Big Restaurant Chains looking at Closing. Could This Be Good For Small, Non-Franchise Restaurants?

8/28/20: For the past five months, other than the narrow margin of industries that have remained un-phased, most businesses have either shut down (temporarily or permanently), re-tooled their business model and operations, or a mix of both. It's now estimated that roughly 16,000 restaurants have closed up for good, with the possibility of doubling that number by the end of 2020. However, there are some larger restaurant chains that were already looking at downsizing, or even closing before COVID entered the ring. For a mix of reasons, perhaps the greatest being a change in consumer trends with millennials, many larger-chain restaurants found themselves sliding into trouble before 2020 began. However, if you're a small restaurant that survives this COVID-ridden paradigm, perhaps there are a few nuggets of information to take away from the problems that the larger restaurants are faced with. Ideas that you can apply to your business model as you continue to create new opportunities to not only help you survive, but thrive moving towards…

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“Community Spotlight” Cape & Islands Police K-9 Relief Fund

Bay State Merchant Services will always emphasize the importance of community and the role that small businesses play to keep it thriving. However, there are those who live, and sometimes sacrifice everything, to protect our communities. And it's those organizations - made up of brave men, women, and animals - who we just can't thank enough for all that they do. Started in 2001 by Joe Ambrosini, retired K-9 handler and former Deputy Superintendent for Public Safety, Barnstable County Sheriff's Office, the Cape & Islands Police K-9 Relief Fund helps ease the burden of veterinary costs associated with caring for retired K-9 officers. It is supported by donations from compassionate individuals, civic-minded local businesses, and generous national sponsors as well as through merchandise sales and fundraising events. In addition, the Cape & Islands Police K-9 Relief Fund receives commissions from purchases made through retailers advertising on our website. Please click on their links from our site at www.capecodpolicek9.org to make those commissions count! Video (2014): K9 Torres…

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How I Increased Restaurant Sales by Double in 30 Days – Kamron Karington

6/23/20 - Marketing: "As I sat, defeated and hopeless in my pizzeria early one morning... an "aha" moment changed everything. The fog was gone... I knew EXACTLY what was needed to turn this failing nightmare into a pulsating business." ~ Kamron Karington The marketing principles used by Kamron to reinvent and resurrect his pizza restaurant are applicable for businesses of all types and sizes. On a macro level, it almost always comes down to a mindset. Episode #1:- 30 days into owning a pizzeria, was this the biggest mistake of my life? - How a night sleeping on top of the walk-in cooler led to the “aha” moment. - The single, unexpected question that changed my life. - The pitch that became the blueprint for every ad I ever put out. - Sales doubled in 30 days and rampaged upward from $12,000 to $149,000 a month. - Why fear crystalizes your thinking and eliminates weak alternatives. To paraphrase Tony Robbins (and perhaps many others)... The brain will…

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Restaurants: Make Bank With Adaptive Marketing

6/18/20 - Restaurant Marketing: Another fresh lesson straight from the oven of Kamron Karington with RepeatReturns.com. Author of "Gun To The Head Marketing", KK lays out how important Adaptive Marketing is right now for restaurants as we move out of this shut-down... and beyond. This - rather scientific - approach has made big companies a lot of money, because they cater a huge portion of their marketing directly to us as individuals. They follow the ebb-and-flow of our spending habits over time. However, restaurants can do this too, and typically with the info you're already collecting with your POS system. A general problem with coupon offers is the one-size-fits-all model, which gives customers a chance to spend less. However, a customized points or rewards program will drive more spending from your customers. In fact, Kamron tells the story of one restaurant that went into the COVID shut-down strong, was already using adaptive marketing, and came out three months later much stronger. "Use adaptive marketing to incentivize your…

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