Inside Radio recently ran a headline that read “Restaurants May Be Tougher Sell for Radio“. Sports bars, steakhouses, and fast food are the “bread and butter” of the sports radio format, so this got my attention.
Some of my best radio clients have been local independent restaurants. They are fun to work with, I usually enjoyed going there, and they listened to the station.
The National Restaurant Association surveyed three thousand operators last November and got a mixed bag back. Half of the restauranteurs said they expect profits to be down in 2023, and sixty-three percent said they don’t have enough employees to meet customer demand. And then there is the fact that their food and labor costs are increasing, and their menu prices will reflect that. Maybe we should focus on the 50 percent of restaurants that expect to make more profit in 2023 and are aggressively hiring to do it. And let us revisit one of our best value propositions for any restaurant: our on-air talent, the local “influencer.”
Now is a great time to ensure every on-air person has an endorsement for a restaurant. Your talent is just like anybody else. They like to try new places and have their favorites. Have a conversation with all of them to identify any opportunities. Stay on top of renewals, and for the talent who has an ongoing campaign, inform them of the market conditions and set a meeting with the restaurant to discuss how they will or will not change in 2023.
If your client is going to raise prices, hire new staff, and wants to make more money, you need to be in the middle of that! If they are worried about a profit decline, they are losing labor help and raising prices. You need to know that even more! Watch the collection reports monitoring how the cash flow is doing. Proactively refresh the copy and help your talent avoid price and item commercials. An occasional price special is excellent if the value is high.
Teach the talent focus on how they FEEL going to the restaurant, what they look forward to tasting and who they will have to join them. Have them paint a picture of the entire value that the restaurant brings to the table. How easy the app is to order ahead, the perfect to-go packaging, the local feel the place maintains, the portion sizes, always having the right game on, and so on. Work it!
Help on-air talent understand that nobody has a special night at a steak house because they are hungry. They do it to create a memory and share that experience with someone else! Sell holes, not drills!
Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio and digital sales for Cumulus Media in Dallas, Texas and Boise, Idaho. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop Sports Radio The Ticket in Boise, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at jeffcaves54@gmail.com or find him on LinkedIn.
