Does your menu have enough information? Your menu should not be a barrier You must have noticed that some retail businesses keep their door open wide even in winter. I always feel sorry for the poor assistants, freezing to death because some guru somewhere discovered long ago that keeping the door open is good for business. A door is a barrier, and we don’t want barriers. A menu should explain exactly what a customer will receive It should not be a barrier. As customers, we want to know exactly what we are ordering. So, when your food arrives, you are not disappointed. Your menu is one of the ..read more

What’s difficult about designing a menu? Casual observers may think that a menu consists of all the items a chef is really good at making. As with most things, you have to think of your audience first, in this case, customers. Because someone can make something wonderfully, it doesn’t mean the customers will enjoy it. I came across a chef who made a crème caramel with beef dripping. He thought it was delicious, but his fellow chefs were less keen. And the other thing, maybe the most important thing – is the profit margin. No one wants a dish on the menu that doesn’t make a decent profit, no ma ..read more

Do you have boundaries? I do. But it’s taken me years to have the courage to Say “No.” Say “I won’t do that.” Say “You need to pay me if I do that.” Three recent examples of each: Say No I had this phone call exchange recently   Natasha: Hi, Olivia, I got your name off ProCopywriters. I’d like you to write my son’s A level essays.   Me: You’d like me to help your son to write his essays…you know, improve his grammar and spelling etc?   Natasha: No, I’d like you to write his essays for him. Small pause. Is that a no?   Me: Yes, I guess it is.   Natasha: Well, thanks O ..read more

What is restaurant menu engineering?   It’s getting the best out of your menu. I write more about it here  For this to happen, you can’t just send me off to rewrite your menu. For the exercise to work I will need:   A list of your best sellers with high profit A list of your popular items with low profit A list of high-profit items that aren’t popular To talk with the servers – or be able to ask them questions To talk with the kitchen staff – or be able to ask questions   I use proven research information on human psychology surrounding choice and a bit of common sense. &nb ..read more

Restaurant menu engineering This means rewriting your menu so customers choose the more profitable items. Well, if it sounds a bit contrived, it’s because it is. I can rewrite your menu (assuming it hasn’t been optimised already) so that your guests will be persuaded to order what you hope they will order (the more profitable things). “No, that’s just dishonest,” said a friend. I don’t think it is at all. Everyone wants their product to be seen in its best light. You see theatre billboards with “Amazing!” Daily Mail “Not to be missed!” Daily Telegraph. “A right corker!” Daily Mirror. These are ..read more

  My website is all about me, right? That’s why it’s my website.  Wrong. Define your USPs for your website: What makes you so special that people will bother to even give you a second glance? Web visitors are not polite; they are brutal. This is what some of my clients have told me when I’ve asked them what is unique about them. We’ve been trading for ten years I’ve been in the business for over 30 years We’ve been established since 1995 Why do they say this? I think I know. Back in the day, when all business was bricks and mortar if you had a shop or office in a posh part of town ..read more

Copywriting on tap? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could guarantee the services of a copywriter for a set number of days per month? Like a tap, turning it off and on at will?   Well, guess what, you can.   Although in the business, we call you ‘anchor’ clients or ‘retainer’ clients.   It’s frustrating when your usual copywriter is too busy to do your piece of work and you have to brief someone else.   This system guarantees you have cover and the benefit to both of us is I get to know your business and don’t have to reinvent the wheel.   How it works is you decide on a set ..read more

As Easy as Pie TV Advert Are you old enough to remember that TV advert when flat-pack furniture became all the rage? It involved a young child building something very quickly on his own. The strapline was something like ‘so easy, a child can build it’ triggering a decade of grown adults made to feel useless and inadequate. It’s Easy Only last month, a client was asked to participate in a social media advert campaign. “It’s easy to set up” the marketing woman trilled. I’ll send you the instructions.” Of course, it wasn’t easy, and my client turned to me, upset and distressed. I printed off the ..read more

Money is necessary, natch We need money to survive – I get that. It’s a ‘necessary evil’ to enable us to do the things we really want to do. Like pay the mortgage and get the credit card people off our back. But should it be a god? Once you have ‘enough’ – whatever that is – why do some of us crave so much more? Get rich schemes There are plenty of people on LinkedIn and Facebook suggesting you can have a six- or seven-figure turnover business if you just do their course/join their group/or jump through their hoops. I’m sure some of them must be worthwhile but I’m always a bit sceptical of peo ..read more

I really feel for my small business clients. I used to run a coffee shop with my sister and before that I set up and ran a delicatessen. Many businesses rely on Christmas trade. In the final week leading up to Christmas, I used to take my normal weekly takings, every day: so, a normal five weeks’ turnover in five days. One client had just received all her Christmas stock and was happily unpacking it. The very next day, she had to close. Another client, who relies on online business has found his whole stock delayed by customs: this is the first time this has happened in 15 years. So, what do y ..read more