEO. It’s a combination of things that you have to do in order to market your restaurant.”

Instagram and Facebook Traction

Instagram is poised to be the most talked about social network in 2019. With its video and photo focus, it’s a medium that fits perfectly with pizzerias. Instagram is the jam at Iron Born Pizza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has quickly amassed nearly 7,000 followers and high engagement numbers for its drool-worthy content. “We are a fairly young pizza shop with a very decent number of followers that are very enthusiastic about our brand and pizza, so it’s a platform that helps us keep our thumb on the pulse of our guests and helps them to spread the word in a genuine way,” says owner Pete Tolman.

How does Iron Born approach content? Tolman says his team focuses on three main goals:

• “Create quality content. We try to post interesting text, whether it’s going the extra mile to talk about how we make our ingredients or telling a joke that reveals some of our brand personality. We try to give content that is thoughtful and beautiful. We pay for professional photos that take up 80 percent of our feed, but it also comes in handy when designing menus or magazine articles.”
• Be consistent. “We try to post on a schedule, and consistently, so that our followers don’t think we just went away.
• “Engage with followers and people we follow. We reply to comments and try to repost stories or posts of our guests. It’s a way for us to say thank you for coming in and for starting or continuing the positive customer experience. We also engage with other local businesses that we love, because…well, we love them!”

Many operators hold firm with a Facebook strategy. Facebook is where it’s at for Bella Roma Pizza in St. Cloud, Florida. The suburban pizzeria has put time and marketing dollars into Facebook. Owner Alfredo D’Alessandris outlines Bella Roma’s Facebook strategy. “Most of our posts are paid posts,” he says. “At Bella Roma we like to get creative and offer things that you can’t often find at other ‘take out/ delivery joints’ — like our sliced heirloom tomato and roasted garlic pizza, New Haven clam and garlic pizza, cavatelli with a short rib ragu, Lobster rolls, etc. When we market these unique specials , we will blast target people in key demographics within our delivery radius. We use pictures always for a ‘wow’ factor. This also has helped increase the number of likes our page has received.

“We also use paid boosts to engage specifically with consumers who already liked our page. We do it for things like gift card promotions around the holidays. To promote our catering during peak catering times (holidays, graduations) with so many other people offering catering and gift cards, we try to specifically market this to our customer base through paid marketing because we feel it gives us more bang for our buck.

WiFi

Offering WiFi to customers has become a natural fit for restaurants as customers snap shots and videos of their food. It’s not only great customer service, WiFi is an impressive marketing tool. It’s a win-win. Customers log on to a free WiFi network and businesses have a channel to send messages and promotions through its splash page or contact information they share.

One Pieology franchise group is using its WiFi to collect e-mail addresses for targeted marketing. “When a customer comes into one of our stores, they can use a customized portal to connect with WiFi,” says James Hilovsky, Vice President of Operations for MK Investments, LLC, which owns 11 Pieology stores in California, Minnesota and Texas. “In exchange, they share their e-mail address, and that allows us to send them special offers, and also to determine how frequently they come to one of our locations. At the group of 11 Pieology stores I work with, we’ve been able to collect thousands of e-mails using a tool called Zenreach — we collected more than 13,000 contacts in just 10 months.

“It’s the first tool we’ve found that allows us to track in-store sales that are linked to our digital efforts. We can see which kinds of offers motivate people to come in, and how quickly they visit us after receiving an offer.” n

Denise Greer is Executive Editor at Pizza Today.

The post Marketing Trends: The Big Picture appeared first on Pizza Today.

Reach out to your own customers in-house for low cost and high return

Your Web site and social media are essential for effectively keeping customers informed about new offerings. But the point-of-purchase marketing you do is just as critical. After all, for however long your customers are inside your restaurant you’ve got a captive audience — and it pays to use that opportunity wisely.

In-house marketing needn’t be elaborate. Undertaken thoughtfully, the basics can have a big impact. Consider signage, what Michael Volpatt, partner of Larkin Volpatt Communications, a San Francisco consulting firm, describes as one of the most valuable onsite marketing tools. Wherever people sit, wait in line or walk, there should be visual cues placed in their line of sight, he says.

Old-school menu and dry-erase boards are useful. Jeff Miller, owner of Extreme Pizza, a primarily takeout and delivery pizzeria in San Rafael, California, has a dry-erase board hanging above the ordering counter featuring daily specials and specialty products.

“And, there’s an area on our menu board that can be replaced with new items we’re trying to push,” says Miller. “We typically add new items to our menu twice a year, so about
every six months we’re promoting new items.” (Miller also uses table tents, co-marketing and partnering with his beverage distributors, who usually cover the printing costs).

Lauren Eggen, head of marketing for Sauce Pizza and Wine, a 15-location, fast-casual concept headquartered in Phoenix, says they also utilize chalk boards above the registers and in other areas to keep guests
informed.

They place other collateral throughout, like double-sided A-frames near the entrances; counter cards displayed in the order lines; and small take-home flyers at the registers, in to-go bags and on the tables.

What other low-tech tactics work? Landon Ledford, founder/fractional CMO of Double L Brands, a Dallas marketing firm, says window clings by entrances or on front doors are a “great first step in getting people thinking.” Along with table tents, menu inserts are a good way to highlight new additions or specials. Think about putting signage/stickers on the floor wherever people stand to order.

“People look down a lot or at their phones; grab their attention there,” Ledford explains. “Restroom flyers also go a long way as a conversation topic for when people return from the restroom.”

Volpatt suggests creating cards about programs and promotions, handing these to people entering or leaving. The cards should also include an incentive to take action.

“Don’t overlook staff training,” Volpatt adds. “Provide visual prompts for the staff on their order sheets or behind the register reminding them to mention specials or promotions.”

Higher-tech strategies should also be deployed, says Ledford. Encouraging customers to share photos on social media is one he likes. Try:

• Incentives, such as share the meal on Instagram, tag the restaurant, and get a free dessert from the Instagram menu (create one).
• Putting the customer’s name on their birthday dessert; a definite photo-op.
• Incorporating designs with toppings in certain pizzas, making them snap-worthy.

“Set up the restaurant’s Web site to highlight these images,” Ledford advises. “Now, any Instagram user that uses your hashtags will appear on your site.”

Provide tablets at the tables customers can use to access the restaurant’s website to view menu items and promotions, or to sign up for birthday clubs, loyalty programs etc., says Volpatt, explaining the immediacy tablets offer increase the likelihood of customers taking action.

Eggen says they’re dedicating more resources towards digital advertising and social media teasing promotions targeting “e-family” signups.

“One innovation we recently implemented was Zenreach, a Wi-Fi service that allows us to collect guest emails and inform them about our different offerings when they willingly connect to our Internet,” she says, adding they place e-family signup cards on the tables; servers are encouraged to mention the e-family promotion.

Along with traditional in-house marketing, Donato’s Pizza has installed monitors with messaging, scrolling digital pictures and videos highlighting products and promotional offers in some of their newer locations, says Dave Parsons, manager, PR & communications for the 160-site franchise, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

“We feel this adds a more visual way for customers to see our products, since space is limited in printed menus,” he explains. “We know people buy with their eyes and these definitely raise awareness of our entire menu.”

As for couponing, it’s alive and can be extremely effective, says Ledford. However, he cautions, if not well-executed, coupons can dilute the brand and/or train people to delay visits until they have a coupon—why Miller has reduced the number they send out, although they do promote coupons on their website and still put some on their printed menus they hand out with every order.

Eggan says they use coupons “selectively,” finding them most effective for building awareness in new markets, in areas where they’re trying to increase traffic, or for calling attention to events the company is participating in.

Make coupons give and take, “spend this amount, get ABC in return,” or “sign up for our club and get XYZ on your next visit,” says Volpatt. Ledford agrees.

“And don’t just promote free items,” he advises. “Instead, offer added-value items to enhance the experience, along the lines of ‘surprise and delight’.”

Pamela Mills-Senn is a freelancer specializing in writing on topics of interest to all manner of businesses. She is based in Long Beach, California.

The post In-Store Marketing appeared first on Pizza Today.

How to promote the honors you receive

Have you won a massive award lately, or even a non-massive award? What are you doing with that award to make money for you?

Mike Bausch
Owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria, Tulsa, OK

Look at Pabst’s Blue Ribbon. The name of the beer is Blue Ribbon, predicated upon their win in 1896 at a fair. This is a beer company that is still riding high on a win from over 120 years ago. You can’t hate the hustle!

So, what to do when you win is the question. It really depends on what your store’s current status is and what you’re looking to get from it. Namely, more sales, more people coming into your doors. But, how do you manipulate the accolade wisely?

Pizza Expo is great for gaining wins because just by going you can market as a win that you compete on a national stage. Let’s say you can go and maybe you don’t win a baking contest, but you come in third in your region. Now you’re one of the third best pizza places in all of the Midwest. It’s a great thing. You’re the third best on a national stage. Even if you’re not leaving Pizza Expo with a big trophy, you now have photos of you and your team making food there. That can be turned into a press release. They might call you on a slow week to do an interview, maybe even a food demo and now you have more eyes on you, your brand, your pizzeria and more money to your restaurant.

Now let’s say you win a massive award. If you’re at all like me and not good with handling praise, it might be a little bit socially awkward to go and be super braggadocios. Nonetheless, I’m able to do it when I have the good fortune to win something because I know the greatest good is getting more money into my restaurant (which turns into more jobs, which turns into my ability to donate and help the community more). So I’ll suck up my social anxiety about being in front of the camera and play it up for the win.

My style when I do win something is to try and be humble, to try and accept that this is a gift and not act like, “Of course this happened,” or “Why would we not win? We’re the best.” I think that’s a really bad approach to take. It comes down to being thankful and pushing that you take the product seriously, and letting other people know that they have something special going on in their town or community.

So, to reiterate. If you win something:

A. Be humble. Success teaches us near nothing and believing you’re the best is the greatest way to ensure your win becomes a one-time fluke.

B. Get a press release. Make sure it contains all the details of your win and contact information, along with some photos that the press could use.

C. Be ready to market it even if the news doesn’t pick it up. That means videos on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, as well as posts, announcements and e-mail blasts. These are all great, very affordable ways to let people know about your accomplishment.

Also, when you get a noteworthy award or article, you’ll be hounded by a lot of other outside companies to buy a plaque or announcements for your reward. These are not associated with the newspapers that they market; it’s a separate company. With that said, if you want to buy one of them, by all means, go for it. Or just frame the article yourself. Just do something to promote your win!

MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a frequent speaker at the International Pizza Expo family of tradeshows.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: It’s a Major Award appeared first on Pizza Today.

E-mail marketing is tried and true — don’t neglect it

In today’s tech-savvy world marketing has become a balancing act between the many options presented to us.  Unfortunately many are swept up by the shiny new object and overlook the tried and true.  They literally step over a dollar to pick up a penny.

Over 20 years ago we saw the introduction of e-mail marketing. Now with numerous new marketing mediums, business owners wonder whether it’s still worthwhile to invest in e-mail marketing. Going by current statistics the modest e-mail is as relevant as ever, though. Many marketing gurus emphasize the adoption of popular social media sites. While social media platforms can’t be ignored, e-mail boasts the highest number of worldwide users; just over 3.8 billion users in 2018, and this is expected to grow to over four billion by 2020. E-mail is the most universal mode of business communication, encompassing millennials through baby boomers.  Recent studies have shown that e-mail marketing produces 174 percent more conversions than social media. E-mail has rightly earned its place in our marketing mix.

E-mail is direct and can be personalized right down to the person’s name. These same people have signed up to receive your messages. They already show trust and interest in your brand, so don’t abuse or ignore that trust.  Jeff Aufdencamp, owner of Mama Mimi’s Take ‘N Bake Pizza, based in Columbus, Ohio, has been using e-mail since 2003 and says: “It is effective because the customers opt in and are already engaged by our business. We send out twice a week; Monday and Thursday.”  Ethical marketers agree that the increased focus on legal regulations within the e-mail marketing realm is a good thing since we are responding to consumer concerns and this should improve brand perceptions. These laws protect consumers and help marketers to stay within the law.

How can we get customers to opt in for our e-mails? Adam Matt, owner of Slice of The 80’s located in Westland, Michigan says: “I have a template on our Web site where the customer can enter their name and e-mail address, and I also have collection cards on my front counter that people can fill out while they wait for their pizza.” Aufdencamp adds that he also “asks Groupon redeemers if they want to opt in on their redemption visit.”  These methods involve getting your whole sales team involved to help gather information and point people towards your Web site. Bounce back offers for signing up, employee contests for gathering e-mail addresses or a fish bowl on the counter can all be effective. Be creative and diligent in your list building efforts and it will pay off.  Flour and Barley is a Gen3 Hospitality pizzeria located in Las Vegas and operated by executive chef John Alers. Talia Schafer, Director of Marketing at Gen3 Hospitality, mentions these tactics for collecting e-mails: “a mix use of social media promotion, internal promotion, Web site SEO and review platforms.”

Upon building a database, you have a list of contacts that you can have regular communication with, no matter what the latest algorithm is. This database serves as a foundation that business owners can interact with past and potential customers on an affordable, long-term basis. This database has proven effective for Matt to communicate on a semi-monthly schedule. Matt adds: “I usually send out one great coupon that grips people’s attention, then I trickle in some of our daily specials or lunch promos. If there is something new or exciting, like a new product, we may lead with that to get that new product the spotlight so it starts selling.”  Like most marketing platforms, e-mailing your database does not have to be done manually. There are a variety of automated programs available to send and help manage your database. E-mail marketing has become an enduring method that is usually so effective in many areas that it ends up in the top three most effective ways to drive people to your Web site and generate sales now and in the future.

These prime target customers deserve to find a well-crafted message in their inbox.  A worthy e-mail utilizes the subject and body of an e-mail along with branded design to obtain the desired results.  A concise subject line encourages high open rates, while an enticing offer stimulates a boost in sales when e-mails are sent out.  Flour and Barley accomplishes this by sending “A mix of offers, upcoming events / happenings, new menu item releases and rewards to drive to visits,” Schafer says. “It is incredibly important to stick to the same color themes, fonts and messaging to portray a consistent brand image. Keep your audience in mind when crafting the message and ask yourself, ‘would you read this e-mail and what you would think of it if you were the consumer?’”

Aufdencamp follows this principle: “We always send an offer. Our customers want special offers for their loyalty. We give the e-mail database the best offers, making it worth their time to be a subscriber.”

Keep e-mails minimal, with a concise and catchy subject line and a branded body that gets right to the call to action. Be cognizant of your purpose. Having a fast, reliable form of communication that is inexpensive and easily accessible is worth its weight in gold. Don’t ‘step over a dollar to pick up a penny.’

Scott Anthony is a member of the World Pizza Champions and owns Punxsy Pizza in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is a frequent speaker for the Pizza Expo family of tradeshows.

The post You’ve Got Mail appeared first on Pizza Today.

What you call something on your menu can make or break its sales

It is impossible to sell dessert. It will be the most fruitless effort you ever attempt.

There is no call to action, no pull, nothing for the mind to grab onto. On the contrary, it’s very possible to sell a pistachio gelato or an Oreo Cheesecake brownie topped with house-made whipped cream and strawberries. Creating visual appeal in text form or from the verbal scripting your staff says at the table will determine your sales. It is a very fundamental upselling technique to use imagery to sell.

That alone is a solid tip to talk to your staff about. I suggest talking in an open roundtable group and role-playing scenarios to form a solid foundation for upselling.

So if all “desserts” are perceived as the same until there is more description and detail to make them unique and special, wouldn’t all menu items benefit from verbal imagery as well? If you simply sell a Supreme pizza or a Meat Lover’s you are and will be judged against all other pizzas with the same name and style.

Making unique names and spins on items not only sets you apart, it also doesn’t give the competition the benefit of being compared to you.

Forget pizza for a minute. So that you can look at it objectively, let’s talk tacos. Who has the best taco in your town? You most likely have the exact place picked out, but you also have three fallbacks (others who also make a solid taco), am I right? However, look at Taco Bell. They have tacos, sure, but they have gone well beyond that in the last 10 years so they aren’t judged on tacos alone. That’s because being compared to every other taco is a fight they simply can’t win. So they have new items to which they’ve given catchy names. I’m not suggesting mimicking the food quality of Taco Bell or comparing the chain to the best taco you’ve ever had. What I am saying is they have NO COMPETITION for who makes the better version of those items, because they have branded them so uniquely that if a “Crunchwrap” is what you want, then you only have ONE OPTION on where to go.

So when it comes to creating a menu, here are some suggestions:

• Creative Naming –– Have a plan or theme that you hold to (names of New York streets, for example), but make sure your menu is not populated with generic sounding items. Even when doing a simple Caprese Antipasto, it should have a unique adjective name in front of it so it’s not just the same Caprese we’ve all had 1,000 times before. Name it the Calabrese Caprese or something you have a relation to.

• Unique Creations –– Do what has not been done. Don’t write the same song; if nothing else, change the lyrics. A random unique item I see at pizzerias are Pepperolli’s. They’re fun and simple. If you sell them as PepperiniRinis, or whatever name you want to dream up, then they won’t be immediately connected to all other pepperollis that person might have ever had.

It all boils down to loyalty and repeat visits. Only when it’s uniquely named and uniquely created can you build the loyalty all restaurants need to not only survive, but also thrive.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a frequent speaker at the International Pizza Expo family of tradeshows.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: What’s in a Name? appeared first on Pizza Today.

Scott Wiener
Founder, Scott’s Pizza Tours and SliceOutHunger.org

We all know that Facebook has become a minefield of negativity, punctuated with complaints and cries for help amid all the photos of vacations and babies. It’s usually pretty easy to scroll past the squeaky wheels, but a friend’s complaint post recently caught my attention. He was venting about an e-mail he received from someone promising incredible coverage for his pizzeria in exchange for a free meal. I get requests like this all the time and while they can be incredibly infuriating, there is a silver lining. Influencer marketing has become serious business over the past few years now that anyone with a phone and some spare time can build an audience of dedicated followers. Big brands work with marketing agencies to create influencer campaigns, but independent pizzerias have to navigate these murky waters on their own.

The first thing you should do when fielding this kind of request is to check out the requester’s social media accounts. Is their messaging in line with what you do? Do they have an engaged audience? An account with 3,000 followers that gets 800 likes and 50 comments per post is more valuable than an account with 300,000 followers that gets only 20 likes and comments per post. You can also tell a lot by how they write their e-mail. If it’s sloppy or cut and pasted, it’s perfectly acceptable to drag it right to the trash. If they call themselves an influencer, that’s another red flag. But the worst offense is when they offer to do a “collab” (collaboration). To me, that means they want to work together on a project that is mutually beneficial (you know, a collaboration)… except, to them, it likely means posting a picture in exchange for a freebie. Luckily their entire profile is public so it’s pretty easy to do your due diligence.

When I get a request that seems to have little value, I usually play dumb and reply with something like: “Your account looks great! Let me know when you sign up for a tour and I’ll be sure you go to some of my favorite pizzerias!” If someone seems like a dedicated blogger with some real potential, I might offer him or her a discount on a tour. I usually say something along the lines of, “Sounds great! Here’s our promo code for bloggers.” It lets me turn down a request for a freebie while still offering a benefit. If they’re only looking for a freebie, they won’t use the code at all. I think I’ve seen a handful of people use it in 10 years.

There are also plenty of ways to say “YES!” while keeping the relationship in your control. I know a pizzeria owner who holds influencer parties whenever he has a new pizza to launch. It creates a burst of coverage in one night and makes attendees feel like a part of the process in a way that a free meal would not. You can also keep a list of influencer requests and invite them to new product tastings on slow nights. Reply to their initial request by letting them know that you’re adding them to your special guest list. It’s a way of delaying the invite in favor of a time that better suits the needs of your pizzeria.

Influencer marketing is still new and ambiguous, but it’s a powerful tool to have in your marketing mix when used on your own terms.

Scott Wiener is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org.

The post Man on the Street: “What the Heck is a Social Influencer?” appeared first on Pizza Today.

Personalized gifts can go a long way

What birthday gift did you get as a kid that you still remember to this day? Really look back to that moment and the feeling it elicited from you. Think of the joy and happiness of that moment, whether it was something you asked for or something you didn’t even know you wanted. Either way, something I can 100-percent guarantee without knowing you is that it wasn’t a gift card. I know it wasn’t a greeting card, and I know it wasn’t a gift basket.

Mike Bausch
Owner, Andolini’s Pizzeria, Tulsa, OK

A gift card or basket has no personal touch. Twenty years ago, personal touch was resigned to people with assistants who could perform research and keep a rolodex of who likes what and their kids’ names, etc. Now knowing someone’s likes and interests is as easy as a Google search and looking at their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile. Even on a regular old LinkedIn profile you can find out where someone went to school or at least some random background info.

Privacy is dead, and no one cares. People say they care, but no one is really acting on it. Facebook got hit hard in the press a few months back for selling personal data. What should have been a PR nightmare resulted in very little fallout. Facebook users might have been miffed, but the droves of people that swore they would delete their Facebook account just didn’t do it. That’s because people have shown that privacy isn’t something they value as much as previous generations. Online profiles provide personal info, right there for anyone to see. Large corporations have been seeking macro data trends for years (example: our demo is male, median income, tends to like beer and comedy films), but small companies like yours and mine barely touch macro data and no one seems to think to touch micro data. That’s right, I am suggesting marketing to just one person at a time.

What I am suggesting goes beyond just paid Facebook ads that target your demo (which you should totally do, but that’s not anything new). No, what I am suggesting is incredibly simple. Find out the background info of certain individuals you’d like to impress and get them a personalized gift based off that information.

Let’s split it into two categories:

• Sharks. These are your top-level talents, the people who make your business run: your highest selling servers; your fastest dish machine worker or your best customer who always tells everyone else about your store. Find out about their fringe interests, go to eBay or somewhere that you can find a rare item that relates to that interest (example: any Red Sox fan already has a Red Sox Hat, but they might not have one from the 2004 World Series win) and send it to them or have it ready for them next time they work or come by your store. This will not go un-noticed in providing jet fuel to their existing motivations and devotion.
• Whales. Use the same technique for the people who you WANT to have as fanatical customers. The people building up your city or town. Get them a truly amazing and personal gift thanking them for all they do for your community. Don’t be surprised when that builds trust and endears them to only order from you and their staff to do the same. The airline parts industry is massive in Oklahoma. When I got a local doctor a signed Who record after I saw his posted pics from the concert he went to, he couldn’t stop sending business my way and making his office an Andolini’s only office. Cost was $85 bucks, including shipping. A thousand bucks in radio won’t get one-fourth the return I’ll see from this investment in a single person.

The pizza industry is extremely competitive, and it is only going to get even more competitive. The small size of your business is not your handicap, it’s your asset when you make guerilla gifting with a personal touch part of your marketing strategy.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a frequent speaker at the International Pizza Expo family of tradeshows.

The post Mike’s Monthly Tip: Guerilla Gifting appeared first on Pizza Today.

Couple of issues ago, I briefly touched on marketing and promoting your craft beer menu. Because I own two restaurants myself, I understand firsthand how important the marketing and promoting of your bar menu is to your sales and bottom line profits. In this article, I am going to dive deeper into a few marketing and promotion efforts that will help you sell the craft beer that you now have available for your customers. Marketing and promoting your craft beer will help bring people into your restaurant during your non-peak hours, but it can also boost your food sales significantly.

Keith Coffman, owner
Lost River Pizza Company in Bowling Green, KY

I definitely do not want to insult anyone’s intelligence as a restaurateur, but I have noticed that there are a lot of restaurants that still do not offer any happy hour specials whatsoever. Happy hour drink specials are great and they will work for you because they incentivize people to come in daily during your non-peak hours. While your happy hour customers are there saving money on beer, you will have a great opportunity to up-sell them on buying an appetizer, or maybe a pizza or two to take home for dinner for the family. Happy hour specials are typically made available between the lunch and dinner rushes, but you can offer them anytime that you would like. Some restaurants offer late night specials as well to increase traffic later in the evening after dinner sales have started to fall off.

If you don’t already have a weekly Pint Night or Brewery Night, you need to add one to your weekly calendar ASAP. Pint Nights work because people get excited to try something new and they love feeling like they are getting a great deal on a product that they value. On Pint Night, feature a specific beer or multiple beers from a brewery and sell those featured pints for that night at a discounted price.

Depending upon how rare the beer is that I’m featuring, on pint night I discount them anywhere from $1 off to as much as half off. Reach out to the beer distributor reps that call on you and coordinate with them on the Pint Nights on which beer you’re featuring that they represent. Ask them if they can bring any swag (promotional giveaway merchandise) and ask them to invite the brewery sales rep to come in for the night to mingle and talk with your customers about their beer. Most breweries and distributors have glassware, stickers, T-shirts, etc. And most of the distributor reps and brewery reps will jump at the opportunity to work with you. A lot of operators give away a limited number of branded pint glasses on Pint Nights in lieu of discounting the featured beer. This is a great promotion, too. Please keep in mind that if you would like to give away glassware, your beer distributors will charge you for the glassware. Branded glassware will cost you anywhere from $1 to $5 per glass.

In cities where the local Alcohol Beverage Control allows, you will notice bars, restaurants and liquor stores offering their patrons beer club memberships. These beer clubs are consumption incentive programs designed to build loyal customers and sell a lot of product fast by offering your customers prizes or incentives based upon points accumulated for beers consumed or purchased. Please check with your local ABC officer to see if beer clubs are allowed before implementing a beer club in your restaurant.

Try one, two or all of these promotions for yourself. You’ll be glad that you did and can buy me a beer at next year’s International Pizza Expo!

Keith Coffman is the owner and operator of Lost River Pizza Company.

The post On Tap: Marketing & Promotions That Work appeared first on Pizza Today.

Keith Coffman, owner
Lost River Pizza Company in Bowling Green, KY

It’s International Pizza Expo Month! Hopefully, I’ll get to meet many of you in Vegas and, hopefully, we can enjoy a pint or two at The New Operator Reception, Beer & Bull or at The World Pizza Games Finals & Block Party. This will be my sixth Pizza Expo. I have learned something new every year at Expo that has helped me make my restaurant better.

This month I am going to give you a broad overview on pricing and promoting the craft beer that you are now carrying for your customers. First, let’s tackle pricing. In some tourist trap markets, such as The Strip in Vegas or downtown Nashville, you may see restaurants and bars charging astronomical prices for craft beer. That may work in an area where demand surges based on the increasing influx of visitors, but in the markets where most of us are doing business, that simply won’t fly.

Most restaurants and bars across the United States sell their craft beer at 25- to 40-percent cost of goods sold (COGS). This isn’t just an arbitrary number that operators have pulled out of the sky. Selling at a 25- to 40-percent COGS takes into account your overhead costs, which we’ll gauge at 35 to 40 percent. There’s 5- to 10-percent waste in addition to your profits.

Now, let’s look at the math using 30 percent as our COGS. For this example, divide the $175 cost of a half barrel of an average IPA by 30 percent. The answer to our equation is $583.33. Now divide $583.33 by 1,984, which is the number of ounces in a 15½ gallon half barrel keg. Your fluid ounce price is $.294 (29 cents). In our example, a 16-ounce pint of our example IPA will cost your customers $4.71. I personally like to round up to the next quarter to keep the menu prices looking more organized, so I would sell this beer for $4.75.

As mentioned in a previous article, half-barrel kegs are always going to be the lowest priced per fluid ounce. Sixth barrels, quarter barrels and bottles are usually significantly more expensive per ounce. For example, a case of 24 bottles of Three Floyds Alpha King costs $42.99. When we use the same pricing formula that we did earlier, that results in a $5.97 per bottle price for the customer. A half-barrel keg of Alpha King costs $180.99. When you crank that price into our pricing formula, you get a $.305 per fluid ounce price. When compared to a 12-ounce bottle, a 12-ounce draft pour using our formula will cost your customer $3.66. You can still make the margin that you need and sell a 12-ounce draft of Alpha King for $2.31 less than the bottle. With that being said, it’s good to keep bottles on hand for those beers not available in kegs.

There are lots of pricing promotions that you can take advantage of when selling craft beer that will incentivize customers to come in during your off-peak hours. Popular promotions that you can utilize to drive business include happy-hour specials, late-night specials, pint nights, flight nights, ballgame specials and growler specials. Pricing promotion discounts are completely up to you as the owner. I offer $1 drafts during happy hour, half off pints of featured beers on pint night, $2 off flights on flight night and specials on the big, light beers during NFL games and during the local college games. I encourage you to create and try several different pricing promotions for yourself and see what works.

Keith Coffman is the owner and operator of Lost River Pizza Company.

The post On Tap: Craft Beer Pricing and Promotions appeared first on Pizza Today.

Booster Shot

Clayton Krueger
Director of Marketing & Communications
Farrelli’s Wood Fire Pizza, Tacoma, Washington

Back in the good old days of Facebook, you had to work hard to earn “fans” for your page, because the more fans you had, the more people you could reach with your messaging. That is no longer the case. About two years ago, Facebook became a publicly traded company. This created the need for the company to find new revenue streams. Up to that point Facebook’s main source of revenue was ads. After the IPO, the main revenue stream became “promoted posts.”  This change, like any, was initially met with discontent. However, boosted Facebook posts have quickly become one of the best marketing values around.

The best thing about boosted posts is the targeting capabilities. You can choose the audience who will see your post based on all sorts of demographics and preferences. Additionally, the amount you pay directly correlates to the size of the audience you want to target. Needless to say, it’s very affordable. It is also very easy to measure how many people saw your post and interacted with it, which is difficult to measure with other forms of advertising.

Facebook boosting allows pages with 1 to 1 million fans to reach the same audience with their messaging for the same amount of money. There simply isn’t another marketing option out there with more value.

Clayton Krueger is the director of marketing and communications for Farrelli’s Wood Fire Pizza.

The post Getting Social with Clayton Krueger appeared first on Pizza Today.

Tony Gemignani
World-champion Pizzaiolo and Pizzeria Owner

I can’t tell you how exciting it is for football season to be underway.  It’s not just because I love the sport, but also because the sport and its fans love pizza!

What’s better than watching your favorite football team and eating a delicious pizza, breadsticks and wings? Pizzerias everywhere rev up and revamp specials for game day.  With the addition of Thursday night football, an added second game on Monday nights, and more college coverage than ever before, football is not just a Sunday event. Now it’s practically all week long. Pizzerias can quite possibly do more marketing during football season than any other time of year.  A 30-second ad during the Super Bowl just surpassed $4 million, which is a record. The television access to games is easier today than ever with more NFL and college packages readily available, not to mention boxes (such as the Amazon stick) that allow you to watch any game at any time with no added fees.

With so much access and availability to the public, how can we capitalize on this and get busier during football season? Below are some different marketing ideas you may not have tried or even heard of from some pro players in the pizza industry.

Sean Brauser, the chairman of Romeo’s Pizza and CEO of Pizzafire in Ohio, explains how he has a different approach. He doesn’t focus on pro or college football, but on high school football primarily. He advertises on billboards, scoreboards, in programs and sponsors the local teams. Supporting the local high school team in his areas sets a loyal customer foundation with fans, players, high school kids and families.  This strategic marketing has catapulted sales each and every year.

In California, Vince Dito, the food and beverage director at Mary’s Pizza Shack, doesn’t focus on pizzas during football season. Instead, he promotes the Mary’s Burger Dog. It’s a hot dog bun with a rectangular hamburger and all the fixins’, served with fries and paired with a pint of Lagunitas IPA.  The special is available on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays at 18 locations.  This burger dog has become an all-time customer favorite and allows Mary’s to showcase a quality non-pizza menu item to its customers.

In Las Vegas, Michael Anthony, director of marketing for the Pizza Rock restaurant group, takes a different approach with a Blitz Rockin’ Brunch. This brunch is available on Sunday mornings (through the early afternoon) at all three Pizza Rock locations. With games starting so early on the West Coast, how can a pizzeria capitalize on this audience? By opening early and offering a special brunch menu with mimosas and Bloody Marys while listening to killer rock and roll tunes and proudly showing all Sunday NFL games! All Pizza Rock locations have 70-inch flat screen TVs that show several games at once, making them an ideal football destination. The menu offers diverse breakfast items, like specialty breakfast pizzas such as a Baja pizza (refried beans, olives, cheddar, salsa and sour cream). Other menu items include eggs benedict, meatball hash and eggs, and French toast ambrosia.

These three creative marketing tactics go down an entirely different route. Maybe they will encourage you to think about something new and creative as opposed to just mailing out a “football special” $10 pizza coupon.

RESPECTING THE CRAFT features World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Pizza Rock in Sacramento.  Tony compiles the column with the help of his trusty assistants, Laura Meyer and Thiago Vasconcelos. If you have questions on any kitchen topic ranging from prep to finish, Tony’s your guy. Send questions via Twitter @PizzaToday, Facebook (search: Pizza Today) or e-mail jwhite@www.pizzatoday.com and we’ll pass the best ones on to Tony.

The post Respecting the Craft: Are You Ready for Some Football? appeared first on Pizza Today.

Why use stock photos when there are better options?

Scott Wiener
Owner & Operator
Scott’s Pizza Tours, NYC

A baby told me about your new pizza. Actually, it was a baby and her three-year-old brother. Samantha and Matt have over 113,000 followers, thanks to an Instagram account started by their food-blogger father, Mike Chau. After years of writing online reviews, Chau started posting photos of his adorable kids posing with mouth-watering meals — and both restaurants and their customers eat it up. The reaction one photo can drum up is incredible, with some customers simply flashing their phone screens at their servers while ordering without so much as glancing at a menu. I might not go that crazy, but visual formats are definitely my most trusted resources in finding out about new restaurants and pizzerias.

When my girlfriend and I are debating where to eat, photos help tip the scale. We usually consult a review site like Yelp but skip past all the ratings and go directly to the photo section. Ten words on a menu page will only tell me what’s in a dish; a picture can instantly make me hungry. I’m the kind of guy who takes a lap around the restaurant to see what everybody’s eating before I place my order. Seeing a dish is so big for me, I might even try something out of the ordinary based on how it looks on the table.

You have the power to control my perception of your food on your Web site and social media. You can hire a professional photographer, but I prefer amateur pictures because they’re honest. I don’t understand why anyone would post stock photos on their Web site or social media, but I see it all the time. You or one of your employees probably has a great camera built into your phone. Pull the pizza over to a table near the window so you can get some natural light, then take a few shots at different distances. Don’t be afraid to get close –– people love seeing details. Show your photos to a customer and ask which looks the tastiest. Done. You’ve got new tested content.

Sometimes it’s not just about the food. When I look at your pizzeria’s photos, I notice things beyond the crust and topping ratio. Does it look fresh? Are the portions too small? Is the dish plated in a fancy way or is this a casual joint with paper plates? Sometimes I’ll even notice the tiny details like the restaurant’s lighting or table setup.

Remember that customers don’t just come to your pizzeria for the food; they come for the entire experience. Sell us on the whole package with your photographic identity and we’ll go to you instead of the place down the street.

As important as photos may be right now, we’re already seeing digital interaction switch to video. Snapchat is hugely popular for short video clips; Instagram extended its clip limit to 60 seconds; and Facebook recently launched a function that lets users broadcast live video from their pages. If you thought photos were effective, buckle up. Nicola Mendelsohn, a VP at Facebook, recently claimed that the platform could be all video within five years. Keep that in mind as you amp up your visual game and show your best side to all the people who have been waiting for the right excuse to pay you a visit. And when in doubt, put a baby in the photo.

Scott Wiener is the founder of Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City and SliceOutHunger.org.

The post Man on the Street: Photo Finish appeared first on Pizza Today.

I’m sitting in the car driving from Pittsburgh to Akron, Ohio, with Scott Anthony. We are finishing up a whirlwind trip of my book tour. We started in Punxsutawney, then to Altoona, Pittsburgh, Akron, and Columbus. I have toured big cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles with large campaigns and have had great results. Executing this type of campaign in a small town may sound impossible, but it’s not. I have always been a fan of free marketing and community marketing. In this case, the community marketing we used drew a chain reaction of media that spread from print to social to several radio interviews and TV spots. In a town of 5,500 we were able to capitalize on all of this and it was one of the most successful media events that I have been a part of.

We teamed up with the Punxsutawney Campus at Indiana University of Pennsylvania for the event. The culinary institute’s students worked with me in order to get class credit. Students typically have to have so many hours in community service, so targeting an event that is obviously food related was great and we had them at our disposal. Having such a talented group of young aspiring chefs assist you was a pleasure. This event brought the mayor, the chamber, Punxsutawney Phil and about 150 people from the community. It also brought local radio, newspaper, school newspaper and social media outlets. I cooked pizzas and  talked about how to make dough, sauce and regional Italian- and American-style pizzas. We tossed pizzas and had a lot of fun. It was a learning tutorial about all things pizza. The community understood the words Respect The Craft.

This event set a chain reaction within a small community and generated goodwill in a neighborhood-like town. Word spread fast and people bragged about being at the event while those who did not go felt like they missed it and let the community down. For our event we sent out press releases, teasers, flyers and posters. The expense was minimal.

What I loved about this campaign is that we achieved three avenues of marketing: pre, present and post. I always try and do this. There is nothing like achieving all three, and that’s what we were able to do. Having the writers write about an event that will happen, write about it when it happens and then write about it after it happens is called “Maximized Marketing.” It’s the best!

This can be done with your restaurant and team. Building up and highlighting your chef or pizzaiolo from your restaurant, demoing some of your signature pizzas and making it educational can make an impact in your local community. Teaming up with a local organization like a school, culinary school, manufacturer, distributor, Italian Clubs, city organization, brewery, etc. can be the perfect fit for a great pizza media campaign.

Figure out what story you want to tell and then get started generating some local press!

RESPECTING THE CRAFT features World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Pizza Rock in Sacramento.  Tony compiles the column with the help of his trusty assistants, Laura Meyer and Thiago Vasconcelos. If you have questions on any kitchen topic ranging from prep to finish, Tony’s your guy. Send questions via Twitter @PizzaToday, Facebook (search: Pizza Today) or e-mail jwhite@www.pizzatoday.com and we’ll pass the best ones on to Tony.

The post Respecting the Craft: Small Town, Big Opportunities appeared first on Pizza Today.

Do ‘Best of’ pizza lists have merit?

We all get the same messages in our inboxes. When a Web site releases a list of “Top 10 Pizzerias in the USA” or “50 Bucket List Pizzerias,” I instantly get a barrage of “Do you approve of this list?” e-mails. I know it’s helpful to have some guidance through more than 70,000 pizzerias in this country, but something about these lists really irks me. Why are they so popular? Who’s responsible for making them? And, most importantly, how does your pizzeria get onto one?

As much as I flinch when a new “best pizza” list gets posted, I must admit that it was lists like these that piqued my interest in pizza (beyond the common degree) in the first place. About 10 years ago, one magazine published a guide to eight old-school pizzerias, to which my friends and I responded by jumping into the car for a day of visiting them all.

That was a decade ago, before today’s brand of viral media. Today, Web sites seem to be pushing out new pizza lists every couple of weeks. This format has since become the business model for Web sites like BuzzFeed, who use them to garner clicks and shares through social media outlets and other sites. It’s important to keep in mind that these lists are usually crafted by editors and writers who aggregate information from other Web sites, not a panel of experts.

There’s no better boost for digital media than controversy, and pizza arouses more opinionated commenters than politics or religion. There will always be readers who angrily comment that their favorite pizzeria got snubbed and how whoever made the list is an idiot. It’s the perfect click bait: highly attractive to a wide range of readers and easy to digest, share and complain about. Just like pizza itself!

I can trust lists that aren’t objective, such as “10 of the Oldest Pizzerias in the USA” or “Eight Pizzerias That are Open 24 Hours.” They’re not controversial, so you won’t see things like that too often. The inherent subjectivity of food preference is often frustrating with lists because they rarely explain whose taste they reflect. A few food sites (The Daily Meal, Eater) are good enough to reference exact quotes from the panel of experts about why they chose each restaurant, but lists like these are rare. Adam Kuban, founder of the pizza blog Slice, writes an annual “Eight Pizzas that Haunt My Dreams” list. It’s an ultra-personal rundown of eight pizzas he ate throughout the year that stick out to him rather than pizzas he claims are the best he’s ever had.

But there’s no reason for you to wait for some blogger or food site to include you in their roundup. Why not use the list format to promote yourself? Try posting a list of “Top Five Party Pizzas” before the weekend rush. You can make it seasonal with “Best Valentines Day Pizzas” or “12 Days of Pizza” for Christmas. Better yet, hold a contest for customers to compile their own lists of favorites from your menu. You’ll be encouraging community involvement while creating highly sharable content. It’s a win-win!

Scott Wiener owns and operates Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.

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Learn more about your competition and the industry by touring other pizzerias

Let’s pretend for just one page in this magazine that you aren’t 100-percent satisfied with your pizza. You’ve been making it for years but a little voice in your head tells you there’s more out there than you ever thought possible. You ignore the voice at first, but eventually it grows so loud that you must give in and set out on a journey of epic proportions. This, my friends, is a pizza crawl. I’ve noticed a recent trend in which restaurateurs are embarking on massive pizza-research excursions and building stronger businesses and products because of it. As someone who makes a living leading people on such trips, I’ve put together a short set of tips and guidelines for organizing your own pizza crawl:

• Plan your route. Make a list of all the pizzerias you want to hit and be sure to note their hours. I’ve made the mistake of visiting pizzerias at noon when they don’t open until 5 p.m. and it’s embarrassing. Next, plot your stops on a map so you’re not doubling back on the same ground. I like Google Maps for this because I can list my stops and swap their order until the route looks clean. Factor in transportation time between stops and do some research about the pace of each pizzeria to minimize downtime. I once visited 19 Chicago pizzerias in two days and it was only possible because we preordered deep-dish pizzas, which baked as I found my parking spot.

• Eat and drink carefully. Stick with simple pizzas and order the same thing at each stop; you want to compare apples to apples. If a pizzeria had a particular specialty, definitely order it. Just pace yourself. Going overboard at the first stop is a rookie mistake that could cost you dearly. If you don’t like something, stop eating it. If you’re ordering several pizzas at one stop, ask to have them staggered so they don’t all reach the table at the same time. Wood-fired pizza tends to get tough a few minutes out of the oven and so it’s best to give each one a fair shake. As for drinks, avoid beer and soda. Water is your best beverage bet if you want to go the distance without filling up. Nix the ice –– it could cool your stomach to the point where it hardens cheese, making it more difficult to digest. Also skip the straw –– it’s going to pull unwanted air into your stomach and we need that space for pizza!

• Bring a crew. This might be your staff, managers, significant others or even a dedicated customer. Just be sure you have some civilians (non pizza pros) so there’s an unbiased voice in the group. The more people you have, the more pizzas you can try at each stop. Just keep in mind that seating is tough with large groups, but if you go off-peak you should be OK. Be sure nobody in your group is wearing your pizzeria’s shirt (or any pizza shirt for that matter). That’s like wearing a Mötley Crüe shirt to a Van Halen concert. Don’t be that guy.

• Keep an open mind. I know you make the best pizza in the world and you’re going to want to point out everything that isn’t as good as your pizza, but that’s a waste of a trip. Notice the aspects of each stop that are different from what you’re used to; there’s a good chance you’ll see things you like.

Pizza crawling is a lot of fun and extremely educational. It’s easy to get so used to your own operation that you forget what else is out there, but the most successful businesses adapt and stay current with the needs of their customers. There are lots of pizzerias out there and each of them has something special that you’ve never even considered. Take some time to see, and taste, for yourself!

Scott Wiener owns and operates Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.

The post Man on the Street: The Art of the Pizza Crawl appeared first on Pizza Today.

Being critiqued is difficult for any restaurant owner. And it’s not just newspaper and magazine critics anymore. These days there are so many critics or “want to be” critics out there when you take Bloggers, Yelp, Tripadvisor, etc. into account. It can be tough, especially when you go into a new market where you have no customer base and are trying to create one and mesh with the community. Typically writers have their favorite spots, so turning someone from the dark side to your side can be very challenging. Typically a true critic will give you six to eight weeks before coming in. They should be unannounced and come in at least three times. Other professional critics — typically with newspapers, magazines, blogs and freelancers — do sometimes inform the owner. That is great for me because I could let them order but also drop some items which I feel are my best and want them to try.

Yelp has really changed the entire critiquing system. Everyone’s a critic. It’s pretty bad, when you think about it, because it’s difficult to know who to believe. Are these real customers reviewing your store or are they false statements made by competing pizzerias, an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend, an employee of Yelp, a past enemy, etc. I used to read these all the time. It became a bad habit. I do take them into consideration, but I also have to read between the lines to make sure they are legit. For me Tripadvisor has the best, most honest reviews — at least in my experience.

When I opened up my new stores I was really under the microscope even more than ever due to my credentials and longevity in the industry. The build-up and hype with a strong marketing team behind it does bring you to a level where you can’t just be average. You really have to go above and beyond to make sure every pizza, the experience and the service are at their finest. It’s very stressful. I feel having a PR agency is important for an opening. You could pay an agency for a three-month launch, for example. This can help you with access to several media outposts and sometimes one on one with writers and some critics. I am personable and like to talk to everyone — especially someone writing about my food. It’s great when a true critic can come in well after your opening and not be pre-judgmental. Those are the ones I really enjoy. The worst ones are the ones that come opening week — rookies.

But you have to be prepared because someone is always watching and always ready to write a blog about you.

RESPECTING THE CRAFT features World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Pizza Rock in Sacramento.  Tony compiles the column with the help of his trusty assistants, Laura Meyer and Thiago Vasconcelos. If you have questions on any kitchen topic ranging from prep to finish, Tony’s your guy. Send questions via Twitter @PizzaToday, Facebook (search: Pizza Today) or e-mail jwhite@www.pizzatoday.com and we’ll pass the best ones on to Tony.

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Even the biggest dive spots have a vibe to cash in on

Marketing folks call it “branding” but I’ll just call it “vibe.” It’s a huge part of what attracts me to (or keeps me away from) your business. I don’t believe there are any best pizzerias, only pizzerias that fit better for different situations. New York City is a great example of how hundreds of pizzerias coexist because of their complimentary characteristics. Here is a breakdown of three great NYC pizzerias and what their vibes say to me as a pizza consumer. The Pizzeria: Arturo’s Restaurant, Greenwich Village The Room: Lighting is dim but not the trendy Edison-bulb-with-candles-on-the-table motif everyone seems to be into lately. The menus are basic and dependable, with nothing new or experimental on the list. If you hear music, it’s being played live from a position in the restaurant that’s inconveniently tucked between the kitchen door and the main dining room. The adjacent kitchen transforms a jazz trio into a quartet and reminds the visitor that old-school restaurants like this have no room to spare. The Vibe: Arturo’s is home. They’re clearly more interested in providing a comfortable meeting spot than they are in competing in the city’s turbulent restaurant scene. The Pizzeria: Co. (Company), Chelsea The Room: A large room (by NYC standards) coated in wood and white features several communal tables sparsely set with Spartan plates, cutlery and simple glass at each seat. A paper place mat provides the menu, but don’t look for crossword puzzles or connect-the-dots –– it’s all about the food. The entrance is a large open space bordered by a lovely backlit bar, whose shelves are lightly stocked with trinkets rather than product. A corner location fitted with large glass windows bathe daytime diners in a wash of sunlight –– a feature that’s largely unheard of in the tight quarters of NYC. The Vibe: The room’s sparse decoration tells me Co. is a mature yet casual restaurant. It’s appropriate for a business lunch, dinner date or family outing. Kids might be bored and stare at their iDevices, but grown ups will feel secure that they are “going out” for a classier experience than most pizzerias. The Pizzeria: Lombardi’s Pizzeria, SoHo The Room: Checked tablecloths and exposed brick walls unite all six dining rooms in this brightly lit pizzeria. Plastic plates and cups frame a single fork and napkin at each seat and wooden chairs blend in with the background. The menu is quick and to the point: pizzas; calzones; salads; meatballs and antipasto. Its walls display a mosaic of Italian posters, Zagat reviews, celebrity photos and pictures of their pizza. Music from a satellite radio set to the Sinatra station fills in the space. The Vibe: Lombardi’s is a family restaurant. The bright lighting and catchy table coverings make it clear that they’re going for a classic, old-school feel. Lightweight cups and plates tell me this pizzeria is good for kids but the music selection is a clear indication that this restaurant wants to bring you back to a time before auto-tune sanitized pop music. There you have it –– three popular pizzerias with three distinct vibes. Does your room send the right message? Take a seat, order a pizza and find out for yourself. Scott Wiener owns and operates Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.

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When I opened Pizza Rock II in Las Vegas, I tailored the menu very much like I did in the first store in Sacramento. However, I did add a few new styles. You see, I have a restaurant in San Francisco where my Neapolitan line is the busiest and my Margherita pizza is the most popular overall on my menu. I remember a discussion I had with my partner, George, about the Margherita and how it was his favorite. At the time, we were building our first Pizza Rock in Sacramento and I told George that I doubted the Margherita would be our most popular there. In fact, I predicted that the Neapolitan line in Sac could be the slowest of our pizza styles. He said I was crazy.

“It’s the best pizza in the world, and it has the trophy to prove it,” he quipped.
I told him that not everyone gets it, that Sacramento is a meat and potato town and our combo would be the most popular. And for that reason, on our menu I called it “The Sacramento.” As it turns out, I was right.

So as we were building Pizza Rock II in Las Vegas, I followed the same philosophy. I added a Chicago Cracker Thin as well as partnered New York/New Haven and added them to the top of my menu. It was my belief that downtown Vegas was not looking for the unique pizzas that were more out of the box. Like Sacramento, that part of “Sin City” is much more traditional. So as we designed our menu I focused lightly on my Neapolitan section and gave more weight to our other lines. Even though areas like Sacramento and Downtown Las Vegas are not suburbs, they are still what I would call “semi-metropolitan” areas. With places like this, good, old-fashioned pizzas remain a grand slam not only with customers, but with critics and bloggers, too.

And since it’s about value in places like this, my Sicilian style pizzas (that can feed up to six) have been a hit as well. In fact, some of our most requested pizzas simply have pepperoni and sausage as toppings. That’s what people want and ours is as good as it gets.

In Las Vegas, I also added a New York-style slice kitchen and window up front to satisfy sidewalk traffic, long waits, and late night drinkers coming out of the local bars. It brought in an entirely different clientele. Patrons who don’t like to sit in restaurants, those who may be anti social, folks who hate waits, people in a hurry and customers on their way to work all like the convenience and affordability the slice window offers.

The point? My restaurant in San Francisco is very different from my restaurant in Sacramento or downtown Las Vegas. Why? Because the demographics are different. If I would have tried to force the San Francisco way onto residents of downtown Vegas, it may not have gone well. Know your market and cater to it.

RESPECTING THE CRAFT features World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Pizza Rock in Sacramento.  Tony compiles the column with the help of his trusty assistants, Laura Meyer and Thiago Vasconcelos. If you have questions on any kitchen topic ranging from prep to finish, Tony’s your guy. Send questions via Twitter @PizzaToday, Facebook (search: Pizza Today) or e-mail jwhite@www.pizzatoday.com and we’ll pass the best ones on to Tony.

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PR pros offer tips on getting media coverage

There’s no magic formula to generate media attention for your pizzeria. The media’s perception — or even awareness — of your pizzeria is driven by your restaurant’s word-of-mouth reputation that you’ve built on quality and service.

The same vigor, persistence and follow-through can lead to getting your shop on the media map. Whether you go it alone or hire a publicist, media exposure takes forethought and planning.

Denver-based Publicist Sara Schiffer and Dana Stott of New York-based DLS Public Relations offer their public relations expertise to get your pizzeria some ink, airtime and online buzz.

Schiffer is president of ProofPR and works with Patxi’s Pizza, which operates 12 units in the San Francisco and Denver areas. Patxi’s has appeared in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Eater, Thrillest, Esquire and more. Stott’s client list includes Kesté Pizza & Vino in New York City, along with its owner Roberto Caporuscio; Don Antonio by Starita in New York and Atlanta; and A Mano in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Kesté has been featured in Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, The Cooking Channel, New York Magazine and others.

“You may believe in your product and think it’s worthy of media coverage, but the reporters and journalists need to be convinced,” Stott says.

Understanding the interworking of pitching stories to the media can mean the difference between a media splash or a dud. Some tips from the public relations pros are:

• Understand the audience. “Know your audience, both the media to whom you send pitches and the particular outlet’s audience,” Schiffer says. “Try to tailor pitches that make sense for both.”

The media is a wider world than it’s ever been before — from print media, radio and television to online-only outlets and restaurant bloggers. “There are no more ‘soft openings’ and ‘under the radar,’” Schiffer says. “Once a restaurant opens, they should be ready for reviews.” Stott suggests, “Develop a thorough list of media outlets for your market, ranging from national to regional press, print and online publications. Maintain contact and develop relationships with the journalists/reporters.”

• Learn each media’s editorial calendar. “Pay attention to the calendar,” Schiffer says. “Understand different media deadlines and what kinds of coverage is popular at certain times of year in your market. Tailor pitches so that they are timely and ‘of the moment.’”

• Seek professional help. “Hire a publicist to manage your public relations efforts,” Stott says. “A professional with media contacts, who specializes in crafting newsworthy press releases, can maximize your media exposure.”

Publicist fees can run $100 per hour or require a monthly retainer for an experienced professional. Rates are dependent on region and scope of work.

• Meet the press. Most media professionals can be reached through a published e-mail address and even through their Twitter handle. Be warned: A journalist may be bombarded with several press releases, requests and pitches each day. “Publicists’ main goal should be cultivating personal relationships with members of the media covering their clients,” Schiffer says, an advantage to utilizing a seasoned media relations professional. “The most successful pitches are the ones born from casual conversations about what that particular journalist is interested in.”

“Don’t over communicate,” Schiffer says. Set a schedule that makes sense for the media. Local restaurant bloggers and writers need a lot of content so reaching out to them with a release each week is bearable; while national media and monthly publication may need a more targeted approach, she adds.

• Keep the media ‘in the know.’ “Continually distribute newsworthy information to the media about happenings at the restaurant (new menu, special events, launches etc.),” Stott says. “Also pitch out-of-the-box story ideas, from food trends to lifestyle features.”

Schiffer and Stott say journalists are looking for emerging food and drink trends, quality product, successful and reputable establishments and unique spins on newsworthy topics.

Stott warns, “Don’t pitch yesterday’s news or subjects that have been saturated in the press.”
If success begets success, then the same can be true for press coverage. When you get that elusive media hit, Patxi’s Pizza Marketing Manager Jordana Heinke says, “Shout it from the rooftops!”

“When we receive great media attention, we’ll tweet and/or post it on our Facebook,” she says. Patxi’s also frames hardcopies for its offices and posts media coverage on its Web site — she may even blog about it. She also advises to thank the writer or publication with a retweet.

TIP: Buzzworthy Media Attention

What can you do to get into the spotlight? Explore the following PizzaToday.com tips that just might spark your local media to take notice:

• Tell your story — Find what makes your pizzeria unique. What’s your origin story? Who’s the person/people behind the pizzeria? What makes your pizzeria uniquely different? Write it all down and put it on your Web site. Make it easy for the media to get to know your business.

• Create your own content — Let your media know that you are the “go-to” person for all things pizza. When they need a featured recipe or someone to give a cooking demonstration, you will be top of mind.

There are a lot of operators who have created blogs to share their expertise. Ask local media to follow your blog. Don’t forget to include bio info on your background and expertise.

• Do good deeds — Philanthropy and community outreach go a long way with local media. With community nights and events like the Pizza Today-sponsored Slice of Hope fundraiser for breast cancer research, pizzeria operators lead their communities in giving back. Make a list of those community programs you host or participate in and create a schedule to let the media know. A good rule of thumb is to reach out a couple of times — two weeks before your event and a few days prior.

• Compete — Getting one good piece of press coverage can turn into several. Just look at national “best pizza” lists. Those reporters have found local/regional rave reviews and buzz. Compete in local “best of” competitions, typically organized by daily and weekly newspapers, city magazines and community blogs.

Denise Greer is associate editor at Pizza Today.

The post How to get media coverage appeared first on Pizza Today.

Online Ordering Trends

Pizza delivery saves lives. It solves late-night hunger pangs, relieves depression, fuels the student during midterms and caters kids’ birthday parties. For you, it represents a big chunk of your business, but for me it’s disaster relief. Ever since the 1960s, pizza salvation has been just a phone call away. But times are changing and all these shiny new devices are making it even easier for me to feed my cravings. In 2012, Domino’s reached $1 billion in online sales. If you don’t already offer online ordering, take a closer look at the habits of your average customer and you’re likely to change your mind.

It’s simple: I’m more likely to order food from restaurants that offer online ordering. Ordering by phone requires that I know your pizzeria’s phone number or have the menu memorized. It’s much easier for me to key in your Web site than it is to dig your takeout menu out of the kitchen drawer. Once I’m there, an “Order Now” button lets me finish the deal without hesitation. Online ordering gives me no busy signals, no annoying hold music and no miscommunications with the person on the other end. That means less frustration for me and fewer mistakes for your delivery driver.

I know what you’re thinking: online ordering is for the big chains and not affordable for mom-and-pop shops. False! You don’t have to build your own system because there are plenty of solutions already on the market. Portal sites like Seamless and Delivery.com make it easy for nearby customers to discover you. Users visit the site and search by cuisine, price and proximity. I love these because they help me find new restaurants I may not have otherwise known about. They also store my payment information so I’m no more than a few clicks away from dinner. There are also widget-based platforms like ChowNow that insert their ordering modules directly into your site. This lets you maintain branding while avoiding commissions charged by portal sites.

It’s rare that I’ll order delivery for myself, but it’s a godsend with group situations when nobody wants to call in the order. If there’s a mistake and someone doesn’t get their can of soda, all blame falls on the caller. It’s much easier to pass the laptop or tablet around the room and let everyone key in their own selections. That way the order is in writing and mistakes can easily be revealed.

When I place an order online, I often spend more money than I would have over the phone. It’s annoying to be up-sold by a person on the other end of the line when I’m in a rush to place an order, but it’s hard to get mad at a computer for giving me options and add-ons. Someone in the group will invariably bring up the idea of ordering extra mozzarella sticks or chicken wings because a deal pops up onto the screen.

Online ordering isn’t the wave of the future, it’s the wave of right now. And if you’re not riding it, there’s a good chance I’ll be surfing elsewhere.

Scott Wiener owns and operates Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.

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Scott Wiener

This is an intervention. The Internet has become well-worn territory, yet many of you are still treating your Web sites like it’s 1996. Users’ attention spans are microscopically short for Web sites, so you want there to be as few barriers as possible between potential customers and your business. In a completely selfish maneuver to make my own pizzeria-Web site-surfing life less stressful, I’ve compiled a list of my top five pizzeria Web site failures:

1. Just The Facts. Stop burying basic information like your location and hours of operation deep within your site. The further I have to dig for these details, the less likely I am to find them. Be specific about hours rather than simply stating “Open for Lunch and Dinner” … because one person’s dinner is another’s late lunch. And remember that the Internet is big, so people who aren’t from your immediate area are likely to view your site. Be thorough with your location information rather than just listing “Sweet Valley Location, Bayside location,” etc. None of those names are helpful if I don’t know what state you’re in.

2. Can the Music. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen victim to a sneak attack by a low-quality version of “That’s Amore” blasting through my computer’s speakers. I get it — you want people who visit your site to know you serve Italian food, but music is usually more annoying than it is useful. If you do insist on a soundtrack, just be sure to provide an obvious mechanism for turning it off or my only alternative will be to exit your site.

3. Menu Me. Stop making me download a PDF of your menu — just publish it directly on the page. Placing a downloadable menu on your site gives the user a reason to opt out, especially since folks are so weary of downloading corrupt files. Having your menu readable as text right on the page may even bump your search engine visibility because of all the keywords embedded in your dish names.

4. Annoying Animation. Ditch the annoying flash intros. One of my favorite pizzerias in the world has a loading page and eventual animation that does nothing but waste time. I have an immediate instinct to close a page as soon as I see the “Loading” bar appear. If I really want to track down info about your pizzeria, it’s easier for me to visit Yelp! and run the risk of seeing some bad reviews. Which do you prefer?

5. Faulty Formatting. Investigate how your site looks on multiple browsers. If it looks different on Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, Firefox or the utility of your choice, alert your Web master immediately! It frustrates me to no end when I have to scroll from side to side just to view all the information on a pizzeria page. Don’t forget to check compatibility with mobile devices. Some sites have separate mobile versions, but it’s possible to design one site that will work across the board. Newer smartphones are even able to make details like phone numbers and street addresses clickable so users can dial or view your location on their devices instantly, so be sure your site is formatted in a way that optimizes these options.

Scott Weiner owns and operates Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.

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Scott Wiener talks Show and Tell

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

It’s the most boring answer to a simple question. I get it, there are a lot of pizzerias out there and you need to maintain a competitive edge to avoid getting swallowed up by the bigger fish. But have you seen what those sharks are up to? Here’s a clue: it’s the exact opposite of the old secret-ingredient game. Rather than locking customers out of the kitchen, they’re pulling back the curtain to allow for a closer look — and it’s not putting them out of business. Here are some ways pizzerias are excluding competition by including their customers.

• Ingredients. The first time I noticed a sourcing list on the back of a menu was 2004 at Franny’s in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn. Every ingredient was from a different supplier within a couple hundred miles of the restaurant. I wasn’t interested in tracking down every piece of meat and cheese myself, but it was comforting to know that there was a thought process behind their selection. They were somehow able to tell me without having to kill me!
• Action. Other pizzerias are providing a more direct view into the kitchen. Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles and Tarry Lodge in Westport, Connecticut, both offer bar seating around the oven for the best view in the house. Guests can watch the action and even interact with the pizzaioli for a more detailed play-by-play. It’s like dinner and a show! New York’s Don Antonio by Starita opts for a more hi-tech solution by way of a monitor in their dining room that displays live action captured by a camera above their pizza station. Even Domino’s is testing new stores that feature exhibition kitchens so customers can watch as their pies are constructed.
• Creative media. Don’t feel like dealing with a camera setup or redesigning your store? An amazing video from Solorzano Bros Pizza in Sarasota, Florida, recently made the rounds online –– it’s a POV shot of the entire pizza-making process. The shot begins with a view from the pizza maker’s head for the stretch and topping processes, then moved to the peel’s handle for the dismount into the oven and ends with a close-up of the slicing process. No secrets are revealed but the viewer is pulled into the process in a way that makes them feel like they’re on the inside.
• Hands-On. If you’re interested in a more direct approach, try hosting a pizza-making class. There’s no better way to educate your customers than by pulling them into the kitchen. Hosting workshops at slow times will fill up your show while attracting valuable cheerleaders for your dishes. It’s an especially great way to educate the public if you’re introducing something new to your local market, not to mention it’s a lot of fun!

So next time a customer like me asks about your process, think about ways to educate rather than shut us down. And for those of you who’d rather take the easy way out by avoiding my question, I’ll just assume I’m talking to a person who doesn’t have any answers.

Scott Wiener owns and operates Scott’s Pizza Tours in New York City.

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Tony Gemignani answers pizzeria operators questions

Q: Why compete in food competitions at International Pizza Expo or anywhere else?

A: As an owner everything is done to my specifications and wants. It is rare that I am tested and that I am out of my element. There really isn’t anyone to tell me that I am wrong or that my recipe isn’t that great. In competition you are forced to use an oven that you have never seen or used before, make an amazing pizza under imperfect conditions and then attempt to explain and prove to a panel of judges that you’ve never met before why your pizza is better than everyone else’s. Competition makes you become better than you were when you first walked in. It tests you not only as a person and an individual but as a chef and artisan. It forces you to figure out how to best win, taking into account every possible factor and possibility of something going wrong. Everyone at a competition thinks they have the best pie and that they are the best pizzaiolo around. Entering a food challenge means that you are not going to settle for being the best just at your restaurant, but are willing to show yourself and the world that you are the best at your craft. Competing also increases your marketability. If you win, a story is most likely going to be written about you, although winning isn’t a requirement for getting press. Entering the competition alone allows people to write preliminary and follow up stories about you, maximizing your chances for good press.

Q: Could I use a dough sheeter or dough press to make my pizzas?

A: I do not recommend using a sheeter or a press for making any style of pizza other than thin crust. If you are making Neapolitan pizza you especially want to stay away from sheeters and presses. When you are hand-pushing dough the objective is to keep the gas in the dough but to readjust it and move it towards your crust. Using a sheeter or press goes against everything an artisan does and wants to achieve by taking out all the gas that they have worked so hard to create by proofing their dough. Typically, dough presses heat up the dough as it is pressing it out and that is something you want to stay away from. Also, there is an oil of some sort used on presses that leaves a residual flavor and film on the dough that is not to my liking. If I am making thin crust pizza I first prefer using a rolling pin and then maybe a sheeter.

RESPECTING THE CRAFT is a new column featuring World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani, owner of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco and Pizza Rock in Sacramento. Tony compiles the column with the help of his trusty assistants, Laura Meyer and Thiago Vasconcelos. If you have questions on any kitchen topic ranging from prep to finish, Tony’s your guy. Send questions via Twitter @PizzaToday, Facebook (search: Pizza Today) or e-mail jwhite@www.pizzatoday.com and we’ll pass the best ones on to Tony.

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