When was the last time you reviewed your merchant agreements with your credit card processors? We liked this quick factheet from the National Restaurant Association.
Steve Rockwell on Why Private Equity Loves Restaurants
April 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Though sales at many restaurant chains were disappointing in last year’s fourth quarter and earlier this year, consultant Steve Rockwell dishes for NRN on why private equity finds food operations so attractive.
Blue Bottle’s James Freeman on his Quest for the Perfect Cup
April 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Blue Bottle’s James Freeman is profiled in WSJ.
James Freeman‘s first memory of coffee comes from when he was 4 or 5, growing up in rural Humboldt County, Calif. His parents let him open a container of MJB Coffee. He remembers the whoosh as the air rushed from the vacuum-sealed can and the rich fragrance of the preground beans.
Four decades later, Mr. Freeman, 46, is founder and roaster in chief of Blue Bottle Coffee. Headquartered in Oakland, Calif., Blue Bottle has cafes in San Francisco’s Ferry Building, New York’s Rockefeller Center and, soon, on the High Line in New York, as well as seven other locations. It may be best known for the long lines of customers who wait for its individually brewed cups of coffee.
Waiting is part of the Blue Bottle experience: Mr. Freeman believes coffee gets stale within minutes of brewing, so every cup that Blue Bottle serves is individually brewed. His cafes and kiosks offer no sizes and no special flavors: they generally use beans roasted no more than 10 days earlier. Well-known chefs such as Gramercy Tavern’s Michael Anthony and Coi’s Daniel Patterson serve Blue Bottle at their restaurants. Overall, the company expects sales of about $20 million this year.
Read the full story here.
Micros Announces a New Mobile Platform to Accompany Mymicros.net
April 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Micros, the provider of information technology solutions for hospitality and retail industries, is looking to redefine how restaurant operations data is delivered to mobile devices with its release of inMotion. MICROS inMotion is a full-featured free app initially available through iTunes, as a mobile companion for users of mymicros.net.
With MICROS inMotion, mymicros.net customers have real-time, mobile access to performance statistics, critical labor details, and customer service tools, all supported by an intuitive user design and key operations’ alerting mechanism. Designed specifically for restaurant management, MICROS inMotion allows restaurant operators and management to understand both high-level trends and front-line operations using their smartphone.
Read the full story here.
Pok Pok’s Andy Richter on a Year in New York
March 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Andy Richter sits down with Eater and reflects on his first year as a New York Restaurateur. His chief surprise? Staffing.
Empathica and Your Enterprise: Connecting with Customers
March 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Integrating and deciphering your Social Media outreach is no quick feat, but Empathica is working to change that, fast.
Empathica, a global provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions to multi-unit enterprises, announced it has extended its market leading CEM solutions to include 3rd Party Feedback and enhanced Text Analytics capabilities. The new universal feedback API allows businesses to import any unstructured text feedback – such as online reviews, social network comments, call center transcriptions, direct feedback, email and open-ended survey comments – and view it alongside structured survey feedback.
“Businesses are tasked with making sense of an intimidating amount of feedback from customers,” said Simon Palmer, chief technology officer, Empathica. “The challenge brands face in filtering inbound data from surveys, email feedback and social media is how to turn it into manageable actions for the company. These new capabilities allow brands to understand how they are executing through structured survey feedback, as well as tap into trends in what customers are saying about them through unstructured outlets, such as social media.”
The ability to analyze both structured and unstructured feedback through one platform gives brand and location managers access to a previously untapped source of actionable insights that can be used to deliver better customer experiences. Brand managers can use this aggregated view to surface strategic insights and identify trends, while location managers can use a focused localized view to train their staff to meet the needs of local clientele.
In addition to the feedback API, Empathica has extended its capabilities in Text Analytics technology with integration into its Empathica Local software program. Features include:
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities allow businesses to analyze both sentiment and frequency of unstructured text feedback.
- Real-time analysis of comments at all levels of an enterprise, from local unit managers to area coaches and upwards to corporate brand champions, allows businesses to understand the context of comments and issues as they occur.
- A comments tab that serves a central viewing point for customer feedback.
- An updated, easy to understand and navigate view that adds to an exceptional client user experience.
Using the Text Analytics tool, businesses can also gather valuable information that they can apply to future marketing and customer engagement efforts. Empathica is able to provide brand managers with the information needed to focus on topics surrounding their brand and which of those topics are discussed most often. The tools also provide sentiment analyses, enabling managers to see what topics are being mentioned in a positive or negative context, including support for multiple languages. Along with topic correlation and a deep linkage of the content back to the operational hierarchy, Empathica provides a complete view of online feedback for multi-unit brands.
For more information about Empathica’s CEM solution and its new features, visit http://www.empathica.com/products-services/.
Free Webinar: Mobile Payment Trends and Network Security: April 2nd at 2pm
March 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Fast Casual is hosting a free webinar focusing on mobile payment security.
Business owners are capitalizing on wireless technology to provide their customers with new customer loyalty and couponing programs. However, creating a mobile interface for your customers to interact with can create vulnerabilities in your system.
During “So you think you’re ready for mobility? Mobility Payment Trends and Network Security,” Brad Cyprus, chief of security and compliance at Vendor Safe Technologies, will discuss the security and PCI implications associated with mobile customer loyalty programs and how to adequately prepare your network. Also, discover how a variety of leading operators have teamed up with manufacturers to take advantage of mobile capabilities to benefit their brand.
Sign up for the webinar here.
Starbucks’ Names Sharon Rothstein As Global CMO
March 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
NRN reports this morning that Starbucks has hired Sharon Rothstein as its next global chief marketing officer.
Rothstein, who was previously senior vice president of marketing at Sephora, will step into her new role at Starbucks on April 15. She will report to Starbucks chair, president and chief executive Howard Schultz.
Read the full article here.
Turning Card Punches and Loyalty Into Regular Customers
March 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A recent Technomic study indicates loyalty programs are frequently an unused resource for businesses looking to turn customers into regulars.
58 percent of loyalty-club members say they base their dining decisions on where they have a membership and 96 percent say they’ve dined at a restaurant where they have a membership in the past six months, according to Technomic’s survey.
“We’ve come a long way since the 10th-meal-is-free punch cards,” says Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic. “Consumers are now receiving rewards via email, apps, social media and on their smartphones. As mobile marketing continues to evolve, so will loyalty marketing. Its direction may be unclear, but the need to recognize and thank loyal customers will always be there.”
Continue reading here.
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