Chip Klose's Approach to Restaurant Growth

In this episode, Chip Klose, a Restaurant Coach with over two decades of experience, shares insights on improving profitability in the restaurant industry. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on customer needs and unique qualifications, managing revenue, cost of goods sold, and labor, and implementing effective marketing strategies. Chip also discusses his coaching program, success stories from his clients, and the motivation behind starting the Restaurant Strategy podcast. Additionally, he highlights the value of sharing knowledge through different formats, including his book, The Restaurant Marketing Mindset.
Chip Klose discusses the key principles of restaurant marketing and shares insights on the future of the industry. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the ABCDs of marketing: audience, brand, competition, and differentiation. Chip also highlights the significance of internal and external marketing strategies and provides practical tips for restaurant owners. He predicts a new style of dining that utilizes technology to create a more efficient and hospitable restaurant experience. Chip concludes by sharing his upcoming projects and initiatives, including a new book and speaking engagements.
Takeaways:
- Focus on customer needs and unique qualifications to solve their problems.
- Manage revenue, cost of goods sold, and labor to improve profitability.
- Implement effective marketing strategies to acquire new customers, retain existing customers, and generate word-of-mouth.
- Create systems and processes to make restaurant operations more predictable and profitable. The ABCDs of marketing (audience, brand, competition, and differentiation) are essential for restaurant owners to understand and apply.
- Internal marketing, such as effective communication with employees, and external marketing, including setting goals and using tools to achieve them, are crucial for success.
- The future of the restaurant industry may involve a new style of dining that utilizes technology to create a more efficient and profitable yet hospitable experience.
- Chip Klose has upcoming projects, including a new book, speaking engagements, and the growth of his mastermind program.
Timestamps:
00:00: Introduction and Three Key Focus Areas
01:14: Chip Klose's Background and Journey in the Restaurant Industry
04:59: Lessons Learned from Opening Michelin-Starred Restaurants
06:24: The Importance of Focusing on Customer Needs and Unique Qualifications
08:21: The Challenges of Running a Restaurant Business
09:19: The Difficulty of Managing Revenue, Cost of Goods Sold, and Labor
10:38: The Need for Predictability in the Restaurant Industry
13:18: Coaching Restaurants to Improve Profitability
15:38: The Three Key Areas of Restaurant Marketing: Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention, and Evangelism
20:55: Managing Prime Cost and Controlling Revenue, Cost of Goods Sold, and Labor
24:48: The Coaching Program and Onboarding Process
27:09: Success Stories from the Coaching Program
30:05: The Motivation Behind Starting the Restaurant Strategy Podcast
39:55: The Purpose of the Restaurant Strategy Podcast and the Value of Sharing Knowledge
43:15: The Restaurant Marketing Mindset Book and the Importance of Being Present in Different Formats
44:09: The ABCDs of Marketing
46:03: Internal and External Marketing
47:01: The Restaurant Marketing Mindset
48:23: Trends in the Restaurant Industry
49:16: The Future of Dining
54:56: Upcoming Projects and Initiatives