"How Can I Get Customers to My Restaurant?"

For a new restaurant, offline marketing is the way to get started. That is not to say that you should ignore the internet. However, I think many eaters look for a restaurant online only after they know it exists. An online presence is good for displaying things like menu items, ingredients, location, hours, prices, events, etc..

Getting Started with Offline Marketing

I think reaching out to your target market as a group will get you the best results for the least amount of advertising dollars. Contacting only the people who will appreciate what you have to offer (instead of advertising to everyone) will save you money, and getting in front of a larger group at once will deliver more bang for your buck.

For example, if your restaurant is a great place for business people to meet with clients, contact local businesses and offer to deliver some sample lunches to their office for free (along with a stack of coupons that say why your location is a great place to conduct business).

Another example is a restaurant that serves quick healthy meals may be a great candidate to advertise to triathlon race competitors. You can pay to include coupons in race goodie bags, and this can be an easy way to introduce your restaurant and menu to local health fanatics.

A cheap way to make your own professional-looking coupons is to use an online print service like VistaPrint.com or Simpleprint.com to and design your coupon on a smaller business card or postcard.

Once you've started establishing your restaurant's offline presence, it's time to get the ball rolling with local search marketing online.

4 Ways to Make and Sell Your own Gift Cards Online

We can all agree that gift cards sell. Plus, without having to create an entirely new product or service, a business owner can quickly add more income to his or her bottom line. Almost any type of business can benefit from selling its own gift certificates, and with very little investment or risk, this marketing tool is a no-brainer.

Keep in mind that you are not only making your business more money, you are doing your customers a favor. How many times have you found yourself in a bind needing to get a last minute gift? Gift cards are a perfect solution. It's also a painless way to increase customer referrals without having to ask for them ("What's that?... Free advertising?").

You may look at a gift card or gift certificate from a local business and think, "How can I do that? I don't need more work!" But what most people don't know is that these little income generators are really simple to make and sell...

See the 4 ways you can cheaply create and sell your gift certificates online using gift card software and templates.

Naming Your Business... the Opposite?

Trying to come up with a creative name for your business?


Instead of the standard "Jack's Shoes" or "Salon 123", why not name your business after what it is NOT. That's what snowboard company Never Summer did.

Although this tactic may not work for every business, it can be a good way to come up with creative business names that you may never have thought of. And a unique company name says a lot about a company - and inspires curiosity.

Won't it be confusing if your business name doesn't describe your product or service? Not if you include an image in your logo that shows what you sell. And if you are still concerned, you can include a descriptive keyword in the name (i.e. Never Summer Snowboards).