Bring the boss to lunch

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The business community is a particularly good target because they have many reasons to use restaurants – for entertaining clients, business meetings, staff leaving parties, new product launches, the annual Christmas function and, most important of all, they all need to eat every day.

The method used in this promotion is ‘sampling’ – a sales technique aimed at persuading as many people possible to sample your food.

First do your homework

Decide what type of businesses you want to target. Compatibility is important so think about what sort of people you’re likely to attract. Be realistic. Is your venue going to appeal more to office people or construction workers, estate agents or retail staff, factory workers or bankers? Are there any major employers nearby who might fit the bill? Which are most likely to produce regular trade?

Next, define your target area. Decide how far afield you need to go. If parking at your venue is difficult during the day, look for firms within walking distance. If you’re in a remote location, think about industrial estates within easy driving distance.

Then seek out businesses from your chosen categories within your target area. Use trade directories or the Internet - tap “estate agents” plus the name of your town or village into Google for example, and you’ll have an instant list of agents in your area. Set aside an hour after lunchtime service and go out by car or on foot in search of businesses tucked away in back streets, mews and arches. You’ll probably find some you didn’t even know existed!

Use these details to start a Target Business List, grouping businesses under general headings with their addresses in a separate column. If you can, do this on a spreadsheet so that you can insert more names and add extra columns for more information as you go along (if you’re not au fait with spreadsheets follow our simple guide on using your computer to set up a customer database. Otherwise use an A3 sheet of paper and leave plenty of room for more entries under each heading

Example - Target Business List

Next, try to find out more about these organisations to make your list more comprehensive. These days, many firms have their own website which can provide a wealth of information including telephone numbers, email addresses, opening hours and sometimes even the names of the individuals to contact. Create new columns on your list and add these extra details as you get them.

Target the decision makers

The initial targets in this promotion are personal assistants and secretaries. These are the people who often influence their employers about where to eat and who are usually responsible for the organising and booking. Get them on your side and you’ll stand a good chance of being in the running when their firm is looking for a venue. Although it isn’t essential to get names, it’s always better as it allows you to make your invitation sound more personal. If necessary, call the firm and ask for name of the secretary who deals with staff or client entertaining. If quizzed, explain that you’d like to send an invitation for a free meal but that there’ll be no pressure or obligation.

Continuing the above example, the first entry on our list now looks like this:

Business name

Address

Contact number

Contact name

Type of business

NatWest Main Branch

19-23 High Road

01252 27824

Branch Manager’s secretary Sue Kearn

Bank and commercial business centre

Going to visit on 23/9/09

Plan your approach

Once your list is complete, think about how you’re going to approach your targets. In our experience, doing this in writing is better than cold calling. You can take your time deciding what you want to say and how best to put it. But bear in mind businesses receive piles of junk mail and leaflets everyday. Your letter will need to make the recipient sit up and take notice.

The sample letter below is addressed to the Branch Manager’s secretary of our first target business and invites her to have lunch on the house, bringing her boss or a work colleague with her. Use it as a template and amend the wording as required.

Compatibility is important so think about what sort of people you’re likely to attract. Be realistic. Is your venue going to appeal more to office people or construction workers, estate agents or retail staff, factory workers or bankers?

Bring the boss to lunch!

Business Name	Address
Banks
NatWest (Main Branch)	19-23 High Road
Barclays Business Centre	253 Eastfield Lane
Estate Agents
Prestige Properties,	25 River Mews
Holgate and Samson	16, High Road
Small professional firms
Gareth Parnett & Co. Chartered surveyors	45 Branston Ave
Local organisations and services	98 Firestone Court
Local organisations and services
Cranbrook Council Offices	123 Princess Ave

The aim of this promotion is to get local businesses using your restaurant on a regular basis

The best way to persuade someone to sample something is to offer it free. This may sound extreme but consider the cost of advertising in the local paper and compare it to the cost of giving away a free lunch to a few dozen carefully-selected business people.

Unless you’re extravagant, there shouldn’t be much difference, yet the chances of getting repeat business from a free lunch promotion are significantly greater. Even if only a small proportion of the people you invite become regulars, your initial outlay will produce a worthwhile return. And in the business community, where networking is commonplace, word will get around and could provide a healthy boost to long-term profits.

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