How To Make A Killing In Your Barbecue Business!

Today I’d like to change things up a bit and talk to you about marketing your barbecue business.

Now is it me, or does it seem like more and more barbecue restaurants and catering companies are going out of business while the popularity of barbecue is sky-rocking?

It doesn’t make sense, does it?

I mean it’s here today– gone tomorrow for most BBQ joints.

But here’s the problem, most barbecue business are dying of self inflected wounds.

Here, let me explain….

My girlfriend and I drove from Philly to Indianapolis over the Memorial Day weekend to catch the Indy 500.

By the way, if you missed it you’ll want to read about it here…www.bbqfreaks.com/blog/2008/05/27/my-first-trip-to-indy/)

So anyway, as luck would have it we found a barbecue restaurant along the way in Springfield, Ohio. It was perfect timing because we had been driving for a long while and it was just about dinner time.

And being the barbecue connoisseur I am– we decided to stop in.

Now I won’t mention the name of this restaurant because I’m not looking to embarrass anyone but I do think it’s something you’ll want to pay close attention to if you’re a business owner or thinking about starting your own business.

So if while reading this you’re thinking to yourself, “But my business is different” you’ve already missed the point Bubba!

After all, its not the bus you see coming you’ll have to worry about– its the one you don’t see that does the damage!

Here’s The BBQFreak in front of BBQ Joint I stopped in on my way to the INDY 500

Now let me first say the staff was very friendly and very helpful– but I’m sad to say that the food was not good.

I ordered the barbecue platter which consisted of pulled chicken, pulled pork and brisket. This platter came with my choice of sides which I ordered the corn bread and the hush puppies.

Here’s my barbecue platter

The pulled pork and chicken was extremely dry, both buns were stale and the brisket was cut very thick and it was fatty.

Oh yeah, and did I mention there was virtually no smoke flavor at all?

Now in all fairness this could have been a one time deal. Maybe their food is extremely good the other 364 days of the year but not on this day.

Here’s another shot of the Pulled Chicken, Pulled Pork and Brisket Platter

I should also mention to they only had one bathroom available because the womans room was out of service.

Now I understand things happen–but the usable restroom was filthy.

So here’s the thing, this was my first and last visit to this restaurant because…

First impressions count for everything!

You only have one shot to impress and unfortunately this place did not.

In business you need to be on top of your game constantly.

You cant let your guard down for one moment or another business is going to do it better and steal your customers.

But even in all of this, there was still a way they could have gotten me back… but as too often is the case, they missed the mark on this one as well.

So here’s a free little tip you can start using today in your business if you’re smart…

They didn’t get any of my information such as name, address, phone number or even my email address.

See had they done this, and had they been smart enough to actually use it, they could have kept in touch with me and asked about my experience at their restaurant.

Once they discovered I was disappointed with my meal they could have easily attempted fix the problem by offering me some sort of coupon or offer either for a future free dinner or a percentage off of my next visit.

Now if they were really smart, and suppose I didn’t have a bad experience, they could still send me coupons for meals…because happy customers are good customers.

Now in all fairness I was just traveling through and the only time I would ever consider going back would be on my next trip from Philly to the Indy 500 but you can bet your bottom dollar buckaroo–I’ll never recommend this restaurant to anyone.

So you’ll want to ask yourself, what first impressions are you giving your customers?

Do you have a system in place for collecting you’re customers information so you can stay in constant contact with them?

If you don’t– you better hop to it or someone else will…

Now Go Smoke Something, Bill Parlaman

P.S. These two tips literally cost next to nothing to implement but will generate a ton of cash for your business. Now get moving!

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