Category: FC Archive

During this "season of giving," many people donate money (or a percentage of sales) to non-profit organizations that work towards benefiting our communities and environment.  Here are two amazing organizations that I support with my time throughout the year, and with year-end contributions:

Future Chefs
Future Chefs helps urban teens grow and develop through education and by connecting them to employment in the food service industry.  There is fantastic mentorship and support from chefs and other industry professionals across the city. This year Future Chefs was named one of the top five social innovators in Boston.    I am an advisory board member, and clearly an avid fan.

Funding comes to Future Chefs from some of the Boston's major philanthropic institutions as well as individuals interested in youth development. This need never ceases, and in 2012 Future Chefs is opening a teaching and kitchen space in the South End that will allow them to reach many more potential culinary stars out there. We will be celebrating this new space in the New Year with a variety of activities and would love to see you there.

No matter what the size, your contribution will help make this next step possible, and continue the success of this wonderful program. To donate, click here.

Slow Money
Slow Money is a non-profit dedicated to steering new sources of capital to local food systems, empowering individual investors to reconnect with their local economies and building an entirely new financial sector — the nurture capital industry.  It is based in the principal that we can enhance food security, food safety and food access; improve nutrition and health; promote cultural, ecological and economic diversity; by moving away from an economy based on extraction and consumption to an economy based on preservation and restoration.

Slow Money is creating opportunities to connect entrepreneurs and investors.  Guided by the principal that we must learn to invest as if food, farms and fertility mattered; and connect investors to the places where they live, creating vital relationships and new sources of capital for small food enterprises.

You don't have to think of yourself as an investor or be a revolutionary to support Slow Money. You just have to believe that millions of small financial acts-small donations, small investments, small acts of bringing money back down to earth-can add up to big change. Change in our local food systems. Change in our national food system. Change in our economy.

By joining us, you help support our work with local chapters emerging around the country (I am the head of the Boston chapter), our national gatherings and our ability to share Slow Money's vision of investing as if food, farms and fertility mattered.   Half of every dollar you pay in dues will be shared with the local Slow Money chapter of your choice. In Greater Boston, that money supports the events we organize, such as Fundraising 101 and The Entrepreneur Showcase.  In the future, we are helping members organize investment clubs and offering panel discussions about sustainable food systems. 

What non-profit and charities do you support?

At the Slow Money National Gathering last month, I gave a Fundraising 101 presentation that covered the basics of business planning and financial projections required when seeking investors or loans.  One of the first questions asked was, “How does Slow Money business planning differ from regular business planning?” The answer is, “Not much.”

The nature of the “Slow Money” enterprises may differ from other ventures in that they are focused on local, sustainable food systems.  However, the business planning process stays the same.  No matter the enterprise, you need to tell a compelling story:  

• Why the world/community needs your business, and what problem(s) are you solving.
• Why you are the person to lead this venture to success.
• Demonstrate that you will be good steward of the invsestors money.  And finally,
• Show that you will provide a return on the investment you receive. 

Where Slow Money investment differs is that the ROI does not have to be solely financial.   Slow Money Investors see the benefit of the “social” return – knowing that they are supporting the local community, preserving our land and our food systems. 

Slow Money ventures have an eye on social returns, but that does not mean their plans have no monetary benefit.  Here are examples of exciting new businesses that offer social and financial returns:

Stock Boxes
 
Across the U.S. a growing number of people live in food deserts, which means they don’t have access to healthy and affordable food within walking or biking distance of their home.  Stockbox Grocers responds to this need with a miniature grocery that’s tucked inside a reclaimed shipping container and placed into the parking lot of an existing business. We innovate on the espresso stand model to build stores throughout urban communities, and provide fresh produce and grocery staples to those who currently without access to good food, where they live. 

Stockbox Grocers is a convenient miniature market that is tucked inside a reclaimed shipping container and placed into the parking lot of an existing business or organization. 

Imagine dozens of these stores, located throughout urban food deserts and within walking distance of home, work, and school.   The stores are small and they are designed to offer the essential grocery items and fresh produce communities need to get through the week.

Stockbox Grocers are working to fix the grocery gap.

Bovinity Health

Of the 9 million conventional dairy cows in the United States, 90% are reflexively administered antibiotics by farmers into the udder when they are finished lactation. About 4 million of the total 18 million (22%) dairy cows, heifers and calves are treated with antibiotics for other infectious problems. 

Yet of 250,000 Certified Organic dairy cows (~ 3% of US herd), not one organic cow in production has been treated with antibiotics for the same problems, due to the prohibition of antibiotics.  Thus, infectious disease is being successfully treated without antibiotics!

Plasma Gold is derived only from certified organic cattle in a process identical to that which the Red Cross uses with people. This is a pharmaceutical, natural product with no further processing needed. 

Phyto-Mast® is a dual purpose product for both lactation and dry cow use. They have 3 clinical trials completed by university research teams in the US showing the safety and benefits of using Phyto-Mast®. 

Phyto-Biotic is a potent antibacterial plant tincture which can be administered orally or intravenously.

Farmland LP

Farmland LP acquires conventional farmland and converts it into certified organic, sustainable farmland. Our investors benefit from the security of owning farmland while participating in the growth and profitability of the organic market.

Farmland LP, a U.S. private equity fund, was created to deliver superior returns for its investors by acquiring conventional farmland and converting it to high-value organic farmland using sustainable agriculture best-practices.

Sales of organic goods in the U.S. have grown 20% per year since 1990, and now exceed $24 billion growing at nearly $5 billion per year. And although many organic foods receive a price premium of 50% to 200%, the limit to market growth is supply.

Only 0.5% of U.S. farmland is certified organic, increasing at 8.5% per year. Farmers face barriers of cost, knowledge, time, and effort in converting from conventional to organic, including the three-year organic transition and certification process. 

Farmland LP provides its investors with the security of owning low-risk farmland while benefiting from the value added by converting to organic farmland. Learn more or contact us for additional information.

Farmland LP acquires conventional farmland and convert it into certified organic farmland.   They enable the highest long-term land productivity by utilizing sustainability best-practice crop and animal rotations. They maximize cash returns by renting,risk sharing, or directly operating the land.

What types of return do you provide your investors? Need help answering that question? Please call or  email.

Anyone who works in the food industry knows the expression: "Garbage in, garbage out." For those that are unfamiliar, it means: The quality of your end product will only be as the ingredients you put in… if you use mediocre tomatoes then your tomato sauce will be mediocre. If you use high quality feed, you will raise high-quality tasting animals. The same is true with QuickBooks. If you don't enter in quality data in QuickBooks, you won't be able to extract useful information.

QuickBooks is the industry-standard software for small businesses such as farms, restaurants and markets. Many people use it as an electronic checkbook, which is too bad. QuickBooks can be powerful business tool that gives you the information you need to make important decisions. For example:

• If you have multiple revenue streams (such as a café and catering; or a farmers' market and CSA delivery) you can evaluate which is most profitable. And knowing that information can tell you where to focus your marketing dollars.
• If you know which months your business lulls and peaks, you can plan your cash flow for your slow periods.

QuickBooks can give you this information and more.

Here are 7 quick tips to make the most out of your QuickBooks:
 
1.    Separate your revenue into major categories.

• For a restaurant, this may mean: food, beverage, beer, wine, alcohol and catering.
• For a farm, this may mean Farm Stand, farmers' markets, CSA and wholesale.

2. Similarly, separate your cost of goods sold into the same categories as your revenues.

3. If you have other expenses that are directly related to one revenue stream, separate those.

• For example, if you hire labor to work at the farmers' market, create a separate expense account for that labor category.
• If you have regular clients, use classes so that you can track revenue and expenses by client.

4. If you receive bills from your vendors, use the "Enter Bills" function and then the "Pay Bills" Function.

5.  If customers do not pay when they receive your goods and services, create invoices for them, and then "receive payment."

6.  If you have regular payments, such as for a bank loan or rent, "memorize" the transaction so that QuickBooks automatically enters it.

For more personalized assistance, please email for an initial consultation.

Last month, I guest-cheffed at EVOO Restaurant in Cambridge to promote my new cookbook.  From a simple financial perspective, this may have seemed foolish. EVOO didn't pay me, and though I earned royalties from that evening's book sales, it amounted to about $3/hour.EVOO had to hire extra staff for the evening, and they probably ran a higher than normal food cost, too.

But we both benefitted from the special evening:

• All my clients and friends learned about EVOO, with my endorsement of their quality. 
• Of the 130 covers of the evening, at least 40% came were first-time diners, coming in explicitly for the guest-chef appearance.  These guests had a chance to sample EVOO's fine service and cuisine, and are more likely to become repeat customers in the future.
• Likewise, EVOO's entire client base (both from the mailing list and from dining in the restaurant) learned about my new cookbook.
• And the customers who came into EVOO unaware of the special event were able to sample dishes from the cookbook.
• Finally, we had an opportunity to send a press release, and the event was mentioned in both the Boston Globe and Stuff Magazine.  This exposure benefitted both of us in building awareness of our respective brands.

Building partnerships with similar, but non-competing businesses can be a great way to promote your business to an expanded client-base.  Viewed as a marketing effort instead of a revenue stream, these promotions make business and financial sense.

 

Here are some examples:

 

Farmers

• Not all farmers can grow the diversity of crops for their region.  Partner with a farmer to sell their complimentary products at your farm-stand and vice versa.  Be sure that your customers know you support each other.

Cafes/Restaurants

• Hang artwork of local artists on your wall.  This can be an economical way to decorate your space while creating new opportunities to promote your restaurant.  Additionally, opening parties that showcase the artist's work will bring in new customers.
• Host special events with local organizations.  This could be a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs, or a book-signing for an author. Darryl's Corner Bar + Kitchen closes the regular dining room every Monday for these types of events.

Food Producers 

• Showcase the source of your ingredients on the label. If, for example, you make your famous Bolognese sauce with meat from Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds, mark that on your label.  Pete and Jen may consider giving you a discount for the promotion. And if not, they may be willing to promote your product on their website.

 Cross-promotion can be a low-cost, win-win marketing tool.  For assistance in creating these promotions, call or email.

Aside from word of mouth, a restaurant's menu is perhaps their best marketing tool.  When diners consider where to eat on any given night, they might peruse menus on the web, or in your window.   It should be easy to read (both graphically and linguistically) and convey your style and personality. 

Know your type.

Typography is the visual expression of you, your food, your voice, the type of food you serve, and even how you serve it. If you can't afford a graphic designer to lay out your menus, familiarize yourself with these important do's and don'ts:

DO use simple fonts. Helvitica Thin and Garamond are elegant and easy to read.   Overly used and decorative typefaces such as  Freestyle Script are harder to read and less original.

DON'T use Multiple Typefaces: It's okay to use 2 different fonts maximum.

DO use a hierarchy.  The dish name should be larger or bolder than descriptor, and additions should be the smallest. 

DON'T USE ALL CAPS.  It reads like you're yelling.  And no one likes to be yelled at.

DON'T Underline. 

DON'T use Teeny-weeny type sizes.   If you have a candle-lit ambiance, increase the point size just a bit for easier reading. If you see a customer pick up the candle to read the menu, it's time for a reprint.

DO keep the lines short.  And do not justify the text.  A ragged right edge helps with readability and word-spacing issues.

DON'T use photos of food.

Lastly,

DO spell check! Most diners will catch the spelling mistakes that you have overlooked. These small gaffes reflect poorly on your attention to detail.

Choose your words carefully.

• Highlight the key ingredients in the first line and save the more lengthy descriptions for a second (and third) line.  
•  Avoid trite descriptions. For example, "Fried to Perfection" or "Grilled to Perfection" is overused.  Every restaurant has the goal of cooking foods to perfection.  And if you need to let your diners know you're doing this, chances are you are not.
• Highlight your strengths: is it seasonal only? Is it an original recipe? Your mom's? 
• While naming farmers and sources of ingredients is trendy right now, be careful as to not overdo it on your menu.  If every item has its source listed, diners will struggle to know what's in a dish.  Instead, consider listing farmers and sources at the bottom of the menu.
• Make sure you have diversity of ingredients and preparations – at least one vegetarian item, a balance of meat and fish, and a balance of fried, grilled, raw and sautéed dishes (unless, of course, your specialty is in one of these areas).
• Keep it simple. This is your résumé. It should not overwhelm. You should have a core group of items that your kitchen does well. If it becomes a laundry list of everything you think you should cook to get customers, this will actually turn customers off. 
• Keep offerings relevant. Ditch the mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, grande nachos and chicken fingers. UNLESS you have an ironic take on has-been food, retire it for something a little original that reflects you!

 For help refreshing your menu's content and increasing customer satisfaction, please contact me.

This article was co-written with Dan Banks, owner of Project Design Company. For help refreshing your menu's context, email Dan.  You can also  follow his tweets at @pdctweet.

Business owners need to know a few basic terms for evaluating the health of their business: Revenue (how much money you earn), Cost of Sales (cost of the product you are selling) and Net Income (what's left after you pay all your other operating expenses such as labor, occupancy and marketing).

Being shy of numbers is no excuse when you're talking about the success of your business. Simply put, when your Net Income is positive, that means you're doing okay but, in reality, it is much more complicated to extract useful information because there are often many revenue streams to consider.

Does your catering business add to your bottom line?  Is attending a weekly farmers' market worth the added labor?  Does it make sense to open your restaurant for lunch?  All of these activities add to your (top-line) revenue, but do they increase the dollars left at the end of the day (bottom line)?

To answer these questions, you must evaluate all the expenses involved in each revenue stream.

Catering

For a restaurant that wants to add off-premise catering to its customer offerings, there are more expenses beyond the actual food and labor of executing the event.  These incremental expenses decrease profits.

• Corporate expenses – If your managers spend hours marketing and planning for catering events then they are not working on running your restaurant.  Do you need to hire more workers for the restaurant because your managers are otherwise occupied?
• Sales materials – Do you print menus and/or brochures? Who designs these materials?
• Advertising – If part of your advertising budget is used to promote your catering business then this needs to be accounted for.
• Have you purchased special equipment or supplies to support the catered events?

 

Attending a Farmers' Market

Farmers choose between many different options to sell their produce – wholesale to restaurants or retail to customers at a farm-stand, farmers' market and/or through CSA programs.  Each sales channel has its own associated costs, and perhaps different revenue as well (most restaurants get discounts based on retail prices).

• How much time do you spend selling your products through each sales channel? Remember that making phone calls, sending emails or directly interacting with customers at the market all need to be considered.
• How much fuel to you use to drive to each of the different markets?
• Do you need to purchase tables, tents and signage for the market?
• Selling to different markets also requires different packaging – wholesale cases versus retail boxes.

 

Opening for Lunch

Many restaurateurs justify opening for lunch because they already have to turn on the gas for the evening prep crew.  Beyond paying for food, kitchen and front-of-the house expenses, opening for lunch means an increase in other operating expenses:

• Do you need more uniforms and linens for the additional lunch staff?
• If you increase your staff, then the administrative time spent on payroll, recruiting and hiring is also increased.
• Yes, the lights are on for the prep staff, but additional utilities are used to fully open a restaurant.

This is not to say that these revenue streams do not add to overall profit of the business. But understanding how profitable they are can affect decisions to invest more or less energy into each line of business.

 

Do you know how profitable each business line is? For help answering these questions, please contact me. I can help you streamline your operations and increase your Net Income.

Bringing in appropriate design consultation early in the planning process of a new restaurant is an important step that will save you time and money. 

Here are five things to consider when planning/designing your space that are too often overlooked. 

 1.     Before Signing a Lease, evaluate Existing Building Conditions: When you are looking at potential spaces, have an experienced architect/designer look at it with you. You will get invaluable insight on how the future space can be used and how much work will be involved in getting it up and running. Many times things have been "grandfathered in" for previous owners but will need to be upgrade to meet the current building code.

 

2.     How Much Space Do You Need? Programming/Schematic Design: Early in the design process it is critical to determine everything you will need and how much sq. footage will be required for each item. We've all witnessed a chef's office space being allocated to a closet because it was not properly planned for.  A large open space is very deceiving but your architect/designer will be able to show you multiple layout options to make sure it all fits prior to signing a lease. In addition to 2D drawings, designers now have the capability to show you 3D views and even video walkthroughs making it very easy to understand a whole space. There are many code restrictions to be aware of that your designer will bring to your attention which could greatly affect the layout of your space such as the size and number of bathrooms needed per your occupancy, the distance between tables for ADA clearances, required corridor widths and the placement of egress doors etc…   

 

3.     Use Specialists:  Usually it is necessary to bring in outside consultants for the best project results.  Consultants across the industry have experience that can save you time and money later.  They can help you avoid purchasing tables, for example, that don't meet ADA standards.  They can also get wholesale discounts and rebates.  To ensure for the most successful outcome you want an architect/designer who will use their strong network of contacts in the industry to bring together the right team of financial planners, food service consultants, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers, lighting consultants, kitchen equipment vendors, graphic/signage/menu designers, AV/music providers and PR/marketing executives, Green (LEED) specialist, etc…

 

4.     Understand the Regulatory Boards and Permits: Opening a restaurant is no easy task especially when there are so many different regulatory boards to deal with including the building department, health inspector, fire inspector, liquor license board, historical society, neighborhood boards, signage permits, ADA etc… Finding a designer who already has relationships with the powers that be and the process of dealing with them will save you endless time and aggravation.  

 

5.     Budgeting/Purchasing: Your design team will create a Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment Budget commonly referred to as (FF&E). This is often a cost many restaurant owners greatly underestimate which usually gets them into trouble or without a budget for appropriate artwork at the end of the project.  Bringing in a designer early in the process will ensure that you have properly allocated funds for these items.

 Are you planning a new restaurant?  Feel free to call (857.205.3177) for an initial consultation. 

 This article was written by Nichole Carroll, President of Carroll Design, an interior design firm that specializes in restaurants and interior design.

Last month, we offered an overview of marketing plans and their value in increasing sales. This month, we offer tips to get you started.

The key to writing a great marketing plan is asking the right questions. The discovery process will help you reveal:

• Important market trends
• What your competition is doing
• Where you fill a gap in the marketplace
• Who your most profitable customers are

Here are 12 questions to ask yourself as your plan your marketing strategy:

1.  What are my marketing goals? Are they Clear, Quantified, Achievable, Realistic, Timely, and Measurable goals?

Examples may be to increase weeknight sales, or drive more traffic to your farm-stand.

2.  Did I reach last year's marketing goals? If not, do I know why?

3.  Am I investing in marketing/advertising activities that can be measured in terms of performance?

• If you send out a newsletter to your customers, can you track how many read it?
• When you make special offers or discounts, do you ensure there is a way to track responses?

Examples could be numbered distribution flyers or specific coupon codes used at checkout for delivery services. If you participated in Groupon, did you notice an uptick in sales after the initial surge of business

4. What industry and consumer trends might shape my plan?

• An interesting article about specific consumer trends is here.
• The Griffin Report shares interesting trends specific to the food industry 2011 Consumer Marketing Trends, such as using iPads instead of 'Specials Boards'.

5.  What is my budget for marketing in 2011?

• In general, restaurants should allocate 3% – 5% of sales.

I recently reviewed a marketing plan for a customer, and she listed dozens of great ideas.  But with limited time and budget, she did not have the resources to execute all of them. If you're not sure where to focus, put resources toward marketing to the 20% of your customer base/target audience that will generate 80% of your revenue.
 
6. Who are my competitors? What are their weaknesses? Who has entered the market in the last year? Who has left?

• As a restaurant, your competitors can be restaurants with similar cuisine, other restaurants in the same neighborhood, and even with customers cooking at home.

7. What is special about my restaurant or farm?  Do my customers know about my unique qualities? Why should a customer visit my farm or restaurant instead of the other options?

Example: A farm I'm working with offers "pick-your-own" sunflowers in August.  While many farms offer PYO, none offers this flower specialty. 

8. Can I accurately describe each of my customer segments? Who is my most profitable customer segment?

• Your customers can be the lunch/work crowd or the stay-at-home moms who need a healthy alternative to home meals.  These customers should be directly targeted with offerings specific to their interests.   
• If your customers work in a different location than your farm or restaurant, then you will need to figure out to reach them creatively.

(Still need help defining your customer base? See the Calendar of Events for information on a business demographics workshop!)

9.  What am I doing to maintain and deepen relationships with my existing customers?  What am I going to do to "wow" customers to stay memorable? What are some low-cost, high-impact strategies I can use?

•  Remember, it is cheaper to maintain existing customers than to attract new ones.

This could be as simple as offering a small amuse-bouche when diners sit down or remembering your customers' favorite wines.

10.  What feedback do I have from customers that can shape my marketing plan? 

• Customers are usually happy to tell you what they want… you need to be conscientious to ask and listen.

11.  How have behaviors of my target audience changed? Am I using the right media to communicate to my audience?

• If your customer base is young then the more social media tools the better.
• If you are targeting an older base, then more traditional print media may be better.

Remember, it is cheaper to maintain existing customers than to attract new ones.

12.  Have I taken advantage of the many "free" marketing tools available online to build my marketing program?

• Click here for tips on using social media.

After you have spent time pondering these questions and answers, organize your thoughts into a cohesive plan.

Spending the time now to plan and make strategic decisions can save you a lot of money and missed opportunities this year as well improve your results significantly.

If you struggle with these questions it would make sense to talk with a marketing consultant to help you, rather than put to the side and think that, 'my marketing will just fall into place later' because it won't.

Best of luck marketing! Feel free to email comments here or to our marketing consultants.

This article was co-authored by Doug Betensky, President of Upside Business Consultants, a marketing consulting and internet marketing firm that helps companies grow.

Every month chefs hunker down in the walk-in refrigerator and dry-storage room to count what's on hand.  It's not a particularly pleasant task and, unfortunately, is often put off until the end of a long Saturday night when the all they can think about is a cold beer and collapsing in bed.

Regardless of how daunting it may be, creating effective inventory management procedures (and sticking to them!) is essential to running a profitable business. Careful food inventory tracking can help you track: 

• Food Costs
• Waste and Potential Theft 
• Turnover 

Food Cost

If you are like most chefs and farmers, managing your accounting software, like QuickBooks, is right up there with taking inventory as your least favorite task in the business.  You want to enter in your receipts and sales data and be done with it.

If you're entering invoices as food or beverage costs, then kudos to you. You're on the right track.  But there's more to do. For example, as I was reviewing a client's books a few weeks ago, I noticed that his food cost was higher than his sales.  No, his business was not going down the tubes; he just had not taken inventory.  He recorded all the purchases, but did not back out what he had yet to sell. His food cost looked uncharacteristically high.  Though he knew the cause, he had no way of knowing if the true number was in-line or not.

 When calculating your food cost, use this simple formula:

(Beginning Inventory + Purchases – Ending Inventory) / Sales

 

Waste and Theft

After a few months, you may notice that your inventory is pretty constant.  When I worked at Sebastians, I consistently had $1,000 worth of inventory.  I could easily save myself a step with the above formula, since I knew that Beginning Inventory – Ending Inventory would equal zero.

 

But it was important that I still took inventory every month. If there was a drastic (and unexpected) change, then I knew I had an issue.  Either someone was stealing, or I was mismanaging my inventory by over-ordering.

Turnover

From a more practical standpoint, taking inventory can remind you what you have on hand.  It can remind you that, "oh yeah, I bought that case of bee pollen…. I better use that up" or, "oops, I'm about to run out of flour."  With this simple tool, you can easily avoid those last-minute-runs-to-supermarket-during-a-Friday-night-rush panics that we've all experienced and are usually a clear sign of poor planning.

 

What are you inventory practices?

 

A few times a month, I will post articles from my monthly "Food Consulting" Newsletter Click here to receive the newsletter by email.

"You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." – Yogi Berra

You've got to know where you're going if you are going to get there. Streamlined operations and solid financials will only benefit you if you have customers coming in your door. Committing to a strategically developed marketing plan will help you to grow your customer base and improve your business. Creating such plans ensures you are allocating marketing dollars to the most productive marketing strategies.

This essential piece of development need not be a daunting task. The most effective marketing plans are those that are well thought out and documented in a simple, concise format.

A streamlined marketing plan should outline the following:

A summary of industry /market trends– they directly impact how you want to market your business. Some key trends right now are group buying (like Groupon) and planned spontaneity (such as Flash-mobs). You can capitalize on these trends in your marketing plan. It is important to note that the traditional advertising vehicles used in the past are much less influential to today's consumers. Where and how you communicate with customers may need to be reevaluated.   

Customer profiles and key messages– identify your target customer bases and their values and then decide what messaging is most important to communicate to each of them.  For example, I'm currently working with a farm in Newbury who identified that some of their customers are employees of a near-by industrial park so they want to focus how to better connect with that industrial community to bring even more people in.

Clear goals– these help identify what opportunities and actions are most important to pursue. Do you want to differentiate your products from the competition or expand into a new customer base, or promote new offerings? For my client, they want to differentiate themselves from the competition and to focus on how to promote new product offerings.   

Marketing strategies and marketing tactics- describe what actions are needed to achieve previously determined goals. With each tactic that you decide to pursue, be sure to outline:

• The rationale for pursuing that marketing tactic. For example, if you chose to advertise in The Improper Bostonian, you should be able to link their readership with your target customer.
• An allocated budget. When considering your budget, be sure to evaluate the potential return on your investment. For example, if you consider participating in Restaurant Week, you will want to calculate how many additional customers you need to cover the cost of promoting and participating.
•  A timeline. When do you plan to execute each item and when will you be able to evaluate the success of the tactic.

Performance Measurement Methods– how you will evaluate and measure results. For example, if you sent out a marketing mailing on February 28th for a St. Patrick's Day event, how will you know the piece was successful? Did sales increase from the previous year? Did you get the press covered you desired?

Now, get planning! Next month, I will share tips on how to implement your strategic marketing plan. As always, please feel free to email me with any comments or questions on how to create your own marketing plan.

This article was co-authored by Doug Betensky, President of Upside Business Consultants, a marketing consulting and internet marketing firm that helps companies grow.