1-888-353-5012About 25 years ago, I realized that my 3-step process to create sales in my business (and support the lifestyle I wanted) was simply not enough. What was that 3-step process? Well, I unlocked my restaurant door, turned on the lights, and turned over the open sign.
I was commiserating with my brother (and business partner) and at the same time was looking in the classified section for jobs. At that point, anything would be better than continuing what I was doing. It seemed like all the walls were closing in on me – I couldn’t cash my paychecks, I had vendor AP at 90 days and more, I was paying utilities with cash at the last possible second, and (you may be familiar with this), it seemed I had finally reached the inevitable point of closing the doors.
It was then that my brother said to me: “Go down, unlock the door, the restaurant is open.” As little as it was, it gave me the little bit of hope I needed to get through the week.
Inherent in my simple 3-step daily process and my brother’s comment was a belief that unlocking the door is enough. IT ISN’T. Why? This makes one HUGE assumption: that customers KNOW about your business and want to come give you money! That the ONLY barrier for that to happen is a locked door! Could I BE more wrong?
What I didn’t understand was that my current customers and ALL my potential customers DO NOT WAKE UP THINKING ABOUT ME. No, they don’t start the day with my business in their mind and plan to come give me some of their money. It’s simply NOT TRUE.
As I look back, I shake my head and wonder how on earth I missed this and how it was possible that I could think that my 3-step process of unlocking the door, turning over my open sign and turning on the lights was enough. (If this was a text message, I would be sending you the “palm to face” emoji right now.)
The truth is THIS: Customers DO NOT wake up thinking about our businesses and we need to REMIND them about us and GIVE THEM A REASON to give us money. We all have great products and services that our customers enjoy – we just need to give them an excuse to come to our business.
Once I figured this out, it was easy! And when I discovered Royalty Rewards®, it was even easier because I had a complete database at my fingertips. I would wake up and be excited about the enticement for the day or week and the best way to inform my guests. It was so much fun to think of new ideas and concepts – Margarita Monday, Taco Tuesday, Friday food specials, discounts, Limited-Time offers, the list goes on. I quickly became known as the most amazing marketing mind around. I also became quickly bewildered.
It was SO MUCH WORK thinking of new promotions and getting the word out. Planning ahead? HA!! Not a chance. It was day-by-day, week-by-week.
That worked until I realized I was working too hard without a strategic plan in place to help my business be more profitable and reduce my workload.
Then. It happened. It all changed. I received the Royalty Rewards® Cash Creator Calendar™ in the mail. It was simply GENIUS. It was a way to plan and design promotions in advance that would help me make more money and work less creating frantic and badly conceived promotions.
It was like a lightbulb went off. Why hadn’t I already thought of planning my promotions for months in advance? Or planning my promotions to meet the needs of my business? Or taking a strategic look at how and when I market to my customers?
This is how I plan my annual marketing calendar now:
I review the Royalty Rewards® Cash Creator Calendar™ and select all the promotions suggested that are a no brainer fit for my business: Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Valetine’s Day, etc.
Then I look at my business needs. The calendar is a great place to document and track my sales peaks and valleys, and past successes and failures so that I have them at my fingertips. And I ask questions like: When is my cash flow low? When are my sales high? When are my customer counts low?
For instance…
1> May and June are absolutely PACKED and so I know I can scale back my marketing.
2> Cash flow is low in January (from the holiday spending hangover) and so if I do a gift certificate promotion in November and December, I can pad my cash flow to get me through.
3> July is a slower month, I can plan a promotion that is either totally about something I’m doing within my restaurant or has something to do with a community event, to make sure July hits the profitability I want.
The Calendar also has TONS of opportunities to promote your business built right in. All you need to do is review it and decide to do it. Then, you could do like I do and call your dedicated Royalty Rewards® Coach, who can help you put all the steps in place to make everything work.
Remember you’re not alone. Between the calendar and my Coach, things are so much simpler and more profitable. When YOUR Calendar comes, get to it!! It will make you money and help you work less. By using it and putting an effective marketing plan in place, like me, you’ll be able to execute marketing tasks with ease, eliminate frustration, have a continuous flow of customers coming in and meet new goals. I know I did… now it’s your turn.
Your Cash Creator Calendar™ should have arrived by mail a few weeks ago. Call your Royalty Rewards® Coach at 1-888-353-5012 and get started building a successful and prosperous 2024 for you, your family, and your business.